Prescribing Nature to Get People Moving Outside - Park Rx America [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Robert Zarr

  • Dr. Robert Zarr is the Founder and Medical Director at Park Rx America.  

  • Dr. Zarr is also a physician researcher at Unity Healthcare.

• [1:14] Founding DC Park Rx, now Park Rx America

  • “And it was simply to, at that moment in time, to be able to give something to doctors and healthcare providers for them to be able to write what we called park prescriptions for their patients.”

• [2:49] Encouraging physicians to prescribe nature

  • “But what I have been able to do, through Park Rx America now, is really sort of codify the act of prescribing, the way of prescribing. I've been able to give it what I like to call some architecture, some structure to it. So that it's easy to do, easy to understand, easy to do for the physician or healthcare provider and easy to understand from the patient or client perspective.”

• [6:08] Addressing time as a barrier to physicians prescribing nature

  • “So rather than spending a minute or two talking about the importance of exercise or the importance of being outdoors, why not ask maybe one or two important questions? For example, one question that I really encourage providers to ask their patients during the visit is where do you feel safe and comfortable outside? And as your patient answers these questions, the next one would be what do you see yourself doing outside?”

• [10:16] Tools and training to support physicians in prescribing nature

  • “It affords them a really rich opportunity for them to follow up quickly in terms of how that prescription went, and for them to write another one. So the prescription itself is really not so much written by the doctor, it's really written by the patient and the doctor is there to sort of amplify it when need be and tweak, help tweak it so that it really has more of a therapeutic effect.”

• [12:55] Raising public awareness of nature prescriptions

  • “One of the things that we're working towards doing and hopefully we'll have done in a few months is this robust information that's available to patients. to the public, that we hope will trigger them to almost write that prescription before they go to their doctor.  What I envision is reaching out to the public in a way we haven't done before so that they know more about this concept of a nature prescription, and really have already thought about it before they go, and in some ways could be the person to sort of initiate this conversation, rather than depending just on the doctor to do it.”

• [15:49] Patient follow-through on nature prescriptions

  • “And so I'm in my EHR, the EMR, I double click on that unique code that's affiliated with that prescription that's been copied and pasted into the treatment plan. And I toggle back into Park Rx America's platform. And I can find that prescription in less than a second and I can see how many times it was filled.”

• [18:50] Language around prescriptions

  • “When I'm asked this question, do patients roll their eyes when I talk about a nature...I've never seen anybody roll their eyes. They're actually so thrilled that I am legitimizing their wishes and their desires to be outside, to spend time outside, to move outside, because most doctors don't do it in that way.”

• [21:35] Stages of change

  • “And, like with any new intervention or new medication or...in health care, it takes a little time to get used to it because most of us are not trained in Prochaska and Diclemente’s stages of change.  We're not as good and as familiar with talking and listening to our patients and trying to figure out where they are in that readiness stage.”

• [24:20] Health benefits of being active outdoors

  • “I think a lot of this, this conversation should be intuitive. I mean, we know, it's the right thing to do to spend some more time outdoors. And, to be more active is really important. And we, I think, know that, intuitively, that being active outdoors confers some additional mental health benefits. You just feel better than running in a gym or on a treadmill.”

• [28:12] Access to nature

  • “In some ways, I do think that what we're doing right now with these nature prescriptions is a bit subversive. I mean, really, we're sort of bypassing a lot of the barriers, and maybe even sort of structural barriers, by going directly to the physicians and I hope soon to the patients and public to say, you know, there is something you can do, right? You also have a right to this.”

Creating Welcoming, Inclusive Health & Fitness Environments for People with Obesity [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Rachele Pojednic

  • Dr. Pojednic is Assistant Professor and Program Director of Exercise Science at Norwich University.  

  • She is also a research associate at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a certified health and wellness coach, and has been a fitness professional for over 20 years.

• [1:23] Providing programming and services to people with obesity

  • “[T]he industry sort of sees them as a target population to change, rather than thinking of them as a target population that can be a part of our community. And so, I think, as we are entering into a space of inclusivity and acceptance, I think this really presents a timely opportunity to expand our community beyond what we've traditionally been seen as.”

• [2:35] Language and framing

  • “What vocabulary are we using in order to sell programming in order to, you know, entice people to come to our facility? And until recently, it's been very much about, make your body smaller. And I think that that is a really terrible way to sell the wonderful thing we all know as exercise.”

• [5:36] Creating community

  • “And so I think that as we shift to this new language, and create an inclusive environment rather than an exclusive environment, and I mean that in every sense of the word, then we are creating these communities, which are making people happier, making people healthier, and at the end of the day, keeping them around and helping our businesses stay afloat.”

• [7:01] Creating welcoming, inclusive environments

  • “But, when you are a person that is traditionally or has traditionally not been included into a community, when you walk in, seeing people that look like you is such an important element. Having somebody walk up to you with kindness and say, hi, I'm so and so, we're so glad you're here. Rather than giving you the side eye of, oh, look at this person, you know they need to be here because they have overweight or they have obesity, right?”

• [10:21] Reaching the 80%

  • “Like we've got 80% of the population that isn't coming to the gym or isn't coming to our facility. And part of the reason is because it doesn't feel welcoming…”

• [11:49] Representation and role models

  • “And yet in our industry, if you were to walk into a yoga class or a spin class or a Zumba class and the instructor has overweight or obesity, you can see eyebrows raising in the room, right?  And immediately, in our biases, disqualifying this person from having expertise, from having fitness, from having value in the space, and I think we have got to get over that because, again, it's creating an exclusive environment and an unrealistic expectation of what exercise and fitness really is.”

• [13:23] Messaging inclusion

  • “Walk into your fitness center, walk into your studio, and if there isn't clothes that have your branding that are going to fit your clientele, you are automatically sending a silent message that people don't belong there.” 

• [15:16] Stages of change

  • “So creating that environment, whether it's clothes, whether it's representation, whether it's language, whether it's space on the floor, all of those things are going to help people move from that action stage into the sustained change stage.”

• [17:05] Industry change

  • “And if we want to truly make a change—and as I said a second ago, we want to truly do what we as fitness instructors, what we as public health professionals say that we want to do and to change—we have to change so that the other people that we are trying to include actually feel included. I think it's incumbent upon us to change not to change the people that walk through the door.”

• [20:41] Health benefits of physical activity

  • “I think people are becoming more concerned with health, but that also presents an opportunity to show how the wonderful feelings and experience that you have with physical activity, with exercise, align in a parallel fashion with health. And it doesn't necessarily have to be one or the other.”

• [23:12] Joy and physical activity

  • “And so the joy, the energy, the community, that has to be—in my opinion—one of the first things that we offer people, otherwise they're not going to come back.”

• [24:14] Health and fitness as separate from weight loss

  • “And again, I think that we, we steal that from people that have overweight and obesity because the first thing that we tell them is, you need to be exercising in order to lose weight.”

• [25:22] Meeting the needs of people with obesity

  • “So I think the first skill that every single one of us needs to have is the skill or the experience or the understanding of empathy. I think that is, without a doubt, the number one practice that we all need to have.”

Linking Movement and Brain Health - UsAgainstAlzheimer’s [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Kelly O’Brien

  • Kelly is the Executive Director of the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Brain Health Partnership.

  • She is also a certified personal trainer and meditation teacher.

• [1:17] Preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease

  • “And the reason I was excited about this is it’s really over the last decade that we have been learning from science about the kinds of things that we can do to actually age cognitively healthy and cognitively strong. That Alzheimer's and dementia, it's really not inevitable...”

• [5:20] Empowering people to reduce risk

  • “So I just think there's just a ton of reason to be excited and hopeful about this from a very personal agency level to health plans in the health system, thinking about this from a financial and sort of systems approach that this is an opportunity to really right a ship that is not headed in the right direction at the moment.”

• [8:37] Linking movement and brain health

  • “And so physical activity, I think, is one of the most important. It's also one of the most scientifically backed and researched interventions. Dozens and dozens and dozens of studies have confirmed over and over and over again, that consistent and increased physical activity can actually reduce your risk of dementia and improve your cognitive performance.”

  • “But the bottom line is, when you exercise, you're increasing blood flow to your brain, and particularly your hippocampus, which is where memory operates from. And so consistent physical activity is a really important element in healthy aging, including in reducing your risk of dementia. Also, obviously, in addressing diabetes and hypertension and other conditions and obesity as well.” 

• [11:43] Physical activity referrals/prescriptions

  • “And that's the sort of thing that's really, it connects what's happening in the doctor's office, or the nurses, PA’s conversation with real life. Because we all know how hard it is. We know...it's very challenging, lifestyle change. And it takes support, it cannot be...it's so difficult to do it on your own. And so these kind of referrals and connections, I think, are just starting to happen. And I think there's just an immense opportunity for that.”

• [14:58] Linking clinic and community

  • “They're not set up for that. We need to link people to the community to solve these problems. Like it can't all happen in the doctor's office. It's just not maybe the right place. Maybe it starts there. But it can't begin, middle and end there.”

• [17:20] Advocacy

  • “And to me, it just is another clarion call for how we have to all work together on these things in service of all of our boats, right? Like, I think the way that the advocacy community has been set up is kind of by no fault of its own a victim of the way the funding streams have been.  So there's the heart people and the diabetes people and the dementia people and, and the fact is, we're all doing the same thing. And we've got to start working together better, and I think that’s happening.”

• [19:39] Cross-sector collaboration

  • “So that's where I'm really excited about that bridge being made. And I'd be lying if I said I had the perfect answer to how to do it, but I am committed to moving in that direction.”

• [21:24] Across the lifespan

  • “AARP did a recent, an amazing survey on stigma, and one of the things they found is that people were more likely to make lifestyle changes—like increased physical activity and better nutrition and addressing all these conditions that we've just discussed—if they knew or if they thought that it might help them avoid dementia.”

• [25:07] Brain health screening and digital health

  • “I had to go into the, a hospital at one point for an COVID test. They sent me a link to a form I had to fill out online. I'm filling out information online that goes into my EHR. When I get there, it pops up in my record. Like, why couldn't we do a brain health screen at home? Right? I'm just sort of thinking here out of the box, like this stuff doesn't have to happen on paper and pen in the clinician’s office. Why couldn't it happen in the waiting room?”

• [27:31] Talking to physicians about risk reduction

  • “And I think, you know, call the question.  And sometimes your doctor—and this happened to me—will say, oh, you're young, don't worry, you don't have symptoms. Don't accept that. Right?  Okay, how can I reduce my risk? Right? And they may not know the answer, but they're gonna look it up.”

• [28:46] Calls to action

  • “I think we need more education and better conversations about what health payers and providers can do around this in creative and interesting ways. So I think that's also a call to action is to take a look under the hood and see where are the unique opportunities to do this.”

Fun and Games as a Catalyst for Getting Communities Moving - Intelligent Health [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. William Bird

  • Dr. Bird is the CEO and Founder of Intelligent Health.  

  • He is also a General Practitioner and the creator of Beat the Street, Green Gyms and Health Walks.  

• [1:18] A mission to create active and vibrant communities

  • “And that technology got them excited.  And that’s how we started to really get large numbers of people. Sometimes in Sheffield—we’ve just finished a few weeks ago—we got 60,000 people playing within about two weeks.  So that's huge numbers. And a lot of these people are from very deprived areas. They're very obese, they're very inactive. And we're managing to get them, and that’s what's really exciting. The Health Walks was dealing with a little bit more the middle class, not quite reaching the more deprived communities. But this one really was. So it was technology and trying to get this mass participation, place based, that got me excited about it.”

• [5:50] Success and accessibility to different population subgroups

  • “And we know that the real reasons are nothing to do with I've got no time and I've got no money.  We know those excuses are excuses. They're just barriers people put up. Because the real reason is they put it as a low priority and they put it as low priority because they usually haven't got the confidence.  It’s an unknown world. And they can't quite see it fitting into their life.”

• [9:46] Fun and physical activity

  • “And we just don't think sometimes. We make physical activity like a tablet, because that's what we're used to as doctors. But physical activity shouldn't be anything extra.  It should be part of your well-being, it should be part of your life. It should give you the vibrancy and the additional fun in life.  And if you can’t do that then you are going to fail.” 

• [12:40] Mobilizing communities

  • “And that is, I think, what you have to do to gradually get people to start to explore, give them confidence and get to know their area so they can take their children or take their parents or go themselves.”

• [16:06] Physical activity as a means to an end

  • “And that's why I feel that physical activity should always be a means to the end and the end is the experience people have. The physical activity is just a method of getting there. If it becomes the endpoint and we talk about, ‘I'm going to get you fit,’ as you know, most people run away….”

• [20:48] Cross-sector collaboration

  • “So we've got this real gradient of the people who need it less are the ones who use it the most, and the people who need it the most are the ones who use it less...But working with these groups, and we have something called asset based community development, ABCD, which turned everything on its head saying that the community are the experts, they will give you the solutions, you build up the trust, and then eventually they will come out and help you.”

• [26:28] Impact of the pandemic on access to outdoor physical activity opportunities

  • “It's been a really incredible journey, I think, since the first lockdown when you saw initially a big divide between the more affluent and tended to be more white, going out a lot more with their families. And they're on their bikes all the time. And they were going to parks and green spaces. And those from more deprived communities, and particularly those BAME communities, were hunkering down and not moving. So you saw physical activity actually increased a little bit, but that was because the divide got bigger.”

Bringing Health & Fitness Out Into the Community - 92Y [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Katera Noviello Kapoor

  • Kat is Senior Director of Health Promotion, Wellness & Athletics at 92Y.  

  • She is also a Health Coach, Group Exercise Instructor & Pre/Post Natal Certified Instructor. 

• [1:21] Creating community within the four walls of 92Y

  • “We create community, I feel, through being available, accessible, and most importantly, approachable. I feel like we really try to be welcoming to all. We're going to meet everybody where they are.”

• [3:46] Creating welcoming and inclusive programming and services

  • “I feel like that is kind of the first step, is making sure that there's an entry point. Because if somebody sees there's only a program that's offered for 18 weeks and it's at this higher level, they're going to be intimidated, chances are, they're just going to walk away from that. So we like to have lots of different mini opportunities for them to experience something before they're fully committed to it.”

• [8:16] Training staff to support welcoming and inclusive environments

  • “We always bring it back to mission. I'm very big on mission. You know, I kind of come back to these two words consistently.  You know, they say, with mission statements, keep it simple. And I always bring it back to magic moments. We're trying to make magic moments for all of our patrons for all of our children.”

• [10:34] Bringing health & fitness out into the community

  • “The mayor's office just recently built out the Office of Sports, Wellness and Recreation, where they're very committed to funding for children who are under served as far as athletics goes, and also providing opportunity for talented individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to step onto a competitive team. We want to give everybody that same opportunity.”

• [12:52] Building successful partnerships with community stakeholders

  • “First and foremost, making sure that you're aligned in both your mission and what is going to be offered.  The other thing I would say is ensuring that there's room for growth. I never like to see a program start to succeed and see excitement behind an initiative and then have nowhere for it to go. So when I'm partnering with somebody, I'm always looking 4, 5,10 years ahead and saying, is there room for this to grow?”

• [14:14] Providing programming and services that meet the needs of all ages and abilities

  • “So I think being really creative and not having tunnel vision and oh, this just has to be a pure fitness class. How can I collaborate with other centers and other areas to really help build the mind body connection?”

• [16:46] Best practices in building successful partnerships with community stakeholders

  • “I think with community stakeholders, it's also great to go to the table with something. So understanding what you can provide to them and what they'll provide to us and kind of, it's like working a little bit of a puzzle, almost, how can you benefit our program and our community and how can we benefit you?”

• [17:57] Partnering with healthcare

  • “And we're currently working on becoming a medically fit organization. So that in and of itself requires a lot of partnership with hospitals and physicians.”

• [18:49] Success in bringing health promotion out into the community

  • “I think the work that I'll be doing with our innovation center, as far as national campaigns go, we're currently working on a national loneliness campaign to bring to light the emotions that go behind loneliness, and to help provide resources to individuals on increasing their work life balance, and how to build deeper connections.”

• [20:50] Expanding reach to non-exercisers

  • “We're just more passionate than ever about just expanding our reach to people who were not exercising prior to COVID. Because a lot of the people that were exercising, they're back with us, they're ready to go, they were hungry to be back with us.  But it's those that were missing that were potentially severely impacted by COVID more than anybody else if they were out of shape. Those are the people that we're really trying to reach out to now and say ‘come be with us, it's never too late to start’.”

• [23:15] Establishing expertise

  • “So just really expanding our reach to individuals who absolutely could benefit from our services, but maybe you just don't know about us or don't think that it's possible for them. So really being forward with patients and with hospitals that hey, we are here and we do have the expertise to serve you.”

• [25:54] Building trust and long-term relationships with community stakeholders

  • “And I think it's really important to build a relationship with those organizations, with those hospitals and their physicians and everybody who works alongside them.  Because it really, it’s not going to be a successful program if, like you said, it's just this kind of one off, you know, it's just a transactional exchange. That's not going to build a long-term relationship, and that’s what we’re all about...”

• [28:06] Favorite programming

  • “I would also say we have stretching classes that are for all levels, all abilities. But come in and do, it’s not a yoga class, it's not a fitness or abs class, it's just stretching. And that class is really special, because you will, you'll see, maybe a 20-year-old come in who's stressed out that week and feels like they just really need to reconnect with their body. And you'll also see a senior in that class. So I think it's really special to see that crossover of generations.”

Trust as a Foundation in Addressing Whole Person Health - Humana [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Caraline Coats

  • Caraline is VP of Provider Venture Investing at Humana.  

  • She is also the Interim Leader of the Humana Foundation

• [1:02] The role of trust in connecting healthcare and communities 

  • “And if I think of the healthcare ecosystem, both clinically and social, it plays arguably the most important role. And from there, you can start to influence change and co-create solutions and measure and make mistakes together, right?  And come back and learn and develop insights. Without trust, I don't think we really get to that meaningful type of impact.”

• [2:47] Evolution of population health work

  • “So we see some pretty successful providers take their positive results and invest it in community health workers, transportation services, access to healthy food, addressing the health-related social needs, that are addressing the whole person health needs of our members much more effectively than perhaps years ago.”

• [6:39] Framing whole person health

  • “And as we started understanding how important those health-related social needs are on the long term quality of life, and the word whole person health, and now we call human care, is really a part of our mission and DNA.”

• [10:16] Collecting data on health-related social needs

  • “So while there's some noise in it, as there will be, six, seven years of data all directionally showing the power of being able to affect someone's self report on how they feel lonely or social isolation compared to how they're feeling physically or mentally.  I mean, they often say the best predictor of our health is how we feel.” 

• [17:20] Connection between physical activity and health outcomes

  • “And we do see connections between those who are, at least signed off or enrolled in these programs directionally have longer term, better quality in health outcomes and results. And it's hard to determine, is that because of the actual physical activity or were there group and community classes? is that because of the social connection? And there's an interaction there that we may never know, but I think it plays a beneficial role to people in different ways.”

• [21:26] Expanding access to physical activity opportunities

  • “There's not one answer, not even by community or population, I think. So it's a constant marriage of understanding our individual member needs, barriers in the community, building trust within the organizations in that community, and then connecting all of those dots to try to find the best solution. Whether it's physical activity, or food or transportation, or loneliness, or crime or safety, right?”

• [24:32] Best practices in addressing health-related social needs

  • “But when you're focusing on population health, you have to let your competitive guard down, right?  You have to bring in your competition and other payers. And if we're in a community, right, this isn't about improving just the health of those who have Humana insurance. This is about improving the health of the members in the community.”

• [26:03] Pandemic accelerating focus on whole person health

  • “There's an increased level of support to study different and more pilots around addressing health-related social needs. So we can deliver more and more proof points to ultimately change reimbursement and benefits and all of the business impact things we want to do to truly embed whole person health into the way we structure healthcare.”

• [27:49] Best practices for building trust

  • “Taking time to listen and understand the needs at an individual level, but also at a community level. And then consistently showing up and being present to try to bridge the gap for the right solution.”

Racial Justice, Anti-Racism and Equality in the Health & Fitness Industry - TRILLFIT® [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Meghan Venable-Thomas

  • Dr. Meghan Venable-Thomas is Cardio Dance instructor and Community Engagement Manager at TRILLFIT®. 

  • She is also Cultural Resilience Program Director at Enterprise Community Partners.  

• [1:23] Start in the health & fitness industry

  • “And the first time that I actually experienced another person looking like me, as well as an instructor that looked like me, was in a TRILLFIT®  class. And as I continued being a client there, I found out that also the owner was a Black woman. And so asTRILLFIT® began to expand, I was asked to try out to be an instructor. And that kind of started me on this journey as being not just a client, but part of a community and a really a shaper of what fitness and wellness could look like for all folks.”

• [2:46] Creating a culture of belonging and accessibility

  • “How important is it for fitness and wellness organizations and businesses to really have a culture of belonging and accessibility, I think, is critically important. And so to think about what that looks like for your organization, I think, speaks volumes, but also creates greater impact from your organization.”

• [4:11] Finding a community

  • “When I found TRILLFIT®, I was like, Oh, this is different, you know, so it wasn't…. And then it wasn't even a choice to be made anymore, because I saw and I felt completely different when there was a community where I felt like I belonged, and I kind of just let the other places go. And so I think you deal with what you have. But when you find something that actually meets all of your needs, it's just a completely different experience.”

• [5:34] Stepping in to lead in a community

  • “I really stepped in because it felt like a community that I could participate in and that I really wanted to give my skills and assets to as well.”

• [6:18] Creating access and collaboration

  • “And so our mission at TRILLFIT® is really about how do you create access? What does that look like to create access? How do you create collaboration? What does it look like to collaborate in your community, to be a part of your community as a community member and stakeholder?”

• [7:32] TRILLFIT® pledge

  • “And so one thing that we did, in August of last year was we launched a pledge for racial justice, anti-racism and equality in the wellness industry. Because we recognize that in this $4.2 trillion industry, we have a lot of power. And right now that power is not being leveraged towards equity, and change in equity.”

• [10:16] Diversity, equity, inclusion training

  • “But we're also drafting or crafting a DEI program right now, to think about how not only we train ourselves a little bit more prescriptively around diversity, equity, inclusion, but also how we support other organizations and really thinking about what equity diversity inclusion might look like for them as part of the roadmap for how we think about how the pledge, where the pledge can take you.”

• [11:12] Connecting to and serving community

  • “And we are at the same time asking other industry leaders to think about what does community work look like for you? What communities do you sit in? And how are you touching them? How are you reaching out? How are you investing and growing in trying to address health disparities?” 

• [13:08] Industry sign on

  • “Yeah, I mean, I think we've got a ton of studios, but we've also gotten bigger brands like mindbody to sign on, like ClassPass. So there are some really big industry leaders who are interested in this type of work and trying to figure out how they do that, as well as smaller studios.”

• [13:59] Member sign on

  • “And so at every angle, or every part of life, we're really trying to look at how we support our clients, and how we're thinking about health equity in those different experiences. And so I think our clients also love us because we're constantly thinking about all the areas and aspects of life where we need wellness.”

• [15:37] Accessible language

  • “And so how then do we create the type of space where we make it accessible for everyone to be able to stand up and say that I am well or trying to get well. And while I'm in the process, I can still stand up in here and bring other people along with me. And so that, that messaging is really important for us. And I think it should be really important for everybody if we actually are talking about reaching everyone, right?, being completely accessible.”

• [18:44] Opening doors

  • “But also that there are so many barriers to even showing up in the space and feeling comfortable for a lot of people that, you know, how do we start to create the type of culture where people really feel like the doors are open and this is a place where you can get well, even if you don’t feel well already.”

• [21:00] Diverse representation among instructors

  • “If you really want people of all types and styles and looks and ages and demographics and ability levels, then you have to be open to figuring out how can these folks be instructors, right?”

• [23:38] Diverse class offerings

  • “If what we're seeing is the only people that can teach this class look this way, then maybe we need a different kind of class offering where other people can teach that look this way, or like that way, or whatever it is, like how are we being creative about what our offerings are, that actually can meet people where they are who want to be a part of the community.”

• [25:06] Health & fitness as essential during COVID

  • “I think that was because people needed this destressor. People needed this community that they knew. They needed to see these faces of folks who were showing up and being with you every day in this like time of crisis. And a place where you felt like you belong, like being able to come into your home.”

• [27:54] Health & fitness for every body

  • “And like just making more people feel and know that that health and wellness is for every body, every type of body, every age of body, every mobility of body. And it's, I think, a real opportunity at the intersection of equity and health, to really be lifting up that more and more.”

Linking Movement and Mental Health [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Brendon Stubbs

  • Dr. Stubbs is Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London.  

  • He is a physiotherapist and a scientist and researcher in mental health, physical activity and well-being. 

• [1:23] Inspiration for interest in physical activity and mental health

  • “And it was just being trained in physical therapy, or being able to really focus on the body and movement, exercise and how we move. And then looking at people who are coming to seek treatment for their mental health and seeing very early on as a junior physiotherapist—or physical therapist—how inactive people were, how people were not moving around very much at all…”

• [3:34] Connecting a healthy mind and a healthy body

  • “The inaugural medical director of the World Health Organization outright said in their first speech that there is no health without mental health, clearly making the stance that having true health is really about having a healthy mind and a healthy body. And the two are completely interconnected.”

• [8:03] Integrating mental and physical health in practice

  • “And I think my experience has shown me that, because people see me coming in from sort of physical health help, and I'm not coming in to look at their psychiatric medication or give any diagnosis, it really opens a very natural, trusting, open dialogue, which is a great privilege for people to be able to talk about their mental health symptoms, which you would ordinarily never have the privilege and the honor to listen, to hear, to help, and for people to confide in me in the context of their care as well.”

• [12:05] Destigmatizing mental health conditions

  • “And it's really important, because I don't need to tell you or any of your listeners that we all have mental health, and there's times where our mental health is out of sync, and many of us will have mental health symptoms or conditions at one point in our lives. And we all almost certainly know somebody right now who is struggling with a mental health diagnosis. So it's only right that we're openly talking about mental health, and how we can help people.”

• [15:52] Addressing the physical inactivity and mental health crises

  • “Now the links between mental health in the context of the crisis were not always implicitly made. But more and more people are talking about the impact of not being able to connect with our friends being indoors. But physical activity proves a real, profound opportunity to help us move, feel better, connect outdoors safely with other people, and feel a sense of joy and movement. And I think it's a real win-win situation for our physical and our mental health and just our overall connection with each other and also the outside world and the planet.” 

• [18:35] Physical activity as a coping strategy

  • “People were asked in the context of the pandemic, out of a whole plethora of options, what is the number one coping strategy which you're using to help get by and help you cope during this pandemic.  Number one spot was people put physical activity and exercise.” 

• [22:02] Building the evidence base linking mental health and physical activity

  • “So I think, more broadly in the context of mental health and physical activity, I think there's been some really exciting developments over the last 5,10,15 years where we’ve moved from physical activity, structured exercises as being something which would be like a nice to have...”

• [25:00] Translating research for a lay audience

  • “There's a lot of noise out there, there's a lot of views, there's a lot of views, there's a lot of opinions. And often the people who are most listened to in the context of lifestyle, movement, nutrition, are not the ones who are undertaking, leading, or doing the science. So we've got, we've got a mismatch between the people who are being listened to and heard and the people who are doing the science and the rigor and know the evidence and trying to connect those two dots.”

• [26:44] Call to action

  • “And really know that helping people move is going to help people's physical health.  And if we help them with physical health, we're going to help people with mental health.  In its own right, there's really robust evidence that helping people move more can help prevent and manage mental health symptoms, make us feel happier and help with people with mental health diagnosis.”

15 Minutes of Daily Physical Activity for Fitter, More Focused Children - The Daily Mile [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Elaine Wyllie

  • Elaine is the founder of the Daily Mile.

  • She started the Daily Mile while head teacher at St. Ninian’s Primary School, and was named Teacher of the Year at the Pride of Britain Awards. 

• [1:19] Starting the Daily Mile

  • “And so I had often thought, you know, you hear on the news, and you hear about children's fitness and fatness, and so on. And I had often thought, why don't children just run round the field once a day? You know, wouldn't that do them some good?”

• [4:13] Engaging children in the process

  • “Those things all happened with no planning—zero planning—but the children invented it. So in a sense, it turned everything on its head and became the children's thing. And that has been replicated across school cultures across climates across the world. And I think it's because the Daily Mile meets the needs of childhoodę—fun, fresh air, friends, freedom— and these needs are the same wherever you go.”

• [6:31] Discovering your inner fit child

  • “So, those children, who were just simply a bit unsporty or a bit unfit, discovered their kind of inner fit child, and that it was for them too. So they discovered that they were really all actually an athlete. And that was really interesting for us.”

• [10:24] Demonstrating the benefits of the Daily Mile

  • “We now have convincing research that says to head teachers and principals and teachers, the benefits are so great for almost no time—focus, concentration, happiness, behavior.  Children learn when their needs are met.  And if children are sitting too much, you know they get antsy, they get fidgety, they're not learning.  They need to run around.”

• [15:39] Making a difference with child obesity and overweight

  • “After three years at St Ninian's there was a remarkable difference between obesity and overweight in St. Ninian's and Scottish schoolchildren as a whole. Our children were lean and fit compared with the national average, and it cost nothing.”

• [17:26] Scaling

  • “So we got, quite quickly, a lot of support from the medical and public health community. The fact that it fits and works meant that schools would see and give it a go. And it works from day one. And it's easy, it's easy to do.  The fact that it's free, you don't need resources of any sort, you basically open the door and take the children out.”

• [20:55] Health partnering with schools

  • “The Daily Mile is a solution. It's not a message. It's a practical solution in the school day. It's on a plate. parceled up. There you are. And if you do the Daily Mile, you will change the health and well-being of your children.  Now, and for the future.”

• [23:20] Building resilience

  • “But essentially, almost all weathers, we say.  And children respond.  And, as you say, it builds resilience.  They respond to nature and the seasons.”

• [25:33] The Daily Mile and COVID

  • “And, interestingly, the Daily Mile signup increased during COVID in schools, because it was the one thing that worked. So you're not touching equipment, you're not indoors, you can do it in your bubble, it just worked. It was outdoors and so schools kept it going, and more schools signed up. And that was really important to us that those schools who kept going with The Daily Mile and were open, kept their children fit.”

• [28:01] Fit for Life

  • And so we need help to take it to adults, but that realization that they can, they can have responsibility for self care, and shift, you know, that thing where there's inactive, somewhat active, and active. And that shift from inactive to somewhat active is the thing that saves the health service and saves the people.  The Daily Mile can help people to make that shift.”

• [29:47] Engaging with the Daily Mile

  • “I often say, you know, we have a huge, massive, complex, expensive problem, and lack of fitness, and obesity levels, and mental health, and loneliness. And, you know, actually, you can have a fairly simple partial solution. It's certainly not the whole solution. But the Daily Mile is a simple and free partial solution to these things.”

Improving Access to Physical Activity Opportunities for People with Disabilities [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Joel Dembe

  • Joel is an Advocate for Disability and Inclusion, PR Professional, and Paralympian. 

• [1:10] Journey to being an advocate for disability and inclusion

  • “I wasn't a fan of being separated from the rest of my able bodied classmates when it came to any type of activity. You know, and obviously for me, identified really at a young age, the empowering feeling that physical activity gave me in spite of being in a wheelchair. And for me, it was my very first gym teacher, really working hard to include me with the rest of my classmates, through all gym activities.”

• [3:10] Identifying as an athlete

  • “And, you know, having the chance to look at Paralympians and look at confident athletes at a really young age, I felt that was the embodiment of disability that I wanted to be known as. I didn't want to be ‘hospital Joel.’ I didn't want to be Joel ‘special needs Joel’ relegated to a different class. I wanted to be a Paralympian. I wanted to be beyond my disability.”

• [4:50] Inclusive physical education

  • “And I think for any person, no matter what your abilities are, whether you use a wheelchair like I do or whatever, you look at what are the core skills that you're seeing here.  Okay, let's find a way to pivot around them or integrate them. And I think exposing other children to disabilities, and ensuring that people with disabilities are given skills to live independently at a young age, are super important.”

• [7:07] De-stigmatizing differences

  • “And so I feel really empowered to tell kids that differences are actually normal. I think we stigmatize differences at such a young age. And that I hope you see the end version of someone who's lived through those differences, but came out the other side in a very positive way.”

• [9:32] Making our own communities more accessible for people with disabilities

  • “And if there's certain pockets in our communities that are cut off from people with disabilities, then that's the easy embodiment for me to sort of discuss those issues of fairness. Because they're in our backyard, they're in our community. Not every playground, not every track is accessible. Not every hockey arena or baseball field is accessible. And that's the sort of idea that I want to put ahead here is, it's happening in our communities. We don't have to think so broadly around the world, there's change that can occur within our community.”

• [11:30] Reimagining physical education

  • “I feel like if you have a disability and you're really young or you have some sort of perceived difference, that gym should really be a way to do things independently. For me it was, I need to learn how to fail.  And I think we should be okay with gym being, any type of physical activity as an opportunity for kids to learn what it means to not succeed, but learning how to work hard to get over that obstacle.”

• [15:33] Connecting community partners

  • “And I often wonder if we expose children to...instead of seeing what the end user looks like in a wheelchair...but showcase the journey of someone learning to be independent, and I'm sure they'd, kids, would learn so much, and also perhaps even want a career in the health field…”

• [18:02] Advice to Paralympians

  • “I would say to athletes that the Paralympics, it goes beyond that. You're training for this singular goal that happens every four years. And you might have one shot to get there in your specific sport. But I'd also encourage athletes to pick up other sports along the way.  Your journey doesn't have to end at the age of 30.”

• [19:59] Lifelong journey in sport

  • “Try to stay around a little bit longer. Get involved in NSO—national sports organizations—get involved in Change for Good Health.  There’s so many ways to have a lifelong journey with sport that maybe isn't as demanding as a high performance athlete, but can certainly provide that same sense of value.”

• [21:37] Health equity for people with disabilities

  • “Fifteen percent of the entire world's population has a disability. And many of them live with health issues every day. And we need to do a better job, not only protecting the health, but ensuring that we're giving the proper tools and opportunities for people with disabilities to not only stay healthy, but stay protected during a pandemic.”

• [24:59] Expanding physical activity opportunities for people with disabilities

  • “We need to better integrate people with disabilities into all aspects of society. And I would start with health being the first thing, recreation opportunities, making fitness equitable. It's simple, I just want all people with disabilities to have the same opportunity to stay fit that able bodied people do.”

• [27:40] Becoming involved in advocacy

  • “And so I would say to students and everyone listening today, discover your own community and find those gaps. And make sure you're identifying how people with disabilities can get involved in whatever you're up to. And, and I would say to everyone, that COVID-19 has really exposed some of these gaps. And I think if we work together, we can make sure that we're not leaving people behind, no matter their abilities.”

Establishing a Lifesaving Habit of Walking - GirlTrek [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, T. Morgan Dixon

  • Morgan is the Co-Founder and CEO of GirlTrek.  

  • Morgan also has a background working as a teacher in public schools.

• [1:24] GirlTrek pledge

  • “And every single one of those members has committed to opening her front door, stepping out on faith, in hope in a time that feels hopeless in the direction of our healthiest, most fulfilled life. What that looks like practically is that we pledge to walk 30 minutes a day, five days a week to establish a life saving habit of walking.”

• [2:35] Walking as an accessible, affordable intervention

  • “It's a really powerful intervention physically and mentally, to improve mental health and physical health. It's also accessible to everyone around the world, right? It's affordable to everyone around the world. And there are all of these kinds of, this kind of cascade of benefits that happens once you get a critical mass of women walking in neighborhoods, often the highest need neighborhoods in the country.”

• [4:35] 30 minutes of self-care

  • “And so this notion that you don't have time to work out is very real. It's very real. And so asking women to pledge 30 minutes to care for themselves. Just 30 minutes. It's hard to say no to that. It's hard to say no to that. When you frame it in that way. Of your 24 hours, you can work 23 and a half hours for someone else. If you can just work a half hour for yourself, everything can change.”

• [8:20] Self-care as survival

  • “And that, those are strong words.  But we understand that when we are losing our family members at 30 years old, 40 years old, 50 years old, from preventable diseases, that self-care is survival.  It's survival.”

• [10:18] A health revolution

  • “We are a million deep into the revolution. And, you know, there are roughly 17 million women of the age we target, mothering age, in America. And we have one of the 17 in our movement. And so when we talk about change, what change are we seeking? Certainly cultural change, which I believe that GirlTrek is either in the lexicon of half of black women in America, but we need it to be in the lexicon, take a walk, you know, join a movement, walk outside 30 minutes a day to save your own life.”

• [13:40] Revolution success

  • “We want to live. We want the fire in us to just, to have air to breathe.  We want to live. So that's when, that’s when we know the revolution is over.  And then the way we measure living is through life expectancy. And so our next horizon is to increase the life expectancy of black women worldwide by 10 years in 10 years.”

• [17:31] Change agents

  • “I'm not suggesting you do it alone. Because one of the things we learn from the past is that this notion of like the solo change agent, this hero is such a fallacy. It's such a fallacy.  It's not true that you can even do it alone. So my recommendation is to make the edges of yourself porous. So get away from I and ego, really lose yourself in justice work, in change work, in love work, and go in the direction that lights you up the most. And I guarantee that you're going to land on something that changes the world.”

• [21:58] Heroes and everyday women

  • “We know Harriet Tubman. And her story resonates so deeply with us that we believe certainly she's a hero, and so are we. And that everyday, we choose to hope, that hope in the midst of everything we know to be true in America, that that in and of itself is a Tubman-esque effort.”

• [23:15] Superhero blue and visibility

  • “That tiny little example happens thousands of times, I'm guessing, every day in America and we want it to happen thousands more where we can see kind of a sister who has a lifeline there who has shared values, who's made a commitment of the same pledge that we have to take 30 minutes a day for ourselves.”

• [25:32] A tapestry of activism

  • “And, you know, these things in isolation are small, but once we band together with all of our movements and networks and hopes and dreams, it really is catalytic.”

• [27:10] Hope

  • “I just, I continue to think about what it took to get to this moment, what it took for me to get to this moment and it fills me with gratitude, every single day.  And it beckons me to act.  Like, I am invited through that gratitude to act every single day, to act, to act, to act. So I do that. I do that, sometimes I get tired.  But mostly I'm charged from the inside.”

A Physical Education Revolution [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Daniel Fulham O’Neill

  • Dr. Daniel Fulham O’Neill is an orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine doctor, and sport psychologist.  

  • He is also the author of Survival of the Fit: How Physical Education Ensures Academic Achievement and a Healthy Life.

• [1:20] Inspiration for a book about physical education

  • “It was, sadly, not a hard problem to realize when, when we start getting statistics that this generation has a shorter lifespan than the last. But I think the biggest thing I was seeing was kids not only were not fit, but they were not happy. And the childhood depression and anxiety is through the roof.”

• [2:41] Doctors advocating for a physical education revolution

  • “We've got to take the lead on this, you know, doctors have to take the lead on this, but everybody needs to be part of this revolution, as I call it.”

• [4:38] Doctors as messengers addressing obesity and physical inactivity

  • “It's this aircraft carrier that just can't seem to get turned around. And again, this is not some secret thing. Everybody knows this, everybody. Your entire audience knows that we have a problem in this country with obesity, with fitness.  The COVID pandemic, obviously, put a big punctuation mark on this.”

• [7:22] Allies in a physical education revolution

  • “But what we're trying to do as parents is fight Silicon Valley to not addict our children to screen time. And that is a fight we are losing desperately. So every parent has a dog in this fight, a child in this fight.  Every parent, because Silicon Valley is taking your child from—literally from the cradle—and trying to addict them and doing a really good job of it.”

• [11:13] Physical identity

  • “So then we get the first graders. And now we have kindergarten and first grade doing PE.  Every kid, every day.  And now it’s second grade.  And now we just keep building up through your school system. And by the time these kids graduate from high school, this is what they do. They have their physical identity, they know for at least 180 days a year, they are going to be expected to get their heart rates up.”

• [17:34] Redesigning physical education in all public schools

  • “But it doesn't just have to be the rich schools and the rich kids that get this and shame on us for allowing that to happen. This should be every kid and we can do it. And yes, it's harder in inner city Chicago than it is, you know, out in the suburbs or in the rural areas, but it can be done. You know, people are imaginative and people want to be part of this revolution. We just have to give them the opportunities.”

• [20:33] Reclaiming physical identity

  • “”And that's why if we don't let that big percentage of people lose their physical identity, it's a lot easier. You know, it's a lot easier if you've never lost it, then then to regain it, but it can happen. Seven years old seems to be kind of a tipping point.”

• [23:41] Link between physical fitness and academic performance

  • “This is not a theory. We have the data. We have the data on climate change, we have the data on academics and how it ties to fitness. And, right, and if you are a principal, the easiest thing you can do to bring up your test scores in your school is to get these kids moving, getting their heart rates up for 30 minutes every day.”

• [26:07] Window of opportunity

  • “And I said to someone, this was either a really bad time to publish this book or a really good time to publish this book. And I agree with you, I think it's a really good time. Because guess what, the only young people that died from this virus were unhealthy kids, or kids with obesity. These kids, our children have diabetes and pre diabetes and high blood pressure. When I was a kid stealing cigarettes from my father, I was going to get lung cancer and emphysema when I'm 50 or 60 years old. These kids are sick now.”

Reframing Exercise as Play [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Janet Omstead

  • Janet Omstead is a health coach and play expert.

  • She is also the author of The Play Book: How to Get in the Habit of Good Health and the founder of the Play for Life System.

• [1:18] Learning from children about play and movement

  • “And the whole idea of playing and moving shouldn't have to stop just because we grow up. I really don't believe that. I think it's time we rediscover our inner kid and give ourselves permission to have fun.”

• [2:54] COVID taking the playground away

  • “Yeah, COVID really did take the playground away. And it has affected people's physical and mental health. It's a one two punch. I agree. People are recognizing how fundamental movement is and how all movement matters.”

• [4:14] Bringing back the playground

  • “So kids may have had some of that taken away, but I think kids are really resilient. And that's something I really admire about children and childhood, and that we can lose sight of as we age is, there's no harm in tapping back into those things, and finding what brings you joy. And don't worry about it, if it's not perfect. And don't worry about it, if it doesn't follow a rule. Go have fun. We need to.”

• [5:49] Sustainable exercise behavior change

  • “There's nothing wrong with bringing in fun. And something that lasts. There are no magic potions. But it doesn't mean it has to be boring. Yes, change is hard, right? Although I don't think it's impossible when you find out what works for you and you live more in alignment with your values.  The key to your success is managing your expectations with what you're ready, willing and able to do.”

• [7:20] Investing in health

  • “Actually, it's small, consistent changes over time. That's what really works. Sounds kind of boring, but it actually really works. Versus what the majority of people do is they look for this quick fix, right?”

• [9:35] Health coaching

  • “And that’s where my expertise comes in.  Because there is no one size fits all. It's meeting people where they're at.  You know, as a coach, you're not...I'm not there to tell you what to do. I'm there to help you figure out what is going to work for you. And what is going to move the needle towards better health, whatever that means for you.”

• [11:08] Getting to move

  • “I really, in my fundamental heart of heart, soul of souls, really want people to understand this. You don't have to move. You get to move. And when you wake up every day with that lens, how am I going to move today? Like when you're a kid. What am I going to play today? Holy moly, it turns working out on its head.”

• [13:10] The five whys

  • “I think people need to dig into their vision of how they want to age and their why. Why are they moving? What is the long term outcome for them?”

• [15:48] Play and mental health

  • “Yeah, and it's also the mental health piece. That is also what's so magical about play. It really turns on your happy, the happy gear in your brain. When you're moving more you just, you naturally are inclined to want to move more⸺like I said earlier⸺move more, eat better sleep, you sleep better.”

• [17:26] Helping people who want help

  • “I can't help someone that doesn't want help. People who say they want it, versus who they really deep down want it. That's, that's who I help, for sure.”

• [17:54] Play as a new approach to exercise

  • “If you reframe exercise as play, it's just way less of a barrier for people to move without feeling they need to go to a gym or do a hard workout.  And like I said, getting to play versus having to play.  But play is a relatively low bar you can build on and starting small and building up is what makes things sustainable 100%. And it makes it less scary. Play just feels achievable. And, in my opinion, play is a state of mind and a completely new approach to exercise.”

• [19:03] Setting the bare ass minimum

  • “What is the bare ass minimum you can commit to, you know, don't set the bar so high that you have an excuse not to do what you say. Like, I'm going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro or I'm gonna run a marathon. Awesome. That's great. We want to get you there. But where are you at now? What is the bare ass minimum you need to do now to be able to do that in the future? And how can you build on that?” 

• [22:43] New ideas for play

  • “So I can't say I have a committee. But I definitely have a few people that, especially my own kids, I get motivation from.”

• [23:47] Motivation for change

  • “Not everybody needs a gold medal. But people like to work towards something. It makes you feel good. And it's the pieces of feeling good along the way that are, why, what is motivating.  And seeing when people, like whether they're winning a gold medal—I mean, come on—a very, very, very few people win gold medals, or they're actually eating—this is an odd comparison. But I think it's kind of cool—or they're actually eating a piece of fruit every day, for the first time in their life. That's achievement. It's totally achievement.”

• [27:09] The world as a playground

  • “Yes, I am a huge fan of the outdoors. I love what the outdoor brings.  The world can be your playground, and I love reintroducing that idea to people.”

Making Exercise Necessary and Rewarding [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Dan Lieberman

  • Dr. Lieberman is Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

  • He is also the author of Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding. 

• [1:19] Journey from a reluctant exerciser to author and researcher

  • “And then I realized that there was a lot to learn about, not just the evolution of physical activity, but also about how and why it's relevant to health and disease. Because, you know, I was teaching my classes and students were just bored out of their mind when I would talk about Australopithecus this and Australopithecus that, but when you start to talk about heart disease and diabetes and other chronic illnesses and cancer and shin splints, and snoring and whatever, right, they get super interested.  So I ended up writing a book called The Story of the Human Body, which is really about mismatched diseases, and here I am.”

• [4:41] Motivation for the book

  • “The reason the book is called Exercised is that I think the more I've studied exercise, the more I've studied the evolution of human physical activity, the more I realized that people are really confused about physical activity and about exercise. And there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about it.”

  • “And it's just very obvious to me, that what we're doing isn't working very well. I mean, the fact that 80% of Americans don't meet basic levels of minimal recommendations, which are 150 minutes a week, that's of moderate to vigorous physical activity, that's 21 minutes a day.  The fact that 80% of Americans don't do that means that we're not doing a very good job, right?”

• [8:20] Debunking myths about exercise

  • “I mean, just equating that with smoking is, to me, part of the problem. And I understand why it's, good-intentioned people wrote that, with all the right intentions, but it just makes people skeptical of the science. Because exercise is not a magic bullet. And a chair is not a cigarette.  And so we need to kind of tell people the truth, which is that sitting is kind of normal, but if you sit too much, it's a problem.”

• [11:38] Physical activity and living healthier for longer

  • “Natural selection doesn’t care about you if you're a 75 year old hunter gatherer who can't forage and hunt, right?  You need to be healthy in order to have a selective benefit to be that old. And so what we were selected for is not so much lifespan, but actually for health span, how long we could live in order to be vigorous and active and healthy. And lifespan follows from health span.”

• [16:11] Book cover

  • “Because, to me, the treadmill is the apotheosis of exercise, which is how strange and weird it is right? You know, to pay money to either buy or go to a gym to go on a machine that makes you work really hard and gets you nowhere, right, is to me the perfect example of how weird we've made exercise.”

• [17:34] Making exercise necessary and rewarding

  • “And, and for the most part, the efforts that people have gone to get people to be more physically active, just aren't working very well. I mean, sometimes it does, but on average, it just doesn't seem to work very well. And so, we evolved to be physically active for two reasons and two reasons only, right? One is when it's necessary. And the other is when it's socially rewarding in some way or other, right, when it's fun. “And so I think that the trick is to make it both, right, recognizing that it is an abnormal behavior, that doing discretionary, voluntary physical activity for the sake of health and fitness, although it's good, isn't normal, it's, and we shouldn't make people feel bad for that. And so let's find ways to make it necessary and rewarding.”

  • “And I think what we need to do as a field is to get away from the usual prescriptive, medicalized, commodified way of getting people to exercise. And try some much more anthropologically normal, social ways to get people to be physically active.”

• [20:28] Requiring students to exercise

  • “And we know, and I'm sure you know this from your work, that the habits you develop in college are really, really important as lifelong habits. This is the time when people sort of settle into the kind of way they're going to be as an adult. And so I don't see any problem whatsoever with requiring college students to exercise. We did it for hundreds of years.”

• [21:48] Exercise and education

  • “So what we do is we make it necessary and rewarding going to school. And I don't see why we should treat exercise any different from education. It's the same. It's exactly the same model.”

• [23:00] Exercise and academic performance

  • “I mean, the data are clear. People who are more physically active do better cognitively. They do better at memorization. They do better at performance on tests. I mean, this is not like a hypothesis. It's actually, like a fact.”

• [23:29] Moving outdoors

  • “But, you know, I like being outside.  And so that's for me the number one problem. So I've, for example, I've done some outdoor kind of like CrossFit workouts, and those are way more fun than doing something in a gym. So have an outdoor, turn a parking lot into a kind of a more, maybe, I don't know, I mean, but so that's for me, that's part of the issue is just the indoor nature of them or just I find off putting.”

• [24:58] Trainers making exercise fun

  • “And they, you know the trainer there did a fantastic job making that workout really fun. It was very social, it was like, because it was a company, and they were trying to build, you know, camaraderie among people. And they were doing all kinds of really charming things that also involved exercise.”

• [26:34] Requiring employees to exercise

  • “I've never heard of any other company that actually requires all its employees to exercise. I think it's the only one. If there are others, I'd be curious to find out. But so far, it's the only one I know about.”

• [27:10] Physical activity as a right

  • “And so, I hope that this is a wake up call that we need to not only promote physical activity more, but also we need to promote it differently. Expecting people to get physical activity by paying for it is, I think, immoral. And it's unacceptable. I mean, if healthcare is a right, which I think it is, and education is a right, which I think we now all agree on. Why isn't the opportunity to be physically active a right?”

Bridging the Gap Between Medical and Fitness - MedFit [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Lisa Dougherty

  • Lisa is the Founder of the MedFit Network and the Founder and President of the MedFit Education Foundation.

  • Lisa has been the Owner of Whole Body Fitness for 21 years.

• [1:21] Building a medical fitness network

  • “And so I started to reach out to people in the fitness industry primarily, even though, MedFit Network, you could be an acupuncturist and joint massage, physical therapist, as long as you have services for people that have Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, MS.”

• [6:00] Integrating health & fitness with healthcare

  • “And so I think this is a perfect storm for the fitness industry to uplevel their education and be part of the healthcare continuum. I don't think it's going to be about glutes and abs anymore. I think it's going to be about prevention, wellness and rehabilitation. Living as long as you can in a state of wellness. You know, recovering from an injury, I think that's what's really important. And that's where we could serve our highest good in the fitness industry.”

• [9:05] Fitness professionals becoming trusted partners in the healthcare continuum

  • “Right now, there's no barrier to entry to the fitness industry. Anyone can call themselves a personal trainer or fitness instructor if they have some muscles, or they look fit. And that puts an unfair burden on the consumer and the physician to seek out someone who's qualified and educated. There's no licensing for our industry like massage therapy and physical therapy, where there's a certain required schooling and criteria met on a state level, I think it is for a lot of these industries. So that is not in place for the fitness industry.”

• [13:37] Fitness professional education and continuing education

  • “As a fitness professional, you can't just study one thing, you have to know it all because people are everything. So I think you need a very well rounded education to be in the medical fitness space.”

• [19:01] Fitness industry standards

  • “Well, right now, in order to get this off the ground and make it acceptable, I'm trying to start with the standards of the fitness industry.  If I make the bar too high, my concern is that no one's gonna want to jump to it or cross it, unfortunately. So I'm hoping to kind of get people into that with 20 hours of con ed, 10 hours to be a specialist.”

• [20:36] Medical fitness movement 

  • “I would like to see it as its own separate industry from mainstream fitness. Because again, I think that the standards, to your point, education, continuing education, needs to be greater.  And sure, there's people that are going to still want to do group fitness or help someone lose five pounds for, to fit in a wedding, that stuff will still be there. But I mean, really, for us to be part of the healthcare continuum, there has to be greater standards, and there has to be kind of a new industry born.” 

• [21:32] Post-pandemic fitness industry

  • “I think a lot of people who weren't part of gyms—I think they said only like 15% of America were part of gyms prior to COVID anyway. So, there was 85% of people that weren't, but these 85% of people who didn't want to go to gyms started virtual training or virtual apps. So these people right now are exercising who weren’t before, okay. And we're human beings, we like contact. So once people get vaccines or they're not home sheltering, they're not going to want to do virtual training, because that's no fun. They did it during COVID.”

• [25:51] Medical fitness success stories

  • “There's been a lot of people that have helped, I want to say special populations. Because right now, I think the healthy people are special populations  But they've helped connect with people and helped them stay well, stay fit during this pandemic. And I see these relationships growing stronger in the future. We've been saying exercise is medicine for so long. I really want it to be that. But I want, the real public to understand that, not just us talking about it within our industry.”

• [27:28] Play span

  • “Right now, there's not one pharmaceutical drug that cures anything.  They all just treat right now. There isn't a pill that cures and it's often said if they could put exercise in a pill, every doctor would prescribe it.  We talk about a lifespan, and it should be like a play span, how long can you play as you age, and keep that youthful attitude.” 

Accessible, Equitable, Activity-Friendly Communities - America Walks [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Mike McGinn

  • Mike is the Executive Director of America Walks.  

  • He also served a term as the Mayor of Seattle, and is a longtime environmental and climate advocate.

• [1:14] History with walking advocacy

  • “So I guess that’s a warning to everybody.  Be careful! If you start working on sidewalks in your neighborhood, you might end up running for mayor of your city. It’s always been at the core of it, is this idea that we need to create places that aren't just safe, but that are really welcoming, inviting, inclusive, accessible, equitable, you know, where people can live full lives.” 

• [4:14] Role elected officials can play in creating safe, walkable communities

  • “So the biggest thing is, elected officials have power, undeniably, but the necessity for public demand. You need the public demand. You need people organizing out in the community pushing the Mayor further.  It's very hard for a Mayor to get out further than the political demand. And then it also really helps to hire a good traffic engineer.”

• [8:57] America Walks mission

  • “But the ultimate goal of America Walks is bigger than just you should get out and walk more. It's really taking an approach of places should be, you know, should have activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations.   We should have great places, we should have walkable places. That's a slightly different type of message and mission than simply, you know, safety while biking.”

  • “It's really about building, as I said, these inclusive, accessible, equitable places. That draws people from different places to it, right?  People might come in from a public health perspective, people might come in from a climate perspective, people might come in from a land use and economic vitality perspective, an affordable housing perspective. So we have a little bit more of a challenge, trying to figure out how to really support everybody and knit together a movement.”

• [12:35] Changing culture from car-centric to walkable

  • “Somerville was a town that was built up, you know, back when people walked more, and you can feel it, because there's so much more within walking reach. And so changing the culture of America to think that, let's go back to the old ways and invest in that again, it'd be good for all of us.”

• [14:18] Creating public demand

  • “One thing a city could do or town could do is actually get out there with clipboards and ask everybody who's arriving, where are they coming from? where are they shopping, and how did they arrive? It'll vary by neighborhood but you'll find that a lot of neighborhoods most of a large number of people are there on foot or arrive via transit, you know, and they're shopping on their way home. So actually answering that question is helpful.”

• [16:26] Walkability movement future

  • “I like to think of this walkable community thing as on one side of it, how can we make a place that is not terribly walkable, more walkable.  We could also make the walkable places accommodate more people, which by itself would make it more walkable. But we could probably do that a lot quicker than we could repair horribly auto centric places and turn them into walkable places.”

• [20:15] Community organizing

  • “So we've got a host of great arguments why we should make these changes, right? Whether it's climate, your personal health, the safety of your community, the vitality, the economic vitality of your small businesses. We have no shortage of arguments. What we don't have yet is sufficient public demand and political will from elected leaders to implement the changes that would really work for us on so many different levels.”

• [24:07] Finding allies

  • “But if you can get yourself to start sitting down and reach out to somebody who's not like you, who's not in your demographic trouble or your neighborhood bubble. And just ask them, you know, what do you care about? What are you working on?” 

• [27:58] Moving the walkability movement

  • “I am working to talk to the leaders of all of our state organizations or big city organizations. I really want to talk to people who shared some characteristics with me when I started, which were, you know, hey, I'm a volunteer in my neighborhood, and I just want to make it better. I want to hear from them, too, about what they care about, and what gets them engaged.”

Creating Opportunities for Youth to Thrive Through Sport [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Shellie Pfohl

  • Shellie Pfohl is a Special Advisor to the Sport Integrity Global Alliance.  

  • She also served as the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition in the Obama Administration.

• [1:16] COVID-related school closures and childhood obesity

  • “I'm first and foremost, quite honestly concerned about how kids are getting fed, how families are being supported in terms of food insecurity. And then, in addition to that, from a movement standpoint, from a physical activity standpoint, from a social and emotional standpoint, we know that the ability of kids to interact at school, whether it's on a playground, or in the hallway, or in a gymnasium, that those things now are not taking place.”

• [3:43] Learning conflict resolution and leadership skills through sports and recess

  • “All the things we know that we learned on the playground at recess or in after school programs. Conflict resolution, right?  Just, you know, how do we interact with people, leadership skills. All those things that we learn by participating with each other, whether it's just a game, a made up game at recess, or if it's, you know, formalized after school sports. That is a huge void right now.”

• [5:53] Playworks and PeacePlayers teaching conflict resolution and leadership skills

  • “I got to travel around to inner cities and see Playworks programs, and to rural communities and see how organizations came together to support the most vulnerable within their communities. And organizations like PeacePlayers as well, who are working in cities to do just that, that are teaching skills, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, community building skills.  And creating those opportunities for young people to thrive.”

• [7:58] Long-term solutions to enhance health and well-being

  • “But if you listen and you empower them, and inspire them, and encourage them and break down a few barriers where you can, and let them come up with the solutions that will last, you know, that are long term solutions for their families, for their communities, for their schools, for you know, you name it, that is the best and most lasting legacy, if you will, that anyone or any organization can do to enhance the health and well being of Americans.”

• [10:49] Building successful partnerships to address physical inactivity

  • “You don't want homogenous people or organizations necessarily. I think it's very healthy to have organizations that come together that maybe don't agree on everything, that, you know, maybe have this like-minded principles and values, and maybe their ultimate outcome is compatible. But how you get there, that journey together and being able to, again, listen to each other and the constituents within those organizations is what creates true impact.”

• [12:58] FitnessGram and win-win public-private partnerships

  • “And if our ultimate goal is to enhance the health and well-being of young people throughout our country, then what is the best path forward? And that best path forward was truly to combine forces, to have one assessment, and then to figure out how to get those resources out to schools across the country.”

• [16:20] Link between movement and joy and learning

  • “I think the hope was that there was a reawakening to really how the brain works and how important movement is to learning. And, as you said, really helping, I'll say teach, but really just offer the opportunity for kids to experience the love and the joy of movement.”  

• [18:15] U.S. Center for SafeSport

  • “It has dedicated people that truly are working to uphold all that is good about sport, and making sure that we're rooting out the bad players, if you will, within the sport. Whether that's coaches or other athletes or physicians or trainers or what have you. They come in all walks of life. But that we're truly, again, creating a culture where respect is key. And then if we truly integrate respect and champion respect in sport, that abuse will have no place.”

• [22:27] Post-COVID youth sport activities

  • “As we come out the other side and kids are allowed to engage again with each other and be on the field of play together, I think there's going to be a huge demand for youth sport activities. And the question is, who will be there to fill that demand?”

• [26:51] Youth development through sport

  • “It's about developing young people, it's about developing those leadership skills and those conflict resolution and how kids can and will and are truly becoming the leaders in our communities. They have a voice, they will continue to have a voice. And if we can create those opportunities for young people to come together, give them a few resources, and use some evidence-based programming along the way, in order to do that. That's how we change culture, right?  So I truly see myself at my core, it's about youth development, and creating those opportunities for young people to thrive.”

A Call to Action to the Health & Fitness Industry to Reach the 80% - Exercise is Medicine® [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Bob Sallis

  • Dr. Bob Sallis is a family medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente.  

  • He is also Past-President of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and current chair of Exercise is Medicine® Advisory Board. 

• [1:26] Exercise is Medicine® evolution

  • “And once I began attending the ACSM annual meeting each year, I really came to appreciate the depth and the breadth of the knowledge we had around the health benefits of physical activity, and I just became fascinated by the powerful effect that exercise has on our health. And as someone who comes to work every day trying to treat and prevent disease as a family medicine physician as well, it just occurred to me why were we not listening to all this data?”

• [3:01] Exercise is Medicine® mission

  • “So that was sort of the mission of Exercise is Medicine® since the beginning, was simply to just make physical activity assessment, you know, asking patients were they exercising and if they aren’t, to make a formal exercise prescription to them.  That's been the goal from the beginning.  And then along with that, the longer range goal was how do we merge the fitness industry with the healthcare industry? And that certainly is another frustration. Why can I refer my obese patients to a bariatric surgeon, and that gets covered, but I can't refer them to a fitness professional?  Again, something that just makes no sense to me and continues to this day, that I can refer them for all these expensive pills and procedures, but not something so basic and simple of just getting and moving.“

• [3:46] Engaging the health & fitness industry around reimbursement

  • “We have no problems getting reimbursement for that, but nobody knows how to do it in the fitness world. How do we get the fitness industry reimbursed? How do I as a family physician send a referral and have it covered by insurance? It just doesn't happen. And that's been the biggest battle that I encountered through this whole evolution of Exercise is Medicine®. And even quite beyond that the fitness industry, in my estimation, they've actually been the most difficult to engage. Just really a lack of interest from the fitness industry on sort of working with the healthcare industry on how to get these reimbursements to happen.”

• [5:10] COVID and physical activity

  • “And there was no discussion about that. How important was exercise to trying to prevent COVID and mitigate the harmful effects of it. Nobody seems to care and continues not to care. You never hear those coming out of the lips of Anthony Fauci that maybe we ought to go out and exercise every day. Try to be as fit and healthy as we can. It's no, just wait for the vaccine, hide in the house. Why is that?”

• [12:40] Physical activity vital sign

  • “And then at Kaiser Permanente, I knew that that we would be the perfect test place for this and that was one of my biggest battles was getting us to begin using a physical activity vital sign—we call it an exercise vital sign—where every patient at every visit gets asked about their exercise habits. And so right along with blood pressure, pulse, they weigh you and your height. So you have your BMI calculated, whether or not you smoke, we have two questions about your exercise habits. So we have exercise data on all of our patients that are asked it at each outpatient visit.”

• [14:43] Referring patients to strength training programs

  • “But clearly, I need more than just having my patients go walk. I'm missing out on the benefits of strength training, which is probably more important than cardiovascular training, if you're going to pick one.  And then flexibility as well, I'm not really leveraging those health benefits that are particularly important as we age. And so I need more help than just telling people to go walk. That's a fine starting point. But we need to figure out how to take it to the next level…”

• [18:06] Finding trusted fitness professionals

  • “But honestly, I struggle with how do we figure out who we can trust and who we can go to. And I also think sometimes there's maybe too much emphasis put on, being so restrictive.  Maybe you don't need a doctoral degree to work with my patients, you know, or even a bachelor's degree for that matter. I mean, I just need somebody that can be motivating. And obviously, I don't want them to hurt my patient, they got to make sure they know what they're doing in terms of what works for certain patients. But I'm not convinced they need such an in-depth medical knowledge.” 

• [20:25] Fitness professional standards

  • “But we have a standard that we sort of use, and it seems to me so easy to be able to apply the same sort of approach for fitness professionals.  Yet, we seem to make it so confusing and hard to follow that I think it's an easily solvable problem if there was some real motivation to do so.”

• [22:15] Patient exercise behavior change

  • “It's often tying into those kinds of things that the patients are afraid of, they're worried about, or they're in for symptoms that I know can be helped if they just get exercising. That's where you often see the behavior change, when I can tie it to those things they're worried about, or they're currently dealing with. And that's what I really look for opportunities to do, to explain to them how this is what you really, if you would just exercise if you would just walk every day, I guarantee you this will be it will go away or be much better, you'll be able to deal with it much easier.”

• [24:50] Reaching the 80%

  • “Yet the health club industry just continues to try to steal away that 18%. They have never seemed to be interested in growing it. And I just don't understand that. And as a physician, I can tell you that my patients who belong to a health club, I'm not worried about. They're going to be fine. They'll keep doing it, they'll find a way to do it. But it's the patients who have never belonged to a health club, that 82% of the population. That's the ones that cause all the problems. Those are the ones I'm worried about. Those are the ones costing us all the money. They're the ones filling up nursing homes at a young age, you know, that is who is getting disability and can't work at a young age. That's who is costing us. Health care costs are primarily driven by that group. Figuring out a way to get them into a health club is key.”

  • “I think that the fitness industry has got to fundamentally change how they try to service the public in the United States. What their mission is and what their role is has got to change if they're going to be relevant.”

• [27:41] Call to action

  • “And I just think we can't do it without the health and fitness industry.  Somebody in that industry has got to take a leadership role, to really step up and say, we're going to look beyond what we've been. Because that's needed, I need that expertise, I can't sit with a patient and put them on a proper resistance program, They need somebody to work with them. And it needs to be readily accessible. And but until you build it, no one's gonna come until there's interest on the part of the health club industry to make these clubs something more than they've been.”

Impact of Employers on Employee and Community Health and Well-being - HERO [Podcast Series]

• [:57] Dr. Bantham introduces her guests, Karen Moseley and Dr. Mary Imboden

  • Karen Moseley is the President of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO).

  • Dr. Mary Imboden is the Director of Research.

• [1:19]  Cross-sector collaboration and innovation in worksite health and well-being

  • “And it's related to physical activity in the workplace, or specifically, they've identified the worksite sector needing to develop consistent criteria for physical activity, physical fitness, sedentary behavior assessment, in worksite health promotion. And some of those policies that we are seeing in the worksite related to physical activity include things like encouraging short activity breaks, walking meetings, allowing employees to meet for 15 minutes for a movement break throughout the day at a specific location so there is some social connection as well.”

• [5:53]  HERO mission and vision 

  • “So yes, HERO has been around for more than 20 years now, established to bring to light best practices for improving the health of employees and elevating those best practices, sharing the evidence, helping employers to see how to apply the evidence to their workforce.”

  • “And then about, so about 10 years ago, we had expanded the HERO vision to include or to emphasize the positive influence that employers can have on the health and well-being of not just their employees, but also families and communities.” 

• [9:21]  The role of employers in addressing social determinants of health

  • “Earlier this year, we released a report on the employer’s priority in addressing social determinants of health. And it asked employers to ask the question, is our community thriving, healthy, inspiring, attractive to talent? Or, is it perceived as deteriorating, sick and unsafe? And it gives a call to action to identify one thing your organization can do in the next 12 months to address the social determinants impacting your employees. And then it goes on to give you multiple examples of ways that you can do that.”

• [13:24] The impact of culture on workplace health and well-being

  • “We saw that cultural support and leadership support have critical roles in developing these high performing well-being initiatives.”

• [17:33] Critique of workplace wellness program research

  • “And the intervention elements included implementation of health promoting policies, workplace environmental changes. And we saw things like, components like smoking cessation, physical activity, a lot of ones that we know help to improve blood pressure, and that's what the study was mainly looking at was hypertension. And so we did see that this worked.  And the key elements that I think stood out to the study was the comprehensive approach, the longer timeline, and the individual plans.”

  • “The importance of an organizational culture that surrounds the comprehensiveness of a well-being approach, of an organizational culture of health—leadership support, top down, bottom up—all of those factors are often missing from some of these studies that are showing less than desirable outcomes.”

• [23:30] The impact of workplace wellness programs on health outcomes and costs

  • “And the conclusion was that employers may achieve cost savings in the short run by implementing comprehensive health promotion programs that focus on decreasing multiple health risks.”

• [23:43] Reimagining the impact of employers on health and well-being post-COVID 

  • “I'll highlight a few key areas that COVID really has shined a light on—mental health, social determinants of health, and employee policies around parental leave and caregiving. So the COVID pandemic offers a singular teachable moment for employers who are still intent on protecting the health and well-being of their workforce and of their communities.”

Building Your Positivity Muscle with Sports, Fitness, and Coaching [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Christopher J. Wirth

  • Christopher J. Wirth, Founder and President of No Quit Living, a speaking, coaching and training company

  • Chris is also the author of The Positivity Tribe: "The Power of Positivity" One Person at a Time

• [1:11]  Comeback stories

  • “I think ironically—I didn't know it at the time—but I learned everything as far as the foundation from sports in the sense of perseverance, determination, discipline, but also in regards to that whole idea of what eventually became our company, the name, no quit living. And I think for me, it was all about that comeback story.  It was all about that team that couldn't come back or couldn't win, that player in an individual sport, such as maybe tennis or golf, when everyone said, there's no way that he or she can win.”

• [3:14]  Positive mental advantage

  • “Some of the best of the best, they have that positive mental advantage, they have that positive mindset, they prepare themselves, they quote, unquote, control the controllables as much as they can. So if and when they're challenged, they're pushed to that level, they bend, but they don't break.”

  • “It's not always the best talented person or the smartest person, a lot of times it comes down to somebody that's just willing to persevere, and somebody that really has that mental advantage and say, okay, when everything's on the table, you know, my one advantage over that person or that team or that company is the fact that I have that mental perspective of really utilizing positivity and understanding how important it is in, I think, all areas of life.”

• [6:11]  Building the positivity muscle 

  • “And I, I think it's almost the same as a muscle, you know, you train a muscle, you strengthen it, you train it to that level where in some ways you break down muscle, and it builds up and repairs stronger. But that's the same thing from positivity, and the idea of, you have to work on it.”

• [8:48] Facing adversity

  • “I think what people don't realize is, some of the most positive people out there, they still face adversity every single day.  They have challenges, they have obstacles. And one of the things I've been focusing on is not having a bad day, but having a bad moment, or having a rough moment.  And not allowing that moment or that experience or that obstacle or that challenge to ruin an entire day.”

• [12:23] Creativity and positivity

  • “And he said, You know, there are going to be companies that go out of business, there are going to be entities that completely go under. And he said, there are going to be companies and entities and people that really step up and find creative ways to do things and creative ways to stay relevant.”

• [16:24] Coaching different people differently

  • “And what I had to understand, and it's the same, it's the same thing, working with businesses and even college coaches, you have to understand that you need to connect with different people in a different way. So, for example, a kid that or a business person that is highly driven, he or she might be able to, you might be able to go to them with goals and objectives, like alright, can you, you did this, can you get to here where somebody else who's not as goal driven, might, you might have to or they might want you to have a different conversation with them explaining them the process and what you're trying to do.”

• [20:59] Communication and responding versus reacting

  • “I would challenge anybody listening to this. In a personal or professional setting, think about next time you're in a situation. Are you responding? Or are you reacting? Are you listening just to listen and wait your turn? Or are you listening because you really and truly want to understand that other person's perspective?”

• [24:49] Getting the right people on your bus

  • “And I think if you go about doing the right things for the right reasons, and more often than not with zero expectations and return, things are going to come to you, the right people are going to come in your bus, the right opportunities, personally, professionally. And I really try to live my life by that each and every day.”

• [27:38] Prioritizing physical activity

  • “That’s a huge challenge for not only the United States, but the world, is how do we continue to adapt and change and rely on technology more and more every year? But how do we stay active?”