MyPyramid PodCast #2 – Just Get Moving for Your Health and Theirs

Brian Wansink:  Hi. I’m Dr. Brian Wansink, I’m the Executive Director for the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. This is my daughter Audrey.

What we’re here to do is to give you a few ideas of some small steps you can take to make your family healthier – and they involve physical activity. You don’t have to join a gym to get fit. All you need to do is move more than you currently do. There are simple ways to build this activity into your life. For instance, in an office building, instead of taking the elevator, we’re going to take the steps. I’ll get a little bit of exercise, but it’s also going to set a very good example for her. Hey, let’s see what some other parents are doing to try to build physical activity into their family’s lives.

Person #1: We do housework together; I get the whole family involved. We scrub floors, we wash windows, we get our rakes out and we just rake all the leaves up outside.

Person #2: What I try to do, especially on the weekends, is to try to stay out of the car. We do a lot of errands on foot. I throw my little daughter in the stroller, and sometimes we hold my son’s hand, and we take a walk to the grocery store and do our errands on foot. That makes a big difference.

Person #3: My kids are playing actively in sports; they’re playing on various teams and participating in various outside activities, like scouting. So from swimming to basketball to soccer…

Person #4: I try to encourage her to take the stairs rather than the escalators.

Person #5: One of the things we do is – if we go out if we have to go the store or have to go to some kind of errand – park a little farther away from the front door to the store. Get folks to walk that extra bit. That’s something we try to do a lot.

Brian Wansink: They don’t complain about that?

Person #5: Well, they’re not driving!

Brian Wansink: So remember: Your kids are watching you. The best way to make sure they’re going to be a little more physically active is for you yourself to be a little more physically active. So do the easy things. When you’re buying groceries, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk there. Get off the bus stop a stop early. Or, maybe even go on family walks, they’re a great way to talk to your kids without being interrupted by a telephone, a tv set, or a computer. So just get moving – for your sake and theirs. There’s a lot of great ideas and tips you can find at the website MyPyramid.gov. 

[speaking to daughter] Hey, let’s take the stairs. [following daughter into stairwell] Hey, wait for me!