What if everything we thought we knew about motivating people to exercise was wrong? In this eye-opening episode, we explore the counterintuitive science of sustainable physical activity with behavioral scientist Dr. Michelle Segar and lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Rakesh Jatwani.

Here's a shocking revelation: telling patients to exercise "for their health" might actually be sabotaging their long-term motivation. Dr. Segar shares research showing that health-focused exercise messaging can be as demotivating as weight-loss goals, while Dr. Jatwani candidly admits, "I was doing harm in the way I was talking about exercise" before discovering these evidence-based approaches.

Both experts take us behind the scenes of their upcoming workshop at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine conference, where they'll present a simple, practical framework for healthcare providers to transform how they discuss physical activity with patients. This framework, grounded in behavioral science yet accessible enough to deploy in time-limited clinical settings, promises to bridge the gap between good intentions and sustainable habits.

Ready to transform how you think about physical activity motivation? Listen now, and discover why movement that enhances daily quality of life creates more lasting change than exercise prescribed solely for health benefits.

Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/146

Our Guests: Dr. Michelle Segar, PhD & Dr. Rak Jotwani, MD

Dr. Michelle Segar is an award-winning, NIH-funded researcher at the University of Michigan with thirty years studying how to help people adopt physical activity and other lifestyle behaviors in ways that can be sustained within the unpredictability of the real world. Since 1994, her scientifically supported methodologies have been transforming peoples’ mindsets about lifestyle behaviors in ways that cultivate the daily decision-making that underlies behavioral sustainability.

Dr. Rakesh (Rak, pronounced "rock") Jotwani is a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician and the founder of RAK Your Life, a virtual practice dedicated to empowering individuals to make sustainable, evidence-based lifestyle changes. Dr. Jotwani’s career has spanned hospital medicine, primary care, and leadership roles, including serving as the Director of Lifestyle Medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco.

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America faces a profound physical activity crisis that threatens our collective health, economy, and national security. The numbers are alarming: less than one in four adults and only one in six youth meet federal physical activity guidelines. One in three young people may be pre-diabetic. Only two in five young adults are fit enough to serve in our military. And the financial toll? A staggering $192 billion in annual healthcare costs directly linked to physical inactivity.

In this urgent conversation, Michael Stack, President of the Physical Activity Alliance (PAA), introduces the groundbreaking "Move With Us" campaign—the organization's first major fundraising initiative designed to transform America from a culture of inactivity to a culture of movement. Stack articulates the crucial distinction between grassroots community programs and macro-level policy change, emphasizing that both approaches are essential but complementary sides of the same coin.

The PAA has already made remarkable progress through standardizing physical activity measures in electronic health records, engaging CEOs to create activity-friendly workplaces, educating the public health workforce, hosting congressional briefings, and developing innovative exercise therapy programs. But to reach their bold goal—more than 50% of Americans meeting physical activity guidelines by 2050—they need partners from healthcare, business, education, and government sectors.

Ready to be part of the solution? Whether you're passionate about youth health, workplace wellness, healthcare integration, or public policy, the Physical Activity Alliance invites you to collaborate in this vital mission. Together, we can create environments where movement becomes the default, not the exception. Share this episode with colleagues and decision-makers who understand that minute-for-minute, nothing impacts health more profoundly than physical activity.

Show Notes Page: https://wellnessparadoxpod.com/episode145

Our Host: Michael Stack

Michael Stack is the founder & CEO of Applied Fitness Solutions, the Michigan Moves Coalition and the More than Movement Foundation. He is a faculty lecturer for the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology and the President of the Physical Activity Alliance. He is also the creator and the host of the Wellness Paradox Podcast, produced in conjunction with University of Michigan.

Michael is an exercise physiologist by training and a health entrepreneur, health educator, and advocate by trade. He is dedicated to the policy and system changes to ensure exercise professionals become an essential part of healthcare delivery.

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America stands at a critical health crossroads. Despite overwhelming evidence that physical activity is our most powerful health intervention, we remain a culture of inactivity. That's about to change.

The Physical Activity Alliance has planted its flag with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that will transform American health: By 2050, over 50% of the US population will meet the National Physical Activity Guidelines for both aerobic exercise and muscle strengthening. This ambitious target wasn't chosen arbitrarily—it represents the threshold at which we can truly call ourselves a "culture of physical activity" rather than inactivity.

As president of the PAA, our host, Michael Stack, has conducted extensive listening sessions with stakeholders across the physical activity spectrum who consistently identified this cultural transformation as our ultimate measure of success. The PAA's BHAG meets all the criteria needed for transformative change: it's bold yet achievable, clear and compelling, long-term focused, inspiring, measurable, and capable of aligning diverse stakeholders under a common purpose.

Achieving this goal demands a whole-society approach. The PAA is leading through initiatives like "It's Time to Move," which aims to make physical activity assessment, prescription, and referral the standard of care in medicine. We're collaborating with federal partners and working on implementing the National Physical Activity Plan across states. But we also need grassroots engagement from every sector—healthcare, education, business, community planning, and more.

This moment represents a unique inflection point for physical activity in America. There's unprecedented alignment both within and outside government to elevate movement as a primary health intervention. Download the National Physical Activity Plan from our show notes and ask yourself: what role will you play in transforming America into a nation where movement is woven into our cultural fabric? Join us in making this BHAG our shared reality.

Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/144

Our Host: Michael Stack
Michael Stack is the founder & CEO of Applied Fitness Solutions, the Michigan Moves Coalition and the More than Movement Foundation. He is a faculty lecturer for the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology and the President of the Physical Activity Alliance. He is also the creator and the host of the Wellness Paradox Podcast, produced in conjunction with University of Michigan.

Michael is an exercise physiologist by training and a health entrepreneur, health educator, and advocate by trade. He is dedicated to the policy and system changes to ensure exercise professionals become an essential part of healthcare delivery.

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