Joan Lunden talks about health as woman and mother

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Saturday, May 12, 2007 7:14 PM PDT ∞

Everyone gets expert advice on health -- from your television, your newspaper, the Internet -- and it's easy to tune out. But Joan Lunden won't be speaking as an expert when she delivers the keynote address at the upcoming Palomar Pomerado Health Women's Conference. She'll be talking woman to woman, mother to mother.

"I'm not going to be telling them any health advice they aren't going to read in some expert advice column," said the broadcaster and former host of "Good Morning America." "But when you share stories, your struggles and success, and your failures, it actually works better."

The conference is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 19 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn Conference Center at 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, San Diego. 10News anchor Carol LeBeau will emcee the event and deliver the morning message.

The event will include a light breakfast, free health screenings, a variety of exhibits, a gourmet luncheon, free gift bag and the opportunity to attend three physician-led educational sessions on health topics from heart disease and menopause to nutrition and cosmetic surgery. Cost is $60. Register to (800)-628-2880, or visit www.pph.org and click on Classes and Events.

At 56, Lunden said she's more healthy and fit than when she was 35. Her method is to put the knowledge about healthy living, especially keeping control of her weight, into terms meaningful to her own life.

If you're in shape, eat right and take care of yourself, you have more energy to do your duties as a mother, said Lunden, who has seven children. You also set a better example for your children, she said.

She's also keeping it practical. Not everyone can afford to hire a personal trainer, but you can get help from your friends. Get a walking buddy, someone to motivate you, and give you guilt if you slack off on your goals. Shop for food when you're well-fed, and with a list in hand. And when you get home, arrange the food for easy serving later: Cut fruit into pieces and store them, for example.

Much of her talk will be crafted to be entertaining, Lunden said, drawing from personal experiences.

"In the midst of all that, you're motivating, and educating ... It's like Walt Disney -- he wanted you to learn, but wanted you to think you were just having fun."

Begin with small steps when it comes to improving your health, and don't think you have to do everything at once, Lunden said.

"It seems incredibly overwhelming sometimes, but if you can just make tiny goals, so you're able to start building on your successes," the rest is easier, she said. For the time-challenged, Lunden advises looking for two half-hour periods each week to devote to exercise.

"I'm not saying you have to start out doing it in a gym. If you live in the city, go out and power walk."

For additional motivation, Lunden said mothers should look not just at themselves, but at their children. They need to set a good example for when their children are grown up.

"Decide this is something you have to do in your life. We women are nurturers, we're caretakers, just by nature. We'd never, ever miss an appointment to take our kids to the doctor. We get our children in the soccer league and make sure they get enough exercise -- but what about us? We don't make sure we do those things.

"And if we only understood that if we took better care of us, we would be better at taking care of them. Women are walking around 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds overweight. They're having a hard time getting up off the floor with their 2-year-old. They're stressed out. They're worried about their health. They don't feel good about themselves. They don't feel good about the way they look. They're spending more time on trying how to figure out how to dress to cover up the overweight."

These mothers were probably more physically active as children, Lunden said. But along the way to adulthood, activity stopped being fun and became something to endure.

"We lose our sense of play when we grow up," Lunden said.

And when they grow up, today's kids are going to be in even worse shape if nothing is done.

"We have a nation where 9 million children right now are seriously overweight," Lunden said. "And for the first time in our history, we've got children presenting with Type II diabetes and hypertension at 9 and 10 years old.

"Some experts are saying now that this may be the first generation of children to die before their parents. That's going to be our legacy. There's got to be a wake-up call."

-- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.