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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Ever wondered how to turn national physical activity guidelines into meaningful community change? This eye-opening conversation reveals the roadmap for developing state-level physical activity plans that make movement a priority where Americans actually live, work, and play.

Wellness Paradox host Michael Stack shares the journey of building the Michigan Moves Coalition, showing that creating transformative plans doesn't require extensive resources—just passionate advocates willing to collaborate. "All health is local," highlighting why adapting evidence-based national strategies to meet specific community needs is so critical for improving public health outcomes.

The process follows a clear framework: first, building a coalition of physical activity stakeholders; second, partnering with state health departments; and third, recruiting sector leaders across healthcare, education, parks and recreation, faith communities, and more. What began in Michigan with just six organizations has grown to nearly 60 representatives from over 50 major institutions—all committed to making the active choice the easy choice.

With over 80% of America's $4.9 trillion healthcare spending going toward chronic disease management, these state-level planning efforts represent not just a public health necessity but an economic imperative. The beauty lies in their accessibility—you don't need to reinvent the wheel, just adapt existing frameworks to your local context while focusing on measurable wins that build momentum.

Ready to start a movement in your community? Download the National Physical Activity Plan from the show notes page and connect with other passionate advocates. The Physical Activity Alliance stands ready to support initiatives across all states with resources and guidance. Together, we can break down the silos between sectors and create communities where physical activity becomes an integral part of daily life.

Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/143

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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The absence of physical activity from critical national health policy conversations represents a profound failure of advocacy that demands immediate attention. In this eye-opening episode, our host, Michael Stack explores how the Department of Health and Human Services' recent announcement to combat chronic disease through "safe, wholesome food, clean water and elimination of environmental toxins" completely omitted any mention of movement or physical activity – one of the most powerful health intervention available to Americans.

This glaring oversight serves as a wake-up call for everyone passionate about movement and health. We simply aren't winning as a physical activity community when we remain invisible in national health policy conversations. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence showing that just 150 minutes of weekly movement delivers more health benefits than any other intervention of comparable time commitment, physical activity continues to be marginalized or completely forgotten in public health planning.

In this episode, we outline concrete steps for becoming effective advocates – from building relationships with local officials to engaging with state and federal representatives. The path forward requires both top-down organizational advocacy and grassroots engagement from passionate individuals willing to have conversations that elevate physical activity to its rightful place alongside food, water, and environmental factors. Until we secure our seat at the policy table, America's health will continue to suffer from this critical oversight. 

Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/142

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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The health and fitness industry stands at a crucial crossroads as qualified exercise professionals prepare to step into the healthcare system as trusted providers. But amid this transformative opportunity, a troubling question emerges: are we actually ready?

As Physical Activity Alliance President, I've observed a growing divide in our field. While some forward-thinking professionals eagerly prepare for healthcare integration, many remain comfortably fixed in the status quo, content to serve the already-active 20-25% of Americans while giving mere lip service to concepts like "exercise is medicine." This division threatens our collective ability to address America's physical inactivity crisis when the professionalization moment arrives—and make no mistake, that moment is coming whether we're prepared or not.

This professionalization effort isn't merely about industry status. When qualified exercise professionals become qualified healthcare professionals (QHPs), they gain the trust of medical communities, can bill insurance for services, increase earning potential, and dramatically expand their reach beyond traditionally fit populations. More importantly, they become positioned to transform healthcare delivery through what is undeniably the most profound intervention one can make on a minute-by-minute basis for health improvement.

For this transformation to succeed, we need comprehensive changes across our industry. Facility owners must evolve their imagery and messaging beyond young fit models, hire truly qualified professionals, reconstruct compensation models away from commission-based systems, and develop evidence-based programs that produce measurable outcomes. Exercise professionals must pursue proper education, obtain registry-recognized certifications, specialize in working with chronic disease populations, and hold themselves rigorously accountable for client results.

This is my rallying cry to everyone in our field: educate yourself on these coming changes, adjust your practices accordingly, and help spread awareness throughout our industry. The future of fitness—and possibly healthcare itself—depends on how we respond to this historic opportunity.

Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/141

Our Host: Mike Stack, BS, ACSM-EP, ACSM-EIM, ACSM-PAPHS, CSCS, FMFA 

Mike 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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Discover why physical inactivity needs to be recognized as a national crisis with the potential to impact our economy and national security in ways you never imagined. Join our host, Michael Stack, as we challenge conventional thinking and propose a provocative, strategic shift in public health messaging. With healthcare costs devouring a staggering 20% of GDP, it's time to acknowledge the $117 billion burden of inactivity and inspire industries, governments, and communities to prioritize physical activity as a frontline intervention.

Uncover the startling reality that only 23% of young adults are fit for military service, and learn why the lack of fitness in the population poses a genuine national security threat. We explore the critical importance of promoting physical literacy among youth to combat early onset of chronic conditions and secure a healthier future. By rethinking the narrative and emphasizing immediate economic benefits, we aim to galvanize a movement that positions physical activity alongside essential public health initiatives, securing the investment needed to implement effective programs at all levels of society.

Show Notes Page: http://wellnessparadoxpod.com/episode140

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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In this episode, we delve into the critical transition from demonstrating the efficacy of exercise to proving its cost-effectiveness, a pivotal shift necessary for securing insurance reimbursement for supervised exercise therapy. We explore how the effectiveness of exercise, well-supported by numerous studies showcasing its benefits for various health conditions, forms the foundation. However, the challenge lies in aligning this efficacy with the economic metrics that insurance companies prioritize. Discussions will cover methodologies for quantifying health outcomes in monetary terms, the impact of long-term health cost savings, and the importance of structured exercise programs in preventive health care.

Moreover, the episode highlights the strategic approaches required to present a compelling case to insurance providers. This involves gathering robust data that not only underscores the direct health benefits and improved quality of life for patients but also demonstrates significant cost reductions in managing chronic diseases and potentially expensive medical treatments. By showcasing examples from programs that have successfully navigated this path, we aim to provide a roadmap for exercise professionals and healthcare providers. The goal is to expand access to supervised exercise therapy, ultimately making it a standard part of medical care covered by insurance policies.

Show Notes Page: www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/episode139

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Can exercise professionals become a cornerstone of healthcare? Discover how we're working to make this vision a reality as we reflect on our journey since 2021. Learning from all our amazing guests over the past three and a half years has taught us the importance of policy and system changes to integrate exercise professionals into healthcare delivery. As we move towards 2025, the focus remains on keeping you, our listeners, informed and proactively identifying opportunities for you to engage in that cement exercise professionals as vital healthcare stakeholders.

Physical inactivity is an epidemic with far-reaching health and economic ramifications. Explore how the Physical Activity Alliance (PAA) is committed to reshaping the healthcare paradigm in America by embedding exercise professionals into healthcare delivery. As the president of the PAA, our host, Michael Stack, emphasizes the importance of awareness and collaboration with stakeholders to transform how society views physical activity. We aim to inspire listeners to embrace and promote movement as a critical component of health and well-being.

In this episode, we outline our commitment to provide regular updates about ongoing efforts in physical activity policy and professionalization. As the holiday season approaches, we extend our warmest wishes and look forward to continuing this journey with you in 2025.

Show Notes Page: https://wellnessparadoxpod.com/episode138

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Discover the future of fitness with Amy Boone Thompson, CEO of IDEA Health and Fitness Association, as she unveils the secrets to a thriving career in the exercise industry. Ready to break free from isolation and ignite your professional growth? Our conversation reveals how IDEA has been revolutionizing support for fitness professionals with a legacy of 43 years, now further enhanced by their innovative mentorship program. Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran in the field, Amy shares invaluable insights on how to leverage IDEA's vast resources and educational tools to stay at the forefront of the industry.

Explore the critical role of continuous learning and the power of collaboration in today's fitness landscape. We navigate the necessity of building bridges with allied health professionals, ensuring clear scopes of practice while maintaining high standards across the board. Get a sneak peek into the upcoming Idea World event in Sacramento—a gathering designed to unite fitness and health experts. Join us as we tackle the challenges of balancing accessibility with professionalism, and learn how you can be part of this dynamic evolution in the science of human anatomy, mental health, and behavioral psychology.

Show Notes Page: https://wellnessparadoxpod.com/episode137

Our Guest: Amy Boone Thompson
Amy Boone Thompson is the Owner and CEO of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, and the Chair of World Active. She is at the forefront of driving positive change in the global fitness community. With a passion for empowering others and fostering global collaboration, Amy’s vision and leadership continue to inspire and elevate both individuals and the industry as a whole.

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