February 3, 2025 • 32 mins
Today's guest is Dr. Art Mollen, longevity health expert and best selling author, and he gives practical tips to parents to help establish healthy eating habits for children. We discuss the role of parents in modeling healthy behaviors for their children, the necessity of exercise, tips to avoid eating from boredom, and more. Dr Mollen is celebrating his 80th birthday this month and he is the epitome of health---mentally and physically--so thank you to Dr Mollen for imparting your words of wisdom!
About Dr Mollen:
He is a nationally renowned health and fitness expert. His medical practice, The Mollen Clinic, emphasizes the benefits of preventive medicine. Dr. Mollen has always been a proponent of exercise and diet as the primary treatment modality for many diseases. Through the use of exercise and diet, Dr. Mollen attempts to reduce the dosages of prescription medications that patients may be taking.
Dr. Mollen has authored several best-selling books devoted to nutrition and fitness: Run for Your Life (1978), The Mollen Method (1986), Dr. Mollen’s Anti-Aging Diet (1992) and Dr. Mollen’s Anti-Aging Program (2005). He has made appearances on The Larry King Show, Good Morning America, and Oprah.
A marathon runner and triathlete, he is Founder of the 3TV Phoenix 10K & Half Marathon. Presently, Dr. Mollen is a member of the Arizona Governor’s Council on Health, Physical Fitness & Sports.
If you're interested in participating, this November 9th 2025 will be the 50th anniversary of Art Mollen's yearly run: 50th annual Pheonix 10K (with options to run a 1 mile, 5K, 10K or half marathon!).
Dr Jessica Hochman is a board certified pediatrician, mom to three children, and she is very passionate about the health and well being of children. Most of her educational videos are targeted towards general pediatric topics and presented in an easy to understand manner.
For more content from Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica
YouTube channel: Ask Dr Jessica
Website: www.askdrjessicamd.com
-For a plant-based, USDA Organic certified vitamin supplement, check out : Llama Naturals Vitamin and use discount code: DRJESSICA20
-To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out:
Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA
Do you have a future topic you'd like Dr Jessica Hochman to discuss? Email Dr Jessica Hochman askdrjessicamd@gmail.com.
The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only. She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals. If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:00):
Welcome to your child is normal, the podcast that
empowers parents with reliablescience backed guidance on
Childhood Health andDevelopment. I'm your host, Dr
Jessica Hochman, a pediatricianand mom of three, and I'm here
to provide you with qualityadvice and reassurance so you
can spend less time worrying andmore time focused on connecting
with your kids and enjoying yourparenting experience as much as
possible. Today's guest is Drart Mullen, a renowned
(00:22):
physician, author and healthexpert who has spent decades
Helping People Achieve lifelongwellness. He's written five
books on health and longevity,and one of his greatest passions
is educating people on how toprevent childhood obesity. We
know that childhood obesity is agrowing concern for many
parents, and Dr Mullen hassimple, actionable strategies to
help kids build healthy habitsfor life. We'll talk about what
(00:43):
parents can do to set theirchildren up for long term
health, from nutrition andmovement to mindset and daily
habits. And on a personal note,Dr Molin is a true role model of
mine. He is living proof that ahealthy lifestyle keeps you
young, both mentally andphysically, and by the time this
episode airs, he will just havecelebrated his 80th birthday. So
here's to wishing him a veryhappy and healthy birthday and a
(01:03):
big thank you for taking thetime to join us on the podcast.
Dr art Mullen, thank you so muchfor being on the podcast. I'm so
excited to talk to you. You aresuch an inspirational person in
this world. So thank you so muchfor being here. Well, thanks so
much, and you're doing greatthings yourself, because I
followed some of your podcasts,and they're pretty amazing, and
(01:24):
you really inspire a lot ofpeople. And certainly it's great
to have a pediatrician thatpeople can call and ask
questions. I mean, that's that'samazing, because they really
enjoy that. Thank you. And sotell me about you. You were just
telling me before we startedthat you've written five books.
So my first book was run foryour life, published by
(01:45):
Doubleday, and that was back inthe 70s, crazy as that seems,
but that was in 1978 so it waskind of at the inception of the
running craze. And then therewas a book also that came out
around that same time called theComplete Book of running. It was
by Jim fix and so his book cameout. My book came out about six
(02:07):
months later. And so he and Iwere kind of in the inception of
that whole running craze. And sofrom there, you know, I got very
involved in running myself. Iran three Boston marathons, and
henceforth done a lot of othermarathons and triathlons and so
on. But so that was the firstbook. And then the second book
(02:29):
was called the Molin method,which was published by Rodel
press, actually PreventionMagazine. And so that, you know,
quickly became a best seller aswell.
I kind of liked running for yourlife. I always thought that was
actually the best title of anyof my books. And then the third
book was Dr Mullen's anti agingdiet, and that was published by
(02:53):
Penguin USA. So I had some goodpublishers along the way, and
that's the key to probablypropelling these books to become
best sellers, soand then henceforth, a few other
books after that. That'samazing. I really commend your
interest in health, healthadvocacy, and you actually live
it a lot of doctors, they talkabout how to be healthy, but
(03:16):
they don't actually act healthyin their own lives. And you are
an example of somebody whoreally practices what they
preach.
Thank you for that, you know,and that's something when I've
given lectures to medicalcommunities and things like
that, I always try toproselytize that same message
that they basically thephysicians need to take that
(03:39):
responsibility take care ofthemselves so that they then can
pass it on and promote wellnessand health among their patients.
They're going to become muchmore believable, you know? I
mean, sometimes they'll say,Well, physicians drink a lot of
alcohol or something. I don'tthink that's necessarily the
case, but, you know, physicianssometimes can use alcohol as
(04:02):
something that just basicallyreduce their anxiety, reduce
their stress. And, you know, asphysicians, and as you know,
we're pretty much on call 24/7you know, and as a pediatrician,
you're getting calls in themiddle of the night, you know,
they have an earache. They havea sore throat
at three in the morning. Whatare you going to do for the
earache? You know, it's like,I'll see you in the office in
(04:24):
morning. I mean, yes, yes, it'strue. As a doctor, sometimes
it's hard you want to live ahealthy life. An example is
getting enough sleep at night,which we all know is so
important, but it can be hard todo when you take night call.
That's true. Yeah, exactly. Andyou know, you look a lot younger
than you are. You know, I don'tknow you're 4444
so you look like you're about 24so, oh, I really. Dr Mullen,
(04:49):
you're the best, you're thebest. You're just what I needed
today. So you must be gettingsleep sometime during the day or
on the weekends or somethinglike that. But, you know, the.
Sleep is critically important,you know. And and then for me,
because I'm on the precipice of80, I'll be 80 in a month or so.
And so, wow. So for me, thesleep becomes even more
(05:13):
important as you get older. Andso, you know, it's sleep is the
key to looking a little bityounger as as you age, and you
know, besides the exercise andthe diet and healthy lifestyle.
So this is great. I definitelywant to get your anti aging
book, because looking at you andhearing that you're turning 80
in a month, I don't know ifpeople are, I know a lot of
(05:35):
people listen to this podcast,but if you could see dr Mullen,
you'll be racing to get his booktoo. So thank you for, thank you
for writing a book on that. Sosharing your tips with
everybody. Yeah, well, thankyou, right? That's fantastic
that you've done so much. Andso, you know, when we come to
and again, your audience, youknow, it's a lot of children and
things like that. So we'retrying to teach, you know, these
(05:57):
healthy habits to kids,basically. And you know, the
impact of exercise and diet, andyou know they've done academic
studies and showing that itmight be more important to spend
a little more time on physicalexercise in the schools than
actually on academic exercisesin the classroom. So, you know,
(06:18):
that's something that, again,for your listeners out there,
you know, I would encourage themto, you know, meet with their
school boards, meet with theirprincipals, meet with their
physical activity directors inthe schools and try to promote
more exercise, because it usedto be mandatory, but it's no
longer a mandatory component oftheir school activities. Yes,
(06:42):
you and I agree on this, thistopic completely that exercise
for kids is fundamentallyimportant. It's a it's so
important for them to learnthose habits early on. And
so I before we recorded I knowwe were both talking about how
we both enjoy exercising in ourown lives. Yeah, but I totally
agree with you that emphasizingto children that exercise is an
(07:03):
important part of their dailylife is critical. Yeah. I mean,
it really outweighs the benefitsof the exclusive use of the
classroom for just academics.
You know, they need to do otherthings. So I'm so excited to
talk with you today. I love yourinterest in health and
preventative medicine. That'ssomething that we are very much
(07:23):
aligned on. And today I'mexcited to talk about children
in particular, because as you'vewritten about, as we know,
obesity has become a tremendousissue in the pediatric
population, and I love the workthat you've done trying to focus
on prevention, because I feellike now so much is now we have
to back pedal. We're trying tofigure out how to help kids, you
(07:44):
know, once they become obese,how do we help them go in the
other direction? So I reallylove that you're focusing on
prevention. So the wholeconcept, again, of prevention
with childhood obesity is, youknow, teaching them, you know,
educating them, but not only thechild, but the parents as well.
(08:07):
Because if you can educate theparents, then they can inculcate
the kids with that same message,with the exercise, with the
diet, and they can act by beingan exemplary parent, eating the
rights and exercising on aregular basis, and then the
children will simply adapt tothat much more easily. You know.
(08:30):
I mean, if the parent, you knowis is basically not exercising
at all, you know, eatingMcDonald's, you know, three,
four times a week. And you know,not to, you know, say anything
denigrating about McDonald's,but it's just fast food in
general. But it's just the ideathat if the parents can again
(08:51):
assume that role, that they aregoing to be the educator as much
as the school room, or theteachers at school, or the
physical educators. I mean, Ithink that's going to make a
huge difference in this child,because what happens at home is
going to be probably five timesmore important than what happens
(09:15):
in the classroom. I completelyagree with you, and I think
what's so hard and important forus parents is we have to
recognize that if we're tellingour kids not to eat ice cream or
not to have dessert every night,but then we're doing it
ourselves, our kids arewatching. And I say that because
that happens to me a lot. Imean, a lot of times at night
I'll want to reach for thedessert, and then at the same in
(09:36):
the same breath, I'm telling mykids, we've had a lot of dessert
this week. Maybe this week weshouldn't have dessert tonight,
but then I don't want to be ahypocrite. So I think it's
really important to recognizethat our children are watching
us and that we have to be goodrole models for them if we're
expecting them to you know, ifwe're asking of them to be
healthy, we have to, veryimportant that we lead as
examples. So for.
(10:00):
Desserts in what I will eat as adessert at night are basically
walnuts, cashews and almonds,and so that's generally my
nighttime snack, you know. Andthat's, again, probably a
coefficient of if I haven't beenfilled with dinner. If I'm
(10:22):
filled with dinner, then I'mgood to go. And the other part
of that, and again, for childrenparents, it's boredom, you know?
So if you're sitting therewatching television at night and
you're bored to death, so thenyou start to eat, and that's one
of the things that probablyisn't addressed as often as
(10:43):
anything else, because I thinkboredom is one of the main
reasons for obesity, right? Ifyou're in your kitchen and you
don't have a lot going on, it'sreally easy to hear the food
calling your name, what I what Iwould love to address, and
you're you're so good at this,but giving parents some helpful
tips to think about so that wecan prevent our kids from
(11:04):
heading in that obese direct,you know, heading in that
direction to begin with, wherethey're gaining weight, and then
all of a sudden we're trying toreverse course. So let's say you
have a child that is showingsigns of boredom and they want
to eat and they're in thepantry. Do you have any tips to
help kids go the otherdirection? Yeah, so I think the
one thing would be get themmoving, you know, take them out
(11:27):
for a walk after dinner. Youknow, if they go out for a walk
after dinner, instead of just,you know, kind of plopping
themselves down on the sofa andwatching, you know, television,
or getting their iPads out and,you know, their iPhones out and
start texting and things likethat. So if you can extract
(11:48):
those, you know, iPads andphones and things like that from
them, you know, I think thatreally helps a great deal, you
know, and to get them out andmoving around. I mean, I just
think that's so important. Theother thing is
sodas, you know? I mean,a lot of the studies show that
(12:09):
obesity, particularly inchildren, is that 40 to 50% of
the calories that they consumein a day are secondary to what
they're drinking, and it'sbecause of the sugary drinks,
you know, that they have, and itit, yeah, and for adults as
well, you know what we consume,you know, whether it's, you
(12:32):
know, coffee latte or macchiato,you know that, but that
consumption of the beveragesthat's been embedded, you know,
in them, you know. So I think wecan again, make some significant
behavioral changes. And I agreewith you about drinks,
(12:53):
they taste really good, but ifyou think about it, if you have
a glass of OJ and it's, youknow, 300 calories, yeah, that's
not as filling as actual food,and it's not as healthy either.
You're missing a lot of thenutrients and the fiber that
come from the fruit itself. So Iagree with you that if you can
avoid drinking your calories,that's a key way to stay healthy
(13:15):
and avoid unwanted waking Yeah.
So like, if you eat an apple, anApple has 100 calories, you
know, and it has 4.2 grams offiber. So, I mean, you're going
to get, you know, besidespotassium and the other
nutrients that it has, butyou're going to gain so much
more from that, as opposed to,again, having a glass of fruit
juice, or even a glass of applejuice, for that matter, which
(13:38):
will have, you know, significant12 ounce glass of apple juice,
having, you know, 250 calories.
So so far, for parents who arelistening, yeah, the tips I've
heard from you are, try to avoidboredom. Try to avoid eating
from boredom. So get your kidsout and moving, have them get
out and walk the dog afterdinner. Do something where
(13:59):
you're not just sitting inboard. And then secondly, being
mindful of calories and excesssugar that comes from from
liquids. Yeah, right. And Ithink, you know, again, you can
eat slower, and, you know, andthings like that. I mean, you
know, some people eat fasterthan they should, and I'm
probably one of those. You're adoctor. You probably are used to
(14:23):
grabbing something in betweenpatients, or something like
that. So, so we all do that, andyou know,
but I think a self reflection onmeals, you know, you know. So
when you're eating a meal, youknow, it's like, am I starving?
Does my stomach feel empty? Do Ifeel just right? Am I? Am I too
full? You know, did I eat waytoo much? That makes me sick.
(14:46):
And so I think, I think someself reflection when you're
eating also can help you toconsume the right number of
calories as well. That makes alot of sense. That's a great
point I'm thinking about for.
Parents that are busy. When youtalk about sitting down and
taking time to eat, I thinkabout how important it is to
(15:06):
have meal time with yourchildren, how important it is to
sit down and enjoy dinnertogether, and that's something
that definitely I would like tobe better at, because I agree
that when you sit down and havea meal in good company, you're
much more clued into when you'rehungry and when you're actually
full. Yeah, and, you know, therewas an article in the Journal of
the American Medical Associationa few years back in the
(15:29):
pediatrics issue, and it talkedabout, it's not a good idea to
talk to your kids. You knowabout them being overweight and
trying to encourage healthyeating habits by talking to them
about how much they'reoverweight, but basically, talk
to them about it's going toimprove your overall health,
(15:49):
it's going to give you moreenergy, it's going to allow you
to perform better in school.
It's going to increase yourconcentration, you know? So try
not to associate it with thefact that, hey, you're 30 pounds
overweight, you know, you needto do something about it. So,
you know, they, they, they kindof discourage that association
with the food. So, so I thinkthat's one thing. And you don't
(16:13):
want the kids again to becomeanorexic, you know, as they go
forward, you want to watch thosekinds of eating patterns, you
know, with children, because ifyou start that conversation,
that can be potentially harmfulto them. I think that's great. I
think it's true that you don'twant to ignore the fact that
(16:33):
eating healthy is important,because obviously Eating healthy
is clearly advantageous forhealth longevity. But I agree
that I'm very mindful. I have ateenage daughter myself, and I
never talk aboutwhat she eats in relation to
what her body will look like orgaining weight. I never talk
about it with regards to myself.
(16:55):
I never bring up if I want tolose a couple pounds. I always
talk about how I want to eathealthy because I want to have
energy, I want to feel good, Iwant to live longer. I want to
be strong, I want to be mentallyfit. And I have to say, I know
my n is small. I have a, youknow, only three children, but
so far, it seems to be workingout. Okay, yeah, I think every
(17:16):
child is different. You've gotto treat each one differently in
terms of what their motivationis, and you know what they're
going to be encouraged to do. Idon't like kids to cut back too
much on their overallconsumption of food, because you
want them to get the adequatenutrition. You want them to
grow. You want them to get thecalcium and have their bones
(17:37):
strong, you know. And so,you know, they're different
charts. I mean, you candetermine, like, how many
calories they can consume a day,but never go less than 1000
calories a day, you know, foragain, particularly for teenage
children who weigh like at least100 pounds or so, you know, I
think you you want to keep themat least at 1000 and even for
(17:59):
adults, you know, I think goingbelow 1000 count because it's
going to slow your metabolismdown, because it's like a
furnace. You're you're puttingwood into the fire. You know
that you want that metabolism tobe high, and so you want to put
a certain amount of nutritionand food into the fire. So, you
know, the rule of thumb for theweight and everything. So say a
(18:22):
teenager weighs 100 pounds,multiply that by 12, and that
equals 1200 calories a day. Andthat's how many calories they
need to maintain it. For a male,it's usually say 100 times 15.
So that'd be 1500 calories aday, you know. So a good rule of
thumb is, is using thosebenchmarks, the 12 and the 15
(18:44):
and this is for for weight loss,for for whatever weight they
want to be. You know that thattells that gives them. Because
if they say, Well, how manycalories can I consume, you
know, without hurting myself orwhatever. Well, so to maintain
your weight, you need that now,if you incorporate exercise,
then you're going to be able toburn up some of those calories.
(19:06):
So,so if you walk a mile, you burn
up 100 calories. If you run amile, you burn up 100 calories.
Doesn't matter whether you walkor jog. I mean, yeah, after
sprinting, you know, a fourminute mile, which a few of us
are doing, you know, you canburn maybe a few more calories,
but say 100 calories per mile iswhat you're going to basically
(19:29):
metabolize. If you bicycle threemiles, that's 300
you know, then that's going tobe three miles is going to be
100 calories. So there'sdifferent equivalency. If you
swim a mile, that's, that's theequivalent of actually 300
calories. So you know, there'sdifferent equivalencies in terms
(19:50):
of people, if they want toexercise and see how many
calories are going to burn upand how many you know in terms
of reducing your weight. Soyou have to remember, it takes
30.
500 calories to equal one pound.
3500 calories to equal onepound, I agree, and I know that,
you know calories are real, thatthe way to lose weight, it is
(20:11):
math, that you have to havefewer calories than your body is
burning at the same time. Withchildren, I agree with you when
it comes to BMI and calories, Ireally try not to mention it to
children, yeah, and that's agreat point, because I don't
want them to be thinking aboutit. I want them to be focusing
on living a healthy life, right,moving their body, eating, well,
you know, acquiring good,healthy habits. So with the
(20:35):
kids, I seldom get into thecalorie, you know idea, because
I don't think that's a goodidea. Yeah, yes, yeah. I
completely agree with you.
I mean, the big thing is thatchildhood obesity is it's kind
of the tsunami of healthcare inthe 21st century, because it's
going to increase the diabetes,increase the heart disease, you
(20:57):
know, increase the risk ofvarious cancers, from breast
cancer to prostate cancer. Sothe obesity is is a major
factor, and it's going to affectthe entire not that the
healthcare system is completelybroken, but it's, it could be.
It could quickly be broken, youknow, with some of the changes
(21:21):
that are going on today, I thinkabout it a lot because I have
been because I've been apediatrician now for 14 years,
and I can definitely see anincrease in obesity since my
time starting as a pediatricianand until now. And I think about
how it's probably a myriad offactors that are contributing to
(21:42):
this increase in obesity. Youknow, I don't know if it's I
can't blame it all on thescreens or all on an activity or
all on fast food, but I do thinkthere are multiple factors that
parents have to be aware of,because it's becoming clearly a
prevalent issue with childrenacross the board. Yeah, you're
in California. So Californiapeople, I think, are probably
(22:03):
more body conscious than peoplein say, Philadelphia. Do you
find that to be the case amongyour pediatric population? I
think so. I do think in SouthernCalifornia, we do have many
parents that are healthconscious. I used to live on the
east coast. I was on the EastCoast for medical school, and I
remember thinking there are somany more smokers on the East
(22:25):
Coast than than on the WestCoast. Yeah, and my friends on
the East Coast used to tease mebecause I cared about finding
fresh fruits to eat, andthey called me. They definitely
felt I was a stereotypicalCalifornian. So probably, so,
yeah, okay. So, so I think, youknow, I really like what you're
I like the points that you'remaking. I think always these
conversations, my hope is justgiving parents something to
(22:47):
think about. I'm a believer thatthe smallest changes can make
big differences. So, so thankyou for for reminding us of all
these tips. Yeah, one of thethings that we have done in the
schools here is we basicallystarted the, you know, like a
schoolyard garden, you know, andit's called the Edible
(23:07):
Schoolyard. And so the kids atthis one particular school, we
were able to put in a garden. Sothey get, the kids get to
basically plant harvest, theycook it and then they eat it for
lunch. So it's in a socioeconomically deprived area. So
it's one way that these kids canat least get a decent meal for
(23:27):
the day, you know. And theylearn that basically, you know,
popcorn is not a vegetable. I'mso excited to ask you about this
because I read about thefoundation that you started, the
Mullen Foundation, and I thinkit is fascinating, and I would
love for people to hear aboutit, to spread awareness about
it, because I think it's, Ithink this idea is brilliant. So
(23:50):
So tell us about the Mullenfoundation. Yeah. So we started
this. And I started with mywife. My wife, you know, has
several masters insustainability. And, you know,
in terms of education, she kindof runs the foundation itself,
and so she's responsible for,you know, going to the school
(24:13):
and working with the kids andbasically giving them lectures.
And she has a staff that helpsas well. So when we started
this, and again, it was a kindof a coefficient of my
background in exercise and dietand preventive medicine. And so
we decided, hey, we needed to dosomething for the kids. So she's
(24:34):
taking she's taken this to astatewide level. And she's head
of what's, you know, it's kindof the they have a Food Network,
a food school network, and soshe's head of that. And so it
oversees a lot of programs inall the schools in Arizona. And
she heads that up with, youknow, the.
(25:00):
Nutritionist and the dietitiansin the schools, and tries to get
them to start these edibleschoolyards as well, so that
they're able to put these in.
And then she's been able tosecure several chefs who will
come in and they they make thesepapaya type things, where they
put all the vegetables, and theythrow some rice in there, and
(25:22):
they cook these up for the kids,and they give them, like, these
hot lunches, basically, youknow, cooking all the
vegetables. And the kids, Imean, they love it, because they
have actually seen thevegetables grow. They've been
part of, you know, harvestingthem. And I mean, so it's a
great experience for kids, andthey embrace it. And then
(25:46):
whatever is extra, and, youknow, because the garden gets
overgrown, they get to take ithome, you know, they take take
it home to their parents. Andthen she has days in which they
invite the parents in to seewhat the kids are doing, and
then the parents start toembrace the same concept. And so
in a lot of these areas aresocio economically, you know,
(26:10):
compromised. So, you know,they're thrilled to see their
kids get decent lunches.
What a gift you're giving. It'sincredible. Well, thank you. And
you know, they, they really, thewhole neighborhood has embraced
this. You know, they have, youknow, sessions where they,
(26:31):
you know, will come onSaturdays, and they have
chickens and they they haveeggs, you know,
you know, they're able tobasically give these out to the
community and everything. So,how long ago did you start this?
Yeah, so, we started this about10 years ago. You know, the
foundation, and you know, itbasically is just gaining some
(26:54):
of its own sustainability. Theyshe's received several federal
grants initially, you know, Iwas the fundraiser for, you
know, and you know, it helpedto, you know, the seed money to
start it. But, you know, they'vebeen able to get some grants.
And thenwe have a race that I put on
every year called the Phoenix10k so the Phoenix 10k has a 5k
(27:18):
10 can a half marathon. It justoccurred on the 10th of
November. So it was the 49thyear of the race. I started the
race in 1976so the monies that are raised
from thatgo to the Molin foundation to
sustain a lot of these programsand honor health, which is a
(27:44):
major their foundation, which isa major hospital chain. They
have seven different hospitalsin Arizona, and they are also
part of the recipients of thefunds that are raised from from
the race. So this year we had4000 runners in the race. And so
(28:05):
next year, for the 50th, it'llbe in that same location. We
anticipate, you know, seven or8000 runners for the 50th of the
golden year of the race. So thatis incredible. That's nothing
short of incredible. I amdefinitely sign me up for next
November, I will be there. Sothere's a 5k 10k and a half
marathon, so you can do any ofthe races. And then we have a
(28:27):
one mile fun run, which iscalled the Molin mile, and
that's for the kids, and theyget to run a mile. And all the
kids, they all get a medal. Theyall get a t shirt,
you know, actually incorporateall all the components of what
we're doing. But do you knowroughly how many schools that
(28:49):
you are that the MullenFoundation has participated in?
Yeah, so they're affectingprobably five or six schools,
you know, and then my wife ispart of a nationwide network,
and she had the Assistant to theSecretary of
Agriculture who came down andvisited her site last month, in
(29:10):
fact. So,you know, which was, you know,
pretty incredible, because outof all the sites she could have
gone to in the country, youknow, she came to our site to
actually see what we were doingand take that back to
Washington. So as I'm thinkingabout it, what a brilliant
intervention, what a brilliantfoundation to start. Because
(29:32):
firstly, I find the schoollunches in general to be so
unhealthy for kids inCalifornia, we give kids in
public schools get free lunches,and they're definitely not the
epitome of health. So and I alsodo believe that home cooking is
the most healthy. I wish I didit more in my family. I wish I
spent more time teaching my kidshow to cook, because you know
(29:54):
what you're putting in the foodyou're enjoying the process.
It's.
Definitely healthier.
It's fresher. So how incrediblethat your wife is fixing you two
together are fixing the issue ofunhealthy lunches at school.
You're teaching kids how tocook, how to enjoy the process
of cooking. I know we bothbelieve that your food is your
(30:16):
medicine, so I'm sure it'shelping their health in general.
You're teaching them skills fora lifetime. What a great
organization. Well, well, thankyou, you know, and I want you to
you know, whether you know she'son your podcast or not, but I
want you to connect with her,because I think for you and your
impact on your community, youcould literally start something
(30:40):
like this at one of the schoolsI love that I have to be honest,
at the wheel, the wheels areactively turning right now, so I
would love to connect with her.
Yeah, you're gonna connect.
Yeah, I'm gonna connect you onemail. And, you know, after,
after we were done here, and,and also, I mean processed
foods. I we haven't talked aboutprocessed foods, but I'm sure we
agree that processed foods aresuch an issue because kids are
(31:03):
consuming them more than ever.
They're not healthy, they're notgrown from the ground, they're
devoid of pure they're devoid ofgreat nutrients, and they're
they're the quick and easysolution to get your kids
calories and they taste good.
Yeah, and I think what, whatshe's doing, will help kids
steer away from consuming somany processed foods. So kudos
to you guys. This is wonderful.
Well, you know, if I hadrecommendations, you know, some
(31:25):
specific recommendations forparents, you know, have them eat
less red meat, you know, andthat includes, you know,
hamburgers and steaks and baconand ham and so try to reduce the
animal meats that they'reconsuming, basically the red
meats they can eat, the fish infish and the chicken. But the
(31:47):
red meats, I think, if you wantto have one healthy step in the
right direction, have them tryto eliminate any of the fried
foods. So the chicken fingers,you know, and the French fries.
I mean, I know that's like,going to be a big ask, but if
you do it occasionally, and theydo it once a week, maybe that's
okay, but you just don't wantthem to do it every day. Try to
(32:09):
eliminate, you know, again, backto the sodas and and the drinks
that are just high in calories,you know, that would be another
thing. Try to, again,incorporate the vegetables, you
know, the salads, fruits andvegetables. Have them had a
salad every day. Once they eattheir salad, well, okay, then
they can go on and eat the restof their meal, you know. And
(32:32):
have them drink more water, youknow. And again, you know, it
could be carbonated water, youknow, without any calories,
without any sweeteners andthings like that. So then the
final thing would be, again,what you just mentioned all the
processed foods, you know,whether it's the candy, whether
it's the potato chips, whetherit's the crackers, you know, if
(32:54):
you can eliminate some of those,because all of those processed
foods increase inflammation inthe body. And I think
inflammation for both yourself,Jessica, as well as myself, I
think that's one of the keys toslowing down the aging process.
Is to reduce inflammation in ourbody, you know.
(33:18):
And for the parents out therelistening, you know, if they can
reduce those foods as well,that'll reduce the inflammation
in their body, reduce the amountof arthritis, help to enhance
the effectiveness of theirimmune system, reduce the risk
of diabetes and cardiovasculardisease and cancer. So that
(33:39):
would be my final message. Foodreally is your medicine. It
really is, you know, it's thehypocrisies you are, you know,
you know, you know, food is ismedicine and medicine is food,
yeah, basically, one quick pieceof advice to chime in with that
I like to give myself as well isthat we parents, we can say no
(34:00):
to our kids, even if we believethat our kids are only going to
eat the fried food, theprocessed food, the chicken
fingers, the sodas, we can sayno. We can we can buy healthy
foods that taste really good,that our kids can learn to like
and enjoy. And I know it can behard when we're at birthday
parties, we're on vacation, butI think as a general principle,
if we can learn to provide ourchildren with healthy,
(34:23):
nutritious, fresh foods in thehome, you really are setting
them up for success, to live ahealthy life for their future.
What a what a great point you'vemade there. I mean, that's
that's exactly just so right onthe target. I mean, saying no to
your kids, you know, it's toughlove, but it's the right love,
(34:44):
and they will benefit from itlong term. So say no to the
kids, say no to the iPad, say noto the phone. Say, you know, I,
I have a daughter, and her sonis, you know, was just bar
mitzvahed, you know. And 13years old, you know. And it was.
Like, No, you're not getting aniPhone, but all my friends have
it. No, yourfriends can have it, but no to
(35:06):
you, you know you're not havingit until I say it's right, it
affects your brain cells. Imean, so. So what a great point.
Jessica and I really do believethat in the future, they might
not recognize it now aschildren, but in the future,
they will come to appreciatethat you gave them that tough
love, that you gave them thatguidance to live a healthy life
(35:26):
exactly. You know, I wish I hadhad a pediatrician like you when
I grew up.
I might even be healthier than Iam, and I just want to commend
you. I just want to bring thisback. I cannot believe you said
that your dessert is ouralmonds, cashews and walnuts. Is
that right? Did I hear youcorrectly? Yes, my that's my
(35:47):
dessert. So my wife is adessert, a hollow any dessert,
you know, she's met a never met,a dessert she didn't like.
So she's relatable, you know,she's like, how can you resist
that? I said, I don't know. Idon't have that. You know, give
me another piece of bread. I'lleat that for my dessert.
(36:08):
So I don't know. Well,wonderful. Well, it's so, so
nice to meet you. You really arean inspiration.
I love how you you enjoy livinga healthy life. You're very
inspiring to me. So thank you somuch. Well, thank you, and we're
going to have more conversationstogether, and we're going to
definitely have a further anddeeper connection as we move
(36:30):
forward. So thank you for havingme, Jessica. I look forward to
it. I'm going to make sure andlink the run in the show notes
below, in case anybody's inArizona early next November.
Yeah, November fund to be therefor the 50th Exactly. November
9. 2025the ninth. It's on a Sunday. I
can't wait. I can't wait.
Alright, thank you so much,Doctor Mullen, I really
(36:52):
appreciate it. Well, thank youso much, and you people are
lucky that they have someonelike you to reach out to. Doctor
Jessica, you're too kind. You'retoo kind. Thank you so much.
You're welcome. Thank you forlistening, and I hope you
enjoyed this week's episode ofAsk Dr Jessica. Also, if you
could take a moment and leave afive star review wherever it is
you listen to podcasts, I wouldgreatly appreciate it. It really
(37:12):
makes a difference to help thispodcast grow. You can also
follow me on Instagram at ask DrJessica. See you next Monday.
You.
Welcome to your child is normal, the podcast that
empowers parents with reliablescience backed guidance on
Childhood Health andDevelopment. I'm your host, Dr
Jessica Hochman, a pediatricianand mom of three, and I'm here
to provide you with qualityadvice and reassurance so you
can spend less time worrying andmore time focused on connecting
with your kids and enjoying yourparenting experience as much as
possible. Today's guest is Drart Mullen, a renowned
(00:22):
physician, author and healthexpert who has spent decades
Helping People Achieve lifelongwellness. He's written five
books on health and longevity,and one of his greatest passions
is educating people on how toprevent childhood obesity. We
know that childhood obesity is agrowing concern for many
parents, and Dr Mullen hassimple, actionable strategies to
help kids build healthy habitsfor life. We'll talk about what
(00:43):
parents can do to set theirchildren up for long term
health, from nutrition andmovement to mindset and daily
habits. And on a personal note,Dr Molin is a true role model of
mine. He is living proof that ahealthy lifestyle keeps you
young, both mentally andphysically, and by the time this
episode airs, he will just havecelebrated his 80th birthday. So
here's to wishing him a veryhappy and healthy birthday and a
(01:03):
big thank you for taking thetime to join us on the podcast.
Dr art Mullen, thank you so muchfor being on the podcast. I'm so
excited to talk to you. You aresuch an inspirational person in
this world. So thank you so muchfor being here. Well, thanks so
much, and you're doing greatthings yourself, because I
followed some of your podcasts,and they're pretty amazing, and
(01:24):
you really inspire a lot ofpeople. And certainly it's great
to have a pediatrician thatpeople can call and ask
questions. I mean, that's that'samazing, because they really
enjoy that. Thank you. And sotell me about you. You were just
telling me before we startedthat you've written five books.
So my first book was run foryour life, published by
(01:45):
Doubleday, and that was back inthe 70s, crazy as that seems,
but that was in 1978 so it waskind of at the inception of the
running craze. And then therewas a book also that came out
around that same time called theComplete Book of running. It was
by Jim fix and so his book cameout. My book came out about six
(02:07):
months later. And so he and Iwere kind of in the inception of
that whole running craze. And sofrom there, you know, I got very
involved in running myself. Iran three Boston marathons, and
henceforth done a lot of othermarathons and triathlons and so
on. But so that was the firstbook. And then the second book
(02:29):
was called the Molin method,which was published by Rodel
press, actually PreventionMagazine. And so that, you know,
quickly became a best seller aswell.
I kind of liked running for yourlife. I always thought that was
actually the best title of anyof my books. And then the third
book was Dr Mullen's anti agingdiet, and that was published by
(02:53):
Penguin USA. So I had some goodpublishers along the way, and
that's the key to probablypropelling these books to become
best sellers, soand then henceforth, a few other
books after that. That'samazing. I really commend your
interest in health, healthadvocacy, and you actually live
it a lot of doctors, they talkabout how to be healthy, but
(03:16):
they don't actually act healthyin their own lives. And you are
an example of somebody whoreally practices what they
preach.
Thank you for that, you know,and that's something when I've
given lectures to medicalcommunities and things like
that, I always try toproselytize that same message
that they basically thephysicians need to take that
(03:39):
responsibility take care ofthemselves so that they then can
pass it on and promote wellnessand health among their patients.
They're going to become muchmore believable, you know? I
mean, sometimes they'll say,Well, physicians drink a lot of
alcohol or something. I don'tthink that's necessarily the
case, but, you know, physicianssometimes can use alcohol as
(04:02):
something that just basicallyreduce their anxiety, reduce
their stress. And, you know, asphysicians, and as you know,
we're pretty much on call 24/7you know, and as a pediatrician,
you're getting calls in themiddle of the night, you know,
they have an earache. They havea sore throat
at three in the morning. Whatare you going to do for the
earache? You know, it's like,I'll see you in the office in
(04:24):
morning. I mean, yes, yes, it'strue. As a doctor, sometimes
it's hard you want to live ahealthy life. An example is
getting enough sleep at night,which we all know is so
important, but it can be hard todo when you take night call.
That's true. Yeah, exactly. Andyou know, you look a lot younger
than you are. You know, I don'tknow you're 4444
so you look like you're about 24so, oh, I really. Dr Mullen,
(04:49):
you're the best, you're thebest. You're just what I needed
today. So you must be gettingsleep sometime during the day or
on the weekends or somethinglike that. But, you know, the.
Sleep is critically important,you know. And and then for me,
because I'm on the precipice of80, I'll be 80 in a month or so.
And so, wow. So for me, thesleep becomes even more
(05:13):
important as you get older. Andso, you know, it's sleep is the
key to looking a little bityounger as as you age, and you
know, besides the exercise andthe diet and healthy lifestyle.
So this is great. I definitelywant to get your anti aging
book, because looking at you andhearing that you're turning 80
in a month, I don't know ifpeople are, I know a lot of
(05:35):
people listen to this podcast,but if you could see dr Mullen,
you'll be racing to get his booktoo. So thank you for, thank you
for writing a book on that. Sosharing your tips with
everybody. Yeah, well, thankyou, right? That's fantastic
that you've done so much. Andso, you know, when we come to
and again, your audience, youknow, it's a lot of children and
things like that. So we'retrying to teach, you know, these
(05:57):
healthy habits to kids,basically. And you know, the
impact of exercise and diet, andyou know they've done academic
studies and showing that itmight be more important to spend
a little more time on physicalexercise in the schools than
actually on academic exercisesin the classroom. So, you know,
(06:18):
that's something that, again,for your listeners out there,
you know, I would encourage themto, you know, meet with their
school boards, meet with theirprincipals, meet with their
physical activity directors inthe schools and try to promote
more exercise, because it usedto be mandatory, but it's no
longer a mandatory component oftheir school activities. Yes,
(06:42):
you and I agree on this, thistopic completely that exercise
for kids is fundamentallyimportant. It's a it's so
important for them to learnthose habits early on. And
so I before we recorded I knowwe were both talking about how
we both enjoy exercising in ourown lives. Yeah, but I totally
agree with you that emphasizingto children that exercise is an
(07:03):
important part of their dailylife is critical. Yeah. I mean,
it really outweighs the benefitsof the exclusive use of the
classroom for just academics.
You know, they need to do otherthings. So I'm so excited to
talk with you today. I love yourinterest in health and
preventative medicine. That'ssomething that we are very much
(07:23):
aligned on. And today I'mexcited to talk about children
in particular, because as you'vewritten about, as we know,
obesity has become a tremendousissue in the pediatric
population, and I love the workthat you've done trying to focus
on prevention, because I feellike now so much is now we have
to back pedal. We're trying tofigure out how to help kids, you
(07:44):
know, once they become obese,how do we help them go in the
other direction? So I reallylove that you're focusing on
prevention. So the wholeconcept, again, of prevention
with childhood obesity is, youknow, teaching them, you know,
educating them, but not only thechild, but the parents as well.
(08:07):
Because if you can educate theparents, then they can inculcate
the kids with that same message,with the exercise, with the
diet, and they can act by beingan exemplary parent, eating the
rights and exercising on aregular basis, and then the
children will simply adapt tothat much more easily. You know.
(08:30):
I mean, if the parent, you knowis is basically not exercising
at all, you know, eatingMcDonald's, you know, three,
four times a week. And you know,not to, you know, say anything
denigrating about McDonald's,but it's just fast food in
general. But it's just the ideathat if the parents can again
(08:51):
assume that role, that they aregoing to be the educator as much
as the school room, or theteachers at school, or the
physical educators. I mean, Ithink that's going to make a
huge difference in this child,because what happens at home is
going to be probably five timesmore important than what happens
(09:15):
in the classroom. I completelyagree with you, and I think
what's so hard and important forus parents is we have to
recognize that if we're tellingour kids not to eat ice cream or
not to have dessert every night,but then we're doing it
ourselves, our kids arewatching. And I say that because
that happens to me a lot. Imean, a lot of times at night
I'll want to reach for thedessert, and then at the same in
(09:36):
the same breath, I'm telling mykids, we've had a lot of dessert
this week. Maybe this week weshouldn't have dessert tonight,
but then I don't want to be ahypocrite. So I think it's
really important to recognizethat our children are watching
us and that we have to be goodrole models for them if we're
expecting them to you know, ifwe're asking of them to be
healthy, we have to, veryimportant that we lead as
examples. So for.
(10:00):
Desserts in what I will eat as adessert at night are basically
walnuts, cashews and almonds,and so that's generally my
nighttime snack, you know. Andthat's, again, probably a
coefficient of if I haven't beenfilled with dinner. If I'm
(10:22):
filled with dinner, then I'mgood to go. And the other part
of that, and again, for childrenparents, it's boredom, you know?
So if you're sitting therewatching television at night and
you're bored to death, so thenyou start to eat, and that's one
of the things that probablyisn't addressed as often as
(10:43):
anything else, because I thinkboredom is one of the main
reasons for obesity, right? Ifyou're in your kitchen and you
don't have a lot going on, it'sreally easy to hear the food
calling your name, what I what Iwould love to address, and
you're you're so good at this,but giving parents some helpful
tips to think about so that wecan prevent our kids from
(11:04):
heading in that obese direct,you know, heading in that
direction to begin with, wherethey're gaining weight, and then
all of a sudden we're trying toreverse course. So let's say you
have a child that is showingsigns of boredom and they want
to eat and they're in thepantry. Do you have any tips to
help kids go the otherdirection? Yeah, so I think the
one thing would be get themmoving, you know, take them out
(11:27):
for a walk after dinner. Youknow, if they go out for a walk
after dinner, instead of just,you know, kind of plopping
themselves down on the sofa andwatching, you know, television,
or getting their iPads out and,you know, their iPhones out and
start texting and things likethat. So if you can extract
(11:48):
those, you know, iPads andphones and things like that from
them, you know, I think thatreally helps a great deal, you
know, and to get them out andmoving around. I mean, I just
think that's so important. Theother thing is
sodas, you know? I mean,a lot of the studies show that
(12:09):
obesity, particularly inchildren, is that 40 to 50% of
the calories that they consumein a day are secondary to what
they're drinking, and it'sbecause of the sugary drinks,
you know, that they have, and itit, yeah, and for adults as
well, you know what we consume,you know, whether it's, you
(12:32):
know, coffee latte or macchiato,you know that, but that
consumption of the beveragesthat's been embedded, you know,
in them, you know. So I think wecan again, make some significant
behavioral changes. And I agreewith you about drinks,
(12:53):
they taste really good, but ifyou think about it, if you have
a glass of OJ and it's, youknow, 300 calories, yeah, that's
not as filling as actual food,and it's not as healthy either.
You're missing a lot of thenutrients and the fiber that
come from the fruit itself. So Iagree with you that if you can
avoid drinking your calories,that's a key way to stay healthy
(13:15):
and avoid unwanted waking Yeah.
So like, if you eat an apple, anApple has 100 calories, you
know, and it has 4.2 grams offiber. So, I mean, you're going
to get, you know, besidespotassium and the other
nutrients that it has, butyou're going to gain so much
more from that, as opposed to,again, having a glass of fruit
juice, or even a glass of applejuice, for that matter, which
(13:38):
will have, you know, significant12 ounce glass of apple juice,
having, you know, 250 calories.
So so far, for parents who arelistening, yeah, the tips I've
heard from you are, try to avoidboredom. Try to avoid eating
from boredom. So get your kidsout and moving, have them get
out and walk the dog afterdinner. Do something where
(13:59):
you're not just sitting inboard. And then secondly, being
mindful of calories and excesssugar that comes from from
liquids. Yeah, right. And Ithink, you know, again, you can
eat slower, and, you know, andthings like that. I mean, you
know, some people eat fasterthan they should, and I'm
probably one of those. You're adoctor. You probably are used to
(14:23):
grabbing something in betweenpatients, or something like
that. So, so we all do that, andyou know,
but I think a self reflection onmeals, you know, you know. So
when you're eating a meal, youknow, it's like, am I starving?
Does my stomach feel empty? Do Ifeel just right? Am I? Am I too
full? You know, did I eat waytoo much? That makes me sick.
(14:46):
And so I think, I think someself reflection when you're
eating also can help you toconsume the right number of
calories as well. That makes alot of sense. That's a great
point I'm thinking about for.
Parents that are busy. When youtalk about sitting down and
taking time to eat, I thinkabout how important it is to
(15:06):
have meal time with yourchildren, how important it is to
sit down and enjoy dinnertogether, and that's something
that definitely I would like tobe better at, because I agree
that when you sit down and havea meal in good company, you're
much more clued into when you'rehungry and when you're actually
full. Yeah, and, you know, therewas an article in the Journal of
the American Medical Associationa few years back in the
(15:29):
pediatrics issue, and it talkedabout, it's not a good idea to
talk to your kids. You knowabout them being overweight and
trying to encourage healthyeating habits by talking to them
about how much they'reoverweight, but basically, talk
to them about it's going toimprove your overall health,
(15:49):
it's going to give you moreenergy, it's going to allow you
to perform better in school.
It's going to increase yourconcentration, you know? So try
not to associate it with thefact that, hey, you're 30 pounds
overweight, you know, you needto do something about it. So,
you know, they, they, they kindof discourage that association
with the food. So, so I thinkthat's one thing. And you don't
(16:13):
want the kids again to becomeanorexic, you know, as they go
forward, you want to watch thosekinds of eating patterns, you
know, with children, because ifyou start that conversation,
that can be potentially harmfulto them. I think that's great. I
think it's true that you don'twant to ignore the fact that
(16:33):
eating healthy is important,because obviously Eating healthy
is clearly advantageous forhealth longevity. But I agree
that I'm very mindful. I have ateenage daughter myself, and I
never talk aboutwhat she eats in relation to
what her body will look like orgaining weight. I never talk
about it with regards to myself.
(16:55):
I never bring up if I want tolose a couple pounds. I always
talk about how I want to eathealthy because I want to have
energy, I want to feel good, Iwant to live longer. I want to
be strong, I want to be mentallyfit. And I have to say, I know
my n is small. I have a, youknow, only three children, but
so far, it seems to be workingout. Okay, yeah, I think every
(17:16):
child is different. You've gotto treat each one differently in
terms of what their motivationis, and you know what they're
going to be encouraged to do. Idon't like kids to cut back too
much on their overallconsumption of food, because you
want them to get the adequatenutrition. You want them to
grow. You want them to get thecalcium and have their bones
(17:37):
strong, you know. And so,you know, they're different
charts. I mean, you candetermine, like, how many
calories they can consume a day,but never go less than 1000
calories a day, you know, foragain, particularly for teenage
children who weigh like at least100 pounds or so, you know, I
think you you want to keep themat least at 1000 and even for
(17:59):
adults, you know, I think goingbelow 1000 count because it's
going to slow your metabolismdown, because it's like a
furnace. You're you're puttingwood into the fire. You know
that you want that metabolism tobe high, and so you want to put
a certain amount of nutritionand food into the fire. So, you
know, the rule of thumb for theweight and everything. So say a
(18:22):
teenager weighs 100 pounds,multiply that by 12, and that
equals 1200 calories a day. Andthat's how many calories they
need to maintain it. For a male,it's usually say 100 times 15.
So that'd be 1500 calories aday, you know. So a good rule of
thumb is, is using thosebenchmarks, the 12 and the 15
(18:44):
and this is for for weight loss,for for whatever weight they
want to be. You know that thattells that gives them. Because
if they say, Well, how manycalories can I consume, you
know, without hurting myself orwhatever. Well, so to maintain
your weight, you need that now,if you incorporate exercise,
then you're going to be able toburn up some of those calories.
(19:06):
So,so if you walk a mile, you burn
up 100 calories. If you run amile, you burn up 100 calories.
Doesn't matter whether you walkor jog. I mean, yeah, after
sprinting, you know, a fourminute mile, which a few of us
are doing, you know, you canburn maybe a few more calories,
but say 100 calories per mile iswhat you're going to basically
(19:29):
metabolize. If you bicycle threemiles, that's 300
you know, then that's going tobe three miles is going to be
100 calories. So there'sdifferent equivalency. If you
swim a mile, that's, that's theequivalent of actually 300
calories. So you know, there'sdifferent equivalencies in terms
(19:50):
of people, if they want toexercise and see how many
calories are going to burn upand how many you know in terms
of reducing your weight. Soyou have to remember, it takes
30.
500 calories to equal one pound.
3500 calories to equal onepound, I agree, and I know that,
you know calories are real, thatthe way to lose weight, it is
(20:11):
math, that you have to havefewer calories than your body is
burning at the same time. Withchildren, I agree with you when
it comes to BMI and calories, Ireally try not to mention it to
children, yeah, and that's agreat point, because I don't
want them to be thinking aboutit. I want them to be focusing
on living a healthy life, right,moving their body, eating, well,
you know, acquiring good,healthy habits. So with the
(20:35):
kids, I seldom get into thecalorie, you know idea, because
I don't think that's a goodidea. Yeah, yes, yeah. I
completely agree with you.
I mean, the big thing is thatchildhood obesity is it's kind
of the tsunami of healthcare inthe 21st century, because it's
going to increase the diabetes,increase the heart disease, you
(20:57):
know, increase the risk ofvarious cancers, from breast
cancer to prostate cancer. Sothe obesity is is a major
factor, and it's going to affectthe entire not that the
healthcare system is completelybroken, but it's, it could be.
It could quickly be broken, youknow, with some of the changes
(21:21):
that are going on today, I thinkabout it a lot because I have
been because I've been apediatrician now for 14 years,
and I can definitely see anincrease in obesity since my
time starting as a pediatricianand until now. And I think about
how it's probably a myriad offactors that are contributing to
(21:42):
this increase in obesity. Youknow, I don't know if it's I
can't blame it all on thescreens or all on an activity or
all on fast food, but I do thinkthere are multiple factors that
parents have to be aware of,because it's becoming clearly a
prevalent issue with childrenacross the board. Yeah, you're
in California. So Californiapeople, I think, are probably
(22:03):
more body conscious than peoplein say, Philadelphia. Do you
find that to be the case amongyour pediatric population? I
think so. I do think in SouthernCalifornia, we do have many
parents that are healthconscious. I used to live on the
east coast. I was on the EastCoast for medical school, and I
remember thinking there are somany more smokers on the East
(22:25):
Coast than than on the WestCoast. Yeah, and my friends on
the East Coast used to tease mebecause I cared about finding
fresh fruits to eat, andthey called me. They definitely
felt I was a stereotypicalCalifornian. So probably, so,
yeah, okay. So, so I think, youknow, I really like what you're
I like the points that you'remaking. I think always these
conversations, my hope is justgiving parents something to
(22:47):
think about. I'm a believer thatthe smallest changes can make
big differences. So, so thankyou for for reminding us of all
these tips. Yeah, one of thethings that we have done in the
schools here is we basicallystarted the, you know, like a
schoolyard garden, you know, andit's called the Edible
(23:07):
Schoolyard. And so the kids atthis one particular school, we
were able to put in a garden. Sothey get, the kids get to
basically plant harvest, theycook it and then they eat it for
lunch. So it's in a socioeconomically deprived area. So
it's one way that these kids canat least get a decent meal for
(23:27):
the day, you know. And theylearn that basically, you know,
popcorn is not a vegetable. I'mso excited to ask you about this
because I read about thefoundation that you started, the
Mullen Foundation, and I thinkit is fascinating, and I would
love for people to hear aboutit, to spread awareness about
it, because I think it's, Ithink this idea is brilliant. So
(23:50):
So tell us about the Mullenfoundation. Yeah. So we started
this. And I started with mywife. My wife, you know, has
several masters insustainability. And, you know,
in terms of education, she kindof runs the foundation itself,
and so she's responsible for,you know, going to the school
(24:13):
and working with the kids andbasically giving them lectures.
And she has a staff that helpsas well. So when we started
this, and again, it was a kindof a coefficient of my
background in exercise and dietand preventive medicine. And so
we decided, hey, we needed to dosomething for the kids. So she's
(24:34):
taking she's taken this to astatewide level. And she's head
of what's, you know, it's kindof the they have a Food Network,
a food school network, and soshe's head of that. And so it
oversees a lot of programs inall the schools in Arizona. And
she heads that up with, youknow, the.
(25:00):
Nutritionist and the dietitiansin the schools, and tries to get
them to start these edibleschoolyards as well, so that
they're able to put these in.
And then she's been able tosecure several chefs who will
come in and they they make thesepapaya type things, where they
put all the vegetables, and theythrow some rice in there, and
(25:22):
they cook these up for the kids,and they give them, like, these
hot lunches, basically, youknow, cooking all the
vegetables. And the kids, Imean, they love it, because they
have actually seen thevegetables grow. They've been
part of, you know, harvestingthem. And I mean, so it's a
great experience for kids, andthey embrace it. And then
(25:46):
whatever is extra, and, youknow, because the garden gets
overgrown, they get to take ithome, you know, they take take
it home to their parents. Andthen she has days in which they
invite the parents in to seewhat the kids are doing, and
then the parents start toembrace the same concept. And so
in a lot of these areas aresocio economically, you know,
(26:10):
compromised. So, you know,they're thrilled to see their
kids get decent lunches.
What a gift you're giving. It'sincredible. Well, thank you. And
you know, they, they really, thewhole neighborhood has embraced
this. You know, they have, youknow, sessions where they,
(26:31):
you know, will come onSaturdays, and they have
chickens and they they haveeggs, you know,
you know, they're able tobasically give these out to the
community and everything. So,how long ago did you start this?
Yeah, so, we started this about10 years ago. You know, the
foundation, and you know, itbasically is just gaining some
(26:54):
of its own sustainability. Theyshe's received several federal
grants initially, you know, Iwas the fundraiser for, you
know, and you know, it helpedto, you know, the seed money to
start it. But, you know, they'vebeen able to get some grants.
And thenwe have a race that I put on
every year called the Phoenix10k so the Phoenix 10k has a 5k
(27:18):
10 can a half marathon. It justoccurred on the 10th of
November. So it was the 49thyear of the race. I started the
race in 1976so the monies that are raised
from thatgo to the Molin foundation to
sustain a lot of these programsand honor health, which is a
(27:44):
major their foundation, which isa major hospital chain. They
have seven different hospitalsin Arizona, and they are also
part of the recipients of thefunds that are raised from from
the race. So this year we had4000 runners in the race. And so
(28:05):
next year, for the 50th, it'llbe in that same location. We
anticipate, you know, seven or8000 runners for the 50th of the
golden year of the race. So thatis incredible. That's nothing
short of incredible. I amdefinitely sign me up for next
November, I will be there. Sothere's a 5k 10k and a half
marathon, so you can do any ofthe races. And then we have a
(28:27):
one mile fun run, which iscalled the Molin mile, and
that's for the kids, and theyget to run a mile. And all the
kids, they all get a medal. Theyall get a t shirt,
you know, actually incorporateall all the components of what
we're doing. But do you knowroughly how many schools that
(28:49):
you are that the MullenFoundation has participated in?
Yeah, so they're affectingprobably five or six schools,
you know, and then my wife ispart of a nationwide network,
and she had the Assistant to theSecretary of
Agriculture who came down andvisited her site last month, in
(29:10):
fact. So,you know, which was, you know,
pretty incredible, because outof all the sites she could have
gone to in the country, youknow, she came to our site to
actually see what we were doingand take that back to
Washington. So as I'm thinkingabout it, what a brilliant
intervention, what a brilliantfoundation to start. Because
(29:32):
firstly, I find the schoollunches in general to be so
unhealthy for kids inCalifornia, we give kids in
public schools get free lunches,and they're definitely not the
epitome of health. So and I alsodo believe that home cooking is
the most healthy. I wish I didit more in my family. I wish I
spent more time teaching my kidshow to cook, because you know
(29:54):
what you're putting in the foodyou're enjoying the process.
It's.
Definitely healthier.
It's fresher. So how incrediblethat your wife is fixing you two
together are fixing the issue ofunhealthy lunches at school.
You're teaching kids how tocook, how to enjoy the process
of cooking. I know we bothbelieve that your food is your
(30:16):
medicine, so I'm sure it'shelping their health in general.
You're teaching them skills fora lifetime. What a great
organization. Well, well, thankyou, you know, and I want you to
you know, whether you know she'son your podcast or not, but I
want you to connect with her,because I think for you and your
impact on your community, youcould literally start something
(30:40):
like this at one of the schoolsI love that I have to be honest,
at the wheel, the wheels areactively turning right now, so I
would love to connect with her.
Yeah, you're gonna connect.
Yeah, I'm gonna connect you onemail. And, you know, after,
after we were done here, and,and also, I mean processed
foods. I we haven't talked aboutprocessed foods, but I'm sure we
agree that processed foods aresuch an issue because kids are
(31:03):
consuming them more than ever.
They're not healthy, they're notgrown from the ground, they're
devoid of pure they're devoid ofgreat nutrients, and they're
they're the quick and easysolution to get your kids
calories and they taste good.
Yeah, and I think what, whatshe's doing, will help kids
steer away from consuming somany processed foods. So kudos
to you guys. This is wonderful.
Well, you know, if I hadrecommendations, you know, some
(31:25):
specific recommendations forparents, you know, have them eat
less red meat, you know, andthat includes, you know,
hamburgers and steaks and baconand ham and so try to reduce the
animal meats that they'reconsuming, basically the red
meats they can eat, the fish infish and the chicken. But the
(31:47):
red meats, I think, if you wantto have one healthy step in the
right direction, have them tryto eliminate any of the fried
foods. So the chicken fingers,you know, and the French fries.
I mean, I know that's like,going to be a big ask, but if
you do it occasionally, and theydo it once a week, maybe that's
okay, but you just don't wantthem to do it every day. Try to
(32:09):
eliminate, you know, again, backto the sodas and and the drinks
that are just high in calories,you know, that would be another
thing. Try to, again,incorporate the vegetables, you
know, the salads, fruits andvegetables. Have them had a
salad every day. Once they eattheir salad, well, okay, then
they can go on and eat the restof their meal, you know. And
(32:32):
have them drink more water, youknow. And again, you know, it
could be carbonated water, youknow, without any calories,
without any sweeteners andthings like that. So then the
final thing would be, again,what you just mentioned all the
processed foods, you know,whether it's the candy, whether
it's the potato chips, whetherit's the crackers, you know, if
(32:54):
you can eliminate some of those,because all of those processed
foods increase inflammation inthe body. And I think
inflammation for both yourself,Jessica, as well as myself, I
think that's one of the keys toslowing down the aging process.
Is to reduce inflammation in ourbody, you know.
(33:18):
And for the parents out therelistening, you know, if they can
reduce those foods as well,that'll reduce the inflammation
in their body, reduce the amountof arthritis, help to enhance
the effectiveness of theirimmune system, reduce the risk
of diabetes and cardiovasculardisease and cancer. So that
(33:39):
would be my final message. Foodreally is your medicine. It
really is, you know, it's thehypocrisies you are, you know,
you know, you know, food is ismedicine and medicine is food,
yeah, basically, one quick pieceof advice to chime in with that
I like to give myself as well isthat we parents, we can say no
(34:00):
to our kids, even if we believethat our kids are only going to
eat the fried food, theprocessed food, the chicken
fingers, the sodas, we can sayno. We can we can buy healthy
foods that taste really good,that our kids can learn to like
and enjoy. And I know it can behard when we're at birthday
parties, we're on vacation, butI think as a general principle,
if we can learn to provide ourchildren with healthy,
(34:23):
nutritious, fresh foods in thehome, you really are setting
them up for success, to live ahealthy life for their future.
What a what a great point you'vemade there. I mean, that's
that's exactly just so right onthe target. I mean, saying no to
your kids, you know, it's toughlove, but it's the right love,
(34:44):
and they will benefit from itlong term. So say no to the
kids, say no to the iPad, say noto the phone. Say, you know, I,
I have a daughter, and her sonis, you know, was just bar
mitzvahed, you know. And 13years old, you know. And it was.
Like, No, you're not getting aniPhone, but all my friends have
it. No, yourfriends can have it, but no to
(35:06):
you, you know you're not havingit until I say it's right, it
affects your brain cells. Imean, so. So what a great point.
Jessica and I really do believethat in the future, they might
not recognize it now aschildren, but in the future,
they will come to appreciatethat you gave them that tough
love, that you gave them thatguidance to live a healthy life
(35:26):
exactly. You know, I wish I hadhad a pediatrician like you when
I grew up.
I might even be healthier than Iam, and I just want to commend
you. I just want to bring thisback. I cannot believe you said
that your dessert is ouralmonds, cashews and walnuts. Is
that right? Did I hear youcorrectly? Yes, my that's my
(35:47):
dessert. So my wife is adessert, a hollow any dessert,
you know, she's met a never met,a dessert she didn't like.
So she's relatable, you know,she's like, how can you resist
that? I said, I don't know. Idon't have that. You know, give
me another piece of bread. I'lleat that for my dessert.
(36:08):
So I don't know. Well,wonderful. Well, it's so, so
nice to meet you. You really arean inspiration.
I love how you you enjoy livinga healthy life. You're very
inspiring to me. So thank you somuch. Well, thank you, and we're
going to have more conversationstogether, and we're going to
definitely have a further anddeeper connection as we move
(36:30):
forward. So thank you for havingme, Jessica. I look forward to
it. I'm going to make sure andlink the run in the show notes
below, in case anybody's inArizona early next November.
Yeah, November fund to be therefor the 50th Exactly. November
9. 2025the ninth. It's on a Sunday. I
can't wait. I can't wait.
Alright, thank you so much,Doctor Mullen, I really
(36:52):
appreciate it. Well, thank youso much, and you people are
lucky that they have someonelike you to reach out to. Doctor
Jessica, you're too kind. You'retoo kind. Thank you so much.
You're welcome. Thank you forlistening, and I hope you
enjoyed this week's episode ofAsk Dr Jessica. Also, if you
could take a moment and leave afive star review wherever it is
you listen to podcasts, I wouldgreatly appreciate it. It really
(37:12):
makes a difference to help thispodcast grow. You can also
follow me on Instagram at ask DrJessica. See you next Monday.
You.
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