Nutrition and exercise while temporarily working from home
IANR Vice Chancellor's Office
Author
04/14/2020
Added
20
Plays
Description
Interview with Dr. Lisa Franzen-Castle, Associate professor in Nutrition and Health Sciences and Registered Dietician.
Temporarily working from home can disrupt eating and food preparation habits leading to changes in nutrition and diet.
Searchable Transcript
Toggle between list and paragraph view.
- [00:00:00.130]I'm Rich Bischoff, the Associate Vice Chancellor
- [00:00:02.800]for Faculty and Academic Leader Success in the Institute
- [00:00:05.800]of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
- [00:00:07.820]I'm talking today with Dr. Lisa Franzen-Castle,
- [00:00:11.530]associate professor in the Department of Nutrition
- [00:00:14.340]and Health Sciences in the College of Education
- [00:00:16.780]and Human Sciences.
- [00:00:17.890]Lisa is an extension specialist and on the leadership team
- [00:00:21.420]for the Food, Nutrition, and Health Interest Group.
- [00:00:23.790]She's also a registered dietitian.
- [00:00:25.780]I called her to talk about the importance
- [00:00:27.630]of diet and nutrition health.
- [00:00:29.420]Temporarily working from home can disrupt eating
- [00:00:32.270]and food preparation habits, leading to changes
- [00:00:35.110]in nutrition and diet.
- [00:00:36.240]For some, this can be a good thing,
- [00:00:37.730]as they transition from eating out,
- [00:00:40.080]including reliance on fast foods,
- [00:00:42.330]to preparing their own meals.
- [00:00:43.840]For others, these disruptions in eating
- [00:00:46.200]and food preparation habits could result
- [00:00:48.460]in poor nutrition health outcomes
- [00:00:50.710]both for themselves and their family members.
- [00:00:53.060]Lisa, perhaps you could start us off
- [00:00:54.830]with some observations about the potential diet
- [00:00:57.800]and nutrition health challenges
- [00:00:59.740]related to unexpectedly and temporarily
- [00:01:02.680]changing work location from the labs and offices
- [00:01:05.510]of the university to one's own home.
- [00:01:07.350]Yes, as you said, there may have been some disruptions
- [00:01:10.900]because you may have had people that were not eating
- [00:01:13.900]at home very often and spending most of their day eating
- [00:01:17.260]when they're at their workplace,
- [00:01:18.860]and then you may have some people that were already
- [00:01:21.870]taking their lunch to work with them and eating
- [00:01:24.400]at home all the time, and this isn't going to be
- [00:01:26.410]as big of a struggle, so it really depends on the person
- [00:01:29.140]and kind of their situation, but this could really be
- [00:01:32.430]an opportunity to adjust dietary patterns
- [00:01:35.610]so that they are overall healthier, and also,
- [00:01:38.010]for those people that were already practicing
- [00:01:39.750]healthy eating patterns to continue
- [00:01:41.410]that practice during this time.
- [00:01:42.930]You know, as you're talking about that,
- [00:01:45.270]I'm reminded of just, you know,
- [00:01:47.000]there are times in my life, and I've seen this
- [00:01:49.480]in others as well is when there are changes,
- [00:01:51.970]whether it's a move or whatever it might be,
- [00:01:53.930]that it's an opportunity to be able to change habits,
- [00:01:56.650]you know, that are associated with one context
- [00:01:58.960]as we're trying to adjust to another context.
- [00:02:01.240]If you could maybe tell us just a little bit
- [00:02:03.130]about what is the role of diet and nutrition
- [00:02:06.330]to work productivity and overall well-being.
- [00:02:09.640]Why is this such an important thing
- [00:02:11.350]for us to be paying attention?
- [00:02:12.960]Yes, overall healthy dietary patterns,
- [00:02:15.430]so including balance and variety amongst the five
- [00:02:18.610]food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
- [00:02:21.450]lean protein, and dairy can really help improve
- [00:02:24.450]our concentration, our alertness, our problem-solving skills
- [00:02:28.240]and our productivity, which are all really important things
- [00:02:31.040]to have in place during this challenging time,
- [00:02:34.500]and so, when we are overall not having as,
- [00:02:38.470]we're having poor nutrition habits,
- [00:02:40.050]we can see increases in fatigue, irritability,
- [00:02:43.690]lower energy levels.
- [00:02:45.420]We're not able to think as clearly,
- [00:02:47.420]and we also may have higher levels of stress,
- [00:02:49.950]and so, those are all things we wanna try to reduce
- [00:02:52.250]during this time, and we wanna try to keep our productivity
- [00:02:55.140]and our health up and our stress level down.
- [00:02:57.850]So, now, Lisa, it's no secret that many rely
- [00:03:01.520]on prepared foods and eating out,
- [00:03:04.120]and restaurant closures and stay-at-home guidance
- [00:03:06.840]during the COVID-19 pandemic may challenge some
- [00:03:10.450]of these people who are not only having to rely more
- [00:03:13.840]on, you know, their own food preparation
- [00:03:17.240]in their own kitchens.
- [00:03:19.611]What suggestions do you have for these people?
- [00:03:21.410]Yes, one of the things we've been working on
- [00:03:23.950]for the food website team is trying to make sure
- [00:03:26.500]we have curated a lot of ideas, tips, and tools
- [00:03:29.680]for basic foods to have on hand,
- [00:03:31.670]ingredient substitutions, and getting creative
- [00:03:34.110]with what you have in your kitchen
- [00:03:35.830]'cause we may not be able to get
- [00:03:36.970]to the grocery store as often as we used to,
- [00:03:39.230]so we've got a basic foods checklist on food.unl.edu,
- [00:03:43.940]and it goes over how to stock your pantry
- [00:03:45.940]for the refrigerator, the freezer,
- [00:03:48.260]and also just how you can have the basics
- [00:03:50.900]for simple meals during this time.
- [00:03:53.470]We also have a food storage chart,
- [00:03:55.380]which goes over food storage recommendations
- [00:03:58.480]for safety and food quality, and it goes over things
- [00:04:02.970]for best quality in the pantry and freezer
- [00:04:05.360]and best quality and safety in the refrigerator,
- [00:04:08.080]and so, we can help folks that may be stocking up on things
- [00:04:11.190]and getting different items make sure you're storing them
- [00:04:13.540]properly for safety and quality.
- [00:04:16.240]We've also got a basic ingredient substitutions list.
- [00:04:19.460]So, you may not always have everything at your fingertips
- [00:04:21.570]like you used to to make that favorite recipe
- [00:04:24.180]or to put together a meal or a snack that you want to,
- [00:04:27.800]so we've got a lot of ideas for if you don't have this,
- [00:04:30.390]you can use this, so then you can still move forward
- [00:04:32.980]with what you wanna do, and then we also have ideas
- [00:04:35.220]for making a meal with what's on hand,
- [00:04:37.350]so getting creative with what you've got
- [00:04:39.930]and knowing that you can still put together
- [00:04:41.810]a simple, fun, tasty meal even if you don't always have
- [00:04:45.990]the things that you're used to having around your kitchen.
- [00:04:48.210]Oh, that's great.
- [00:04:49.043]That'll be a great resource.
- [00:04:50.000]So, this is, say the website again.
- [00:04:52.500]It's food.unl.edu, and we also have
- [00:04:55.990]what we call Recipe Central, which has tons of ideas
- [00:04:59.840]for meals, snacks, soups, salad, desserts,
- [00:05:03.020]and more, so if you're struggling to come up with ideas,
- [00:05:06.970]we welcome you to come check out food.unl.edu/recipecentral.
- [00:05:12.220]It's got lots of ideas.
- [00:05:13.360]You can search by program.
- [00:05:15.560]You can search by meal type, so side dish, main dish,
- [00:05:19.440]appetizer, beverage, and you can also do an A to Z
- [00:05:22.760]alphabetical keyword search as well.
- [00:05:24.740]Terrific, so we're gonna make sure that we have
- [00:05:27.940]these website references and then also others
- [00:05:31.250]that you might have, we'll have those listed on this website
- [00:05:35.750]for people as well.
- [00:05:37.090]So, Lisa, mealtimes are often a time for socializing
- [00:05:40.870]with work colleagues, friends, family.
- [00:05:43.410]Many people will get together, you know,
- [00:05:45.100]for lunch or, you know, after work for dinner or whatever.
- [00:05:49.720]How might the COVID-19 pandemic impact
- [00:05:53.490]this important role of breaking bread together?
- [00:05:56.740]Yes, I think that there may be still some options
- [00:05:59.400]to kind of have those social interactions.
- [00:06:01.690]They are virtual, of course, now,
- [00:06:03.137]and there's lots of options for connecting with friends
- [00:06:06.480]and family and still practicing social distancing,
- [00:06:09.770]and you could still have a meal with people over Zoom
- [00:06:13.160]or over whatever your venue is for doing that,
- [00:06:17.050]and then we also wanna make sure we're encouraging families
- [00:06:20.120]when they're sitting down to have meals together,
- [00:06:21.880]which are probably having meals together
- [00:06:23.880]more now than ever before, to remove distractions
- [00:06:27.310]so that we can really practice that mindful presentness
- [00:06:31.610]when we're eating with people.
- [00:06:32.970]It's hard to, it's also hard to listen
- [00:06:35.320]to our body's hunger signals and to know
- [00:06:37.510]if we're full or hungry if we're distracted
- [00:06:39.180]or if we're eating too fast and trying
- [00:06:42.020]to just rush through our meal, and so we really recommend
- [00:06:44.570]turning off the TV, making sure the radio's off,
- [00:06:46.970]taking cell phones and other devices
- [00:06:49.230]away from the dinner table so you're removing
- [00:06:51.160]all those distractions, and again, slowing down.
- [00:06:53.810]If we're speeding through our meals
- [00:06:55.250]to get to whatever we're supposed to be doing,
- [00:06:57.150]or if we wanna watch a show, then we're not really enjoying
- [00:07:00.360]our food and listening to our bodies,
- [00:07:02.160]and slowing down can really help us understand
- [00:07:04.760]and recognize when we're satisfied or when we're full
- [00:07:07.720]and if we still need to eat more.
- [00:07:09.190]And also, talking about food.
- [00:07:11.049]Mealtime's just not a time for eating the food,
- [00:07:13.207]but also conversing and talking about how it tastes,
- [00:07:16.500]the textures, really getting into what they like
- [00:07:19.540]about the food and also talking about future meals
- [00:07:22.800]and snacks and things that you might wanna try
- [00:07:25.270]and prepare in the future.
- [00:07:26.390]Those are great suggestions.
- [00:07:27.660]Lisa, I'm not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination,
- [00:07:30.790]but I do have grown children, and there have been
- [00:07:34.470]a couple of meals where I've taken a picture of the meal
- [00:07:37.683]just to text it to my grown children,
- [00:07:40.550]and we've kind of shared pictures back and forth,
- [00:07:43.340]you know, so that we've got a good sense
- [00:07:45.240]about the kinds of foods that we're eating.
- [00:07:47.450]That's a fun thing that we've found to do.
- [00:07:49.130]And I know my husband has been trying out
- [00:07:51.780]some different recipes and things.
- [00:07:53.470]His younger sister is a family/consumer science teacher,
- [00:07:57.930]and so, she's always trying out different recipes
- [00:07:59.930]with her classes when they were in session,
- [00:08:02.420]and so, he's always taking pictures of things he's tried
- [00:08:05.420]and sends it to her, and then if it messes up,
- [00:08:08.140]he's like, "What did I do wrong? (laughs)
- [00:08:09.817]"How could I do this better in the future?"
- [00:08:12.580]And so, it's been a really great learning experience
- [00:08:15.250]for us when we're trying out, like, pizza crust,
- [00:08:17.930]or if we're working on trying to bake a cake
- [00:08:20.900]or something like that.
- [00:08:22.930]It's really fun to experiment, and then we love
- [00:08:25.300]taking pictures of the things that didn't go so well
- [00:08:28.870]and the things that went great
- [00:08:30.040]and having a good chuckle about that. (laughs)
- [00:08:32.580]So, that might even open up some possibilities
- [00:08:34.860]to be able to connect with people
- [00:08:37.040]that maybe we weren't using in the past.
- [00:08:39.000]Continuing with this same theme,
- [00:08:40.600]mealtime, including food preparation,
- [00:08:43.210]can be such an important time for families,
- [00:08:45.290]especially those with preschool and school-age children.
- [00:08:48.790]What suggestions do you have for parents
- [00:08:51.010]who are finding themselves with more time
- [00:08:53.220]sharing physical space with children
- [00:08:55.340]and how preparation in meals could help?
- [00:08:58.280]Yes, I think children really do enjoy helping
- [00:09:00.710]in the kitchen and are often more willing
- [00:09:02.660]to eat the foods they actually help prepare,
- [00:09:05.060]and so, involving children in planning and preparing meals
- [00:09:08.750]and snacks for the family can be a really great
- [00:09:10.820]experience for them, and it's also important
- [00:09:13.430]to give them tasks that are appropriate for their age
- [00:09:16.690]and to be patient as they gain new skills
- [00:09:19.490]at these different ages.
- [00:09:21.350]And so, for example, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- [00:09:25.210]has some age-appropriate tasks for different age groups,
- [00:09:29.030]so, like, three to five-year-olds, of course with very close
- [00:09:31.810]adult supervision because their motor skills
- [00:09:34.100]are still developing, they can help wipe up tabletops.
- [00:09:37.070]They can mix ingredients like easy-to-mix batters,
- [00:09:40.350]and you can also practice proper hand washing
- [00:09:42.990]with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds
- [00:09:45.070]and come up with a song to sing.
- [00:09:46.720]I know "Happy Birthday" is a popular one, but you can also
- [00:09:48.870]come up with other things to sing with them.
- [00:09:51.700]Six to seven-year-olds, they've developed fine motor skills,
- [00:09:54.470]so they can handle more detailed work but still need
- [00:09:57.240]to be supervised and have safety reminders,
- [00:09:59.870]so they can do, like, break eggs into a bowl,
- [00:10:02.980]and of course remember to wash their hands afterwards.
- [00:10:05.600]They can help load the dishwasher.
- [00:10:08.060]They can also rinse and cut things like parsley
- [00:10:10.320]or green onions with a clean, blunt kitchen scissors.
- [00:10:13.410]Those are just some examples of things they can do.
- [00:10:15.990]Eight to nine-year-olds, they can open cans
- [00:10:18.240]with a can opener.
- [00:10:19.230]They can help put leftovers away in shallow containers,
- [00:10:22.710]and, of course, refrigerating things within two hours,
- [00:10:25.580]and there's also, they can help beat eggs.
- [00:10:28.440]They can check the temperature of meat
- [00:10:30.240]with a food thermometer, so that's also important to help,
- [00:10:33.470]you know, emphasize food safety
- [00:10:35.050]when you're doing things in the kitchen.
- [00:10:38.200]And then, for 10 to 12-year-olds,
- [00:10:39.930]they also recommend that they can work more independently
- [00:10:42.630]but should still have adult supervision.
- [00:10:46.600]Before letting these kids do grown-up tasks on their own,
- [00:10:50.650]really wanna make sure they can follow basic kitchen rules
- [00:10:53.500]and food safety things.
- [00:10:55.440]So, they can help microwave foods.
- [00:10:57.160]They can follow a recipe and putting each step in order
- [00:11:00.470]and measuring ingredients accurately.
- [00:11:02.720]They can help slice or chop vegetables.
- [00:11:05.080]Those are just some examples by age group.
- [00:11:07.380]And also, you have to think about each child is different
- [00:11:10.930]and what they're capable of doing and their maturity level
- [00:11:14.950]when they're in the kitchen, so.
- [00:11:16.040]Food preparation can actually
- [00:11:17.960]be quite an education for kids.
- [00:11:20.290]Some of my fellow colleagues as well
- [00:11:23.440]as other family/consumer science teachers
- [00:11:25.260]that I am friends with on social media talk
- [00:11:27.130]about how they're using a certain recipe
- [00:11:30.500]or a cooking experience to hit lots of different areas,
- [00:11:33.610]so, like, we're gonna do a traditional family recipe,
- [00:11:36.050]so we're gonna get a history lesson in.
- [00:11:37.770]We're gonna get some reading in.
- [00:11:39.900]We're gonna do some math with measuring ingredients,
- [00:11:42.400]and so, they're using it as an educational experience
- [00:11:45.080]that hits lots of different levels.
- [00:11:46.580]That's terrific, and very creative.
- [00:11:48.690]Physical activity is another important piece
- [00:11:50.580]of this puzzle that's particularly important
- [00:11:53.410]for those who are homebound to pay attention to.
- [00:11:56.400]What do you have to say about this piece of that puzzle?
- [00:11:59.340]One of the most important things that we can do
- [00:12:01.520]to improve our health is to be physically active,
- [00:12:04.540]and we've got a lot of tips for moving more
- [00:12:07.580]at home on the food website as well,
- [00:12:10.100]so some general guidelines from the Physical Activity
- [00:12:13.360]Guidelines for Americans, they're saying that all members
- [00:12:15.930]of the family, including preschool-age children,
- [00:12:18.140]experience health benefits from moving more.
- [00:12:20.680]Adults of all ages still need to get at least
- [00:12:22.880]two and a half hours a week of physical activity,
- [00:12:25.330]and youth ages six to 17 need 60 minutes a day,
- [00:12:29.450]and so, we've got lots of tips on the food website
- [00:12:32.070]about how to get all ages up and moving.
- [00:12:35.600]We've also, I've got some tips about how
- [00:12:37.470]to make movement fun and thinking
- [00:12:38.970]about incorporating variety into what you do to get active.
- [00:12:42.300]So, we've got a couple of ideas about making a checklist
- [00:12:45.980]for kids that includes so many minutes of physical activity
- [00:12:48.870]before they can, say, get on electronics or do one
- [00:12:51.310]of their favorite activities so they can feel
- [00:12:53.660]like they've accomplished something before they go
- [00:12:55.930]do something fun, and then we have an activity jar,
- [00:12:58.890]so sometimes, it may become a challenge to think
- [00:13:01.860]of activities to do and not just do the same thing
- [00:13:04.250]all the time, so we've come up with an idea
- [00:13:06.890]that you can write down a list of fun activities
- [00:13:09.130]that you all want to do, and then when it comes time
- [00:13:11.960]to get moving, you can draw an activity out of the jar,
- [00:13:14.220]and the jar kind of does the thinking for you
- [00:13:16.330]'cause you've all, you've done that in advance.
- [00:13:18.040]We also have what we call fit dice.
- [00:13:20.030]You can find a pair of dice and write down an exercise
- [00:13:22.480]that corresponds with each number.
- [00:13:24.270]Roll the dice, and complete the exercise
- [00:13:26.170]with the other dice providing the amount
- [00:13:27.690]of repetitions that should be completed.
- [00:13:29.470]Trying to help with ways to make it fun,
- [00:13:32.940]give you variety, and the other thing we always talk about
- [00:13:36.570]is trying to get a mix of aerobic, muscle strengthening,
- [00:13:39.780]and bone strengthening activities,
- [00:13:41.110]so you're doing a little bit of all those things
- [00:13:43.450]throughout the week if possible.
- [00:13:44.840]Thank you, Lisa, so, is there anything that I haven't
- [00:13:47.660]asked about that you've thought about in preparation
- [00:13:50.350]for our conversation that you'd like to share with us?
- [00:13:52.750]Well, we also have some fun events
- [00:13:54.730]and activities going on right now,
- [00:13:56.590]and we've got something called Food Access Bingo,
- [00:13:58.870]which I know you said you'll share the links for these
- [00:14:01.560]when it gets posted. Yes.
- [00:14:03.393]And so, it's got fun and creative ways
- [00:14:05.230]to increase access to healthy foods
- [00:14:06.870]and support your community by playing Food Access Bingo.
- [00:14:10.270]We also have a Healthy and Fit Families Challenge,
- [00:14:12.890]which goes through challenges for eating healthy
- [00:14:16.320]as well as getting physically active,
- [00:14:18.190]so if you're looking for ideas,
- [00:14:19.770]the Healthy and Fit Families Challenge
- [00:14:21.330]has a lot of simple, practical ideas
- [00:14:24.260]to help you eat healthier and move more.
- [00:14:26.870]We've also got Marathon Kids,
- [00:14:28.400]which is a national running program designed
- [00:14:30.410]to motivate kids by utilizing running logs,
- [00:14:32.630]boost their activity, and introduce them to the joy
- [00:14:35.290]of being active, and all ages can really participate in it,
- [00:14:38.740]and there will be more information, like you said,
- [00:14:40.620]on the website about how to get involved with that,
- [00:14:42.077]and we also have what we call The Dish,
- [00:14:44.440]real talk about food micro-lessons.
- [00:14:47.230]So, right now, there's five lessons up
- [00:14:48.760]to help with health, well-being, and resilience,
- [00:14:50.810]and offer life tips on planning meals,
- [00:14:53.480]saving money, and shopping and eating healthier,
- [00:14:55.770]and there's gonna be more lessons added
- [00:14:57.390]in the future as well.
- [00:14:58.360]That's great.
- [00:14:59.200]I've been talking with Dr. Lisa Franzen-Castle,
- [00:15:03.070]the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences.
- [00:15:06.680]We're going to make sure and include the links
- [00:15:10.070]to all of these things that she's just talked about
- [00:15:13.950]on the website, the ianr.unl.edu website,
- [00:15:18.910]so check out those references there,
- [00:15:21.920]but Lisa, thank you so much for spending,
- [00:15:24.340]you know, these few minutes talking to me about this.
- [00:15:26.630]Yes, thank you for having me.
The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!
You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.
Log in to post comments
Embed
Copy the following code into your page
HTML
<div style="height: 5.62em; max-width: 56.12rem; overflow: hidden; position:relative; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1;"> <iframe style="bottom: 0; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; border: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;" src="https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/12666?format=iframe&autoplay=0" title="Audio Player: Nutrition and exercise while temporarily working from home " allowfullscreen ></iframe> </div>
Comments
0 Comments