0:00:25.242,0:00:26.791
I have a question for you.

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Would you exercise if you thought[br]it would not impact your appearance?

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As a culture, we are deeply[br]invested in appearance.

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Modern Western culture[br]emphasizes perfection and youth

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and stigmatizes individuals[br]who don't meet certain ideals.

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We feel the pressure.

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We risk our good health every day[br]to look a certain way.

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The relationship between exercise[br]and appearance is murky,

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but the deeper health benefits are there:[br]prevention of brain and heart disease,

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improvement of bone and joint health,[br]increased muscle strength.

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So back to my question.

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If you knew that you might not lose[br]weight, you might even gain weight,

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but you would improve the functional[br]health of your body,

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would you still go to the gym today?

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Back in grad school,[br]I developed a technology

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that measures how people perceive[br]their body weight, size, and shape.

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Our work at that time[br]found that more often than not,

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and even across diverse[br]cultural backgrounds,

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we are unhappy with the way[br]our bodies look.

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So much so that a term was coined[br]to describe this effect.

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"Normative discontent."

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Basically, we've normalized[br]being unhappy with our appearance.

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We struggle with the way we look

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and health behaviors -

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eating, exercise, drinking water -[br]are marketed to us

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for the sole purpose of helping us[br]look the way we think we should.

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But there is a huge disconnect here.

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The disconnect between health,[br]performance, and appearance.

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As a scientist, I've spent[br]nearly two decades studying

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how we can optimize[br]our bodies and performance

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and thrive psychologically [br]

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or be happy at the same time.

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Let's take a moment and think[br]about this in a slightly different way.

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Take architecture.

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In the late 19th century, shifts in[br]economics, technology, and design

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made it necessary to create[br]new architecture styles.

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If a style and shape of a building

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were not going to be chosen[br]from past models,

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something had to determine its form[br]or what the building would look like.

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The late Louis Sullivan said -

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architect -

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"Form ever follows function."

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This was a profound shift[br]in thinking at the time

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because what he's saying[br]is that function comes first

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and form comes second.

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This concept is not hard to see[br]in our world today.

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Houses in South Louisiana[br]are built up off the ground

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to protect them from flood waters.

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The Pentagon has intentional design[br]that supports its function.

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It needed to hold 40,000 people, [br]

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have 10,000 spaces to park cars,

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four million square feet of office space,

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and not be higher than four stories.

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So if we look at how and why[br]we design our buildings today,

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it's easy to conclude[br]that function comes first.

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But why is it so hard to apply[br]the same logic to our bodies?

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Today, I'd like to offer[br]a shift in perspective

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on our bodies for us to consider.

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Function over form.

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Not unlike the architecture example,[br]form ever follows function,

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means prioritizing performance[br]and purpose over appearance.

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However,

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every day,

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in many different moments,[br]in many different situations,

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we ask ourselves:

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how does my body look?

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Framing it up as an object to be judged.

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What if we shifted this self-reflection [br]

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and we asked ourselves:

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how does my body work?

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If we look at those[br]in our population and take cues

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from those who are expected[br]to be high performers,

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like US army soldiers and athletes,

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we would be focused on just that.

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Performance. How does my body work?

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Soldiers engage in readiness training,

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which is designed to prepare them[br]for their mission, optimize performance,

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and prevent injury.

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In recent times, military training[br]also includes resilience,

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the ability to bounce back[br]from challenging circumstances,

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mental and physical.

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If soldiers on a mission, or athletes[br]performing in a high-stakes competition

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get distracted by form,

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it can have serious[br]and life-threatening consequences.

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For example, female athletes,[br]who are focused on appearance goals,

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such as being worried about[br]being judged in tight-fitting uniforms

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often engage in unhealthy behaviors[br]to achieve those appearance goals.

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This can result in weak bones,[br]severe injury,

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and problems with fertility.

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And these are problems[br]that affect life for the long term.

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So it's through the study of these[br]high-performance populations

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we realized that a focus on performance[br]and function and resilience

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is not just for the elite.

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So as civilians,

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not soldiers, not athletes,

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are we thinking about optimizing[br]our bodies for the long haul?

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Are we thinking about something else?

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I was a competitive gymnast for 10 years.

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Quite a while ago now.

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And after a spine injury, I left the sport

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and struggled to really figure out[br]what my health habits should be.

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Eating, exercise, stress reduction.

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It was overwhelming.

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And after a shoulder repair[br]and a left ankle reconstruction,

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all I could think about[br]was getting back into shape.

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I thought this was healthy.

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But at the time the correlation[br]between my habits and my body function

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never occurred to me, because [br]

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doesn't body size determine health?

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So a few years ago,

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I found out that I have a condition[br]that makes me more prone to injury.

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So after I cracked a rib and had[br]a complete right foot reconstruction

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and then was told I needed a neck fusion,

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I was thrust in this period where[br]all of my time and energy

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was spent trying to regain the ability[br]to use my body parts

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and strengthen others[br]to prevent further loss of function.

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This was a defining moment.

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Because when we are focused[br]on regaining function

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from an injury or from surgery

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or fighting to survive an illness

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it shifts our perspective.

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And it makes function our primary focus[br]

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and form our secondary focus.

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It forces us into this headspace.

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So why is it so hard to get there[br]when our lives are on the line?

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Given the explosion[br]of social media and technology,

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we all have access to overwhelming[br]amounts of health information

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in a constant stream.

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Yet with all of this information[br]at our fingertips,

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we're at a crisis point.

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Because the truth is, we no longer know[br]what healthy behavior really is.

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"Health behavior" is often[br]not really healthy behavior.

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It's appearance-driven behavior[br]disguised as health behavior.

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And given our cultural climate,

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it's become really difficult[br]to tell the difference.

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Health behavior:

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behavior to attain, maintain,[br]or regain good health,

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mental and physical[br]and prevent illness.

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So given this definition,

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if we are only exercising the body parts[br]that we want to look a certain way,

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aren't we cheating[br]ourselves out of so much?

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Strength training, for example,[br]can prevent injury down the road.

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Drinking water for hydration,[br]sleeping for recovery,

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practicing mindfulness[br]and meditation for stress reduction.

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Or the boundless science

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that suggests nutrition[br]as fuel and medicine for the body

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versus a simple calorie count.

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Maintaining good health and function[br]is complex and individualized.

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The fact is our bodies don't all respond[br]the same way to healthy behavior.

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For example, there is[br]great data that shows

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that our bodies don't all respond[br]the same way to exercise.

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So because of this, our appearance goals[br]and our function goals

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often aren't even compatible.

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So guess what.

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Healthy body function[br]doesn't look the same on everyone.

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And if we take athletes[br]at the top of their performance game,

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we see significant diversity in body type.

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Now, this was a radical thought.

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Because it's our default setting to make[br]assumptions about people's health habits

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and their body function[br]based on appearance.

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You simply cannot judge[br]function by appearance.

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And if you can't judge function by form,[br]it'd seem that we are way off the mark

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as using appearance[br]as some metric for health

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despite what we've been[br]conditioned to believe.

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Think about that for a second.

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Culture says it's how we look.

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What if we said it's how we feel [br]

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and we can do with our body?

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Why should we care about this?

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Because as fate would have it,

0:10:34.901,0:10:39.170
science says that it is a good thing[br]to focus on function.

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When we focus on function,[br]we're more likely to engage

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in actual healthy behaviors,[br]such as balanced exercise,

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eating fruits and vegetables,[br]wearing sunscreen,

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not smoking, going to check-ups.

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But even more powerful than that[br]is our intention.

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Because when we're focused on form,

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as our main focus,

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it can sabotage our health behavior.

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For example,

0:11:07.653,0:11:11.563
when we're only focused on what[br]exercise can do to change our appearance,

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we get less satisfaction[br]out of the exercise

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and we are more likely to give up.

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So this focus on function[br]I've been talking about;

0:11:23.803,0:11:26.074
it's a deeper appreciation.[br]

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It's a respect.

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It's a respect for our bodies

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that includes attending[br]to its functional needs

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even if it doesn't meet the appearance[br]ideal you have in mind for it.

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As an athlete, as a scientist developing[br]programs for soldiers and athletes,

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treating eating disorder[br]patients in the hospital,

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and guiding bariatric surgery patients[br]along their weight-loss journeys,

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I've learned that we all work through[br]these functional needs,

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whether in elite performance[br]or in daily life.

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Ask yourself:

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what does your body do for you?

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It does more than you realize.

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Take time to appreciate the things[br]about your body that work.

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Be proactive and deliberate[br]about how you want your body to work.

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Every moment is an opportunity to start[br]where we are and optimize our function.

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Start with your intention.

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Science also says that when we cultivate[br]an environment of appreciation and respect

0:12:44.702,0:12:49.534
for diverse bodies and we encourage[br]each other to engage in healthy behaviors,

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not based on appearance goals, [br]

0:12:52.342,0:12:53.952
we all do better.

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So drop the body-bullying.

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It's not our judgement to make.

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We must convince our younger generation[br]that a healthy body is an ideal body.

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And that just because something[br]is a standard does not make it ideal.

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Architecture needed to[br]embrace a shift in perspective.

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And so do we.

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Thank you.

0:13:23.699,0:13:25.669
(Applause)