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American Morning
Interview with Laura Bush
Aired June 20, 2002 - 08:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to go to the White House quickly here.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is standing by with a very special guest -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Bill, how are you doing?
I'm here with Mrs. Bush.
Thank you for joining us.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED SATES: Thanks.
GUPTA: I was just saying, we were just talking, you invited a bunch of neighborhood kids to come play on the front lawn today.
BUSH: That's right, which is a lot of fun to have everybody out here to talk about fitness and getting your kids out to exercise.
GUPTA: Yes, so what's going on? What are some of the things that are going on here today?
BUSH: Well, we've got basketball. We have soccer teams going. We have a batting cage right here behind us. We have several outdoor groups, ways to take inner city schools on hikes in the summer in the national parks.
GUPTA: One of the things that's sort of interesting is that it's tough to get the message out there, isn't it? Sixty percent of the nation is overweight, I've been hearing.
BUSH: That's right.
GUPTA: We know to eat right, we know to exercise. What's going on? Where is the disconnect?
BUSH: Well, I hope that people will really look at their lifestyles and think about it. Think about the way you're raising your children and what you're feeding your kids. Adults everywhere, mothers and dads, need to remember that they are the adult in the family and they're the ones who put the food on the able. And if they're careful to feed their children a lot of fruits and a lot of vegetables, their children will be healthier, not only physically, but also, I think, socially and emotionally. Children don't want to be fat. It's embarrassing for them.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
BUSH: And it's really important for parents to remember that they are the ones who make the choices for their young children.
GUPTA: Yes, and, you know, and I told you I was a doctor and I hear so many times from patients that I just don't have enough time, I can't fit it in. You and the president are pretty busy people. Tell us about that, how you...
BUSH: That's right. Well, he really tries to schedule exercise into his day. Just 30 minutes really is all you need. He runs three miles a day and it takes him about 30 minutes.
GUPTA: Ten minutes a mile?
BUSH: Yes, well, actually, he's more along the seven minute mile person.
GUPTA: Oh, is that right? OK.
BUSH: But I try to lift weights three times a day -- three times a week because I know that's important for women my age, just little free weights. I'm not talking about great big weights that people might think of.
GUPTA: Sure, for toning, keeping the upper body strength.
BUSH: That's right.
GUPTA: I know you've worked a lot with children, Mrs. Bush, and you mentioned the cycle of discrimination, the social discrimination against kids.
BUSH: Yes.
GUPTA: Thirteen percent of our nation is overweight, kids, adolescents. Are there specific messages that, from you and from other people, for those kids?
BUSH: Well, I hope, yes. I want to encourage those kids to get exercise. I think that's the most important key. And once you really go out and try to just go for a walk, a 30 minute walk a day, you start to feel a lot better about yourself. It's easier to lose weight, if you want to lose weight, by doing some exercise. And any sort of extreme diet is not really good. What you really want to do is just have a very sensible diet of fresh foods, simple foods. Stay away from the greasy hamburgers and the French fries.
GUPTA: Yes, I think we've all been guilty of that.
BUSH: That's right. GUPTA: And, you know, I heard an interesting statistic. Three percent of the country actually follows the food pyramid that we all learned in grade school.
BUSH: Only three percent, yes.
GUPTA: Isn't that amazing?
BUSH: That is amazing.
GUPTA: It seems like we're a nation of extremes. On one hand there's so much, you know, there's such a body image in this country of being skinny and being thin.
BUSH: Yes.
GUPTA: And that's obviously one extreme. The other extreme is that, you know, so much of the nation is obese. How come you think we're so extreme like that?
BUSH: Well, I actually think that we have a huge focus on food. We eat out all the time at restaurants. Portions are huge. I think we can work with the restaurant industry to try to have wider, more nutritious meals. We need to make sure our school cafeterias are serving fresh foods, apples and bananas and things that children would like to eat but that are also healthy and not fattening.
GUPTA: Right. Are you going to get out here and do some of the activities, Mrs. Bush?
BUSH: That's right. I'm going to have to go do a little bit of these activities. I love to hike. I'm going to hike. Last summer I hiked in Yosemite. I'm going to hike again this summer in a national park.
GUPTA: Great. And the 1.5 mile walk on Saturday?
BUSH: That's right. We have the big walk coming up, the run and walk at Fort McNair this Saturday. And so I want to encourage people this weekend, get outside, go for a walk, get a friend. It's much more fun to go -- to exercise if you have a friend who exercises with you.
I have my sister-in-law. She comes to lift weights with me three times a week, and not only do we work out more because we're with each other, but it just gives us time to be with each other.
GUPTA: That's great. Thank you very much.
BUSH: Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Dr. Gupta.
GUPTA: From the physically fit Mrs. Bush back to the physically fit Daryn Kagan.
BUSH: Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Hey, everybody. How are you all? HEMMER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the first lady. Really good stuff.
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