Joe Vecchio filled in for Richard this week and interviewed Peggy Pico and Dr. John Bellettiere about aging and health. Both are working on initiatives and research on our growing older population.

Age-Friendly Initiatives: If it’s great for an 80-year-old it’s great for an eight-year-old.

Peggy Pico leads development and implementation of The San Diego Foundation Age-Friendly Communities (AFC) program, a World Health Organization initiative. She works with AARP, local businesses, donors, nonprofits and government partners for municipal adoption of an Age-Friendly Action Plan for all cities in our region.

Previously, Peggy worked as an Emmy Award-winning journalist – most recently at KPBS and NBC San Diego. Her first career as a Registered Nurse continues to inspire and enhance her work with local nonprofits, government leaders and community influencers. Peggy is a recipient of the USC Health Journalism Fellowship and the Loyola Law School Journalist Fellowship and holds a bachelor’s degree in science from Biola University.

Does sitting for long periods of time have an impact on cardiometabolic health?

John Bellettiere is a postdoctoral research fellow at UC San Diego in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health. With advanced training in economics, behavioral science, and epidemiology, he researches healthy aging, with a particular focus on the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and the preservation of mobility and functional independence. Dr. Bellettiere specializes in the measurement of physical behavior, which includes physical activity, exercise, sitting, and sleep, and is studying the minimum and the optimal amount of daily movement needed to prolong and enhance the healthspan.

John is a recent recipient of the National Science Foundation Smart and Connected Health Mentoring and Travel Grant, the Susan and Stephen Weber Endowed Scholarship, the John and Mary Anderson Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Public Health, and the Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Scholarship.

To learn more about aging and health listen to the show (below).