Dr. Regina Benjamin, 18th Surgeon General of the United States, talks with Steve Scher about bringing joy to efforts at losing weight and staying healthy. She spoke in Seattle as part of the UW's Weight and Wellness Series of Lectures.

Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General from 2009-2013 says we have to rediscover the joy in being healthy.

"Being healthy can be joyful. Food can be taste good if you work at it. Exercise doesn’t have to be a drag. You can enjoy being around dancing, walking, whatever you find that you enjoy.”

As Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin tried to find ways to remove the barriers to exercise. That included getting hairdressers involved in thinking about the most exercise friendly hairstyle. It meant starting a get out and walk campaign.

Dr. Benjamin was the 18th Surgeon General, with the rank of a three star admiral. She is the recipient of numerous awards, honorary degrees. She started and continues to run a primary care clinic in Bayou La Batre, a small fishing community in Louisiana. She currently holds the endowed chair in public health at Xavier University.

She has served on numerous boards and committees and is an officer with American Board of Family Practice and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians

She is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees.

She is a Macarthur Genius grantee. She is also wonderfully down to earth, the kind of person you’d imagine as your primary care doc, friendly, helpful, non-judgmental.

Dr. Benjamin's talk was sponsored in part by the UW School of Public Health, the UW Alumni Association and The UW Graduate School.