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Seniors and Exercise: How Much Does It Promote Healthy Aging?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2010 Comment (6)More evidence supporting the value of exercise in preventing diseases of aging is out today: A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that a strength-training program reduced the risk of a certain kind of cognitive decline—executive function, associated with decision making and focusing on something without becoming distracted.
As the authors of an editorial accompanying the study write:
It is also now well established that higher quantities of physical activity have beneficial effects on numerous age-related conditions such as osteoarthritis, falls and hip fracture, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis,low fitness and obesity, and decreased functional capacity,all conditions that greatly increase the risk of reduced independence in late life.Regular physical activity has also been associated with greater longevity as well as reduced risk of physical disability and dependence, the most important health outcome, even morethan death, for most older people.
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Inspired by 'The Mayo Clinic Diet,' I'm Making Changes
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2010 Comment (1)I wrote last week about The Mayo Clinic Diet (which appeared yesterday in the top spot of the New York Times' hardcover advice bestseller list) and how it includes a two-week introductory period that promises 6 to 10 pounds of weight loss. Obviously, that comes from taking in fewer calories (and dropping some water weight). But instead of counting those calories, the book asks people to add five habits (including eating a healthful but not-too-large breakfast and consuming "good" fats such as olive oil), subtract five habits (such as watching TV while eating and snacking on anything other than fruit and veggies), and, if you can, add five bonus habits (including keeping a food diary and eating only whole or lightly processed foods).
When I asked Donald Hensrud, the book's medical editor-in-chief (and chair of the division of preventive, occupational, and aerospace medicine at Mayo Clinic) why people should adopt habits they probably couldn't make a permanent part of their lifestyle, he said they were intended as a stretch—to show people what they could do and motivate them to go forward. As he said:
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Weight Watchers v. Jenny Craig: Don’t Rely on the Marketing
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2010 Comment (2)Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, two of the most popular commercial diet programs, are wrestling over advertising claims. Weight Watchers yesterday sued its rival, saying ads featuring a lab-coat-clad Valerie Bertinelli falsely implied the two programs had been subject to head-to-head competition—and that Jenny Craig came out on top. The claim, filed in federal court, says the ads are actually based on separate studies that compared each diet plan with a control group and that the Weight Watchers study is a decade old.
But as SmartMoney writer (and my former U.S. News colleague) Angie Marek reported earlier this month, any scientific studies supporting one commercial program over another should be taken with a massive grain of low-sodium salt substitute. In "The Skinny on Big, Fat Diet Programs," she writes, "The science on most of these plans is hardly conclusive, since most of the research has been paid for by the diet companies themselves." Marek's great article details the budget crunch dieters can run into when following one of the big commercial diet programs:
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Exercise and Weight Loss: What’s the Connection?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2010 Comment (73)The role of exercise in weight loss is always a hot topic. Research on successful losers often cites exercise as a top maintenance strategy (one study found those who kept the pounds off averaged a whopping 275 minutes of working out a week), but without some attention to diet, you're not likely to lose significant weight. Exercise alone, while it has many benefits independent of weight control, doesn't always do the trick. But even for those who believe that exercise is key to weight loss, there's a big debate over what kind of workouts—steady aerobic sessions? interval training? strength training?—is ideal.
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Screening for Childhood Obesity, Without an Easy Solution
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2010 Comment (8)There's been mixed news recently on childhood and adolescent obesity, the tricky issue that will be the subject of an initiative led by first lady Michelle Obama. According to statistics released last week, obesity rates for both kids and adults seem to be leveling off. The prevalence of high body mass index among kids and teens seemed to plateau between 1999 and 2006, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But that leaves almost 32 percent of kids weighing more than they should, with a full 17 percent classified as obese. And the heaviest boys between the ages of 6 and 19 actually seem to be getting heavier.
Childhood and adolescent obesity is a particularly tricky problem because, as my colleague Deborah Kotz reported in 2007, the emphasis on losing weight—even in kids who really need to do so—may do more harm than good. A solution has remained elusive, and, until the last few years, there hasn't been a lot of quality research published on what actually works. On Monday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—the same folks who brought you the controversial new breast cancer screening recommendations—said children 6 and up should now be screened for obesity.
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A Long-Ago Bad P.E. Experience? You Can Get Over It
Tweet Share on Facebook January 13, 2010 Comment (6)If the obesity epidemic is going to be reversed, a focus on physical activity will likely play at least some role. True, exercise alone isn't going to fix the problem—which is still a big one, despite all our efforts. (Statistics published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association show that 68 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, while about 32 percent of children have body mass indexes that qualify them as overweight or obese.) But most experts do agree that physical activity can be helpful for weight control. And it certainly brings a host of other health benefits.
[Read 10-Week Workout Routine: What About Diet?]
A new report by an associate professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, though, says the earliest exposure to organized physical activity—school physical education classes—can be the kind of experience that either gets kids on the road to a lifetime exercise habit or turns them off to sports. This will come as no surprise to anyone who still harbors horrific memories of gym class, whether of being bruised in dodge ball (check), humiliated in an attempt to do a pull-up (check), or picked last for pretty much every team (check—no wonder I now prefer individual sports). When psychologist Billy Strean talked to people about their physical education and sports experiences, he heard about an awful lot of bad experiences caused by bad teachers. What struck him, he says, "was the degree to which someone could be talking about something that happened 50 or 60 years ago but right on the spot could be having a clearly visceral, emotional reaction."
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‘Whole Food’ Vitamins Are a Cool Idea, But Proof of Benefit Is Lacking
Tweet Share on Facebook January 8, 2010 Comment (12)When it comes to protecting health, vitamins and supplements have had a rough time of it in the past few years, with studies failing to find that many of them shield against cancer and heart disease or extend life. It appears that while isolating a specific nutrient and adding it to the diet in the form of a pill or capsule is great for dealing with diseases of deficiency, such as scurvy (caused by lack of vitamin C), the same approach isn't so helpful in addressing chronic diseases. So some manufacturers are trying to come closer to putting the likely source of fruits' and vegetables' power—the complex interplay of all their vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals—in a capsule, as "whole food" vitamins and minerals.
[6 Nutritional Supplements and Foods That Can Improve Your Health]
Everyone involved agrees that getting nutrients by eating whole foods is best and that it's probably going to be tough to consolidate all the benefits of a blueberry in a single pill. But manufacturers of whole-food vitamins say that unlike conventional supplements, their products serve up the nutrients in something closer to their food context, in the presence of other substances that make them more effective and in a form that's better absorbed by the body. This goes beyond the distinction between synthetic and natural vitamins, which hinges on the source of the individual nutrient. (The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that picking a vitamin purely because it's labeled "natural" is not generally worth it, with one exception: Vitamin E seems to be better absorbed by the body when its given in its natural form than in a synthetic.)
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Rachel Cosgrove on the Female Body: Start With Strength Training
Tweet Share on Facebook December 18, 2009 Comment (18)When women say they need to do more exercise, they're usually thinking of aerobic activity: running, a spinning class, speed-walking. But making aerobic workouts the centerpiece of a fitness plan is not the best way to go, says Rachel Cosgrove, cofounder of Results Fitness in Southern California. In her new book, The Female Body Breakthrough, she instead advocates a focus on strength training, which she says is the real key to losing fat and looking better. U.S. News recently chatted with Cosgrove. Here are edited excerpts:
First, why is running at a steady pace not a great workout?
The bottom line is that our bodies adapt. If you do a mile run today, when you do the same mile run tomorrow and the next day you're going to burn fewer calories. But with strength training, you can increase weight, or add more sets, or do more reps. You should put in a new demand every single workout. -
'Consumer Reports' Suggests 12 Healthy Holiday Gifts
Tweet Share on Facebook December 8, 2009 Comment (1)I'm going to do some Christmas shopping this week, and I'm hoping to pick up a little something for myself, too. I was thinking of hitting the sale rack at J. Crew, but Consumer Reports has other plans for me: The folks there suggest 12 healthy holiday gifts you can buy for yourself (or, I'd imagine, anyone on your list).
The ideas, which are backed by CR's robust testing and research, may surprise you. Yes, the list includes membership at a local Y or community center, which the organization has found ranks above the commercial gym chains when it comes to member satisfaction. And CR offers suggestions on a good-quality treadmill, running shoes, and some low-cost exercise equipment.
[Check out our ideas on that, too: How to Get a Cheap Workout: 8 Ideas for Building a $100 Home Gym.]
But a nice bottle of wine also is recommended, given the possibility that it can provide health benefits. Just be careful if you're trying to lose weight; as much as I wish it weren't so, alcohol does have calories. And you'll find some guilt-free munchies on the list, including some reduced-fat products. Here's where I part ways with CR; I'd much rather have one or two delicious holiday cookies than disappoint my taste buds with "light" products. (Stay tuned for more diet tips later this week.)
Please comment with your own suggestions for healthy holiday gifts that didn't make Consumer Reports' list.
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A Reader Asks: Why Can’t My Husband Lose Weight?
Tweet Share on Facebook November 24, 2009 Comment (1)A reader writes to ask why her husband isn't losing weight—and in fact, seems to be gaining—despite exercising for over a year (jogging/walking for 30 to 45 minutes three to five times a week) and eating a generally healthful diet. Before I get into the specifics: I'm a journalist, not a nutritionist or M.D. If you worry your difficulty losing weight is from a medical condition, talk to a doctor, and if you are really having a tough time losing weight or planning meals, consider a visit to a nutritionist. That said, this problem is a common one, and here are some of the ideas I've picked up over the years from talking to various experts.
First, let's break it down into the two things that generally govern weight loss: what we take in (calories, in the form of food) and what we burn off (calories, in the form of activity). To lose weight, it's essential to burn off more than you take in. That sounds simple, but it's not, because the two sides of the equation can be tricky to figure out.
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