Category Archives: Health & Fitness

Keep your cool. How to exercise, work, and play safely in the heat.

Posted on June 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about exercising, working, and playing safely in the summer heat. By planning ahead and taking frequent breaks, you can help make your outdoor time safer and more fun for everyone.

You can learn more about exercise in the heat (both low-sci and high-sci information) from the American College of Sports Medicine:

Preparing for and Playing in the Heat (this is a low-sci article)

Exertional Heat Illness  During Training and Competition  (This is an ACSM position stand, so it is pretty high-sci)

You can hear from a true expert on exercise in a hot environment in this video. Dr. Brent Ruby is the director of the Center for Work Physiology and Environmental Metabolism at the University of Montana. The guy on the treadmill is Tim Hampton, one of my former students and now a graduate student in Dr. Ruby’s lab.

Marathon Minute: Overheating, not dehydration, is the danger [Via KECI]

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The Health and Fitness guide to surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

So, my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about zombies. More specifically, how a healthy diet and regular exercise can improve your chances of escaping a zombie invasion. Which is something that some people worry about.

If you aren’t worried about a zombie apocalypse you might be after seeing the movie World War Z, which opens this week.

Oddly, this isn’t the first time that I have managed to link nutrition and fitness with zombies.

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My Friend Shannon is in the newspaper!

Posted on June 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about my friend Shannon and her remodeling project. I have been writing about Shannon on this blog for some time, but I thought her story was worth sharing elsewhere.

Shannon has been trying to do what I call remodeling–losing a little weight and adding some muscle. To do this she started an exercise program and is now exercising nearly every day. She has also changed her diet, focusing mostly on eating out less, reducing portion sizes, and eating more fruits and vegetables.

It has been working!

What is interesting about Shannon is that the specifics of her diet and exercise program aren’t the reason for her success. Yes, that is how she lost fat and added muscle, but she could have done that following almost any diet and exercise program.

What helped Shannon the most is that she changed her habits. For years she didn’t exercise much and ate a diet that consisted largely of unhealthy foods. This was mostly due to convenience–it was easier to eat out and not exercise.

Changing these behaviors was the real challenge. Shannon’s lifestyle and interactions with others supported her former habits. And changing these habits isn’t easy. It means saying “no, thank you” a lot and making difficult choices about what to eat and when to exercise.

But she has done it and learned along the way that she really can make those tough decisions. And so can everyone else. The key is to focus on WHY we eat what we eat and WHY we don’t exercise rather than obsess about exactly WHAT to eat and WHAT to do for exercise.

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Weight loss reduces physical limitations and improves physical function.

Posted on June 5, 2013 | 1 comment

Last week I presented a study at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Indianapolis showing that weight loss can improve physical function and reduce physical limitations. This study was also the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

In this study 48 subjects followed a low-calorie diet (~1200 calories/day) and participated in daily exercise (progressing to 60 minutes per day of walking). The diet and exercise programs resulted in significant weight loss, about 13 pounds on average, or over 1.5 pounds per week.

We assessed physical function using a simple physical test called the timed get-up and go test (TGUG), in which the time required to rise from a chair, walk 10 feet, and return to the chair was measured. The subjects also completed the physical functioning domain of the Short-Form 36 Health Status Survey (SF-36), a subjective reporting of health-related quality of life.

Following weight loss the TGUG time was lower, meaning the subjects were able to complete the test more quickly. The SF-36 Physical Function score was  higher. Together, these tests indicate that the subjects were experiencing improved physical function and fewer limitations to normal activities

This is important because physical limitations can have a big impact of quality of life. Being overweight makes simple physical tasks, such as bending over and tying your shoes, challenging. Losing weight can make these things easier, improving quality of life.

This is consistent with what many people who have lost weight report: “I feel so much better now than I did when I was heavy,” or “I didn’t realize how difficult things were for me.”

Sometimes, it’s the little things that count the most!

 

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Using a physical activity time machine to explain the obesity epidemic.

Posted on May 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

What caused the current obesity epidemic? Is it that we are eating more now? Or are we less active than we were? Most likely, it is a combination of both. And although the typical American diet is given plenty of blame for causing people to gain weight, a low level of physical activity deserves attention, too.

One way to answer this question is to look back at what life was like about 100 years ago, when obesity was uncommon. Unfortunately, no one thought to make accurate measures of daily activity back then. But there is a way to go back in time and assess the diet and physical activity that was common 100 years ago.

In my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week I wrote about an interesting study that essentially took researchers back in time to measure physical activity. The results show that we are much less active today, which certainly plays a big role in the obesity epidemic.

You can learn more about the study I mentioned here.

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It’s not just for kids: Adults need recess, too.

Posted on May 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

The childhood obesity epidemic is usually blamed, in part, on the fact that most kids aren’t active enough at home and at school. Opportunities for activity in school are less common now because programs like physical education and recess are being cut in an effort to save money or to dedicate time for test preparation. This has an effect not only on health but on academic performance, since regular activity improves attention, memory, and learning (in addition to the health benefits).

Parents are partly to blame, too. There are plenty of missed opportunities for physical activity outside of school. Since most adults don’t get enough activity, it is no surprise that they aren’t encouraging their kids to be active.

Adults get the same benefits from regular physical activity as children do. Just as kids who are active during the  day perform better at school, adults who are active at work are more productive. But most people spend much of their work day sitting with little to no activity. This is bad for health and for job performance.

So why don’t adults get recess, too? They should!

This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week. It is also the mission behind an initiative called Instant Recess, which provides tools to help people include short activity breaks into their day. Far from being a burden or a waste of time, these short bouts of activity improve health, mental wellbeing, and productivity.

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Missed opportunities to promote physical activity for kids.

Posted on May 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Most kids don’t get enough physical activity. No surprise that inactivity is associated with health conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. But a lack of activity in children can lead to poor academic performance, too.

But we are missing good opportunities to provide kids with chances to be physically active at home and in school. This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard today.

Schools are a perfect place to include opportunities to be active. Unfortunately, opportunities for activity, from PE to recess, are among the first cuts to be made when budgets are tight. Why isn’t promoting an active, healthy lifestyle  just as important as promoting math or reading or science?

A common argument is that parents should teach their children about a healthy lifestyle, not schools. I disagree. At some point, we (society) decided that parents shouldn’t have to teach their kids math or reading or science. I don’t know the exact rationale, but it likely had something to do with the fact that most parents don’t have the knowledge or skills to teach these essential subjects. Why should activity and, while we are at it, nutrition, be any different?

In fact, we have been experimenting with removing  physical activity and nutrition education from schools and leaving it to parents for some time now. Given the childhood (and adult) obesity epidemic, it hasn’t gone well. Maybe it is time to revisit providing quality health, activity, and nutrition education in schools.

If you want to learn more about benefits of and ways to promote physical activity for kids the Physical Guidelines for Americans is a good place to start. In particular, the Midcourse Report offers recommendations and solutions regarding physical activity in children.

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Read this before you go out for lunch today: Comparing fast food and casual dining restaurant meals.

Posted on April 29, 2013 | 3 comments

Everyone know that fast food is unhealthy. Of course, some fast food is better than others and it is possible to get a reasonably healthy meal at a fast food restaurant. But if you are concerned about calories, fat, added sugar, and sodium in your diet, fast food probably isn’t the best choice.

Eating at a casual dining restaurant such as Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday, and T.G.I. Friday’s must be healthier, right? Think again! My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week addresses this issue.

According to data collected by one of my students, Kyle Sprow, this is not always the case.

He compared a typical meal from McDonald’s, Subway, and  Applebee’s. The Applebee’s menu includes Weight Watchers low-calorie options  in addition to the regular menu items, so he looked at both. We chose these restaurants because of their popularity and because their menus are consistent with other similar restaurants.

He was able to compare typical fast food (McDonald’s), “healthy” fast food (Subway), a typical meal at a casual dining restaurant (Applebee’s regular menu), and healthy options at the same restaurant (Weight Watchers menu). Here is what he found:

  • The sit-down restaurant meal is likely to be higher in calories and fat than fast food. This is due in part to large portion sizes.
  • A meal at Subway may be lower in calories and fat than a meal at McDonald’s, but depends on what type and size of sandwich (and condiments) you choose.
  • The Weight Watchers menu at Applebee’s really is much lower in fat and calories than the regular menu, even better than Subway.
  • No matter where you eat, you are likely to get a lot of sodium in your meal, at least 50% of your daily recommended intake even if you chose the “healthy” options.

So, what will you have for lunch today?

 

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Good for you and good for the Earth. Celebrate Earth Day by making healthy choices.

Posted on April 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Today is Earth Day! How are you planning to celebrate?

You can learn more about Earth Day and steps you can take to reduce your impact on the environment here.

Did you know that some choices you make are good for the environment and your health? For example, walking instead of driving and eating more vegetables instead of meat are two ways you can improve your health and help the environment. You can read more about this in my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

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Candy and soda for breakfast! The truth about popular children’s breakfast foods.

Posted on April 16, 2013 | 1 comment

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? A healthy breakfast can help kids pay attention and do better in school. In adults, a good breakfast can reduce hunger and help with weight control. That’s probably not new.

You may be surprised to learn that many  popular breakfast foods for children—and adults—are anything but healthy. In fact, many of these choices more closely resemble candy and soda than a healthy start to the day!

This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week. It was also a project that one of my students, Brittney Austin, worked on this semester. While some of the results clearly showed that some breakfast foods were essentially candy, like frosted Pop-Tarts which have nearly as many calories and as much sugar as a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

In other cases, the comparison is more complicated. For example, Sunny D orange drink contains only 5% juice but has as much added sugar as a Coke. It is essentially orange soda without the bubbles. But when you consider that 100% orange juice has as much sugar as the Sunny D, maybe the “orange soda without bubbles”  isn’t so bad.

But it is! While it is true that the sugar content is essentially the same, the real orange juice also contains vitamins and minerals. And  even though some “juice” drinks have added vitamins and minerals, the real juice is still better. Here’s why: children who drink the artificially sweetened juice flavored drinks may become accustomed to the unnaturally sweet taste and find that they don’t like naturally sweetened juice or whole fruit. So even if the nutrients are the same as real juice, the “juice” drinks can lead kids away from eating fruit—a bad outcome!

Take a close look at what your children eat for breakfast. Is it a healthy meal or candy and soda in disguise? And take a good look at your own breakfast. It may not be much better!

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