High Cholesterol Can Cause Dementia - Exercise Helps

By Randy Holland | August 7, 2009

A new study released by Kaiser Permanente warns that borderline or high cholesterol levels are tied to an increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia, even in individuals as young as 40.

The findings show that participants with high cholesterol (a value of 240 or more) had a 66% greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease later in life. People with borderline-high cholesterol (between 200 and 239) had a 25% risk. The American Heart Association notes that more than 106 million Americans have borderline high cholesterol levels.

“This is a modifiable risk factor that can be changed,” said Rachel Whitmer, senior author of the study. Dr. Larry Bergstrom from the Mayo Clinic reiterates this point and says for patients wanting to improve lipids, he emphasizes the need to “think of their whole life” and modify from there. Leading experts conquer that the best approach to keep cholesterol low is an overall lifestyle change consisting of three key ingredients: daily exercise, stress reduction, and proper nutrition.

Offering a superb array of equipment and classes, health clubs are an ideal environment to take your daily “prescription” of exercise and thus, help keep stress at bay. Some clubs have personal trainers and nutritionists on site to help guide members on their journey to a healthier lifestyle. Continue to make exercise and eating well a priority to maintain proper cholesterol levels, and to live a longer, healthier life.

Read the full article.

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Childhood Obesity Triples

By Randy Holland | July 31, 2009

According to the journal of Academic Pediatrics, severe childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last 25 years. It is a problem that has reached epidemic proportions and is setting up future generations for a lifetime of chronic disease, especially diabetes, and is contributing to the burgeoning health care crisis.

The findings of the report, further demonstrate the need for the health club industry, parents, schools, and government to help lead the charge against this epidemic. The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, recommend that children and adolescents do 60 minutes of physical activity each day. As an industry, we can help children and families to reach this goal by providing a safe environment for exercise in the care of professionals.

“Children are not only becoming obese, but becoming severely obese, which impacts their overall health,” said Joseph Skelton, M.D., lead author and director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) Program. “These findings reinforce the fact that medically-based programs to treat obesity are needed throughout the United States and insurance companies should be encouraged to cover this care.”

“These findings demonstrate the significant health risks facing this morbidly obese group,” wrote the researchers in their report. “This places demands on health care and community services, especially because the highest rates are among children who are frequently under-served by the health care system.”

Read the full article.

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Go See “Food, Inc.”

By Randy Holland | July 31, 2009

Don’t miss the chance to see the new documentary, “Food, Inc.” In Nashville, it’s playing at the Belcourt Theater in Hillsboro Village now through August 6.

The film reveals what the food industry wants to keep secret. Don’t worry, this is no animal cruelty saga. It’s not graphic in that sense. Instead, the filmaker shows us just how fragile our food supply system is and the recklessness that is inevitably resulting, especially given the secrecy they have been able to maintain thus far.

Fortunately, the producers give practical solutions that you and I can do to change things right where we are, right now.

After Jenny and I saw it, we sent our young-adult kids who were at least as affected as we were.

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Thin People Fat on the Inside?

By amarek | March 9, 2009

If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble. Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas - invisible to the naked eye - could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.

“Being thin doesn’t automatically mean you’re not fat,” said Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.

According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. “The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined,” said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain’s Medical Research Council.

Without a clear warning signal - like a rounder middle - doctors worry that thin people may be lulled into falsely assuming that because they’re not overweight, they’re healthy.

Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores - a standard obesity measure that divides your weight by the square of your height - can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside.

Of the women scanned by Bell and his colleagues, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had excessive levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.

Relating the news to what Bell calls “TOFIs” - people who are “thin outside, fat inside” - is rarely uneventful. “The thinner people are, the bigger the surprise,” he said, adding the researchers even found TOFIs among people who are professional models.

The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “Even if you don’t see it on your bathroom scale, caloric restriction and physical exercise have an aggressive effect on visceral fat,” said Dr. Bob Ross, an obesity expert at Queen’s University in Canada.

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Personal Contact Helps Maintain Weight Loss

By amarek | January 27, 2009

A new study finds that when people have monthly personal contact with a weight-loss professional, they’re able to keep off more weight.

The study also found that people using an interactive Website were more likely to maintain their weight loss than people who didn’t.

“Two and a half years after weight loss, the personal contact group had gained less weight. The difference was only 3.3 pounds [between the personal contact group and the interactive technology group], but even small amounts of weight loss can improve health,” said study lead author Dr. Laura Svetkey, a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

Results of the study are published in the March 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and are to be presented that same day at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Almost 1,700 overweight or obese people were recruited for the study. The first phase of the study was a six-month weight loss program. Groups of dieters met every week for group-based behavioral intervention treatment. Goals for treatment were 180 minutes of exercise each week, reducing caloric intake and adopting the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The weight loss goal per week was one to two pounds.

During the second phase, study volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups for maintenance — the “personal contact” group, the “interactive technology” group, and the “self-directed” group. The personal contact group was contacted 12 times each year by a counselor — three times in person and nine times by phone. The interactive technology group had unlimited access to a special weight-loss Web site designed by the researchers. The “self-directed” group was urged to maintain their weight loss but received no further intervention.

After 30 months, the personal contact group had regained an average of 8.8 pounds less than the self-directed group. The difference between the personal contact group and the interactive technology group was 3.3 pounds.

Overall, 71 percent of the study volunteers maintained at least some weight loss over 30 months.

“Change is possible. Truly, you can make a difference with simply reducing caloric intake and increasing energy expenditure,” said Machesky, who added that this study’s finding suggests that surrounding yourself with people who are supportive could also be helpful.

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What Won’t You Sacrifice?

By amarek | January 21, 2009

A poll was taken for the latest issue of Money Magazine (February 2009). The statistics might interest you.

When people were asked the question of what they were willing and unwilling to give up in this down economy, 1,383 respondents gave some interesting answers. I have also agreed or disagreed and left a small comment.

Not willing to give up

48% Gym membership: I agree, our bodies and health should not be neglected under any circumstances. After all if you don’t have your health…what do you have?


41% Eating out: I do not agree. Home cooking is less expensive, you have more portion control, and over all a healthier and smarter decision….in my opinion.


35% Extra car: I concur. Although I have considered trading in my husband’s car for a scooter!

30% Premium cable: Don’t agree. Pick up a good book instead

20% Fine wines and spirits: Tough one.

Willing to give up

89% New gadget: Agree! Although life without GPS can be difficult if you travel a lot.

87% Sporting events: Agree!

83% Big vacation: Agree. There are always small weekend getaways.

80% Expensive clothes: I agree! In an over consuming society we probably all have more than enough clothes to wear. If you’re really in need, check out Good Will, consignment shops or thrift stores.

78% Cultural events: I don’t really agree here. Being an artist myself I have to help support other artists.

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Exercise Combats Cancer Fatigue

By amarek | January 12, 2009

Exercise may help improve fatigue caused by cancer and its treatments, new research says.

“A lot of time, the medical response to patients is that they should expect to be fatigued, that it is a normal side effect. If patients are told that fatigue is just a side effect and to accept it, what they are not getting is any advice or support to help them cope,” review lead author Fiona Camp, a lecturer at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said in a prepared statement.

Camp and her colleagues examined data on more than 2,000 cancer patients in 28 studies, which tested exercise programs that lasted from three weeks to eight months. The typical duration was 12 weeks. Walking and stationary bike riding were the most common types of exercise in the studies.

The researchers found that exercise is more effective at combating cancer-related fatigue than the usual care provided to patients.

“Exercise shouldn’t be used in isolation but should definitely be included as one of the components in the package of interventions used during and after treatment,” Camp said.

She said a clearer “exercise prescription” for cancer patients can be developed after experts learn more about what intensity, frequency, duration and kinds of exercise best suit cancer patients. Until then, available evidence shows that exercise therapists, physical therapists and exercise physiologists need to part of cancer patients’ treatment teams, she added.

The review was published in the April 2008 issue of The Cochrane Library.

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Glycemic Load

By amarek | January 6, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to losing weight, the number of calories you eat, rather than the type of carbohydrates, may be what matters most, according to a new study.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that diets low in “glycemic load” are no better at taking the pounds off than more traditional — and more carbohydrate-friendly — approaches to calorie-cutting.

The concept of glycemic load is based on the fact that different carbohydrates have different effects on blood sugar. White bread and potatoes, for example, have a high glycemic index, which means they tend to cause a rapid surge in blood sugar. Other carbs, such as high-fiber cereals or beans, create a more gradual change and are considered to have a low glycemic index.

The measurement of glycemic load takes things a step further by considering not only an individual food’s glycemic index, but its total number of carbohydrates. A sweet juicy piece of fruit might have a high glycemic index, but is low in calories and grams of carbohydrate. Therefore, it can fit into a diet low in glycemic load.

However, the effort of figuring out what’s an allowable carb might not be worth it, if the new study is any indication.

Principal investigator Dr. Susan B. Roberts, of Tufts University, Boston, and colleagues found that a reduced-calorie diet, whether glycemic load was high or low, was effective in helping 34 overweight adults shed pounds over one year.

Study participants who followed a low-glycemic-load diet ended up losing roughly 8 percent of their initial weight, as did those who followed a high-glycemic-load diet.

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Exercise plus Good Food can Half Breast Cancer Deaths

By amarek | January 6, 2009

Eating healthily and taking regular exercise can slash a breast cancer victim’s risk of dying, according to scientists.

They found that walking briskly for half an hour and eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day halved the chances of dying from the disease, even if a woman was obese.

In the first study to look at the impact of both diet and physical activity on breast cancer survival, a team from the University of California at San Diego studied 1,490 women with an average age of 50.

The women, who had all undergone primary therapy for early-stage breast cancer, were taking part in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living study, looking at the effects of lifestyle on health.

The researchers found that women who were both physically active and had a healthy diet were much more likely to survive for between five and 11 years than the rest of the group.

Only around 7 per cent of the ‘healthyliving’ women died within 11 years - about half that seen for the others taking part in the study.

Dr John Pierce, from the university’s Moores Cancer Centre, said: “We demonstrate in this study of breast cancer survivors that even if a woman is overweight, if she eats at least five servings of vegetables and fruits a day and walks briskly for 30 minutes, six days a week, her risk of death from her disease goes down by 50 per cent. The key is that you must do both.”

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How to get the most out of your health club membership in 2009

By amarek | December 22, 2008

IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) offers these tips on how to get the most out of your health club membership in 2009:

(1)  Make sure you haven’t overlooked any of the amenities your club offers.  Ask for a “refresher” introductory tour to make sure you haven’t forgotten about any of the special perks your health club offers- make sure you use any of these value-added services!

(2)  Make the most of the free classes.  It’s always a good idea to mix things up.  Not only do exercise classes offer a chance to challenge your body and improve your strength and balance in new and different ways, but they provide an opportunity to meet new people and keep your workout routine “fresh.”

(3)  Try a personal trainer.  A personal trainer can help develop a regimen tailored specifically to your workout needs. Most clubs that offer personal trainers will provide one or two complimentary sessions.  This is a great way to find the trainer that is right for you.

(4)  Spread the health.  Ask about guest passes so you can bring a friend to the club and introduce them to the healing-and motivating-power of exercise.

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