In a recent survey of 16,000, Glamour magazine readers, 40% of the respondents expressed displeasure with their bodies. The good news, it didn’t take much to feel better. Simply by engaging in exercise regardless of body changes has been linked to improvement in self assessment.
The study published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Health Psychology was based on body image. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there was a connection between exercise and improved self image. As expected those who exercised were less critical of their bodies, but actual physical improvements were not necessary for the subjects to feel better about their appearance.
Take home message- Any type of exercise on a regular basis is good for mind and body. A little bit can go a long way!
The New York Times recently published a article titled How much exercise will prevent weight gain? A question we health conscious people ponder frequently. We all have learned the journey of weight loss is like a long hard marathon, up some big hills and down others. Keeping weight off is even more difficult.
Harvard researchers set out to pinpoint just how much exercise middle aged women need to avoid weight gain as they age. The researchers found out that an hour of physical activity a day, such as brisk walking, biking, ballroom dancing and playing with children can prevent women of normal weight from gaining more than five pounds in a three year period. Higher intensity exercise like jogging or cycling will get the job done in half the time.
Women who got the same amount of exercise but were heavier at the start if the study were unable to avoid gaining weight. The same holds true for women who did not delegate the same amount of time to exercise. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The average weight gain over a fifteen year period was five pounds, the study did not take into account diet.
Take home message- Exercise will help maintain weight. Diet modification (caloric restriction) will help achieve weight loss. Lifestyle modification through diet and vigorous exercise is the best strategy for weight loss as well as improving over all health.
We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but did you know it is especially important for girls. A new study suggests consuming high levels of cereal during a young girls life can affect her weight and fat levels later in life.
A recent study appeared in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association , researchers studied more than 2,300 girls in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. From age 11.5 until they reached 18.6 years of age, the girls were measured six times for specific parameters, such as percent body fat and waist-to-hip ratio.
Researchers discovered that by their late teens, the girls
who ate cereal on a regular basis during childhood had a lower body fat content and lower total cholesterol levels. Also noted the girls were more likely to engage in high levels of physical activity and spend less time watching television.
Take home message- One good habit leads to another.
Cheers, maybe, maybe not! Light to moderate drinking may keep the pounds away. Normal weight women who drank 5 – 30 grams of alcohol daily gained less weight and had a lower risk of risk of becoming overweight or obese than either tee toddlers or women who drank to much according to the March issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
A 12- ounce beer contains 11 grams of alcohol, 5 ounces of red wine contain 15 to 16 grams and a 1.5 ounce of whiskey contains 14 grams of alcohol. Alcohol is high in calories and in the long run may result in weight gain.
The researchers conducted an analysis of data of 19,220 women participating in the Women’s Health Study, all were over the age of 38, disease free and had a normal body mass baseline. They reported their weight and alcohol consumption on a questionnaire at the start of the study and reported their weight again on eight annual follow-up questionnaires. They were followed for 12.9 years. During that time 41.35% of the women became overweight or obese, while 3.8% became obese. The average weight gain was 8 pounds for those who didn’t drink and 3.5 for those who were moderate drinkers.
The researchers found an inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and subsequent weight gain. Weight gain was largest for women who did not consume alcohol then steadily decreased with increasing alcohol intake. After adjusting for variables as nonalcoholic intake, lifestyle factors, the risk of becoming overweight or obese diminished as women drank more moderately. This association tends to differ with men who seem to add dietary intake, while women substitute dietary intake for alcohol. Gender differences regarding alcohol metabolism may also play a role. The researchers called for further investigation into the relationship between alcohol intake and weight gain.
Take home message- Balance, we can’t escape the fact that when alcohol is consumed it is fast calories. To avoid weight gain it is wise to scale back dietary intake.
Most of us have a difficult time maintaining a healthy weight at some point in our life. Researchers have now explored the relationship between our environment and weight gain, specifically how many televisions are in our home.
A report published in the October issue of Annals of Behavior Medicine offered insights into the habits of successful losers. The researchers examined surveys of 167 people throughout the United States who had maintained a 10% body fat loss for 5 years. They also examined overweight people with a history of dieting. The results of the study showed successful losers were more likely to exercise, control dietary intake and had fewer televisions.
Lead researcher Suzanne Phelan, assistant professor of kinesiology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, states if you want to be a successful dieter take a good look at your environment, is there a TV in every room, are there high fat foods in your house?
As I make my way through our local health food store I seem to always stop in the natural sweetener aisle to see if a new product arrived on the market. Usually what I find is it’s all the same from my last visit. What you will find is agave, maple syrup, sugar and honey.
Agave seems to be getting all the buzz and many consumers have replaced their usual sweetener with agave nectar. Agave nectar is derived from agave nectar plant and has become popular because of its low glycemic index.
A study in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported that agave is not as wonderful as we may think. Researchers who evaluated the total antioxidant content of 12 different natural sweeteners were surprised by the low antioxidant level found in agave when compared with other sweeteners. The ingredients of agave consisted of refined corn syrup, sugar and contained the least level of antioxidants of the sweeteners compared.
The sweeteners with the highest level of antioxidants- dark and black strap molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar and honey. Honey was the overall winner!
Moderate alcohol use has been getting some good press recently. A new study as part of the Diabetes Prevention Program examined the association between alcohol consumption and diabetes risk factors in more then 3,000 participants. All subjects had impaired glucose tolerance, elevated fasting glucose levels and a body mass index of 24 or greater.
Surprising after one year study period, high alcohol consumption was associated with lower insulin secretion at any level of insulin sensitivity; there was also a lower incidence rate of diabetes with higher alcohol consumption.
