Add this one to the big uh-oh pile for big scary things obesity is being linked to.
Doctors and researchers in Florida have discovered a very real link between morbid obesity in toddlers with low IQ scores, cognitive delays and even brain lesions that are eerily similar to the ones seen in patients with Alzheimer’s. Yikes.
As of now researchers believe that these cognitive impairments are due to metabolic imbalances and disturbances that are taking their toll on young brains. Regardless, go read this very scary, but very important article; it will make you stop to think about just how important it is to avoid obesity at Any age.
Some of you might be wondering why out of all the States in the whole United States, I’m just picking one State, and one Plan to do a post on. I’m sure lots of places have plans to fight obesity, I’m sure lots of States are fighting it, the point is, I don’t hear a lot about it, so I figure if I find out that North Carolina has a new plan to try to beat obesity, I’m gonna spread the news, and I hope everyone listens and takes a cue for themselves.
That said, North Carolina indeed does have a new plan to fight obesity and they expect to see major results by 2012. Their plan is called “Eat Smart Move More North Carolina” and is a 5-year plan designed to at minimum keep North Carolina’s obesity rates stable for the next 5 years.
A lot of scientists, doctors and nutrition/exercise experts are on board to really help make this a reality; all I can say is Kudos. I’m glad to see people trying to make a difference, please everyone, keep up the good work, take a hint from N.C. and do something in YOUR State!
We’ve all been there, just getting done with a nice hard workout and the hunger hits. You get home from the gym or from a run and all you want to do is eat, and eat, and eat some more. Mid-way through that eating binge, you gotta ask yourself, what’s the point of the exercise you just did?
That said, I just found a great article with 4 ways to curb post-exercise appetite. As always head over and read the full article when you’re done here, they are great tips!
- Ease Up A Bit - Take a little off your workout next time, harder workouts lead to more hunger. Give your body a bit of a rest.
- Sip More - Thirst always gets mistaken for hunger, before you eat, drink a lot of water.
- Eat Within 30 Minutes - Waiting an hour or more increases hunger and calories you’ll eventually consume. Eat faster.
- Refuel Wisely - Instead of eating an energy bar, go for a carb/protein snack that will actually fill you up but not boost your caloric intake.
Great ideas! Remember them next time you get done at Fit Express!
News on the fertility front: according to body specialists, doctors, and researchers, before women are to receive fertility treatments they Must be made to lose weight if they are obese.
All this is going down over at the BFS (British Fertility Society) and they believe that women with BMI’s over 29 should be assigned to a dietitian and given accurate exercise advise; meanwhile their fertility treatments would have to be deferred until they met the new guidelines.
Apparently all this is happening because their research is showing that obese women are “less likely to get pregnant and more likely to encounter health problems.” Whatever the case, with the number of obese women going up each and every year, I wonder how this new change is going to go over.
19 out of 50 isn’t too bad right? Wrong. The fact that the waistlines of people in 31 States in the United States are continuing to expand at astronomical rates is the real news here, not the 19 States that are doing better.
Leading the obesity charge, again, is Mississippi with an estimated 29.5% of all adults there suffering from obesity. This is a 1.1% increase from last year. The one shining star in the flag is Colorado with only 16.9% of the adult population obese. Think of that a moment, how sad is that? The BEST State in the nation still has almost 17% of it’s adult population suffering from obesity.
Regardless, please do read the article as I think it’s beyond important to really see what’s going on in this country. We’re getting worse and worse and something needs to happen. Check out the image below to really get scared.
Working long days might be rougher on your health than we previously thought. It’s been established that usually when people work more, then tend to exercise less, well new evidence is coming to light that shows that longer work days are also linked to high blood pressure. Yikes.
It also turns out, according to studies, the less control you have at your job, the higher still it might make your blood pressure. What it all boils down to, is job stress, time spent at work, and sometimes, the actual nature of the job.
Head over and read all the facts about it, and then head back here or to Fit Express; the best way to beat high blood pressure (doctor approved, of course) is to get yourself immersed in an exercise plan. A solid plan of exercise and proper diet control can get your blood pressure down to healthy, manageable levels.
Just like I mentioned in the previous post for today, the old excuse about not having enough time to exercise just doesn’t cut it anymore. Literally all it takes is 30 minutes a day, and I just found another article to back that up. That’s right, 30 minutes of exercise a day really DOES keep the doctor away.
For your own sake, really do head over and read this article about how 30 minutes a day is all it takes to keep your body, mind, heart, and heck just about every other aspect of yourself, in tip-top shape and reduce your risk for a whole slew of diseases and illnesses.
Can’t go wrong, read the article, then go do your 30 minutes of exercise!
Just another reason to watch your weight; U.S. scientists have now discovered that women that are obese get a far more aggressive type of ovarian cancer than their normal weight counterparts. It’s been known already that obesity does increase the chances of developing cancer, but this is the first study to actually show how fat tissue affects how fast and how large a tumor can progress.
At this point, researchers believe that fat cells excrete a protein that actually makes ovarian cancer cells grow more aggressively, translating into more deaths from the cancer than those women who are not obese.
Bottom line, according to the results: “Obesity influenced survival rates, shortened the length of time that the cancer recurred after treatment and led to earlier death from the cancer.”
It’s Monday, and in my experience Monday usually equals Excuses. Excuses for why you don’t want to exercise, why you don’t want to get out of bed and get moving, excuses excuses excuses.
Lucky for YOU, well maybe not so lucky, I found an article with 10 excuse busters so you really have no, well, excuse, for not getting up, getting out, and getting fit. Here are a few of my favorites, as always, visit the full article to read all about it:
- Exercise is Boring - Then you’re doing the wrong exercise. Find a sport, or exercise style that makes you have fun, then stick to it. Hint: Fit Express, you’ll never get bored, I PROMISE.
- I Don’t Have Time - You don’t have 30 minutes? ALL Day? I bet you do. Take 30 minutes, get involved in hydraulic resistance circuit training and get your daily exercise over with in no time at all. It’s one television sitcom worth of time, I think you can spare it.
- Exercise Hurts - Only if you’re doing it wrong; at Fit Express, our hydraulic resistance machines are specially designed to get maximum results with minimum pain. After your workout, the smooth machines won’t leave you sore, ever.
Go read the full article, get all your excuses busted, then get up, get dressed, and Get Moving!
Uh oh for all you Grey’s Anatomy/House/Amazing Race/Real World…etc. fans; turns out if you’re watching 2 or more hours of TV a day, you’re in a MUCH higher risk category of developing obesity and diabetes. Yikes.
Over 68,000 women were studied over a 6 year period has just shown some nasty side-effects. Women who watched as little as 2 hours a day were 23% more likely to become obese, and 14% more likely to develop diabetes.
Don’t get me wrong here, I doubt highly this study or its results are suggesting that merely watching the tube for 2 hours a day are going to get you fat or make you have diabetes, instead, it’s what you aren’t doing during the day that is. Chances are probably higher if you’re watching a lot of TV that you’re exercising less, and sitting around more.
Come to Fit Express and spend 30 minutes a day exercising, do that instead of TV and you’ll see a lot of improvement.