Add this to the list of reasons to avoid obesity. Man, this list seriously could circle the earth by now.

This reason concerns all us men out there…turns out, the more weight you pack on, the worse you’ll fare in your battle against prostate cancer. New reports are showing that a high BMI is associated with a greater risk of dying from the cancer. Yikes.

According to the study: “…the risk of dying of prostate cancer rose significantly with increasing BMI. This amounted to a 25 percent greater risk for men with a BMI between 25 and 29.9, a 46 percent increase for BMIs between 30 and 34.9, and more than double the risk if BMI was 35 or more.” It’s officially added to the list…now get up, get moving and get exercising!

Lets face facts here…kids watch TV, a lot of TV. On the TV they are watching, far too often, according to new studies, they are watching way too much junk in the advertisements that riddle the airwaves. Way too much, those studies are now claiming.

Just how bad has it gotten? According to the article I read, the report showed that “a child aged 8 to 12 can be expected to view 7,600 ads promoting food in a single year.” That’s an average of 21 food related ad’s PER DAY. That means that 21 times a day, your child is being bombarded by temptations for soda, fast food, candy, chips and cookies. Wow.

Folks, there’s an easy solution to this: Turn off the TV. Yep, as crazy, as sacrilegious, as insane as it sounds, turn off the TV, get those kids outside and playing, get them involved with sports, get them hanging out with friends…anything but watching TV for 8 hours a day! Heck, bring the whole family to a Fit Express!

Good for you Al Roker, good for you! I love seeing celebrities who have had positive experiences losing the weight they drastically need to lose, doing some good for the community.

Al Roker, once known as the pudgy weatherman on NBC, a few years back, lost a TON of his weight he was carrying and is now using his famous position to help speak out about another problem plaguing our country…childhood obesity. That’s right, he’s officially signed up to help make a documentary about child obesity and how it’s affecting youth in America today.

The documentary is called, ‘’Childhood Obesity: Danger Zone'’, and “explores why more than 12 million children and teenagers have serious weight problems and the health risks they face. It profiles young people who have successfully turned things around.” I love seeing stuff like this; the more awareness we can have, the more this problem will fade away, hopefully.

This one is aimed at all my fine female friends out there. New studies aimed directly at all of you are showing something unfortunate. The studies are showing that a large percentage of women are so uncomfortable with their own bodies, they refuse to take their clothes off with a husband or partner even in the room.

That’s right, the research showed that 1/3 of women thought they were too fat to even be seen naked by their own husbands or partners. The study also checked into different rooms in the home, and everywhere from the bathroom, to the bedroom showed that large percentages of women wait for the lights to go out before disrobing for any reason.

To me, that’s just sad. First, it’s sad that there are that many women with low enough feelings towards their body image that they can’t feel comfortable, and secondly, it makes me sad that obesity levels and the number of people battling being overweight are high enough that it’s allowing this. Interesting article, head over and check it out.

Not that you needed another reason to act as the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for telling your boss how you REALLY feel about him and up and quitting…new evidence might even give you an even bigger push out the door. Turns out, the more job strain you suffer on a day to day basis, the higher your risk of obesity really is. Wow, now you can officially blame almost EVERYTHING on your job.

What’s crazy is, higher stress levels were also directly linked to excess fat around the middle, which is the most dangerous for your personal health. According to the article I just read, “Chronic stress has been linked to heart disease and the metabolic syndrome, a constellation of symptoms including excess belly fat that increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease…job stress might make people more likely to develop obesity during adulthood as well.”

Yikes. The scary thing is, the study actually researched almost 7,000 people, so the results, as bad as it is, are pretty darn accurate. So, keep all this stuff in mind if you’re working at a stressful job; if you can’t and shouldn’t quit, at least talk to your employer and see if they can offer breaks for exercise, or even discounted gym memberships. At least get your heiny into a Fit Express, work out those frustrations!

What happens when someone is SO afraid of obesity and becoming overweight that they literally go off the deep end on the opposite side of the spectrum? What happens, is just as dangerous and deadly as people that do get overweight or obese. Eating disorders; the dark juxtaposition to those that are obese, it’s not talked about as much, it’s not in the news as much, but it’s just as scary.

According to new reports, eating disorders are on the rise, but what is surprising, is it is affected more men than ever before. So, instead of girls wanting to be super model skinny, it’s boys wanting to be ripped like their male celebrity counterparts. According to Harvard researchers, “in a population of nearly 3,000 adults and found that 25 percent of those with anorexia or bulimia and 40 percent of binge eaters were men.” Wow, I honestly had NO idea it was that bad.

What is perpetuating this problem is that it’s very often overlooked in males. Parents, coaches, and doctors often ignore or misdiagnose the eating disorders despite the fact that men all over the nation are losing control on their never-ending quest for a 6 pack stomach. Stay aware folks, stay concerned and pay attention to the men in your life; a little of things is good, too much can be deadly.

Shocked huh. In a way, I can understand why the Canadian House of Commons would be “Shocked” at the increase in childhood obesity going on inside their country’s not-so-protected borders, but then again, I also can’t, I mean, if it’s happening everywhere else, chances are good it’s happening to you.

That’s right folks, the Canadian Government recently found out that “26 per cent of young Canadians aged two to 17 – more than one in four – are overweight or obese, compared with 12 per cent three decades ago” Yeah, that is a shocking jump, but the fact that it IS jumping like that really should not come as a huge surprise. Kids are eating worse, exercising less and it’s spreading like wildfire.

The report added, “55 per cent of aboriginal children on reserve and 41 per cent off reserve are either overweight or obese.” This problem is very similar to problems we’re facing in the United States, and countries over the world are facing too. We’ve got to do something, that much is sure, start doing your research on exercise, it can only help!

This one isn’t a fitness post, but most certainly about your health. In today’s day and age, cancer is absolutely everywhere. When I say everywhere, I really do mean it, absolutely everywhere. I’ve posted before on how much exercise can help reduce that cancer risk, and now, I found a little diet tip that helps reduce your cancer risk as well.

The beauty is, when you start combining diet tips that help fight cancer, with your daily exercise regime that ALSO helps fight cancer, you’re getting a powerful cancer fighting combination that can put your body into a healthier spot than ever before. This new anti-cancer boost, actually comes in the form of berries. That’s right, berries. According to the article:

“In a lab, they prepared an extract made from black raspberries and added it to the diet of rats that had been exposed to a cancer-causing substance. Those rats developed up to 80 percent fewer colon tumors and 40 percent to 60 percent fewer esophageal tumors than rats exposed to the same carcinogen that hadn’t received the raspberry extract. Based on the findings, the scientists have begun tests in people with Barrett’s esophagus (a condition of the esophagus that increases risk of esophageal cancer) and precancerous colon polyps.”

While the results are still not in on the latest human study, it is clear that there are very promising results at hand. The best thing we can all do is lower our risk of collectively dying at premature ages from diseases that we can actually lower our risk of. From cancer, to diabetes, to obesity related heart disease and high blood pressure, all of these can be directly combated by proper diet and exercise. Lets start fighting back!

If you can honestly find me one person who doesn’t honestly want a flatter, tighter, fitter tummy, I will pay you money. I don’t know how much money I will pay you, but I will pay you, because honestly, who doesn’t want to be tighter, toner and flatter? No one I can think of.

That said, why not take the appropriate steps to achieving that goal? Why not get up, get moving and get on the appropriate diet and exercise plan to really make a difference with your body shape and overall fitness. I just found a sweet article packed with 10 tips to a flatter tummy; as always, read the full article, then head back to Fit Express and learn all about circuit training!

Here are the tips, again, head over to CyberNoon to read the full article:

Tip 1: The Pinch Test
This is the simplest and most effective way of finding out how much excess weight you are carrying.
All you have to do is stand up and pinch the roll of skin under your belly button. If your weight is normal, this roll of skin will be very slight.

Tip 2: Stand up straight
Good posture is essential if you do not want your tummy to protrude. Your stomach is linked to your body - Standing up straight and tucking your tummy in certainly does improve the figure. You also need to think about breathing deeply and totally relaxing the stomach.

Tip 3: Use Chronobiology
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. It is better for your figure to eat more in the morning and less in the evening. Dividing our daily intake of food into five or even six meals reduces the risk of putting on weight.

Tip 4: Give up Smoking
It is commonly thought that giving up smoking can make you put on weight, but fewer people know that cigarettes are the arch enemy of a flat stomach. Smoking disrupts the digestion and causes hypoglycaemia. It interferes with the digestive juices, particularly when you smoke during or just after a meal. Bloating and flatulence are inevitable.

Tip 5: Choose the right clothes
Your personal style is important. While you are waiting for that ironing- board stomach to appear, choose colours and shapes that hide the protruding bits. Be merciless in throwing out anything that is unflattering or that makes you look fatter and shorter.
Tip 6: Stay Calm
Stress is the number one enemy to beat if you want to loose weight, particularly in the tummy area. Your stomach is the best barometer - if you are stressed it will be too and it will stay swollen until you are feeling better. Stress can make you overeat.

Tip 7: Eat Better
Shift to organic food. Have plenty of water, whole grains, 50% of the food should be fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the main source of antioxidants in our body as they prevent heart and degenerative diseases, cancer and inflammation in our body. Use filtered or cold pressed oils like ground nut, sesame mustard. Cut down on caffeine add herbal teas and infusions.

Tip 8: Exercise
Daily exercise for atleast 40 minutes is a must. It works on various levels to combat our excess curves. It increases energy expenditure, mobilizes both sugar and fat reserves, preserves base energy levels as muscle mass is not reduced. As an added bonus it causes an increase in the fat burning hormones.

Tip 9: Eat more fiber
A flat stomach is first and foremost a healthy tummy. One of the key things to do is to add fiber to your daily food intake. Incorporate fruits, vegetables, whole grains, brown rice slowly into your diet.

Tip 10: Banish Alcohol
Alcohol has many drawbacks. The most significant drawback is that it is transformed into fat and stored in the tummy area. Leave behind beer, liquers etc and try drinks such as green tea, coconut water or water flavoured with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Start today on your way to a flatter stomach and a healthier you!”

I have good news and I have bad news. First, the bad news. It’s not a good thing to have a love/hate relationship with exercise. I wish everyone out there, and I do mean EVERYONE could just have a love/love relationship with it instead. If everyone loved exercising, everyone would do it more, everyone would be healthier, and everyone would live longer. If.

Now, the good news. You are absolutely not alone in that love/hate relationship. Au contraire friends of mine, I just found an article packed FULL of other people’s gripes and love letters to this thing we call exercise. You are not alone my friends, everyone, and I truly believe everyone, has a love/hate relationship.

Head over and read the full article, packed with all the emotions, you won’t be sorry you did…not only do you hear other people’s thoughts on the topic, you’re also going to get a lot of helpful tips! When you’re done, head back to Fit Express and check out circuit training!