I’ve always said on this blog that Knowledge is Power. I am saying it again, ready…Knowledge is Power. There.

So, that being the case, I decided it was time you were all a lot more knowledgeable about Trans Fats. They are in the news a whole heck of lot lately, for good reason, and as such, we should all be extremely educated as to what they are, what they do, what they are in, and why we should all avoid them like the plague. So, first look below at the little chart I found in this great article, then head over and read the entire article that is jam-packed with everything you never knew you needed to know about trans fat.

When you’re done reading it, head over to Fit Express and read all about the best way to combat trans fats if you’ve already eaten a bit too much. With our hydraulic resistance circuit training equipment, 30 minutes a day will give you a lifetime of great health!

Times they are a changin’. With advances in technology, knowledge and understanding, things that once seemed impossible are now very much possible. We’re advancing so much, in fact, that some technologies are being offered to younger and younger patients than ever before. With this, comes controversy.

One such thing that’s under constant scrutiny is the availability of obesity related surgeries to teenagers and adolescents. People stand on both sides of the fence as to whether or not it should be allowed for younger patients, and as such, a new 5-year intensive study is about to kick-off that will investigate exactly what the consequences are for these surgeries on younger patients. Forty years ago this would have never been an issue as severe obesity was almost entirely limited to adults. Now, however, the age at which people become obese is getting younger and younger.

I couldn’t be happier an official study is being done as the article I just read summed it up nicely, “Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that about 2 million U.S. adolescents may be severely obese and have complications of obesity previously seen only in adults.” In the meantime, while we wait for those results, get your kids up, exercising and staying as healthy and fit as possible. Prevention is still the best idea!

Happy Monday everyone! It’s officially Spring, as far as I am concerned, and if I am saying that, stuck in Montana’s chilly clutches, you should be saying it too! That said, with Spring and Summer comes a whole new set of risk factors you need to be prepared for; one of the most dangerous and easiest to overlook…Skin Cancer.

That’s right, if you’re like me and, well, most everyone else, with this warmer weather comes an increased chance you’re going to be soaking up the rays each day. The more sun your skin gets, the higher your chances of getting skin cancer, and lets face it, skin cancer is Not fun. So what can you do? According to new studies, eat fruit! Researchers are finding that “grape seed and black raspberry extracts may prevent skin cancer.” Does this mean you should forget about the sun-screen? No. But the more you eat of each, the lower your chances of getting the deadly disease, so why not use the two in tandem?!

It’s almost Summer, you’re going to be outside a lot more, your exercise routines might even be shifting to the great outdoors, if and when they do, make sure you are prepared, and careful. Lather up on that sunscreen, eat those grapes and black raspberries, and stay hydrated!

Man, you go and try to do a nice thing and all you get is advocacy groups jumping down your throat?! Well, I guess I can see both sides of this ongoing saga. Turns out, advocacy groups are now campaigning to have Shrek, the green ogre of film fame, impeached from his role in a new anti-obesity campaign.

The Department of Health and Human Services is using Shrek as their official spokesperson for their new anti-obesity campaign, but people who think he’s not the right fit for the job are arguing that in his newest movie, “Shrek the Third,” there are far too many references to unhealthy food to make him the right fit for the job. Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood was quoted as saying, “There is an inherent conflict of interest between marketing junk food and promoting public health.”

Yikes, harsh words. I think the bottom line is this, they are trying to do a good thing, and despite the fact that there most likely are unhealthy references in films starring Shrek, kids WILL respond to him, and seeing him adopt a role that promotes healthy eating and living, is a great thing. What do you think? Sound off…

Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully this weekend brings you increasingly “Spring-Like” weather to get you and your entire family up and outside! Need even more incentive to literally turn off the television and get your fam outside? I thought you might. How about this little gem of a fact: Kids eat 100% more after viewing food commercials on television. 100% MORE!

That’s right, a recent study by the University of Liverpool has found that,

“60 children ages 9 to 11 of various weights were shown a series of food and toy commercials followed by a cartoon. Food intake for all the children was significantly higher following the food commercials…Obese children were impacted the worst, increasing their food intake some 134 percent following a food advertisement. Overweight children ate 101 percent more after a food commercial, while children of a normal weight increased their food intakes by 84 percent.

While this study is for now, a study taking place over the pond, its implications are widespread and the correlation between our country and theirs is not hard to make. The bottom line is, our children are watching more and more television each day, the number of commercials is going up on each channel, and when you put those two things together you have a powerful combination.

I don’t think it’s a big secret that for a long, long time, school lunches have been about the furthest thing from what we’d all call healthy. From the availability of actual fast-food brands in the school lunchroom, to the vending machines in the hallways, to the all around unbalanced meals served in cafeterias, it’s clear that lunches and school food has been and still is a problem.

Congress has stepped in and that could mean a big goodbye to sodas, candy, sweets and fatty foods in schools around the nation. Apparently, Congress has officially asked the Institute of Medicine to develop a strict set of standards for schools across the country. Finally! How’s this for a sweet quote from the article, “The alarming increase in childhood obesity rates has galvanized parents and schools across the nation to find ways to improve children’s diets and health, and we hope our report will assist that effort,” said Virginia A. Stallings, head of the committee that prepared the report. “Making sure that all foods and drinks available in schools meet nutrition standards is one more way schools can help children establish lifelong healthy eating habits…”

As I mentioned in my previous post, a whole lot more of this needs to be going on, in a whole lot more places. Everyone needs to mobilize, get educated, and spread the word about health and the need for positive fitness attitudes. Read the article then head over to Fit Express and check out all of our hydraulic resistance circuit training equipment, we have something for everyone and at only 30 minutes a day, you can’t afford to NOT work out!

When you’ve got a famous name, you’d better use it for good. That’s what I always say. If people know you, for whatever reason, they tend to listen to you a bit more, and based on that principle, Rachael Ray has definitely done the right thing. Turns out she has officially joined former President Bill Clinton in the fight against childhood obesity.

Kudos go out to Rachael Ray on this one because she really is doing a good thing. According to the article I just read, “Ms. Ray will work with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the organization President Clinton’s foundation and the American Heart Association created to combat diabetes and childhood obesity…The alliance last year elicited promises from soft-drink and food manufacturers to sell healthier products in school vending machines. It also works with schools that are reforming their lunchrooms and physical education programs.”

Seriously, this is great news. The more celebrities that can get on board with programs like this, the better off our youth will be. We need athletes, actors, actresses, singers and bands, everyone. Head over and read all about the great things they are doing, then find out how you can get involved. Be a mentor to your kids. Show them how FUN exercise can be!

Just yesterday I did a post about how doctors now believe that breastfeeding might not have quite as potent anti-obesity properties as people at the CDC once believed. Today, I’m finding out that other scientists in other parts of the world are now developing a baby formula that just Might have some anti-obesity properties. Wow.

That’s right, this new formula is going to combine baby milk with a hormone that supposedly suppresses hunger in infants. When they aren’t as hungry, they don’t cry for food as much, and that, in turn, will make them be fed less, according to the scientists behind the study. Obviously this is extremely controversial research, but for now, they are claiming that the addition of leptin will “reprogram” the children’s brains to eat less throughout life. Many people believe that tampering with a baby’s mind in such a fundamental way is dangerous, and questions around ethics are being raised.

So, I ask you, what’s your take? If this is successful should it be allowed? Should it be encouraged or completely avoided at all costs? What SHOULD we do about this childhood obesity problem and furthermore, what should we do about the obesity problems already plaguing every living generation? Sound off…

Are you the type that thinks “Just this once…” when it comes to eating fatty fast food, unhealthy desserts, snacks, or beverages? Do you think “this is the last time,” only to do it again the next day, or the day after? If you are, first off, you’re not alone, but secondly, and more importantly, you should seriously reconsider.

According to new, scary studies, just ONE fatty meal stresses your heart a great deal. The studies showed that even a single trip through the ol’ Drive-Thru can temporarily boost your blood pressure into unhealthy levels. It also showed that people who just ate ONE unhealthy fatty meal showed significantly higher blood pressure levels when under stress than those that ate lower-fat foods. What all could this blood pressure spike mean? For starters, it can cause long term damage to your heart’s health, and it could raise your risk of a heart attack during a high-stress situation.

While the doctors do agree that simply eating one high fat meal on one day won’t cause long term damage, doing it more than once, over a period of time, can. The more you eat, the more risk you are putting on yourself, and the more unnecessary harm you could cause. Stick to the healthy stuff folks, you won’t put McDonald’s out of business, I swear. One thing you can do NOW to combat it, is get exercising; exercise helps drastically reduce the negative effects of the junk you’ve eaten up to this point!

Want additional incentive to keep your body lean and mean? How about it could actually improve your standing at work? How about it could make you less of a problem in your bosses eyes? It’s true and new studies are backing it up. Turns out, overweight workers are costing their bosses more money annually than their healthy-weight counterparts.

That’s right, each year, overweight workers cost their bosses more in injury claims, workers compensation filings, and time off than people who are not overweight. The difference, it turns out, is drastic. Overweight workers have injury and workers comp claims at an alarming DOUBLE the rate of normal weight people. Double. The good news in all this, obesity experts believe that this influx in cost might actually motivate employers to drop some funding into anti-obesity programs, education, and incentives.

What’s more, Duke University researchers found that overweight employees had an average 13 times more lost workdays due to medical problems or injuries and the cost of those was seven times higher than their fit counterparts. So, it goes without saying that staying in better health makes you much less of a cost to your employer, and the less you cost your employer, the more they will be able to pay you! Stay fit, make money?!