Posts Tagged ‘exercise’
Alcohol and the beer belly
Recently, it was announced that many food outlets will start displaying calorie counters on their menus. Now, it appears that the government would like to make drinkers aware of the calorie count in alcoholic drinks. Whether or not they will start demanding that the labelling includes the calorie count is not known.
The campaign aims to focus not just on the health risks but on the weight risks. Though much has been said about alcohol being “empty calories”, it appears that most people are either not aware of what this means or they choose to ignore it. Simply, it means that alcohol is loaded with calories without any other nutritive value. There is a reason that people refer to that paunch as “the beer belly”. The Know Your Limits campaign performed a survey which revealed that many people were unaware of the calorie contents of their alcoholic drinks. For example, a pint of beer is equal in calories to a doughnut, or a glass of wine is equal to a slice of cake.
Focusing on the health risks has not deterred people from drinking, so will focusing on calories and weight do it? It seems unlikely, since obese people are not deterred from eating all those fatty foods. Of course, campaigners argue that drinkers also eat unhealthy foods and this new awareness may change some of their eating habits. If it does, perhaps they can come up with some new ideas on how to curb the eating habits of those who are obese and consume enormous amounts of fat and cholesterol.
Get exercising!
A new study shows that it is never too late to start exercising for your health. The research shows that men who increased their activity starting at the age of 50 lived longer than their sedentary counterparts. The effects on lifespan are similar to someone who gave up smoking during the same period. It did qualify though that weight, smoking and alcohol, all of which contribute to lifespan, had to be accounted for, and that diet will also play an important role. Nevertheless, it does point out that using the excuse “It’s too late for me” is no longer good enough. It’s not too late, so get your butt off the couch!
Rise in diabetes worldwide
If mass stays constant, and people are gaining weight in the UK and US, where are they losing it? It doesn’t seem that human mass stays constant with the rise in obesity worldwide (not to mention the population boom). This obesity has led to an increase in the incidence of diabetes. And diabetes will lead to further health problems.
Though many can treat and control their diabetes with a strict regimen of diet and exercise to lose weight, this does not work for all. Those who go on to full-blown diabetes will find that with time, the condition gets harder to treat. Even as they use diet to modify their disease state, it creates other problems. Complications will develop whether the diabetes is controlled or not.
This, however, should not give diabetics the sense that it is completely out of their control; therefore, they should not be duly concerned about their blood sugars. In fact, they need to be extra careful. That is because good control of diabetes will slow the progression to complications, even if it can’t prevent it. No one wants to have a heart attack or stroke at a young age. It may be normal to think of elderly people suffering those, but uncontrolled diabetics will be prone to them at a young age. Kidney dialysis is another end-point that is rather unpleasant. Once on dialysis, especially hemodialysis, your lifespan will be shortened.
It is a gloomy thought and once given a diagnosis of diabetes, it may be very unnerving. I know, because my mother was a diabetic and I’m constantly worried about if and when I will get it. Diabetes, especially the Type II, does run in families. The best way to prevent it, though, is good diet and exercise. It seems the world has not been listening as it turns to junk food and TV/computer, while it puts on more weight. Now, you have a tremendous increase in diabetes, which will cost billions in medical care in the future.
While treating diabetics is important, emphasis needs to be placed on educating young children on healthy eating and exercise. Genetics has played its part, the environment now needs to take a role.
Sex as a part of your exercise regime
A new report has come out with new claims about the benefits of sex. For years, it has been reported that regular sex helps with your mental well-being. It seems a no-brainer in many ways, doesn’t it? Then there was the report that regular sex helps boost your immune system so that you are not vulnerable to many common illnesses, such as the cold. That’s understandable, as many people fall prone to these ailments when they are under stress. Since sex relieves stress, it should help.
However, the report now claims that the immune system response can also help prevent other illnesses like cancer. Seems a bit far-fetched and some sex experts are skeptical about that. Nevertheless, they approve of the message that sex is good for you. Also, sex is promoted as a cardiovascular exercise, which in turn helps your heart. Yet, the report states that you can burn 300 calories from an hour of vigorous sex. Now, how many people you know can sustain that? With or without Viagra?
OK, I won’t undermine any of the claims nor will I dispute that sex is good for you. But I won’t condone the sexual license some may feel this report gives them. The benefits from sex depends on a healthy relationship with your sexual partner. So, if you have that, then go do it.
Can exercise compete against the TV/computer?
When you go to the doctors, have you ever noticed that you always get the same advice, just expressed in different ways each time? Essentially, the advice is to exercise, eat right, don’t smoke, don’t drink too much, etc. People hear it all the time and they get so tired of it. So much so, that I know some completely tune it out. Once they tune it out, it doesn’t matter if you quote them all the research studies proving this and that benefit.
Exercise has been touted as one of the best ways to combat all kinds of diseases. The latest study shows that it reduces your risk of some forms of colon cancer. Well, to me, that only makes sense. It simply follows from the fact that if you exercised regularly, you are probably not one of those couch potatoes, sitting in front of the TV, munching on chips, nachos, beer, sodas, pizzas, etc. One of the biggest risk factors for colon cancer is fatty foods. Many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancers, arise from sedentary lifestyles.
Though I advocate an active lifestyle, I’m afraid the message is no longer received with much enthusiasm. People may be concerned about their health, but scare tactics by associating inactivity with disease does not seem to motivate people any more. Telling them they need to exercise, especially in reference to their weight or cholesterol levels, can be degrading and demotivating. What they need to hear is that exercise is fun and socially rewarding.
It’s hard to do that when the TV culture is trying its best to get more viewers. Computers and electronic games are also claiming a lot of attention. If we can make the sedentary activities less entertaining, more people might go out and take a walk. I suppose the Wii Fit can be credited with an attempt to get more people active in a fun way, but it costs a lot. What most people need is a form of exercise that is free or cheap, easy to do, and fun. We need to emphasise FUN!
To change people’s attitudes about exercise, doctors, public health workers and the government need to work together to come up with a program to promote exercise and provide a means for it. It would be one way to combat diseases that affect the overall economic health.
