Seasonal Weight Changes Linked To Metabolic Syndrome

Seasonal changes in weight increase the risk for metabolic syndrome, a group of scientists from National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

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This finding was based on analysis of 8,028 individuals, representative of the general population aged over 30, who attended a nationwide health examination survey.

According to the current study, individuals with metabolic syndrome have more seasonal changes in their mood and behavior. The study concludes that the seasonal changes in weight in particular are linked to metabolic syndrome.

With people having the 'winter blues' the risk of metabolic syndrome is heightened by 56 per cent. The negative effect of the seasonal changes equals to the protective effect against metabolic syndrome gained with regular physical exercise.

Because of easy assessment the scoring of seasonal changes in weight might be taken as a routine part of health status examination in persons being at risk of or currently having metabolic syndrome. If there were these changes, treatment options including scheduled exposures to light and regular physical exercise need to be considered.

"Disruption of circadian rhythms has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders. Our results give support to the hypothesized links between the metabolic and circadian cycles generated and guided by the circadian clock", says Timo Partonen, MD, academy research fellow of the group. "Our findings herein now extend these links to include relationships between the metabolic and seasonal fluctuations."

The current findings now suggest that abnormalities in the circadian clockwork predispose to seasonal changes in weight and to metabolic syndrome. This means that the circadian clockwork may well be a key to public health.

Obesity is an increasing problem concerning public health. High caloric intake or low physical exercise for example may lead not only to obesity but also to hypertension, insulin resistance and abnormal circulating lipid levels. These abnormalities tend to coincide and contribute to the term metabolic syndrome.

Reprinted from ScienceDaily (January 23,2008)

Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light Therapy at MEF

Studies of light therapy for SAD go back to the 1980s, but many have been small, short, or flawed in significant ways. Still, there’s enough wheat amid the chaff to safely say that light therapy does help some people with SAD. Most studies have found it to be more effective first thing in the morning than later in the day.

Some SAD light boxes look like medical equipment, while others are more like regular table lamps. The prices vary, but from our quick look online, it seems you should expect to spend in the range of $100 to $200. Professional groups and government agencies have endorsed light therapy, but your insurance company may balk. If you are counting on coverage, better check first.

You can start gradually, but most studies suggest SAD sufferers need about 30 to 45 minutes of exposure to a 10,000-lux light source daily for light therapy to be effective. Lux is a measure of light intensity; 10,000 is about the intensity of light from the sun at dawn. In most homes in the evening, 300- to 500-lux light is the norm.

Exposure to such bright light has caused some concern about eye damage. Some companies sell light boxes that don’t emit light in the blue part of the spectrum, because blue light is believed to be more damaging to the retina. Others sell equipment that uses LED lights that can be calibrated to emit light in the range of the spectrum that the companies contend is more effective at resetting circadian rhythms. Most experts say regular fluorescent lights — as long as they have an ultraviolet (UV) filter — are safe and effective.

The special light at Main Event Fitness literally energizes the human system by interaction with our light receptors…an advantage for everyone year round, but particularly on the dreary days of the year. In fact, Germany has even banned ordinary cool-white fluorescent lighting in both schools and hospitals for its harmful effects. Ordinary fluorescent lights can emit X-rays, radiation, and radio waves – emissions that can decrease productivity and cause fatigue, confusion, eyestrain, irritability, depression, and hyperactivity in children.

What does it Mean to be "Fit?"

Does fitness matter? I know some people who think the whole notion of fitness is just a waste of time. Their attitude is, "Well, I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well enjoy myself." This, in their mind, gives them license to just do whatever they want. What they don't know, until I mention it, and I'm careful about dropping such a bomb especially at a party, is that the average person will spend the last ten years of his or her life in ill health and most of the diseases, injuries, and surgeries are preventable. And, adults who are physically active in their 50s and early 60s are 35 percent less likely to die in the next eight years than those who are sedentary.

But, the question is still on the table. What does it mean to be fit?

Being fit is not the same thing as being healthy. You can be healthy with low fitness. For example, you may have well controlled blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, be free from any known diseases but not be able to jog five miles. The ability to jog requires a greater degree of physical adaptation than day to day activity. Fitness is the state of being suitably adapted to the demands of an environment. The more demanding the environment, the greater degree of fitness required.

I think of fitness existing across a spectrum from Sedentary to Sport level physical demands. Where people run into trouble, and usually around this time of year, is trying to perform in a more demanding environment with insufficient fitness. There's a mismatch between the person's physical ability and the task. If you look at the graphic, an example of this mismatch is a person with Sedentary level fitness trying to exercise at a Recreational level (e.g. starting a jogging and exercise routine, Recreational Fitness, when you haven't jogged or exercised in many years, Sedentary Fitness). This is how people get hurt and why many people quit their exercise routines.

There are a number of factors which effect your fitness or state of being suitably adapted to an environment: nutrition, strength, flexibility, cardiovascular capability, coordination, balance, mental and emotional capacity. To raise your fitness level, you need proper nutritional support, physically train slightly above your current ability and live below it, and work just as hard on expanding your mental and emotional capacity. If your training is too far above or below, your body is unable to adapt and the result is you will actually become weaker over time (this phenomenon is also known as "over-training").

To really get the most out of life, to really engage with the world, you need a certain amount of fitness. Your challenge is to figure out what you need. How fit do you need to be? How fit do you want to be?

Doug Kelsey

Posted on January 09, 2008 in Training | Permalink

Are you Willing to Suffer?

I read something that really sums up all of life's challenges: "The strength of what we believe is measured by how much we are willing to suffer for those beliefs." This statement could apply to a variety of things (physical, philosophical, emotional, etc.) but in the athletic or nutritional field, it's pretty self-evident. We "get good" at what we practice and there's no two ways about it. If you believe strongly in yourself and have set some attainable yet difficult goals, there will be some suffering...but the finish line is so rewarding because of it. Anyone reading this has had victories that came as a result of hard work and sacrifice...and usually, there was some losing along the way. It never seems to be easy, does it? But that's where the value of the accomplishment is derived - it was tough to get there but awfully rewarding.
by Chris Scully

Calorie Counting made Easy

When you can’t count calories

Guidelines to follow when straight calorie counting is impractical.

1. Eat foods that are filling and low in calories. That means meals and snacks made with whole grains, such as brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and oatmeal, as well as legumes, such as lentils and other beans.

2. When you eat meat, choose lean cuts of meat and modest amounts — about 3½ or 4 ounces per serving.

3. Avoid fried foods. For stovetop cooking, it’s better either to stir-fry foods in nonstick pans lightly coated with a cooking-oil spray or to braise them in broth or wine. Baking, broiling, and roasting add no extra fat to your meals.

4. Use low-fat or nonfat dairy foods. Milk, yogurt, and cheese are good sources of protein and calcium, but the whole-milk versions of these dairy products are very high in fat.

5. Avoid fast foods. Hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, and other fast-food meals and snacks tend to promote weight gain for two reasons. First, they are high in fat, calories, or both. Second, the “value meals” are often excessively large and tempt you to overeat.

Reprinted from Harvard Health Publications

"You Missed Your Calling"

I imagine we've all been told that we've "missed our calling" but what does that really mean? I could argue that you're exactly where you're supposed to be at any moment in time. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was winning Mr. Olympia, did he miss his calling to be the Governor of California? He likely would not have had the opportunity to become Governor had he not gone through the bodybuilding and acting. So when will his "calling" really be determined? Nobody's story is written in full yet...therefore none of us are marching in a linear fashion toward our "calling." Ok, Tiger Woods has been playing golf since he was knee high to a grasshopper and he clearly was destined to be a golfer in the first phase of his life. But his "calling" may not be golf after all - it may just be a vehicle to get him there? He may be end up being the most innovative entrepreneur that the world has ever seen - one that educates kids better than our school systems do? Who knows? So don't be frustrated if you are not "there" yet...there must be a Design and some Artistry to our lives? As the German philosopher, Nietzsche, wrote: "He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW." Just believe that all these zigzags we experience in our quest for answers is part of a grand scheme to make our role in the puzzle something that is meaningful to the universe.
by Chris Scully

Election 2008 | Presidential Candidates' Platforms Reflect Differences in Perspectives of Democratic, Republican Primary Voters on Health Care Issues

"A newly published article in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the contrasting health care platforms of the leading Democratic and Republican presidential candidates reflect underlying differences in the views of their primary voters, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports...

According to the survey, 65% of Democratic voters say they would like presidential candidates to propose plans that would expand health insurance to all residents, regardless of whether such plans would increase government spending. Among Republican voters, 23% would like to hear about proposals that would expand health insurance to all residents, compared with 42% who prefer more limited proposals and 27% who would like to see no changes to the current system, the survey found."

The sad part is that just about everybody wants more from a system that will not be able to deliver their expectations.

Health improvement is a personal responsibility that comes from fitness. At least the parts over which you have control.

Sick care, regularly mischaracterized as health care, is a rescue industry.

As long as we keep getting the two confused, we will not achieve health and we will keep chasing our tails. (Figuratively. If we did it actually and properly, we might be able to improve fitness and health of some people.)

by Michael Applebaum, M.D.

Brittany Spears vs American Soldiers

This has absolutely nothing to do with fitness.

I am tired of seeing this bimbo everywhere - taking the millioinaire's freefall. We have injured soldiers lying in Walter Reed Army Hospital trying to put their lives back together (after getting their bodies put back together); but our antidote for boredom is to read about junk like this instead of doing something positive for these warriors of freedom. We're all guilty of it, I imagine. But why? Why do the positive stories take a back seat to the train wrecks? Maybe if each of us wrote just one soldier a card to thank them for their sacrifice instead of buying one US Magazine, our karma buckets would overflow? I'm not trying to be self-righteous...I just clicked on a Brittany story on the Fox News site and then got disgusted with myself for doing so!
by Chris Scully