Scientific
Scientific
On Stress and Belly Fat
Writer and runner Haruki Murakami has a great line in his book Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: Walking behind a beautiful young fat woman, the narrator speculates, "There must be as many paths of human fat, as there are ways of human death."
Well, some Wake Forest researchers have found an exception to Murakami's rule: The searchers fed monkeys an "average American diet," and the monkeys got fat. Shocker! But here's the wrinkle: The researchers also found that if the monkeys ate American food and experienced prolonged stress, they got fat in a particular, common way. They developed belly fat.
That's bad news because belly fat is linked to heart disease in monkeys and in humans. People with larger waistlines -- over 40 inches in men, and over 35 inches in women -- are at significantly higher risk for all sorts of trouble: Diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, among others.
Yet another reason to manage your stress: Lose the belly, and nurture your own, natural, even literary, fat profile.
Scientific
Soccer Players Healthier than Joggers
British researchers divided 36 random men into three groups: a soccer group, a running group and a control group....
More...During the 12 week program, the soccer group improved maximal oxygen uptake...62% more than the running group....lost an average of 50% more fat than the running group...and also had an increase in lean body mass of 3.75lbs, an increase in lower extremity bone mass, a greater decrease in LDL-cholesterol and an increase in fat oxidation. The running group saw none of these changes.
Scientific
What Do Barefoot Runners Do When It's Cold?
Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman explains the science behind barefoot running in this truly informative video. But maybe the most informative part: Shots of Lieberman running around snowy Boston barefoot and in shorts and a t-shirt. Apparently, running barefoot improves your stride and also makes you magically impervious to winter.
Online & Video
Scientific
Pizza and Soda Taxes Could Save Us From The Obesity Apocalypse
Attention doubters of the potential effectiveness of a soda tax: A twenty-year study of more than 5,000 adults conducted by UNC Chapel Hill, shows that as the cost of pizza and soda increases, people's pizza and soda consumption goes down. Other things the study shows going down as pizza and soda prices increase: the weight of the study participants. That's right: when pizza and soda cost more, we lose weight. The study concludes that if there were an 18% tax on pizza and soda, we'd all lose an average of 5 pounds per year.
Newslinks
No One Wants to Workout For Their Health, Apparently
Last week's New York Times reported that exercise was basically magic, and urged us all to exercise for the sake of our health. Today, the New York Times is back, reporting, that unfortunately, no one wants to do anything for the sake of their health. As one motivational psychologist puts it: "The ‘health’ and ‘weight-loss’ brand of exercise doesn’t create desire in people to exercise on a daily basis. It makes the behaviors feel like a chore and a ‘should,’ which undercuts our desire to do them." But apparently we're not all doomed to be fat Muggles who won't work out just because it's good for us. There is an answer. And that answer is twofold: fun and friends. If you work out with friends and your workout is something you find fun, that's when the enchantment begins.