FBC UPFRONT
IHRSA Healthcare Report
Excerpted with permission from the IHRSA* Healthcare Report, a newsletter provided to its member clubs with sponsor support from Star Trac.
Excess weight ups risk of death, no matter where it collects
W
hether you’re shaped like an apple or a pear, if you’re overweight, you
have a higher risk of dying than someone of normal weight, a new European study says. But, those who tend to collect their
weight around the middle – apple-shaped – face an even higher risk of death than those whose excess weight tends to settle in their hips and thighs – pear-shaped. “We found that a large waist circum-
ference is related to a higher risk of death even for individuals who have the same BMI [body mass index, a ratio of weight to height],” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Tobias Pischon, of the German Institute of Human Nutrition. “Therefore, you could say that adipose [fat] accumulation in the abdominal region is even more detrimen- tal than just having an elevated BMI lev- el,” he added. Those with the lowest risk of death
were men with a BMI of 25.3 and wom- en with a BMI of 24.3. A body mass in- dex between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI over 30 is consid- ered obese, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Men with a BMI between 30 and 35 had
a 24 percent increased risk of death com- pared to normal weight men. And women with a BMI between 30 and 35 had a 17 percent increased risk of death compared to their slimmer counterparts, Pischon said. When the researchers factored in ab-
dominal fat, they found that men with the largest waist circumference had more than double the risk of death, and women with the largest waist circumference in- creased their risk of death by 78 percent. (From HealthDay News, Nov. 12 by Serena Gordon)
Obesity rates continue to climb throughout the Western world
In a current health news report titled “Obesity: An Ounce of Pre- vention,” Vision.org life and health writer Alice Abler explores the history of obesity research and awareness, exploring what individuals can do to avoid becoming a future obesity statistic. Obesity rates are escalating and obesity-related diseases continue to take millions of lives. In fact, the American Medical Association claims that obesity kills more Americans every year than AIDS, all cancers and all accidents combined. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) estimates that “300 million people around the world are obese. The task force’s conservative estimates suggest that obesity levels will continue to rise in the early 21st century – with severe health consequences.” IOTF chairman Philip James warns: “Obesity consti-
tutes one of the most important medical and public health problems of our time.”
14 Fitness Business Canada January/February 2009
The good news is that despite the implications of current obesity rates, obesity research and obesity statistics, there are practical ways of breaking the cycle. Each of us can flex our power on an individual level by achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Vision emphasizes that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and stresses the need to educate and prepare the next generation to take care of their health and en- sure they understand the value of maintaining a healthy weight. The role of parents cannot be overemphasized in setting an example of good health. Long-term healthy weight is a result of healthy eating and healthy activity. Vision suggests that the family unit is the ideal training ground for children, and that teaching them about health is of primary importance. The obe- sity rates of the future, whether disturbingly high or comfort- ably low, hinge upon what we model for our children today.
Increasing exercise rather than diet strategies is key to preventing weight gain
“We know that most dieters have some weight regain despite the type of diet they may have been on,” said Lona Sandon, an assis- tant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and spokesper- son for the American Dietetic Association. “The trick to pre- venting weight regain seems to be more in increasing exercise rather than diet strategies.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64