does exercise really keep us healthy?

he still stands

yes, education.

Case in point: I have a female friend who came over a few weeks ago to hang out with me and my wife, she brought over a caramel apple and was trying to tell us that it was a healthy snack. Yes, she is a little overweight. Probably "obese" according to the BMI. I was trying to tell her that the ~300 fat calories from the caramel are much more detrimental than any benefits received from vitamin/nutrients in the apple.

And another thing; cheese should not be a part of every meal you eat.

decides2dream

he still stands wrote:

yes, education.

Case in point: I have a female friend who came over a few weeks ago to hang out with me and my wife, she brought over a caramel apple and was trying to tell us that it was a healthy snack. Yes, she is a little overweight. Probably "obese" according to the BMI. I was trying to tell her that the ~300 fat calories from the caramel are much more detrimental than any benefits received from vitamin/nutrients in the apple.

And another thing; cheese should not be a part of every meal you eat.

:(
:?




yea...i am amazed at times what some think is 'healthy.'
however, what i was referencing was the part in the article (and far from the first time i've read it either) illustrating a correlation between formal education and good health habits. i can see some 'whys' to it, and definite exceptions too, but it just interests me how often it comes up as being a big factor.


"Active people are much less likely to smoke; they’re thinner and they eat differently than their sedentary peers. They also tend to be more educated, and education is one of the strongest predictors of good health in general and a longer life. As a result, it is impossible to know with confidence whether exercise prevents heart disease or whether people who are less likely to get heart disease are also more likely to be exercising."

Indifference71

peacegirl wrote:

g under p wrote:

YES, yes, yes in every way weight, mood, sleep, sex etc. Much better than sitting and eating then doing nothing, welcome home heart attack. :(

Peace

totally agree....I feel like shit if I don't exercise for a few days

+1. I havent had a chance to get to the gym since Saturday and I'm feelin crappy. Cant wait to get to the gym tonight!

Jeanwah

he still stands wrote:

any personal trainer or weightlifter or health nut will tell you that excersize is only 50% of the equation. Diet is the other 50%. I think the article is basically saying that. You have to do good at both to be healthy and to lose weight/build muscle.

That's what I got out of the article too, that exercise ALONE won't keep us thin and at our healthiest. It's a combination that really makes it all work. After I lost all my college weight from dieting and running, I went back to what I was eating and gained a lot of weight back. Basically a combination of healthy diet and exercise is the only real solution.

decides2dream

hmmmm...more interesting stuff:

n Brief:

Weight control is not simply a matter of willpower. Genes help determine the body's "set point," which is defended by the brain.

Dieting alone is rarely successful, and relapse rates are high.

Moderate exercise, too, rarely results in substantive long-term weight loss, which requires intensive exercise.

Americans have been getting fatter for years, and with the increase in waistlines has come a surplus of conventional wisdom. If we could just return to traditional diets, if we just walk for 20 minutes a day, exercise gurus and government officials maintain, America’s excess pounds would slowly but surely melt away.

Scientists are less sanguine. Many of the so-called facts about obesity, they say, amount to speculation or oversimplification of the medical evidence. Diet and exercise do matter, they now know, but these environmental influences alone do not determine an individual’s weight. Body composition also is dictated by DNA and monitored by the brain. Bypassing these physical systems is not just a matter of willpower.

More than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta. Although the number of obese women in the United States appears to be holding steady at 33 percent, for most Americans the risk is growing. The nation’s poor diet has long been the scapegoat. There have been proposals to put warning labels on sodas like those on cigarettes. There are calls to ban junk foods from schools. New York and other cities now require restaurants to disclose calorie information on their menus.

But the notion that Americans ever ate well is suspect. In 1966, when Americans were still comparatively thin, more than two billion hamburgers already had been sold in McDonald’s restaurants, noted Dr. Barry Glassner, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California. The recent rise in obesity may have more to do with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles than with the quality of our diets.

“The meals we romanticize in the past somehow leave out the reality of what people were eating,” he said. “The average meal had whole milk and ended with pie.... The typical meal had plenty of fat and calories.”

“Nostalgia is going to get us nowhere,” he added.

Neither will wishful misconceptions about the efficacy of exercise. First, the federal government told Americans to exercise for half an hour a day. Then, dietary guidelines issued in 2005 changed the advice, recommending 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise a day. There was an uproar; many said the goal was unrealistic for Americans. But for many scientists, the more pertinent question was whether such an exercise program would really help people lose weight.

The leisurely after-dinner walk may be pleasant, and it may be better than another night parked in front of the television. But modest exercise of this sort may not do much to reduce weight, evidence suggests.

“People don’t know that a 20-minute walk burns about 100 calories,” said Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom, director of the weight-management center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “People always overestimate the calories consumed in exercise, and underestimate the calories in food they are eating.”

Tweaking the balance is far more difficult than most people imagine, said Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, an obesity researcher at Rockefeller University. The math ought to work this way: There are 3,500 calories in a pound. If you subtract 100 calories per day by walking for 20 minutes, you ought to lose a pound every 35 days. Right?

Wrong. First, it’s difficult for an individual to hold calorie intake to a precise amount from day to day. Meals at home and in restaurants vary in size and composition; the nutrition labels on purchased foods — the best guide to calorie content — are at best rough estimates. Calorie counting is therefore an imprecise art.

Second, scientists recently have come to understand that the brain exerts astonishing control over body composition and how much individuals eat. “There are physiological mechanisms that keep us from losing weight,” said Dr. Matthew W. Gilman, the director of the obesity prevention program at Harvard Medical School/Pilgrim Health Care.

Scientists now believe that each individual has a genetically determined weight range spanning perhaps 30 pounds. Those who force their weight below nature’s preassigned levels become hungrier and eat more; several studies also show that their metabolisms slow in a variety of ways as the body tries to conserve energy and regain weight. People trying to exceed their weight range face the opposite situation: eating becomes unappealing, and their metabolisms shift into high gear.

The body’s determination to maintain its composition is why a person can skip a meal, or even fast for short periods, without losing weight. It’s also why burning an extra 100 calories a day will not alter the verdict on the bathroom scales. Struggling against the brain’s innate calorie counters, even strong-willed dieters make up for calories lost on one day with a few extra bites on the next. And they never realize it. “The system operates with 99.6 percent precision,” Dr. Friedman said.

The temptations of our environment — the sedentary living, the ready supply of rich food — may not be entirely to blame for rising obesity rates. In fact, new research suggests that the environment that most strongly influences body composition may be the very first one anybody experiences: the womb.

According to several animal studies, conditions during pregnancy, including the mother’s diet, may determine how fat the offspring are as adults. Human studies have shown that women who eat little in pregnancy, surprisingly, more often have children who grow into fat adults. More than a dozen studies have found that children are more likely to be fat if their mothers smoke during pregnancy.

The research is just beginning, true, but already it has upended some hoary myths about dieting. The body establishes its optimal weight early on, perhaps even before birth, and defends it vigorously through adulthood. As a result, weight control is difficult for most of us. And obesity, the terrible new epidemic of the developed world, is almost impossible to cure.

Publish date 8/30/07

PJaddicted

I don't think you have to go to a gym....but you certainly have to stay very active or you will lose mobility and fitness. I can tell you first hand that not moving and keeping your muscle mass is a very BAD idea as you age. I have been very lazy the last couple of years, and I am feeling some major aches and pains. You can do things you love, like hiking, biking, walking, add some stretching, calisthenics, and lift some weights or even heavy items in your house and be able to maintain a decent level of fitness. As you age....you must eat good too, or the internal health issues begin to get you. You can get away with a lot when you are young, once you are OLD like me....it's all down hill! Move...and eat healthy....you will have a healthier life.

mikalina

I believe in exercise, I need to work out just about everyday. Without it I feel lousy.

mca47

I'll take me some exercise with a side of feeling amazing thank you...

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

all the little aches and pains i used to have went away when i started exorcising. afte the first two weeks of soreness i feel better than ever.


btw, whats with all these articles lately questioning some common belief, then spending half the article explaining why thats such a stupid question? is exorcise really good for you? why yes it is!

lukin2006

I do cardio and weight train, helps me maintain my weight, ever since turning 40 it's been hard to lose weight, I would be considered overweight but not obese, but it's not from a lack of activity, I've recently cut back food, I'll see how that goes. I can't really complain though, even with the extra weight, I never usually get more than 1 cold a year (none this year, knock on wood), never get the flu and feel fairly healthy for 44, just a bad heel and sore left knee in the mornings. I am fairly happy and contribute my good fortune to exercise.

fanch75

eyedclaar wrote:

Well, I don't diet in any way shape or form. I eat what I like and I drink what I like and the only reason I can get away with that lifestyle is because I exercise all the time. I never exercise to exercise, you will not ever find me in a gym, but I play hard at least 3-4 times a week doing various activities. I'm pretty fit as a result. Of course, I have some chronic aches and pains from having broke about 100 bones in my body over the course of all that playing... so I guess it might have a down side. Still, I'm gonna keep it up until I can no longer drag this sack of meat out of bed.

Fucking A! Great post. I am going to book a flight to climb Mt. Everest after reading this shit. Good on ye, mate!

LikeAnOcean

It keeps blood flowing in the brain, which fuels growth and keeps the brain sharp.. which should be reason enough.

You don't need to hit the weights or the treadmill, but you should definitely get off your ass and keep busy. We aren't designed to sit around all day.

PearlOfAGirl

I believe that exercise and healthy eating will keep you healthy. :thumbup:

Benzor

exercise has so many benefits beyond physical health