Month: May 2012

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Weight Loss Exercise

Time Magazine Breastfeeding Cover


So what do you think? Are you shocked? This cover of Time magazine is sparking support and outrage all over the country and I guess for good reason. Everyone is a fan of breastfeeding until kids get a bit too old for their comfort.

Why is Breastfeeding Important?

Well first of all lets get to the root of the issue here. I have never seen a case where any study has said anything bad about the effect of breastfeeding on kids or their parents. Not only is breast milk very healthy for babies but it also helps to create that bond between mother and child helping them to protect the baby and to help the mother in the nourishing as well as weight loss aspects of child rearing.

No child can live for any length of time without some kind of milk product and the fact is that the American Academy of Pediatrics says babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months. Beyond that, the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages breastfeeding until at least 12 months, and longer if both the mother and baby are willing.

Breastfeeding a four year old?

Time Magazine Breastfeeding CoverSo the real shocking part of this whole story seems to be the picture itself, although I think that breastfeeding just kind of makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable. The woman on the Time Magazine breastfeeding cover is Jamie Lynne Grumet and she is actually standing in defiance while nursing her 3 year old (maybe 4 year old) son standing on this stool.

According to a poll this week 73% of the people who saw the cover felt uncomfortable with it. I am not one of these people. I saw the cover, was initially shocked at the pose, but them looked inside myself to see what was really wrong. My daughter was breastfed until 6 months, my sone was never breastfed, I have no issues with nudity, so the only thing that I think caused me to recoil initially was my own sense of self values in the media. I am sure Time magazine knows this as well.

This is a very important issue I think. Women are encouraged to breastfeed, but never in public, and then expected to stop at 6 months. What is they decide to go longer? Not going to hurt the kid, not going to hurt me. This has to be looked at as a civil right for women, no need for us non-women, non-breast feeders, to be judgemental of how someone wants to wean or not wean their child from the boob.

In the end I think this is just one more way that we need to look at ourselves and decide where our sense of morality is and why. Good for you Jamie Lynne Grumet

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Weight Loss Exercise

Health Risks of Childhood Obesity


There is a lot of concern over the growing rate of childhood obesity today.  In the United States, at least one child in every five is overweight or obese.  Genetic factors play a role but the primary causes of obesity are consumption of high-calorie foods and inadequate physical activity.

Due to the rising rate of obesity, weight-related diseases are becoming common among children and adolescents.  There are many health risks of childhood obesity, including the following.

Health Risks of Childhood Obesity

Type 2 Diabetes – Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease linked to childhood obesity.  An increasing number of overweight children and teenagers suffer from this medical condition.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three children in the United States will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

High Blood Pressure – Children who are obese or overweight are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, which can lead to other health risks such as heart disease.

Cardiovascular Disease – Overweight children often suffer from high cholesterol levels as well as high blood pressure.  These two medical conditions are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.  Hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis is linked to high cholesterol levels in the blood, and is the most common cause of heart disease.  It can begin as early as childhood in overweight children.

Health Risks of Childhood Obesity

Health Risks of Childhood Obesity

Breathing Problems – Other health risks associated with child obesity are asthma and sleep apnea.  A large number of overweight children suffer from asthma.  Obese children can also have trouble sleeping as a result of obstructive sleep apnea.  This is a serious breathing disorder wherein the sufferer’s breathing is briefly interrupted during sleep.  If left untreated, apnea can lead to heart failure.

Gallstones and Liver Problems – Children and teenagers who are obese are likely to have gallstones.  Obese children are also at risk of fatty liver disease and liver problems that could lead to cirrhosis.

Orthopedic and Other Complications – Excessive weight bearing down on the body can cause orthopedic and joint problems.  Obese children suffer more often from fractures, muscle problems, arthritis, joint pain and bone deformities.

Metabolic Syndrome – It is estimated that 25% to 40% of overweight children will develop metabolic syndrome that could lead to diabetes and heart ailments.  Metabolic syndrome linked to weight problems include high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and abnormal lipid levels.

Future Health Risks – Child obesity carries health risks not only in the present but also in the future.  Children and teenagers who are overweight or obese are more likely to become obese adults.  Obesity in adults has a direct negative impact on their health and well-being.  In addition to increased cardiovascular risk, adults who are obese are more likely to suffer from diabetes and to develop certain forms of cancer.

What You Can Do Now

Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that should be dealt with as early as possible.  There are treatment options for obese children, such as diet and gastric bypass, but health professional believe that prevention is the best way to combat childhood obesity.  Parents should provide a balanced and healthy diet for their children.  They should also set a good example by leading a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritious foods, and encouraging their children to participate in regular physical activities.

 

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Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Why Does Exercise Sometimes Not Help Weight Loss?


There’s no doubt that exercise burns calories. So why has study after study found such modest average weight loss even after subjects follow relatively vigorous, well-designed exercise programs?

The usual answer is that you unwittingly eat more to compensate for your workout. That’s partly true, but it skims over a vital detail: Few of us are “average.” Break down the study results, and you find that exercise is highly effective at melting off pounds for some people, and ineffective for others. Scientists are now teasing out the factors that explain these different responses – and poking holes in weight-loss plans that promise one-size-fits-all success.

Why Exercise Changes sometimes Fail

“There’s currently a strong interest in identifying ‘behavioural phenotypes’ within the obese population so that treatments can be more specifically targeted,” says Graham Finlayson, a biological psychologist at the University of Leeds. “This is the case for exercise, food, diet, pharmacologic and surgical approaches.”

Why Does Exercise Sometimes Not Help Weight Loss?

Exercise and Weight Loss

The wide variability in response to exercise is shown clearly in the results of a 12-week program of supervised exercise, published in a review co-authored by Dr. Finlayson in the British Journal of Sports Medicine last month. Although the intensity and duration of each workout was the same for all 58 subjects, some lost more than 10 kilograms while others actually gained a small amount of weight – opposite extremes from the average loss of 3.2 kilograms.

I myself think that there is a correlation between food and exercise that is very tight. I have gone through changes where I am very physically active and I eat to compensate for the calorie loss. Keeping a very disciplined eating schedule to conteract any problems with metabolism and Leptin depletion are essential.

Dr. Finlayson and his colleagues suggest a long list of possible reasons for the variation. There are physiological possibilities, like the rate at which food leaves your gut; the production of appetite hormones like leptin and ghrelin; and the extent to which your body relies on fat versus carbohydrate for energy. All of these are affected by exercise and could influence appetite and food intake, though the evidence remains contradictory.

More info at Globe and Mail

So what have you found in the past. Does your increased workouts help or hinder weight loss. Remember there are a lot of exercise newbies reading this, what would you suggest to them?

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