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Diet Bytes
May 2005
By WLR Dietitian
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Diet with the Dog
Forget dumb bells, resistance bands and
pedometers. If you want to shape up and lose those excess
pounds, this year’s must-have fashion accessory is a dog! In
the first experiment of it’s kind – and yes, it is from
America – researchers have found that overweight owners and
their podgy pets can lose weight and keep it off by following
a diet and exercise programme together!
The study carried out by the Northwestern Memorial
Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago and Hill’s Pet
Nutrition, which makes diet food for dogs, enrolled three
groups of participants – people alone, dogs alone and people
and their pets – for one year. During this time, the people
were encouraged to walk for 20 minutes a day and limit their
daily intake to 1,400 calories. Dogs were fed a prescription
diet, with target weights being set according to a ‘doggie
BMI’.
The dog owners did slightly better than the dieters who
dieted and exercised alone. On average, the humans lost five
percent of their body weight. But the pooches did far better,
losing an average of 15 percent of their body weight.
Dr Robert Kushner, medical director of the Wellness
Institute and the lead author of the study says, “We’re always
looking for creative ways to help people manage their weight
so they find it fun and rewarding.” Looks like they’ve done
just that!
Weight Loss Resources says…
This is a really fun way to lose those pounds.
We’ve always recommended finding a ‘diet and exercise buddy’
to help keep you motivated and on track – and there’s no
reason why it can’t be a pet pooch. Even if your dog isn’t
overweight, taking him or her for walks will benefit you both
– walking at a speed of three miles per hour burns around 125
calories in 30 minutes. If you don’t have a pet, you could
always offer to walk a neighbours or why not lose lbs and save
£s by becoming a professional dog walker? For more
information, log on to
www.dogwalkersuk.com
Workout Less – and Gain More
It’s the news we’ve all been
waiting for! A new study from the University of Glamorgan
Health and Exercise Science Unit has found that people can
reduce the amount of time they spend in the gym by up to two
thirds – and still achieve the same results. The study
revealed that a similar improvement in muscle strength was
seen in men who performed either one or three sets of upper
body resistance training exercises. Better still, a
significant reduction in body fat was also seen in the group
who did just one set of exercises.
Dr Julien Steven Baker, author of the report, said, “This
study indicates that it’s counter productive to spend hours at
the gym and that a shorter workout can achieve exactly the
same results. Our research focussed on upper body strength
training but these results may also be true for other types of
exercise.”
Dr Baker suggests the reason additional benefits weren’t
seen in the group who did three sets of exercises may be
linked to the fact that muscles get tired and reach their
maximum potential early on.
Weight Loss Resources says… This is great news and
has the potential to revolutionise the way we work out.
Already there’s a growing trend towards fitness classes of a
shorter duration that promise the same results. Plus there’s
plenty of good research to suggest that interval training –
where spurts of high intensity exercise such as running are
interspersed with lower intensity activities such as walking –
can achieve maximum results in minimum time. Certainly, doing
more frequent, but shorter workouts will fit into most
people’s busy lifestyles. So next time you have 20 minutes to
spare, why not head to the gym after all?
In the Swim
For the first time ever, scientists have
discovered that swimming may actually strengthen bones. The
research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,
discovered that female lap swimmers aged 8 to 26 had a greater
bone mineral density in their lower legs compared with
non-swimmers. The researchers suggest that more studies are
needed to assess whether this difference is due to swimmers
being generally more active than non-swimmers or whether it’s
something specific to do with the action of swimming. For
example, Baraket Falk, who led the study, believes it may be
related to the high number of leg pushes from the swimming
pool wall at each turn that lap swimmers do.
Weight Loss Resources says…
It’s well known that swimming is a great exercise for
burning calories, improving cardiovascular fitness and toning
muscles, but because it’s a non-weight bearing activity, in
the past, it’s not thought to have had much effect on
improving bone strength. More research is clearly needed –
this study was very small with just 130 participants – but
it’s certainly interesting. While it’s unlikely that swimming
will ever beat weight-bearing activities in it’s ability to
boost bone strength (and therefore help to prevent
osteoporosis) it’s good to know it might have some impact.
Next time you go swimming, remember to push off hard from the
pool wall and take heart in the fact that just 30 minutes of
swimming can burn a significant number of calories – allow
around 350 for fast front crawl and breast stroke and 280 for
a slow crawl, back stroke or side stroke!
Learning About Obesity
Some pupils will get a new lesson
they hadn’t bargained for next year – a traditional school
medical! In an effort to halt rising rates of obesity in
children, the government’s Health Secretary and Public Health
Minister have approved pilot schemes to help monitor pupils’
weight in some areas of the country. The checks will involve
calculating Body Mass Index and parents will be alerted if
their children’s weight appears to be a problem. At the moment
it’s unclear whether the medicals will be made compulsory.
Weight Loss Resources says… While it might seem like
a draconian measure, childhood obesity is rising at an
alarming rate. Currently, it’s estimated that 8.5 percent of
six year olds and 15 percent of 15 year olds are already
obese. Meanwhile, recently released official figures have
found that hospital admissions for obese children have doubled
in eight years and increased by a third in the last year
alone, placing an extra burden on the National Health Service.
While some may argue that it’s the parents responsibility
to monitor their children’s weight – and help them control it
– research worryingly shows that some parents are getting so
used to seeing fat kids, they don’t recognise their own
children are obese. Last year, a study from the Peninsula
Medical School in Plymouth, revealed that one third of obese
girls and half of obese boys were considered to be ‘about
right’ by their parents! Meanwhile, some health experts even
believe we may be the first generation that sees parents
outliving their children.
In view of all these things, we think weighing children at
school is a good thing. But the weigh-ins must be handled
sensitively and where weight problems are apparent, sensible
advice and continued support must be given for the whole
family – rather than children (and their parents) simply being
ticked off and told to eat less and exercise more!
Whopper Whammie
Burger King has recently been criticised for
deciding to bring their Enormous Omelette Sandwich to the UK.
Consisting of bacon, egg, sausage and cheese this big
breakfast contains a massive 730 calories and 47g fat.
However, a quick glance at Burger King’s current UK menu shows
that it already offers even higher-calorie meals. The XL
Double Whopper, for example, contains 840 calories and 50g
fat, while adding cheese pushes it up to 922 calories and 57g
fat. Serve with a super portion of King Fries at 600 calories
and 24g fat and most of us will have had almost all the
calories we need in a day to maintain our weight!
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