Saturday, November 21, 2009
Exercise important in teens' blood pressure control
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may help keep teenagers'
blood pressure in check, regardless of their body weight, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 1,300 Canadian teenagers they followed for five years, declining exercise levels over time were linked to small increases in blood pressure.
Gains in body fat were also linked to blood pressure increases, but excess weight did not fully account for the relationship between exercise and blood pressure changes --especially in girls.
The implication, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is that both weight and exercise habits independently affect teenagers' blood pressure.
And that means that getting teens off the couch might help keep their blood pressure under better control, write Katerina Maximova and colleagues of McGill University in Montreal.
The findings are based on 1,293 boys and girls who were 12 to 13 years old at the start of the study. The teens reported on their typical physical activity levels and had their body fat and blood pressure measured at the outset, and then periodically over five years.
For each exercise assessment, the teenagers reported the number of times in the past week they had engaged in moderate to vigorous activities -- like biking, walking or jogging -- for at least 5 minutes.
Overall, the researchers found, the teens' blood pressure inched upward for each session of exercise they lost over time. The increase amounted to less than one point in systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a blood pressure reading -- but the findings do suggest that sedentary lifestyles directly affect teenagers' blood pressure, according to Maximova's team.
And that, they write, could have "important public health implications."
High blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors like type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol were once uncommon, or unheard of, in children and teenagers. But rates of these conditions in teenagers have risen since the 1990s, in tandem with escalating obesity rates.
A study of Canadian teenagers published last month found that between 2002 and 2008, the percentage with at least one heart disease risk factor -- such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol -- rose from 17 percent to 21 percent.
Those researchers also noted that more than half of Canadian children between the ages of 5 and 17 are not getting enough exercise.
And while young people may not see immediate health effects, studies show that teens who are overweight, inactive and carrying heart disease risk factors tend to become adults with those same problems.
The American Heart Association recommends that all children ages 3 and older have their blood pressure checked yearly. Diet changes and exercise are usually the first-line treatment for high blood pressure in teenagers, though some may also need medication.
When it comes to exercise, experts generally recommend that kids strive for 30 minutes of moderate activity, like brisk walking, on most days of the week, as well as 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like running or bicycling, at least three days per week.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, November 1, 2009.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may help keep teenagers'
blood pressure in check, regardless of their body weight, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 1,300 Canadian teenagers they followed for five years, declining exercise levels over time were linked to small increases in blood pressure.
Gains in body fat were also linked to blood pressure increases, but excess weight did not fully account for the relationship between exercise and blood pressure changes --especially in girls.
The implication, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is that both weight and exercise habits independently affect teenagers' blood pressure.
And that means that getting teens off the couch might help keep their blood pressure under better control, write Katerina Maximova and colleagues of McGill University in Montreal.
The findings are based on 1,293 boys and girls who were 12 to 13 years old at the start of the study. The teens reported on their typical physical activity levels and had their body fat and blood pressure measured at the outset, and then periodically over five years.
For each exercise assessment, the teenagers reported the number of times in the past week they had engaged in moderate to vigorous activities -- like biking, walking or jogging -- for at least 5 minutes.
Overall, the researchers found, the teens' blood pressure inched upward for each session of exercise they lost over time. The increase amounted to less than one point in systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a blood pressure reading -- but the findings do suggest that sedentary lifestyles directly affect teenagers' blood pressure, according to Maximova's team.
And that, they write, could have "important public health implications."
High blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors like type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol were once uncommon, or unheard of, in children and teenagers. But rates of these conditions in teenagers have risen since the 1990s, in tandem with escalating obesity rates.
A study of Canadian teenagers published last month found that between 2002 and 2008, the percentage with at least one heart disease risk factor -- such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol -- rose from 17 percent to 21 percent.
Those researchers also noted that more than half of Canadian children between the ages of 5 and 17 are not getting enough exercise.
And while young people may not see immediate health effects, studies show that teens who are overweight, inactive and carrying heart disease risk factors tend to become adults with those same problems.
The American Heart Association recommends that all children ages 3 and older have their blood pressure checked yearly. Diet changes and exercise are usually the first-line treatment for high blood pressure in teenagers, though some may also need medication.
When it comes to exercise, experts generally recommend that kids strive for 30 minutes of moderate activity, like brisk walking, on most days of the week, as well as 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like running or bicycling, at least three days per week.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, November 1, 2009.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
When people began the long trip to lose weight, they usually already set to lose a “?” pounds as a goal. Usually this is done by following a diet program combined with regular exercise. Regular exercise is what usually makes a lot of people give up. Some say there is no time, others say they are too tired from work. But the problem of obesity will force them to do something. Like the cold will force people wear thick clothes, even if they don’t want to.Some of them choose to go to the office by bicycle. This can be done if the distance between the home office not too far away. You would not want to arrive at the office with sweaty conditions, coupled with the smell of ....
Cycling can indeed be the good option. Especially if you live in areas with dense traffic. You can take shortcuts through the path, especially the small streets where cars can't fit. The result you become more familiar with your neighborhood and help you reduce stress because you have to queue for a long time in traffic jams. And most importantly you will become healthier.
Cycling will make you get up a little earlier and this may make you pass the time drinking coffee in the morning. So you are free of caffeine. Or maybe less if you drink coffee in the office afternoons. Too much caffeine is not good for health.
Can I lose weight by cycling? If you did this regularly, almost every day, and ate a healthy diet, you could expect to lose about one pound a week.
Image credit : www.gettyimages.com; Photographer : Dean Sanderson
Sunday, November 15, 2009
This time I wanted to give an illustration of the relationship between obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. I hope this illustration may fairly clear and useful.
If we are overweight, then the cells in our bodies will be covered with fat. This will cause the insulin can not deliver glucose, we get from food, into the cells that need it. Our cells use glucose as a fuel. The unused glucose will ends up just floating around in our blood and building up. Then cells that do not have fuel will send out an alarm to tell the body, as commander to make its own glucose. Our liver begins to function by creating and injected the glucose into the blood. Even though the condition of our blood is full with glucose (the cells didn’t know when they are sounding the alarm). The glucose in the blood gets higher and higher, but still cannot work since the cells are still blocked by too much fat.
Because blood is full of glucose, then the next session begins. Our bodies will send commands to the pancreas as insulin factory to produce insulin. Insulin can help bring glucose level down. But for the pancreas this is a war that it could not win. Because we will continue to eat and put a new glucose into the body, while our cells cry out for lack of fuel and forcing the liver continues to produce new glucose. One moment the pancreas will get tired and become weak or may even stop working. And we run out of soldier to fight the glucose. Then what?
We lost the war against terrorists and the world coming to an end. Sorry,…just kidding.
Glucose, as a terrorist, will spread and make the occupation of the whole body. They go everywhere blood needs to go like your heart, brain, lungs, fingers, toes, legs, stomach, eyes, and many more. Eventually you will suffer from Type 2 Diabetes.
This does not happen overnight, but it can happen slowly over years. Beware and watch your lifestyle. THIS CAN HAPPEN TO EVERYONE even though that is not overweight.
If we are overweight, then the cells in our bodies will be covered with fat. This will cause the insulin can not deliver glucose, we get from food, into the cells that need it. Our cells use glucose as a fuel. The unused glucose will ends up just floating around in our blood and building up. Then cells that do not have fuel will send out an alarm to tell the body, as commander to make its own glucose. Our liver begins to function by creating and injected the glucose into the blood. Even though the condition of our blood is full with glucose (the cells didn’t know when they are sounding the alarm). The glucose in the blood gets higher and higher, but still cannot work since the cells are still blocked by too much fat.
Because blood is full of glucose, then the next session begins. Our bodies will send commands to the pancreas as insulin factory to produce insulin. Insulin can help bring glucose level down. But for the pancreas this is a war that it could not win. Because we will continue to eat and put a new glucose into the body, while our cells cry out for lack of fuel and forcing the liver continues to produce new glucose. One moment the pancreas will get tired and become weak or may even stop working. And we run out of soldier to fight the glucose. Then what?
We lost the war against terrorists and the world coming to an end. Sorry,…just kidding.
Glucose, as a terrorist, will spread and make the occupation of the whole body. They go everywhere blood needs to go like your heart, brain, lungs, fingers, toes, legs, stomach, eyes, and many more. Eventually you will suffer from Type 2 Diabetes.
This does not happen overnight, but it can happen slowly over years. Beware and watch your lifestyle. THIS CAN HAPPEN TO EVERYONE even though that is not overweight.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Is it true that smoking can help you lose weight? Check frightening new trend of teenagers who smoke just to lose weight. Did wisely chose this way? How big are the side effects?Nowadays, where losing weight has become a passion, mainly among women, we are ready to do almost anything to lose weight.
I’m sure that almost all women think smoking is a bad habit, but many say smoking helps them lose weight and relieve stress. Some of them said this: “When I used to smoke, I almost not ate. As soon as I stopped smoking, I ate all the time.” while another girl remarked that smoking “makes me not want to eat”.
Smoking does increase the metabolic rate by about 10 percent and decreases the desire for sweet foods. And studies suggest that nicotine acts as an appetite suppressant. Therefore, the more you smoke the less hungry you feel and the less you are likely to eat.
But if the teenagers are smoking with these reasons, it will be very difficult to stop (fear of gaining weight). What if later they were married and pregnant? Smoking will damage their health, and in pregnancy the innocent babies in their womb would be affected. Everyone knows the dangers of smoking for the baby who was conceived by the mother. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from SIDS.
Smoking causes cancers in parts of the body, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases, etc.
Smoking may be able to fix weight problem, but in the long term, the detriments that it brings to our health is not really worth it. Moreover, if bad for the people we love.
