Health Tips for February 2007

Monthly Health Tips
There are multiple sources for health tips. We review health and fitness newsletters and post a "summary" of the best for the month. Look for this summary post on or near the first of each month. Also, feel free to post your own tips in the comment section.

Campbell's Soup Wellness & Nutrition Site
Yes, even Campbell's Soup is on board with wellness tips and nutrition advice. Their site comes complete with recipes and articles. Also, I think they finally figured out we don't want a ton of salt in a cup of soup. Mmm, mmm good!

Apple Juice - Mother Nature Knows Best
Unclarified (or cloudy) apple juice is said to contain more disease-fighting antioxidants then some of the clear apple juices. A research study concluded that unclarified apple juice contains up to four times the polyphenols, which are a class of antioxidants believed to help fight heart disease and cancer.

Research published by Jan Oszmianski and colleagues, Agricultural University of Wroclaw, Poland (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture). They think the clarification process may be the culprit given the process required to make clear juice removes solids and compounds likely rich in antioxidants. Another reason to eat apples. A brief article about the results can be found at WebMD here.

Think Positive
No doubt, there is a connection between being healthy and having a positive outlook on life. Be an optimist, smile, sing in the shower, and live a longer and happier life - why not? Multiple sources promote this concept (too many to list - search the web and you'll find tons of sites).

Fight Obesity in Children
According to the CDC (Centers of Disease Control), at least 17 percent of children ages 2 to 19 were overweight in 2003 and 2004 - the numbers are in the millions and continue to grow (no pun intended). The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services blames the epidemic on sedentary lifestyles.

The department found a lack of physical activity - hours spent watching TV, playing video games, etc. - combined with terrible eating habits are the cause for overweight kids and obesity. Children often follow in their parents footsteps, which isn't that hard given the size of today's children. ACE, the American Council on Exercise, tells you what to do about it in this article.

How Long Will You Live? Life Expectancy Calculator

USA WEEKEND magazine is producing a feature story on America's longevity revolution and we are promoting the story here on our blog. You can get involved and possibly be included in the magazine cover story. How?

The magazine is seeking participants to complete a longevity calculator form, which takes about 10 minutes. You will find that many of the questions are about health-related behaviors that you can control. There are two options:

For those over 50 years old: On behalf of Eons, Dr. Thomas Perls has designed the Eons Longevity Calculator for people over 50. Dr. Perls is a physician and researcher in the study of aging at Boston University Medical School. If you'd like to be considered and are over 50, find out more here.

Under 50 years old: If you want to be considered for inclusion in the magazine cover story and are under 50, find out more here.

FYI: WebMD is also promoting the study on their website and in some of their newsletters.

Fitness Clubs - Getting More Buddy Referrals

I received an invite to this online seminar, "Getting More Buddy Referrals from Your Members." The guest speaker is Chris Welton, Vice President for Health Club Managers, Inc., providers of Management, Training and Marketing services for the Health & Fitness Industry. There is no cost to participate.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 19, 2007; 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT
WHERE: Your internet browser
REGISTER: http://HealthClubWebinars.com

The seminar sponsors said there are a limited number of registrations available so enroll soon if you want to check it out.

Recommended 30-Minute Workouts

When scanning the web you'll notice several personal trainers have a recommended 30-minute workout. Yes, in just 30-minutes you can significantly improve your level of fitness. Here's what we found for you:

Dolphin Fitness 30 Minute Total Body Workout
The routine is designed to burn fat and tone muscle. Step by step instructions are provided with illustrations.

The Ultimate 30-Minute Workout
A good intermediate gym-based routine; no illustrations, just text - not really the ultimate workout, but a good workout nonetheless.

WebMD Article: Personal trainer Jonathan Ross, owner of Aion Fitness in Bowie, Md, recommends a workout with two-thirds resistance training and one-third cardiovascular training; 20 minutes of resistance and 10 minutes of cardio.

"People don't need more time, they just need more intensity," he says in the WebMD article. "The body responds more to intensity than it does to the duration of a workout."

A Few Notes
Keep in mind, the longer you workout the more calories you'll burn. Higher intensity workouts for relatively short duration (i.e., 10 minutes) can burn more calories than a long duration workout at low intensity.

As we suggested in earlier posts on this blog, you will burn more calories per minute as you increase your exercise intensity (within your limits and physical condition); your body's metabolism responds in a positive manner to exercise intensity.

For the resistance training, personal trainers recommend routines that cover all the major muscle groups. Many exercise clinics stress using multiple muscle groups and they note that there are numerous exercises for each group. If you don't like a certain exercise, try another one for the same muscle group until you find the one that you enjoy. Focus on the exercises that provide the most benefit for your fitness goals.

How often should you workout?
Workout every other day if at all possible, but working out two days in a row isn't a crime if that suits your schedule. If you get three focused workouts in every week you'll be in great shape in no time!

2007 Fitness Industry Trends

As we move into 2007, the fitness industry will remain flat in a three year period of “zero membership growth.” It is a consolidating industry without a doubt.

It is predicted that new club development will slow in 2007 and average membership prices nationwide will likely drop again this year. You can expect increased partitioning of the health club business according to industry experts.

What some are projecting for the sectors:

• Planet Fitness/ World Gym in the low-price model,
  
• L A Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness in the mid-market, and
  
• Lifetime Fitness leading the big-box category.
  

These five companies along with other strong regional clubs like Club One and TSI, will go after increased market share during 2007.

Propecia Users Take Note - PSA Test Scores Affected

Researchers conclude that the hair-loss drug Propecia lowers the reading on the PSA prostate-cancer screening test. Therefore, men on Propecia may have dangerously high PSA levels even if their test scores are in the normal range according to the research study from Anthony V. D'Amico, MD, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

It is known that Proscar affects the PSA test. Propecia is a low-dose version of Proscar. This suggests that men on Propecia may have an unseen problem.

The D'Amico/Roehrborn study appears in the early online edition of The Lancet.

Hat tip to WebMD for alerting us to this research.