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If you ever worry about your risk of having a heart attack, there's a new way to measure it. Get out your tape measure and read the first article.
Waist Circumference Predicts Heart Disease Risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The circumference of your waist correlates more closely with several known risk factors for heart disease than does your body mass index (BMI) -- the measure of weight in relation to height -- according to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings are based on an analysis of data from 10,969 subjects.
Dr. Shankuan Zhu, from the Medical College of Wisconsin, found that waist circumference was more strongly tied to cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels than was BMI.
Waist measurements of 35 and 40 inches in men conferred a cardiovascular risk comparable to BMIs of 25 (overweight) and 30 (obese). The waistlines with the corresponding risks for women were 33 and 37 ins.
"Our findings indicate that waist circumference is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease risk than is BMI." Click Here For The Complete Story
Next here's new evidence that's it's not only diet and exercise that determines your weight . . . it's best to be a little fidgety.
Fidgeting Helps Separate the Lean From the Obese, Study Finds
By Rob Stein - Washington Post - January 28, 2005
Strolling to the bus stop, fidgeting during a meeting, standing up to stretch, jumping off the couch to change channels, and engaging in other minor physical activities can make the difference between being lean and obese, researchers reported yesterday.
The most detailed study ever conducted of mundane bodily movements found that obese people tend to be much less fidgety than lean people and spend at least two hours more each day just sitting still. The extra motion by lean people is enough to burn about 350 extra calories a day, which could add up to 10 to 30 pounds a year.
They also discovered that people appear to be born with a propensity to be either fidgety or listless, indicating that it would take special measures to convert the naturally sedentary into the restless -- especially in a society geared toward a couch-potato existence.
The new study provides powerful new evidence that a major cause of the obesity epidemic is the pattern of desk jobs, car pools, suburban sprawl, and other environmental and lifestyle factors that discourage physical activity. And despite generations of parents' admonitions to the contrary, people should be encouraged to be fidgety. "We all know people who can't seem to stand still and others who hardly move," said Eric Ravussin of the Pennington Biomedical Research.
For the study, Levine and his colleagues developed a system that can detect the smallest tap of a toe -- high-tech underwear resembling bicycle pants and sports bras or T-shirts embedded with sensors, originally designed for fighter jets, that take measurements every half-second.
Based on millions of bits of data, the researchers determined that each day, the lean subjects spent at least 150 more minutes moving in some way.
"We can begin to say to people, 'Yes, it would be good if you went jogging, and it would be good if you went to the gym. But it's also good to keep getting up, moving around.' Fidgeting and doing all those small things will make a difference," said Paul Trayhurn of the University of Liverpool in England. Click Here For The Complete Story
And finally another story for the weight conscious. Here is a new diet for those of you who are sick and tired of hearing about "Atkins" and "Southbeach."
Get Sexual for Ultimate Weight Loss - "The Desperate Housewives Diet"
By Denise Mann - Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD - Feb. 7, 2005.
By Denise Mann - Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD - Feb. 7, 2005.
Many newly engaged women drop weight without even trying from the stress and anxiety of planning a wedding. New York City-based model and actress Kerry McCloskey was no exception. She lost 23 pounds in the six months after she got engaged, but it wasn't from stress. It was from sex -- lots of it!
"It was during a particular time of romance and passion after I got engaged and I saw the effects that increased sex had on my body," she tells WebMD. This epiphany led to more research and her new book called the Ultimate Sex Diet. "I felt better immediately," McCloskey says, "because sex is a mood enhancer; the more you have it, the more endorphins that are released." Endorphins are the brain's feel-good chemicals.
According to McCloskey and a growing body of research, we can all learn something from the wanton women of Wisteria Lane on ABC's hit comedy Desperate Housewives who bed-hop in and out of their marriages and all have rather exceptional figures.
"It begins with thinking sexy thoughts and making sex a priority," she says. On average, sex burns 150 to 250 calories per half hour. "Since it's free and so much fun, I've found making love is the ultimate exercise machine." Click Here For The Complete Story
The above is not meant to be medical advice or a substitute for professional evaluation or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician or healthcare provider before any modification in the treatment of any medical condition. Also, please read the attached Disclaimer, Etc.
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