Matt Metzgar

Aerobics for Back Pain?

I came across this new study which looked at treating lower back pain with aerobic exercise.  Subjects were divided into a high-intensity aerobic group and a physical therapy group. 

Only the aerobics group showed improvement in symptoms.  Aerobic exercise resulted in significant reductions in pain, disability, and psychological strain.  This is an interesting study, and I am working on getting the full text to obtain more information.

Happy President's Day

Not much to blog about lately, as I've been experimenting with some new exercise ideas.  I'm trying to increase the intensity of my aerobic workouts without overtraining.  Hopefully, I'll have more to post about soon.  Until then, Happy President's Day!

200,000 People Headed Down The Wrong Path

I came across this New York Times article which estimates that between 175,000 and 200,000 weight-loss surgeries will be performed this year, at a clip of roughly $30,000 for the surgery and follow-up care.

I am really stunned at these numbers.  This is just a poor choice, but I believe it's more likely an uneducated choice rather than an intentionally bad decision.  Losing weight via diet and exercise is possible, whether a person is overweight, obese, or even severely obese, as various studies have shown.

I am not a doctor, but I would think only in life-threatening situations should a person embark on such a risky procedure.  The NYT article also pointed out that 4 out of every 10 patients who undergo weight-loss surgery develop complications within six months.  Frankly, I'm surprised this number isn't higher.  I bet that over a year or two, this percentage of patients with complications would increase substantially.

If anyone out there is considering such a risky surgery, I would strenously advise against it. 

Do People Really Want to Lose Weight?

I've noticed the growing popularity of a number of question-and-answer sites on the web, such as Yedda and Yahoo Answers.  This where a person can post a question, and anyone who feels qualifed to respond can post their answer.  Hilary Clinton has even posted a question about health care on Yahoo Answers.

Not surprisingly, one of the most common questions is "how do I lose weight"?  Yet from reading the questions and the way they are asked, I'm not convinced people are really interested in the truth of the matter.  In other words, I think a good number of the people asking are looking for a quick fix, something that takes minimal effort and provides results.

To truly lose weight one needs to set up a practical eating and exercise plan, and then apply some effort, discipline, and patience. 

Nutrisystem II

I posted last year about this strange "Nutrisystem" product that I saw advertised on tv.  I'm still seeing ads for it, including a few spots during the Super Bowl.  By this I'm guessing it's still selling well, though I can't believe why.

Nutrisystem consists of "special" frozen dinners that are delivered straight to your house.  These dinners are based on the "breakthrough science of the glycemic index".  (Too bad this breakthrough happened over 25 years ago.)  And apparently, that's the extent of the program, as a scan of their website found no mention of the word "exercise" anywhere.

So how can eating tv dinners cause you to lose weight?  There's no reason in the world to think anyone would be successful on this plan.  I'm sure the total calorie count of the food is below the daily amount needed, so people might lose a few diet-induced pounds (which will eventually come back).  But other than that, the only real effect of this program is putting money in the pockets of its creators.

The Amazing Clarence Bass

Longtime fitness author Clarence Bass recently posted a picture of himself at age 69 on his website.  His goal is to look better at age 70 than he did at age 65.

The muscle mass and definition he has for a man approaching 70 is just amazing.  Have a look!

   

Your Body Wants to Be Thin II

I found another interesting study about weight gain and nervous system activation.  In this study, subjects were overfed until they gained 5 kg.  As the authors hypothesized, this increased level of body fat elicited new responses from the sympathetic nervous system.

This shows how being just 10 pounds overweight can activate the body's response system and lead to long-term health problems if the situation isn't corrected.

Your Body Wants to Be Thin

I came across a great paper the other day which discussed the role of the nervous system in weight loss and gain.  Scientists have known for decades that the body has built-in mechanisms to regulate body weight.  If a person cuts calories too much, the metabolism will slow in response to this.  Conversely, if a person consumes too many calories the body will increase its metabolism (primarily through thermogenesis - heat production).

The problems begin when a person stays overweight long-term.  In the ancestral environment, people weren't overweight in the long-term because there weren't sustained periods of excessive calorie consumption and/or decreased activity.  In the modern world, this situation is the norm. 

When someone becomes overweight nowadays, the sympathetic nervous system is activated as the body increases its heat production.  However if the person is sedentary and stays overweight, this "switch" never gets turned off.  In essence, this switch stays on for years and years, and not surprisingly has deleterious effects.  Over time, the body's tissues respond less and less to this increased nervous system activity, and the strength of this corrective response is weakened. 

The author's summarize this process nicely in the abstract: "As a result, age-associated SNS activation, initiated as a consequence of accumulating adiposity with the intent of preventing further fat storage, ironically, may in time evolve into a potential mechanism contributing to the development of obesity with aging."

Walk Off Weight

I just finished reading the new book, "Walk Off Weight" by Andrew Cate.  Andrew is a successful health consultant in Australia, where he has appeared on tv and radio. 

For someone like me who is a fan of lots of walking, I found the book a great read.  Andrew covers all the basics and also points out the little things that keep people from succeeding with walking.  The plan he lays out is sensible and can help anyone lose weight.  He also has a website you can visit here.

The Bell Curve

I'm starting to think that I am on the "tail end" of the bell curve when it comes to exercise recovery.  If I do more than two high-intensity workouts per week, I'm cooked.  Yet I know that many people are capable of more exercise than this.

One group I marvel at is professional wrestlers.  These guys are constantly traveling, lifting heavy weights, and taking punishment in the ring (yes, I know it's not all real).  To have the physical constitution to do this month after month, year after year, is amazing to me.  You'll notice that there are really only a handful of guys who can do this over the long-term.  The rest come and go as their bodies get broken down.

This huge difference in recovery abilites is what makes most exercise prescriptions invalid.  If the prescription is to exercise hard 3 times per week, this will be too much some, and maybe too little for others.  Most people don't want to hear a message like this, because it's more complex and begs more questions.  For those who do well on 3 times per week, the whole process seems simple, and they are likely to wonder why others don't succeed with such an easy blueprint.