Stop Dieting And Start Pounding Your Bones

Two recent studies by diet and health researchers confirm that dieting alone is not the best or the healthiest way to go about weight loss.

Dennis T. Villareal, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and colleagues studied the effects of weight loss on bone loss in 48 adults with an average age of 57. Nineteen were assigned to follow a calorie-restricted diet, 19 to eat the same number of calories and begin an exercise, and 10 to receive information on healthy lifestyles only when requested.

All participants were weighed at the beginning of the study and again after one, three, six, nine and 12 months. Bone mineral density was measured every three months.

After one year, those in the calorie restriction group lost an average of 18.1 pounds, those in the exercise intervention group lost 14.8 pounds and those in the healthy lifestyle group maintained their weight. Individuals in the calorie-restriction group also lost an average of 2.2 percent of their bone density in the lower spine, 2.2 percent at the hip and 2.1 percent at the top end of the femur--all high-risk fracture sites.

There were no significant changes in bone mineral density in the exercise or healthy lifestyle groups.

Muscles pulling on bones during exercise is thought to produce strains in the skeleton that stimulate new bone production. "Our results are consistent with an osteoprotective effect of exercise-induced mechanical strain on the skeleton and consequent increase in bone turnover," the authors continue.

In another study, a Washington University team of scientists studied healthy 50- to 60-year olds whose body mass index was between 23 and 30, placing them at the high end of normal weight or overweight. Of the 34 study participants, 18 dieted and 16 exercised to lose weight.

After one year the participants lost an average of between 9 and 10 percent of their total body weight.

Those who dieted lost muscle mass while those who exercised did not. This is because the exercisers routinely challenged their muscles, which prevented muscle tissue from degrading. A subgroup that did 30 minutes per day of extra exercise lost an average of 18 percent of their total body weight with no loss of muscle tissue.

The lesson is clear. If you diet alone to lose weight you are only creating a lighter bag of skin. For healthy weight loss you must work your muscles and pound your bones.

Here is a simple formula that you can use to lose two pounds of body fat per week. One pound of fat = 3,500 calories. If you do nothing to change your eating habits, and exercise to burn 7,000 calories per week, you will lose two pounds of body fat per week and keep or build your bone density and muscle at the same time. A win-win.

Putting your feet on the ground at about 75 counts per minute burns .078 Calories/Minute/Pound of Body Weight, or more easily remembered, 7.8 calories per minute, or 468 calories per hour, per 100 pounds of body weight.

A 200 pound person would require about 7 1/2 hours per week of exercise that pounded their feet on the ground 75 times per minute. Use this formula to convert for your situation:

(Your Body Weight/100) * 468 * (Steps Per Minute/75) = Calories Per Hour. Divide 7,000 by the Calories Per Hour figure and that is how many hours of exercise per week you must do to lose 2 pounds of body fat. If you cannot find a way to lose 2 pounds of body fat per week then shoot to eliminate 1 pound of body fat per week. That is still 52 pounds of healthy weight loss per year.

Obesity At The Time Of Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis Dramatically Increases The Risk Of Dying From The Disease
Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The findings by senior author Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues appear online and will be published in the March 15 print edition of the journal Cancer. [click link for full article]

Singapore To Cancel Anti-Obesity Program
Singapore plans to end a 15-year-old anti-obesity program in schools after complaints from parents that overweight children, in particular, were being singled out and teased by classmates....

A Short Walk Helps Smokers Quit
Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal 'Addiction', concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke. [click link for full article]

The Answer To Childhood Obesity: 15 Minutes Of Football?
ALSPAC The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (also known as Children of the 90s) is a unique ongoing research project based in the University of Bristol. It enrolled 14,000 mothers during pregnancy in 1991-2 and has followed most of the children and parents in minute detail ever since. [click link for full article]

Obesity High Among Baltimore's Homeless, Johns Hopkins Researchers Say
A small but telling study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reveals an ominous trend: more than expected, obesity shadows Baltimore's homeless children and their caregivers, putting them at high risk for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions."Not long ago, homeless people were undernourished. [click link for full article]

Obesity's Connection To Cardiovascular Disease Remains Poorly Understood
Obesity rates have escalated dramatically in the last several decades and the condition negatively affects health, but its connection to conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) is complex and not fully understood. In the March issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine experts say more research is needed to discover the links between obesity and CVD, with particular attention to biological differences between women and men. [click link for full article]