Carole Carson

Are You NEAT Enough to Stay Trim?

If you think I am talking about tidiness, you’re wrong. NEAT refers to Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

That’s a mouthful. To understand the concept, think about it this way. You’re sitting in a chair, watching television—a sedentary state. The effort of sitting upright burns about five extra calories an hour compared to the calories you would burn if you were sleeping. Or you walk briskly for one mile and burn 100 calories. This activity is exercise. Everything else is NEAT.

NEAT is important because it significantly influences whether we gain weight or stay trim and fit, according to research conducted by James Levine, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Levine confirmed that people who spend their waking hours sitting weigh more than people who move around. His conclusion? Living in a chair-based environment can result in obesity.

Unfortunately, the chair-based environment is everywhere. We may sit at a table to eat breakfast, sit in a car or bus on our way to work and sit during our workday. We may sit during lunch and sit driving home, only to sit before the television with a remote control in hand. On the weekend, we may sit through a movie, ride a lawn mower or snow blower or sit in a car as we pick up fast food at a drive-through. For some people, 23 out of 24 waking hours are spent sitting or sleeping.

Dr. Levine has a visionary plan to create more opportunities for NEAT that will get us moving and keep us fit and trim. He’s designing dynamic environments for offices where work stations are mounted on treadmills. Instead of meeting in rooms with tables and chairs, employees conduct meetings while walking on specially designed parallel tracks. Walking side by side, the employees conduct business while engaging in exercise.

Dr. Levine is also continuing an educational drive to make people aware of how much they sit and suggest ways they can introduce more movement into their lives. Walking, shopping and moving around for any reason shouldn’t be underestimated, according to Dr. Levine.

After thinking about the implications of his research, I appreciate the layout of my home even more. I live in a two-story house, so I am constantly running up and down stairs. In addition, my office is located outside the house over the garage. If I’m working in my office and want to throw in a load of laundry, I have to walk down a flight of stairs, walk upstairs to get the laundry, back downstairs to the washing machine and then back upstairs to my office. To accomplish my task, I am forced to move by the different levels.

Besides appreciating the layout of my home, I welcome Dr. Levine’s development of the NEAT concept for a distinctly female reason. His research gives me another excuse, in addition to retail therapy, to go shopping.

Exercising the Gratitude Muscle

Being the optimist that I am, I’m drawn to anything that promotes happiness. So I read with particular interest an article entitled “Cultivating Happiness: Will Positive Psychology and Gratitude Intervention Teach Our Kids How to Be Happy?” The article reported research results on the effect of gratitude intervention—for example, keeping an appreciation journal or writing letters expressing thankfulness—on the happiness of individuals, including families with children.

The impetus for studying what makes people happy is fairly recent. Nearly 10 years ago, Martin Seligman, now director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, wrote several books, including Authentic Happiness and Learned Optimism, on what brings satisfaction and fulfillment. Later, as head of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Seligman was in a position to steer interest and research to the subject of happiness.

Today, teaching happiness has spread to universities, and some of the classes are the most popular ones on campus. The trend doesn’t stop there.

Emotional literacy is cited as a valuable skill parents can teach children. A leading group researching and promoting parental intervention to teach gratitude and optimism is the Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley, California.

You may be wondering why I am writing about positive psychology in a space normally reserved for conversations about fitness.

First, I am convinced that when some of us have pesky feelings that we don’t manage well, such as boredom, anxiety, worry and despair, we tend to stuff ourselves with food. If we eat our fill from the bowl of happiness, we may find it easier to resist other bowls, such as ones filled with chocolate sundaes. Moreover, if we teach the skill of managing mind-sets to our children, they will be less likely to medicate unpleasant feelings with food.

Second, practices that improve our emotional health also improve our physical health. Christine Carter, a researcher at the Greater Good Science Center, strongly believes that “families should have dinner together,” notwithstanding conflicting schedules, differences of opinion about what to eat and teenagers’ moodiness. Her studies, she says, have shown the benefits of this ritual in improving the emotional health of children.

Despite the demands of her own career and the complications of her husband’s schedule, Christine tries to practice what she preaches. Not only does her family try to eat together, but before each meal, family members say a prayer of gratitude. They also take the time to review the day’s events by savoring the good moments and extracting lessons from the more difficult ones.

The same practices can be used for those of us seeking to get fit and lose weight. As part of each day’s ritual, we can take time during our evening meal to express appreciation for the gifts we’ve received and to draw lessons from any difficulties. In practicing this ritual, we finish the day—whatever the events—in a state of appreciation.

Third, if I were to pick one factor that predicted whether someone could succeed at losing weight and becoming fit, I would pick outlook. Pessimistic, self-doubting persons have inadvertently stacked the odds against themselves. But confirms what I intuitively feel—that whatever our age, a positive, appreciative mind-set can be learned and must be sustained if we are to succeed in getting and staying fit.

According to Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, almost all children start out positive and optimistic. Sadly, about half of them inadvertently lose that mind-set as they get older because of either feedback from others or self-criticism. To succeed in our fitness efforts as adults, we have to recover that youthful optimism and remember to take childlike delight in the gifts we receive.

Mike Carville, a friend of mine and owner of the South Yuba Fitness Center, begins his fitness classes by reminding students that the muscle they must exercise most consistently is the one between their ears. The best way to exercise it is to take lessons from whatever difficulties we encounter and give thanks for the good that comes our way.

     Plus, it takes 11 muscles to frown and 12 to smile. Given a choice, we might as well make the effort and use one more muscle. Every little bit of extra exercise helps, right?

Is Obesity Contagious?

As coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit online community, I ask experts to share their insight on issues involving fitness. One such expert is Nedra Weinrich, a nationally recognized pioneer and expert in social marketing, a field that promotes healthful changes in behavior.

 

I asked Nedra, “Is obesity contagious? If it is, how do we make fitness contagious?” Her answer follows:

Yes. Obesity is contagious. A 2007 study found that if your friends or family members are obese, you are up to 171 percent more likely to be obese yourself. The reason is not just that you share genetics or eat the same foods if you live together; this effect is found even among unrelated friends living across the country from each other.

 

So what’s going on? Our norms and expectations about concepts like appropriate body size, normal food portions and exercise habits come from what we see our friends and family members doing.

 

The good news is that the social side of this epidemic means that we have control over whether we “catch” obesity ourselves, and we can turn the situation around to spread fitness and other healthy behaviors through our social networks.

 

If you decide to lose weight, exercise regularly and surround yourself with others who are getting fit, the people in your life are more likely to catch the fitness bug as well. These effects were found to extend to three degrees of separation—meaning that even friends of your friends’ friends can be affected by your losing weight. So break out of your unhealthy habits and set off an outbreak of fitness!

 

Nedra’s perspective suggests that we are highly social animals; consequently, we are connected to one another in ways we may not fully understand. Nedra’s comments also underscore the adage that “We are our brother’s keeper.” Armed with this insight, we are encouraged to become role models for others and to use our influence in a positive way wherever and with whomever we can.

Nedra Kline Weinreich
Nedra Kline Weinreich, the president and founder of Weinreich Communications, consults with nonprofits and government agencies to promote changes in health and social behavior. She is the author of Hands-On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide. A lecturer at UCLA, Nedra earned her master’s degree in health and social behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health and has served on several federal expert advisory panels and committees.

Welcome to the Brave New World of Fitness Technology

Although I’ve been slow to adapt to some of the latest gadgets and tools (I needed three lessons to master my programmable microwave), I love the ones that I’ve successfully incorporated into my life.

For instance, I love the speed of e-mails. Thanks to the Internet, access to the latest news on any topic is at my fingertips, and research is not limited to the local library. And thanks to small cameras that sit on top of our computer monitors, my family in France and I can view each other when we talk on the phone. Equally amazing is the fact that we can talk as often or as long as we want since the cost of international calls is negligible.

Home entertainment has also come into its own. The screen in my living room is as good as the screen in any movie theater I’ve been to. And now that I’ve mastered the microwave, I can make bowls of popcorn in a jiffy.

Of course, there’s more technology to explore than the advances I’ve just mentioned. If you’re ready to use technology to beef up your fitness efforts, here are some cool tools:

FitTV: You can watch on-air programs, and through the Discovery Channel network, you can order specialized fitness programs through the video-on-demand service under the Health on Call section. You can also learn about the latest fitness gadgets and find recipes that trim calories.

YouTube: You can access workouts from popular trainers. If you enter fitness in the search engine, you’ll find about 50,000 results (to give you an idea of the range of options). And the price is right: free.

iTunes: You’ll find tons of fitness content here. You can download audio workouts to an iPod or iPhone. And you can find video and audio podcasts under the Health: Fitness & Nutrition section.

Netflix: Thought this service was just for movies? Think again. Netflix offers DVDs from many fitness gurus, including Jane Fonda, Denise Austin, Richard Simmons and Leslie Sansone.

ExerciseTV: If you are a digital cable subscriber, you have hundreds of workouts to choose from, ranging from yoga to Pilates to cardiovascular routines.

Wii: No discussion of technology would be complete without mentioning the Wii fitness games (baseball, tennis, bowling, etc.). These games are so much fun that you need to put the kids to bed so you won’t be interrupted.

If you need help mastering some of the new technology, consider hiring a student from your local high school or junior college. You’ll be amazed at his or her knowledge (and patience) as you learn how to join this brave new technologically sophisticated world. And there’s an added benefit: continuous learning improves the health of your brain. Welcome to—and be brave in—this new world.

A Fountain of Youth—for the Brain?

A decade or two ago, memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were inevitable clouds threatening to darken the senior years for many. But recently, a number of studies have challenged the notion that mental deterioration is an inevitable part of aging.

Just as we learned that the physical deterioration we associated with aging is in large part a function of lifestyle, we’ve learned that the amount and kind of mental deterioration associated with aging is also related to lifestyle.

Memory loss is not inevitable, and the risk of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can be reduced through the daily choices we make, particularly with regard to exercise.

With increasing consistency, researchers assert that regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking at least three days a week for 45 minutes, improves the odds of maintaining memory and executive control functions, such as planning, scheduling and multitasking.

Researchers have also confirmed that learning new skills and playing games that require concentration, spatial learning, memory and processing speed also help maintain brain health.

And those of us who love coffee get an added boost. Researchers assert that caffeine improves mental processing and memory skills. Longterm coffee drinkers also have a lower incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Adding mental and physical exercise to one’s routine, along with drinking a few cups of coffee each day, are positive steps we can take. What do we need to avoid?

First, we need to avoid being overweight. Surplus weight can lead to diabetes, which affects memory and other mental functions.

Second, we need to keep our blood pressure in the normal range. Researchers can’t explain why hypertension results in memory loss or mental deterioration. But even if we don’t understand the mechanics, the conclusions remain clear. If necessary, we need to treat hypertension as part of a program to maintain brain health.

Here’s the bottom line if you want to preserve your memory, protect yourself from dementia or simply stay sharp:

• Exercise 30 to 60 minutes each day

• Maintain a normal weight

• Keep your blood pressure under control

• Enjoy coffee (if it doesn’t overstimulate you)

• Challenge yourself through learning and staying engaged

The essence of who we are is dependent upon the functioning of our brain, and the implications of these research results are clear. Although we cannot keep the days from passing or change our genetic inheritance, we can adopt healthy habits today that will improve the odds of maintaining a healthy and normally functioning brain tomorrow.

"Age is an opportunity no less than youth itself."                            Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Would You Walk a Mile for a Doctor?

If you’re a patient of Dr. David Sabgir’s, you might find yourself doing just that. Every Saturday at 8:30 a.m., rain or shine, Dr. Sabgir heads out on a walk at Highbanks Metropolitan Park in Lewis Center, Ohio, with 175 to 200 patients, neighbors, friends and family members.

Three years ago, after unsuccessfully admonishing his patients to lose weight, Dr. Sabgir had a flash of insight. Why not walk with his patients every Saturday morning? During the walk, patients, along with their family and friends, would have the opportunity to talk with medical professionals to learn how to take care of their health. By becoming more active, patients could alter the course of anticipated heart disease and improve the quality of their lives.

The project quickly became a family affair. Dr. Sabgir’s wife, Kristin, began bringing lower-calorie fare to the walks to demonstrate healthy snacks. Alexandria (age 9) and Charlie (age 7) joined the walks. Dr. Sabgir’s father telephones weekly reminders to participants without access to e-mail. Other volunteers who joined the effort include nurses who provide free blood-pressure checks, an exercise physiologist who leads and closes the program with appropriate stretches and sponsors who provide free pedometers. Healthy recipes, samples of the recipes and nutritional weight-loss tips are provided each week. Participants can also receive a free one-hour counseling session with a registered dietician.

Dr. Sabgir, a board-certified cardiologist, practices with clinical cardiology specialists at McConnell Heart Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital. Through these organized weekly walks, Dr. Sabgir has found a way to encourage healthy physical activity in people of all ages, sizes, shapes, physical conditions, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Dr. Sabgir considers the diversity of the walking group to be its strength. He says, “The diversity of the group is most apparent when you see a young mother pushing her newborn in a stroller alongside a couple in their 90s. Both obese walkers and endurance athletes share in the benefit of education and exercise.”

With Ohio’s obesity rate approaching 27 percent, Dr. Sabgir has a big job. His state ranks 17th among the 50 states. Moreover, the numbers on the scales of Ohio citizens—and of the rest of the nation—are heading up. Even more worrisome is the fact that interventions—whether undertaken by medical personnel, private companies or government entities—have yet to reverse the trend. Dr. Sabgir’s has designed his volunteer efforts to do just that by creating a greater awareness and commitment to health among residents in his community.

Besides making new friends and having fun, patients learn the medical benefits of walking. Exercise helps patients feel less tired, decreases stress, aids in weight loss and weight control, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improves circulation.

If you’d like to learn more about the Walk with a Doc program, you can sign up for Dr. David Sabgir’s newsletter, e-mail Dr. Sabgir at [email protected] or call 614.273.8030.

"I have two doctors, my left leg and my right."                               

G. M. Trevelyan

Can Your Crafting Skills Help Make You Fit?

Why not take the same passion you have for your favorite hobby, whether it’s making that gorgeous angora sweater or putting your precious memories into a travel scrapbook, and turn it into losing pounds and staying fit?

Actually, it makes lots of sense. That’s because the aspects of crafting that make a project rewarding can also serve you well in slimming down and getting FIT:

F: Fun. The creative process is intrinsically satisfying. Creating recipes that are enjoyable to eat but don’t pack on pounds is similar to the process used for quilting or scrapbooking. Experimenting with different kinds of exercises, the same way you may experiment with different colors, fabrics and designs, brings the same satisfaction.

I: Individualized. Just as each project is unique, each person is unique. You select just the right fabric or materials, decide when and where to begin and then have patience as you complete the project. You can use a similar approach for your fitness efforts: choose the activities that you want to incorporate into your healthier lifestyle, decide what to do first and then patiently enjoy the process as well as the results.

T: Together. Crafters don’t make projects solely for their own enjoyment. They may create quilts as heirlooms for family members or make doll beds, scarves or bathrobes to give to friends. They are creating a legacy to leave behind. When you take steps to get fit, you become an example of healthy living to those around you, silently promoting fitness wherever you go.

So even when you’re not holding a hot glue gun, you can be creative. Your next project? Crafting a healthy body.