Carole Carson

How Heavy Is Your Fitness Footprint?

When I hear strident voices arguing about options for healthcare reform, I picture passengers arguing about the arrangement of deck chairs on the Titanic.

 

You don’t have to be a math major to figure out that the majority of American adults who are overweight (66 percent, or 200 million citizens) are inadvertently putting themselves at risk for life-threatening, expensive-to-treat medical problems. Surplus pounds increase the risk for diabetes, certain cancers and stroke. And having even one of four factors commonly referred to as the deadly quartet (obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high triglyceride levels) increases the risk of heart disease. Combined, they are a likely predictor of premature death.

 

The number of supersized children is also worrisome: nearly one-fifth of our nation’s 4-year-olds are obese. Since 1980, the number of overweight children has doubled; for adolescents the number has tripled. The long-term effects of childhood obesity (elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, joint problems, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, asthma, depression and anxiety) will require intensive medical intervention. Researchers predict that this may be the first generation in the past two centuries to have shorter lives than their parents.

 

Given this context, those debating the merits of various payment plans to reform our current “disease management system,” as Dr. Andrew Weil labels it, seem to be ignoring the reality that the ship is sinking.

 

Granted, we need to make medical care more accessible and affordable and reduce unnecessary costs. But far more importantly, we need to place people in lifeboats. We need to figure out how to reduce lifestyle-related diseases that trigger the need for expensive medical care in the first place. We need to lighten our fitness footprint.

 

I coined this term to describe the impact of our personal lifestyle on health and life expectancy, along with the global impact on the environment. A healthy body on a healthy planet is the goal. But this goal can be achieved only if we reverse the unchecked epidemic of obesity. As waists become thicker, footprints become heavier.

 

Measuring and taking stock can be life-saving. When I stepped naked on the bathroom scale one morning and it broke, I knew I had to lose weight. What I didn’t know was that 183 pounds on a 5-foot-2-inch frame placed me in the 90th percentile for heart disease, cancer and stroke—plus a few other conditions that had yet to show up on tests. (Evidently, most of the calories I burned were ones spent digging my grave with a fork and spoon.) After changing my lifestyle and losing weight, my forgiving body scored in the normal range, and I (and my insurer) avoided thousands of dollars in medical expenses.

 

Until that point, I failed to connect the dots. I failed to see the connection between my lifestyle and the very real complications that would eventually play out as life-threatening medical problems requiring expensive medical treatment. I also failed to see the connection between my food choices and their impact on the environment. My ignorance could have cost me my life, hence my passion for encouraging others to take stock before it is too late.

 

Measuring your fitness footprint is the first step in achieving a healthy body on a healthy planet. Here are three areas to assess:

 

• Health Risks: How does your lifestyle influence your blood pressure, body mass index, body fat and risk of a heart attack, a stroke or diabetes? Are you increasing your risk of life-threatening medical problems by indulging in a sedentary lifestyle or too many burgers and fries? Are your medical bills contributing to the estimated $147 billion Americans will spend on weight-related medical care? To calculate your risk for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and stroke, go here.
• Longevity: How does your lifestyle influence the length of your life? Do you eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily? Are you connected in a meaningful way to others? Do you exercise on a regular basis? How much alcohol do you drink? Do you smoke? To calculate your physiological age and how long you can expect to live given your current lifestyle, go here.
• Food Choices: How does your choice of food impact the environment? What we choose to eat is critical because the production and consumption of food may account for one-third of the total global carbon emissions. According to ecological measures, we need all the farms we have now plus many more on nearby planets if we are to sustain our current habits. To calculate the impact of your food choices, go here.

It’s not difficult to lighten your fitness footprint. You can begin by making a few simple, ecologically friendly food and lifestyle choices part of your daily routine.

Follow the seasons when choosing foods and, when possible, purchase produce from local growers. Make creative use of leftovers so food is not wasted. Pick one day a week to enjoy a meatless meal. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry rather than when you are full.

Integrate movement into your day, whether that means pacing the floor when you talk on the phone or taking the stairs instead of an elevator. Support community groups that are working to create foot-friendly communities through the construction of trails, parks and bicycle paths. Recycle your tennis shoes and carry a reusable water bottle. When possible, go outdoors and exercise with a positive friend. Stay socially connected and laugh a lot.

It’s been over 97 years since the Titanic sunk. I hope the acrimonious debate about medical care doesn’t take that long. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to wait for its conclusion before we begin our own healthcare reform. While there’s still time, we need to lighten our fitness footprint so we are nimble enough to scramble into a lifeboat.

Should You Become a Vegetarian?

A delightful part of my job as coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit Community Weight-Loss Challenge is interviewing experts who share their insight on issues involving fitness. One such expert is Ellen Kanner, the author of Edgy Veggie: Better Eating, Blissful Living and the Broccoli State of Being (See her full biography below.)

I asked Ellen questions about vegetarianism so I could decide (and help others decide) whether to become a vegetarian. My questions and her answers follow:

 

Q. We consumers are bombarded (and in some cases overwhelmed) daily by the promotion of the latest and greatest diet. We are also confused by conflicting reports that state a particular food is bad for us (eggs, for example) and then state the following week that it is good for us. Is vegetarianism just another fad diet? Does it demonize meat, for example?

 

A. Vegetarianism has been around since Pythagoras, so it’s hardly the latest fad. There are meat-demonizing militant vegans, just as there are veggie-vilifying angry carnivores, but these lifestyles are choices of the individual. At its core, vegetarianism is about compassion, so I hope my veggie peers will keep that principle in mind.

 

Q. What are the benefits of a vegetarian diet? Are the benefits supported by research?

 

A. Compared to our meat-eating comrades, vegetarians experience a 50 percent lower rate of heart disease, a 40 percent lower cancer rate and a lifespan of 6-10 years longer, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 

Maybe vegetarians enjoy health benefits because we are  health conscious in general. We exercise, and we smoke and drink less than other groups. We’re leaner, too, and we experience fewer obesity problems because we follow a diet  starring vitamin-rich produce, fiber-mad legumes and whole grains—food from the earth rather than food that is overly processed. Eating these foods results in lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood lipids—health factors that can mean a healthier and longer life.

 

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and T. Colin Campell, author of The China Study, agree: “There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants.”

 

Eating a plant-based diet has proven to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity—America’s biggest killers. A July study by the American Dietetic Association concludes that “appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.” The study also states that “the results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates.”

 

Q. Does vegetarianism carry implications for the environment?

 

A. Huge ones. Einstein found that a plant-based diet feeds more people because it requires fewer resources to produce than a meat-based one. And this theory has since been proven by others. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists reported in the United Nations Chronicle (Vol. 42, March-May 2005), an acre of land can yield 165 pounds of beef or 2,000 pounds of potatoes.

 

Sustaining cows takes a lot of land and results in deforestation, particularly in Latin American countries. In the United States, significant evidence suggests that we’re not raising animals in ways that are healthy for them or the environment. Some of these farming techniques have been associated with E. coli outbreaks.

 

In addition, cows are big methane producers—the 2006 United Nations report called the meat industry “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale, from local to global.” Nobel economist Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says to slow the effects of global warming, go meatless one day a week.   

 

Q. Do vegetarians walk around hungry all the time? Can energy be sustained on a vegetarian diet?

 

A. If vegetarians went hungry, there would be no vegetarians. Complex carbs, like whole grains and legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans), are wonderfully filling. (Animal protein contains no fiber.) Heart-healthy fats in nuts provide satiety (a feeling of fullness), and most fresh produce is full of flavor and low in calories, so you can eat as much as you want with no guilt and no hunger. These foods also have a low glycemic index, so your body burns them slowly and efficiently to give provide you with good energy throughout the day.

 

Q. Is there one standard vegetarian diet? Or are there significant variations? If so, what are they?

 

A. Vegetarians come in many flavors:

• Vegans consume plant-based foods only and abstain from all animal products.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products.
• Pescavegetarians, or what I call a fishaterians, abstain from all animals except fish.
• Flexitarians normally maintain a vegetarian diet but  occasionally eat meat.

Any change you make that deviates from the Standard American Diet (also called SAD or, as I call it, the Silly American Diet) is good for you and good for the planet.

 

Q. In the past, being a vegetarian was seen as being part of an extreme fringe group. Is that the perception today?

A. I’d like to think the tree-hugger image vegetarians endured half a century ago has been put to rest. Celebrities of all ages live a vegetarian lifestyle, from Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel to Paul McCartney and Dustin Hoffman.

 

Q. How is a vegetarian diet useful in preventing or helping individuals with cardiovascular problems? Is a vegetarian diet useful in addressing specific medical conditions?

 

A. If you give up meat, you’re giving up a very big source of cholesterol. In addition, produce, whole grains like oatmeal and certain nuts like almonds have been proven to reduce cholesterol. As a result, according to the American Dietetic Association, “a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates.”

 

Q. Can you be a vegetarian and be overweight?

 

A. Studies, including a recent one by the American Diatetic Association, show most vegetarians tend to be lean. That said, your weight depends on what you eat (and how much). Chocolate is vegetarian, and french fries are vegetarian. A steady diet of this kind of food won’t help you lose weight and classifies you as a junk-food vegetarian.

 

Q. Must I take an all-or-nothing approach? That is, must I choose between a 100 percent vegetarian diet and a carnivorous diet? And if I were to adopt a vegetarian diet, would I start tomorrow? Or would I take a gradual step-by-step approach?

 

A. While some people prefer to give up meat cold tofu, so to speak, going flexitarian is the easiest, and I think the most sensible, way to start. Take the change one meal at a time. It is easier to change your life partner than to change the way you eat, so gentle starts are the best. One way that’s attracting interest is Meatless Monday. This program starts you out thinking right for the week and helps you contribute to the good of the planet, lighten your carbon load and take positive steps for your own health.

 

Personally, I love being vegan because it supports all the issues I care about—going meatless is multitasking at its very best. Vegetarianism connects me to the environment in a compassionate way. It is kind to animals, inexpensive (especially welcome these days), madly healthful and fabulous.

 

I’ve been posting Meatless Monday recipes each week to encourage members to experiment with vegetarianism one day a week. Having adopted this approach, I have found that meatless meals are wonderfully satisfying and less expensive, and they leave me feeling as if I’ve done something positive for my health and the environment. Are you ready to experiment?

 

About Ellen Kanner

Ellen Kanner is the syndicated columnist the Edgy Veggie. She also blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com, writes the Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blog and contributes to Tasting Table, Relish, EatingWell, Vegetarian Times, More and regional magazines, including Pebble Beach and Palm Beach Illustrated. A fourth-generation Floridian, Ellen lives la vida vegan in Miami.

Is There a Link Between Surplus Pounds and Breast Cancer?

In my role as coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit Community Weight-Loss Challenge, I ask experts to share their insights on issues involving fitness. One such expert is Dr. Marisa Weiss, the founder, president and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org, the world's most trafficked online resource for medically reviewed breast health and breast cancer information. (See her full biography below.)

 

I asked Dr. Weiss, “Is there a link between surplus pounds and breast cancer?” Her answer follows.

 

“Most likely. Significant evidence links excess weight with a higher risk of breast cancer—both for a first diagnosis and for recurrence. Because fat cells help produce estrogen, the more fat cells you have, the more estrogen you have to stimulate breast cells, including breast-cancer cells (if any are present).

 

Fat also collects pesticides and other potentially unhealthy substances.  Found in food, beverages, personal products, water and air, pesticides and unhealthy substances are consumed or inhaled over a lifetime Various chemicals present in these substances dissolve in fat. And some of these chemicals are considered carcinogenic (cancer causing).

 

Furthermore, the location of fat cells may also affect your breast-cancer risk. Studies suggest that apple-shaped women may experience a higher incidence of breast cancer than pear-shaped women. One theory indicates that excess fat in the belly area may be more likely to produce unhealthy amounts of hormones than fat located on the hips.

 

While it’s not known if changing your shape, assuming that were possible, could reduce your risk of breast cancer, evidence confirms that losing weight overall and keeping it off does help lower risk.”

 

Researchers increasingly report numerous health benefits when we lose surplus pounds and become more active and fit. And Dr. Weiss’s assertion of the link between obesity and breast cancer adds yet another good reason. We can realize health benefits and reduce the risk of life-threatening breast cancer by managing our weight.

 

Biography of Marisa C. Weiss, MD

Dr. Marisa Weiss is a breast cancer oncologist with 20 years of active practice in the Philadelphia region, Marisa is regarded as a visionary advocate for her innovative and steadfast approach to informing, empowering and treating patients with breast cancer. Author of the acclaimed books Living beyond Breast Cancer and Taking Care of Your “Girls”: A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens and In-Betweens, Marisa has received many awards and currently practices at Lankenau Hospital, where she serves as director of breast radiation oncology and the director of breast health outreach. Marisa guides patients on how to improve their health and fitness to reduce the risk for cancer.