Saturday, January 2, 2010
Lose Inches, Maintain Muscle
Many people will make a New Year's resolution to lose weight. There are many benefits to doing this other than looking and feeling better (see following post). To lose weight and inches safely without losing important muscle mass, check out the Cinch Inch Loss Plan, and start being healthier today! http://www.cinchplan.com/wellness-unlimited
The Benefits of Weight Loss by Dr. Steve Chaney
The clock is ticking down to another new year. And with the new year will come a new set of new year's resolutions! And, of course, top on many people's list will be the perennial favorite - weight loss. So I plan to count down to the new year with some of the latest research on the benefits of weight loss and how to achieve it.
With 2/3 of Americans now overweight or obese,weight loss is a new year's resolution that should be on most people's list.But many Americans remain unpersuaded that it is worth the effort. Sure, weight loss will reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes down the road, but many people want to know: "Will it do something for me NOW?"
A recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology (Preordain et al., American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 294:H1174-1182, 2008) shows that the answer is YES! You can improve the way that your heart functions and,therefore, how you feel right now just by losing 12% of your weight. In fact, when you look at the results of the study it is safe to say that you can give yourself a more youthful heart just by losing weight. And it doesn't matter whether you loose the weight by eating less or exercising more - although you will get the best results if you do both.
Now let me describe the study to you. The study participants were healthy, nonsmokers between ages 50 and 60 and ranged from a little overweight to very overweight (BMIs of 23.5 to 30), but did not qualify as obese (BMI of over 30).This is significant because all previous studies had been done with subjects who were morbidly obese. It was important to know if weight loss was also immediately beneficial for people who were just a little overweight. None of the participants had diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer or lung disease. Before enrolling in the study, all were relatively sedentary. They exercised less than 20 minutes a day or twice a week - which is typical for most Americans.
The participants also were consuming the standard American diet or SAD (It is no coincidence that SAD rhymes with BAD). Half of the participants were in the calorie restriction group, in which they reduced the amount of calories they ate between 12 percent and 15 percent. Their physical activity did not change. The other half of the participants were in the exercise group and increased their exercise to burn the caloric equivalent of the other group's caloric reduction. The exercise group exercised about six days a week for an hour each session walking, running, cycling or doing elliptical training. Their diet and caloric intake did not change.
Over a period of one year, both groups reduced their weight and their BMI by an average of 12%. The doctors conducting the study determined the participant's heart function before and after the weight loss period by measuring the time for participants' hearts to relax and fill with blood during the heart's filling phase (called diastole).
While this test may seem a bit exotic, it is actually a very good measure of heart function. You see, as we age the arteries and heart muscle stiffen, and the heart doesn't relax as well after contracting. Now most of us think of aging as something that we can't do anything about. But, what this study showed was that for all of the participants who lost weight their hearts responded to this weight loss by gaining the ability to relax more quickly, recovering some of the elasticity characteristic of younger heart tissue. You heard that right. Their hearts actually became younger. And because their hearts were working more efficiently, it is probably safe to say that many of them felt better as well.
So as you contemplate your new year's resolutions you now know that weight loss will give you a younger heart, which will probably mean that you will feel better - have more energy and vitality. And you won't have to wait 20 years for that benefit to be apparent. It will be immediate! To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
With 2/3 of Americans now overweight or obese,weight loss is a new year's resolution that should be on most people's list.But many Americans remain unpersuaded that it is worth the effort. Sure, weight loss will reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes down the road, but many people want to know: "Will it do something for me NOW?"
A recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology (Preordain et al., American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 294:H1174-1182, 2008) shows that the answer is YES! You can improve the way that your heart functions and,therefore, how you feel right now just by losing 12% of your weight. In fact, when you look at the results of the study it is safe to say that you can give yourself a more youthful heart just by losing weight. And it doesn't matter whether you loose the weight by eating less or exercising more - although you will get the best results if you do both.
Now let me describe the study to you. The study participants were healthy, nonsmokers between ages 50 and 60 and ranged from a little overweight to very overweight (BMIs of 23.5 to 30), but did not qualify as obese (BMI of over 30).This is significant because all previous studies had been done with subjects who were morbidly obese. It was important to know if weight loss was also immediately beneficial for people who were just a little overweight. None of the participants had diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer or lung disease. Before enrolling in the study, all were relatively sedentary. They exercised less than 20 minutes a day or twice a week - which is typical for most Americans.
The participants also were consuming the standard American diet or SAD (It is no coincidence that SAD rhymes with BAD). Half of the participants were in the calorie restriction group, in which they reduced the amount of calories they ate between 12 percent and 15 percent. Their physical activity did not change. The other half of the participants were in the exercise group and increased their exercise to burn the caloric equivalent of the other group's caloric reduction. The exercise group exercised about six days a week for an hour each session walking, running, cycling or doing elliptical training. Their diet and caloric intake did not change.
Over a period of one year, both groups reduced their weight and their BMI by an average of 12%. The doctors conducting the study determined the participant's heart function before and after the weight loss period by measuring the time for participants' hearts to relax and fill with blood during the heart's filling phase (called diastole).
While this test may seem a bit exotic, it is actually a very good measure of heart function. You see, as we age the arteries and heart muscle stiffen, and the heart doesn't relax as well after contracting. Now most of us think of aging as something that we can't do anything about. But, what this study showed was that for all of the participants who lost weight their hearts responded to this weight loss by gaining the ability to relax more quickly, recovering some of the elasticity characteristic of younger heart tissue. You heard that right. Their hearts actually became younger. And because their hearts were working more efficiently, it is probably safe to say that many of them felt better as well.
So as you contemplate your new year's resolutions you now know that weight loss will give you a younger heart, which will probably mean that you will feel better - have more energy and vitality. And you won't have to wait 20 years for that benefit to be apparent. It will be immediate! To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
