But 20-year study reminds that some activity is better than none
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comEven daily exercise can't keep middle age chub away
Seeded on Tue Dec 14, 2010 5:56 PM EST (msnbc.com)
- msnbc.com sites & shows:
- TODAY
- Rock Center
- Nightly News
- Meet the Press
- Dateline
- Morning Joe
- Hardball
- Ed
- Maddow
- Last Word
- msnbc tv
Leave a Comment:
Duh! It appears the study let them eat what ever they want. 150 minutes per week isn't going to keep the bulge off if you don't eat healthy.
Amen. I run 40 miles per week and martial arts train for about 3 hours/week and if I ate anything I wanted I'd still be chubby. Much easier to eat it then to burn it off.
Diet is just like a bank account. If you put more in than you take out (i.e. calories in vs. calories out) you're going to end up with a surplus and then you're going to have to pay taxes on it. (i.e. health issues).
"Daily exercise" for some people means walking around the block once, or walking to the fridge from the couch and then, liek, omg, I have to walk all the way back to the couch??? If 150 minutes per week is the highest group, americans really need to shape up. Come one people, that should be the average persons exercise, not the highest group! Don't want to be fat in middle age? Then don't spend your life with your butt on the couch.
You make a good point. These digests of these scientific studies never really quantify just exactly what " daily exercise" is.
I am very active, now 50, I weigh 8 lbs more than I did at 18. That drops to about 5lbs during the summer when my job is very busy
Let's get real people, a little weight gain is okay as you age. Grandma and grandpa shouldn't be rail thin.
Nature slows down older people's metabolism so that they will put on a bit of "just in case" weight.
When life expectancy was only 35-45 years old and medical treatments did not exist, middle aged people suffered from many illnesses that caused weight loss. So as a protective measure, they needed some extra fat to prevent them from wasting away during illness. Nature provided for this by slowing down their metabolisms.
However, now that life expectancies have risen to the 70's-80's and advanced medical care exists, most Americans do not need this protective extra weight until they are elderly. Unfortunately, nature still slows down our metabolisms when we enter our 40's -- thus the unnecessary and unhealthful weight gain.
A healthy, calorie-controlled diet (along with regular exercise) is typically necessary to burn off the excess fat your body is trying to store.
I disagree, my mother in her old age got very sick from a bladder infection, they fixed that but then she got depressed and stopped eating. Well, that extra 30 pounds came in handy at that point. Unfortunately she had more like 50 pounds extra.
I've known several elderly women who have had issues because they don't have the extra just in case weight. I believe it is one of the conditions that leads to the label of "frail" in old age.
I'm talking an extra 10 or 20 pounds here, not the 50-100 pounds a lot of people have. I'm carrying about 20 pounds more than my slim 115 of my youth, every practitioner I've seen lately thinks this is a good thing btw.
If you have been seeing practitioners who recommend being 20lbs overweight, then I suggest you see someone else. Or maybe you are just trying to justify that you are fat? Yes, 20lbs overweight IS bad for you over the long run.
landofmadness: I don't understand why you say you disagree with me and then go on to confirm my same points. I said that elderly DO often need those extra 20-30 "just in case" pounds. However, it's not as healthy or useful in middle age adults.
Overall, I'm amused at people who claim that they're only a little overweight when in reality, to be truly healthy and trim, they need to lose a LOT of weight. "A few pounds" in their case really means 30-50lbs.
Well, the establishment thinks I should be more active. Better do it, because, hey, my life isn't my own.
You should ignore The Man and eat as many transfat and high fructose corn syrup foods, all while living a sedentary life. That would really stick it to those Socialists and their Obamacare.
here,here! the"MAN" is much too involved in every aspect of our lives. the govt needs to butt out of our personal lives and quit trying to control us. And we definitely stick it to Obumacare!
Exercise won't keep weight off at any age - it is diet that primarily determines weight gain or loss - exercise helps with gaining some muscle to look good after the fat comes off.
No amount of exercise can overcome the effects of eating crap and too many calories.
Exercise does help with burning those calories, though. Plus, it makes the body feel good after a work out. But, you're right that exercise alone will not do it.
The point of exercise is to, well exercise, helps you to burn more calories than you're metabolism alone will account for, which leads to weight loss. But everything is dependent on what and how much you eat, yeah.
right on the money, people are always looking for magic or blaming something. Pretty simple, if you are fat you are eating too much, while exercise helps stay thin and improves health, the activity levels to burn off any significant amount of extra calories is beyond what most peope are willing to do.
I probably do 150 minutes or more--per DAY
Who cares? The article isn't about you.
Hence the name. :)
And the rest of us care because....?
Exercise at any age is a good idea. I've worked out most of my life; when I was younger I went to Jazzercise. When that ended in my small town, I taped lots of Denise Austin and worked out with her four to five days a week, along with doing Buns of Steel. After a few years of doing both workouts five days a week, I now just work out for a half hour four to five days a week with Denise Austin.
I think genetics play a part. I've been lucky all my life being thin, whereas, my older sister is obese. Same mother, same father, but our body types are completely different. I'm 57 and weigh slightly less than when I was in high school. I've been lucky.
Cool...there something reassuring about pundits writing people off. I'm back to smoking and eating crap starting today because now I know for sure I'm doomed.
That's a load off my mind...I hate uncertainty hehehe
This article--"Even daily exercise can't keep middle age chub away"--follows just a couple of weeks after the article "Even a little middle-age bulge can be life threatening".
So, what's your point, msnbc?
Well, you certainly have a god-like attitude.
So just coincidentally, the article a mere two weeks ago was superseded by the results of a 20-year study today?
TWO WEEKS AGO: Do something about your middle-age chub, or your health is at risk.
TODAY: You can't do anything about your middle-age chub.
How hard is that to understand, god?
(By the way, I put a dollar in your basket on Sunday . . . . )
1. If you get chubby, you will die.
2. When you get middle aged, you will become chubby. And then you will die.
3. You get older. Then, you die.
I think that about sums it up. So, obviously the best thing to do is to avoid becoming middle-aged at all costs. Then we can live forever! Yay!
If people quit obsessing about their weight reporters like this would be out of a job and the bogus weight loss industry which feeds the obssession because it makes them so much money would go broke.
dysphoria, love your comment. Thanks for the smile.
they have none. all newsies want to do is preach garbage to people that even they would not do themselves. hypocrites all.
I beg to disagree. I have working out all my life. Had two babies in my mid 40's, gained too much weight during my 40's and now, at age 54, am my svelte self again. Mother Nature is pushing at my door, but I'm pushing back. I am strong and can outlast younger mothers in my neighborhood who are way overweight. I can dance to the wee hours of the night. I work out only 40-45 minutes per day. I can prove many stats wrong: had babies over 40 and they are health, smoked for 30 years and quit, am on no medication, eat well and then sometimes I don't. I have a younger husband,, I work long hard hours and run my own business, clean my own house, and manage the lives of two younger children....Never pay any attention to these stupid articles. You want it....take it and do it.
I bet you drive your younger husband crazy. No one cares about your personal achievements. Oh wait, you do.....
I care about her personal achievements! Do you know how hard it is to quit smoking? I don't because I never picked it up, and can only imagine. She's a counterpoint to hopeless, defeatist articles like this one that says even "serious" (though 150 minutes of activity a week is really not that serious) activity won't keep the weight off. Might as well give up! Yet there are women like JC who refuse to give up and continue to maintain healthy habits throughout their golden years. Keep up the good work...I plan to be like you at your age!
I do know how hard it is to quit smoking! I also exercise more than 150 minutes a week (rigorous), am very active (do everything myself), do not eat junkfood but am still expanding. I do believe it also has to do with hormones and genes (especially in women in menopause). I also know if I wouldn't exercise and eat healty I'd probably be expanding at a much faster rate, LOL
It also does not help if you have a job sitting at the computer all day
You are young yet. You haven't hit 60. Things do change as we age. At 65 (formerly always small and muscular) it is very difficult to maintain anything, weight, muscle tone or shape. Before 60 it was easy, easy, easy.
Hard to believe as I have seen that idea broken. Also, diet aspects like taking in no MSG, flouridated water, Aspartame, and corn based foods(all canned food) is a major part of this.
No, MSG, fluoride, and aspartame have nothing to do with weight gain or metabolism. You're just kidding yourself and believing online nonsense.
However, consumption of too much corn, including high fructose corn syrup (such as that in sweet sodas), can cause weight gain.
Their highest workout group seems a little sketchy to me given all that they are including as workouts.
i agree with liberalpatriot_1 -- if the highest activity group is 150 minutes of activity per week, no wonder they're seeing chub! try an hour a day 5-6 days a week (300 to 360 minutes/per week) combined with eating sensibly most days a week and i bet the study results will be drastically different!
Finally some good news, its not my fault! Let me open my belt and pass me that pastrami on rye....
Vegetables, fruit, fish and poultry are recommended daily in addition to walking vigorously one hour every day. Do this and you'll live far beyond what the acturarial tables say.
It's all about changing your habits and a commitment to live. Treat yourself once a month with a slice of pizza and/or a hamburger for morale. Overall, stay away from beef and pork except for the occassional cheating.
I concur with posters who advocate a sensible diet high in fresh veggies, fresh fruits, whole grains, non-fat dairy, low calorie; daily moderate to strenuous exercise, and adequate deep REM level sleep. This assumes all this has been cleared with your primary care health provider, and do not have medical contra-indications to this. G-d bless, Enoch.
I thought a "Chub" was... never mind.
LMAO -- http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/chub
Gives the title of this article a completely different perspective .. funny one .. thanks for the smile.
Tell you what, get over the obession with weight. One thing I have noticed: the faces of people with a few extra pounds age better that those of skinny people; the extra fat stretches out the wrinkles.;-)
Self-reported logs of physical activity are notoriously inaccurate, the same as with self-reported logs of diet. Overly generous reports are the norm -- study participants are probably not nearly as active as they report. What's more is that bodyweight is a deeply flawed indicator of fitness. BMI is better (but still deeply flawed) while the lean mass to fat ratio is an even better measure.
I'm 51 and I weigh 20 lbs. more than when I graduated high school but my waist is 2" smaller. I'm in better shape now than when I was 18, but most doctors and exercise research 'scientists' wouldn't know it.
By this headline, do you mean an overweight or obese homosexual man who identifies as being part of the related chubby culture?
Am I the only one who thinks 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous activity is not enough?! I actually enjoy working out and do at least 6 hours a week, more if my muscles will let me. I do it for my health, but also because I love it! Does no one else get the endorphin rush?
DO THIS DAILY: Get naked, relax all muscles in your body (especially abdominal), stand sideways in a full-length mirror and take a look. This is what I will call the get-incentive-to-eat-less-and-exercise-more-program. My friends, unlike so many other programs, this one is free and offered to you as a special holiday gift from me to you. Enjoy!
Well, now isn't that the truth. With eating right (for the most part) and exercise, I used to easily lose weight and keep it off, I even had to watch it or I'd get a bit too thin. I could indulge a bit even. Not so much anymore. Not too thrilled about this.
Everyone- including this article- is ignoring a few historical and social realities about weight gain and loss in the United States. First of all, humans have evolved, very slowly, to store fat due to our history as a species. For 50,000 years most people lived with the real possibility of not getting enough to eat in a given day- just look at other people in countries where people starve due to the lack of the 2k calorie maintenance level. We are equipped to store vast amounts of fat because our bodies still think that it is 20,000 BC, or, even 1500 AD, when starvation even in what was to become the developing countries was a very real possibility.
So there is a genetic component, although it is also correct to say that the simple formula is to take in less than a certain amount if you want to lose, and more if you want to gain (not most people). What served humans for thousands of years now threatens to kill us in terms of adaptation.
So we have to exercise to at least some level - at minimum, enough so that our activity exceeds our intake, or we will remain stable at best.
These studies also do not take into consideration human variability in body type. It is % body fat that matters, not your weight. Good trainers will tell you to not even own a scale.
Finally, for my friends on the far Right in the teabag movement- who are probably skeptical of all science and are praying the pounds away- the very government that they decry is responsible for some weight gain, as there have been substantial agricultural subsidies dating from the tenure of Earl Butz, the Agriculture Secretary under Jimmy Carter, who set into motion a structurally immutable set of subsidies for the corn agribusiness industry- the folks responsible for this lovely high fructose corn syrup that is in every prepared food that we eat. Snickers' bars in 1960 are not the same as Snickers' bars in 2010, and this is also a small part of the problem. And, before my right wing posters decry this as socialism, every administration, Republican AND Democrat, has kept these subsidies in place as sacrosanct so enough of this blather about your right to eat Twinkies (You have the right to drink a pint of transmission fluid too, so, please, enjoy! I'm sure your non Obama health insurance will cover this. You'd be thinning the herd as well, so , bottoms up!)