Researchers at Johns Hopkins University report that more than 80
percent of Americans are overweight. People who are overweight are
prone to experience health problems such as diabetes, heart disease
and lower back pain.
If eating too much food was the problem, then consuming fewer
calories should be the answer. However, the majority of overweight
adults do not routinely overeat. In fact, as a nation, our average
daily caloric intake is less than it was 30 years ago. So what is
the cause of our obesity epidemic?
Generally speaking, we do too little physical activity. A 2008
research study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
presents some alarming data regarding exercise in America. Among
adults younger than 60, only 3.5 percent attain 30 or more minutes
of moderate physical activity on a daily basis. Among adults older
than 60, fewer than 2.5 percent do 30 or more minutes of daily
exercise.
Of those who perform regular physical activity, the majority are
walkers. But aerobic activities do not attenuate the progressive
muscle loss that accompanies the aging process.
Let's do the numbers. If your resting metabolic rate decreases by
just 15 calories a day, you will accumulate 55,000 fat calories
during the next 10 years. A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so
this amounts to a 15-pound fat gain.
Our preventive medicine approach should be to add muscle to
increase resting metabolic-rate, resulting in a loss of fat and
reducing the risk of experiencing diabetes, heart disease, low back
pain and other chronic health problems.
And change can occur in much less time than most people realize.
Our YMCA research studies with more than 3,000 participants show
that previously sedentary adults and seniors add 3 pounds of new
muscle tissue after just 10 weeks of sensible strength training. By
sensible, I mean brief training session of 20 minutes two or three
days per week. The strength training segment is coupled with 20
minutes of aerobic activity (stationary cycles or treadmills) and
several stretching exercises for a comprehensive fitness program.
Keep in mind that your muscles are the engines of your body,
where energy is translated into movement for all physical actions.
As you age, unless you perform strength exercises, you reduce your
muscle mass similar to going from an 8-cylinder engine to a 4-
cylinder engine. The good news is that you can rebuild your muscles
and recharge your metabolism through a basic and brief program of
strength exercises. In just 10 weeks of sensible strength training
you can increase your resting metabolic rate by 6 percent. This
essentially reverses 20 years of age-related metabolic slowdown, and
is a compelling reason to begin a strength training program.
If you would like more information on strength training for
rebuilding muscle, recharging metabolism and reducing fat, you can
learn more Tuesday, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the South Shore YMCA. There
is no charge, but please call Susan at 617-479-8500, ext. 138 for
seating.
Wayne L. Westcott is senior fitness executive at the South Shore
YMCA in Quincy, adjunct instructor of exercise science at Quincy
College, and author of 22 fitness books.
(C) 2008 The Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved