Apr 06, 2009 (Ventura County Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via
COMTEX) -- If obese or overweight Americans don't begin to eat right and fit
more exercise into their schedules, there could be another economic crisis on
the horizon, according to Dr. Joseph Donnelly, director of the Center for
Physical Activity and Weight Management at the University of Kansas.
"No one, and I mean no one has any idea how we're going to financially deal with
this when we wind up with 35 to 50 percent of Americans with Type II diabetes,"
Donnelly said. "It will bankrupt the healthcare system."
About 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, he said, a condition that
can lead to a multitude of health conditions including Type II diabetes, heart
attack, stroke, breast cancer and arthritis.
"It's a disaster and it's not waiting to happen, it's happened," Donnelly said.
"I don't believe there's another medical condition or disease that affects 66
percent of the population."
Donnelly and a team of researchers recently released a study that says adults
need 250 to 400 minutes of exercise a week to lose weight. That's about 35 to 60
minutes a day.
The report prompted the American College of Sports Medicine to update its 2001
physical activity guidelines for weight loss, which had recommended 150 to 300
minutes of exercise per week for overweight and obese adults, or about 20 to 43
minutes a day.
If you're of normal weight and you don't want to gain, the 2009 guidelines say
you need to exercise about 150 to 250 minutes per week or about 20 to 35 minutes
a day.
The exercise should be moderate intensity, which can be compared to brisk
walking, Donnelly said.
The study, called "Appropriate Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and
Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults" examined exercise only, but to lose
weight, you must also restrict calories, Donnelly said.
Resistance training (weight or band exercise) is not effective in weight loss,
but important to maintain muscle mass during weight loss, Donnelly said.
There are a constellation of weight loss/diet combinations, but the bottom line
is, "good things happen" when you burn 2,000 to 2,500 calories a week with
exercise, Donnelly said.
Is it realistic?
Her husband was watching the kids, so Mary Wong, 31, of Ventura was able to slip
off to an evening spinning class at the Ventura Family YMCA.
"Today's a treat for me; I get to come for an hour," Wong said.
Spinning is a high intensity form of stationary bicycling done in a group
setting. Amy Bruns, 43, of Ventura, goes to spin class two to three times a week
because she can get more intense exercise into a shorter period of time. Like
many Americans, time is at a premium for Bruns. The dietician was not surprised
to hear that exercise guidelines had been increased. But she wondered whether it
was realistic for people to follow them.
"I don't believe it's particularly achievable with our American lifestyle,"
Bruns said. "People have children, jobs, sports and other commitments."
Jerome Kahler, 64, of Ventura doubts he'll be able to follow the new guidelines.
"I'm an Episcopal priest. I'm not able to spend that kind of time exercising,"
he said. "I'm able to put in 30 minutes, six days a week and one hour on the
weekend."
Ventura Family YMCA Healthy Lifestyles Director Rich Gross believes the most
important thing is to get moving for 15, 20, 30 minutes. Just get started.
"I would rather people take small steps in the right direction rather than set
themselves up to fail," he said. "By shooting for seven days a week and
attaining only four or five and feeling like they didn't attain their goal, they
get discouraged and quit."
Donnelly believes the 35 to 60 minute-per-day exercise goal is realistic. It's a
matter of re-setting priorities.
"The average American watches four hours of television a day," he said. "Both
(former President George W.) Bush and President (Barack) Obama are dedicated
exercisers. I mean, they've got nothing to do? I don't buy that at all."
'The Weight of the Nation'
How much our obesity epidemic will cost us will be released in a report from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a national conference in July
in Washington, D.C., called "The Weight of the Nation."
Dr. Beth Tohill, lead epidemiologist for the CDC's Obesity Guidelines and
Recommendation team, gave a preview.
"I can tell you that the obesity prevalence has continued to go up the past
couple of years," she said. "Not one state has slowed down."
According to the CDC, 59 percent of adults in California were overweight in 2007
and about 50 percent said they were not engaged in moderate or vigorous physical
activity.
The last time the CDC released data about the national cost of obesity was 2000,
when the obesity-related illnesses contributed an extra $117 billion to the
national medical bill.
Tohill said the CDC is holding its conference in Washington to encourage
lawmakers to create policies to help Americans cut the fat.
"The CDC's direction is, we want to understand the behaviors," she said. "We
know what to do. Why aren't we doing it? It's going to be environmental or
policy change."
The CDC also has physical activity guidelines, but only for those seeking the
health benefits of exercise, and not necessarily weight loss. Its guideline is
150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, plus muscle-strengthening
activities on two or more days of the week.
The experts all agree that it doesn't matter what kind of exercise you choose,
as long as you get moving.
"I'm not saying people have to come to a gym," the YMCA's Gross said. "If you
can do it at home, find what works."
Donnelly reminded those on the road to weight loss about the real work that
begins once the weight is off.
"The key of course is maintaining the weight you have lost and for that,
physical activity is king," Donnelly said.
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Kim Lamb Gregory
Copyright (C) 2009, Ventura County Star, Calif. Subject Code: Ve