Random tid-bits

...here's just a few choice bits of health related info I've read* recently... it's all pretty interesting...

Don't Read This If You Want To Blame Your Metabolic Rate For The Extra Pounds
Many overweight people blame their resting metabolic rate for their problems, insisting they just weren't meant to be lean. Those folks won't like this new report from the well known Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The researchers followed 10 lean and 10 obese women over 14 days, measuring both their resting metabolic rates (RMR) and their total daily energy expenditure (RMR plus movement calories). Result: There was little difference in RMRs between the lean and obese women. However the obese sat 2.5 hours more per day than the lean, stood 2 hours less, and moved about half as much. The difference amounted to about 300 calories per day. And that, of course, is equivalent to 31 pounds a year.
Source: Obesity. More

Exercise Lowers Risks For 25 Chronic Diseases
Our neighbors to the north, like us, are mounting an all-out campaign to get more citizens moving. Here they summarize the health benefits that would likely result if more Canadians met the country's exercise recommendations. Pass 'em along to your sedentary friends and family: "Physical activity appears to reduce the risk for over 25 chronic conditions, in particular coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, breast cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis. Current literature suggests that if the entire Canadian population followed current physical activity guidelines, approximately one third of deaths related to coronary heart disease, one quarter of deaths related to stroke and osteoporosis, 20% of deaths related to colon cancer, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, and 14% of deaths related to breast cancer could be prevented." Source: Canadian Journal Of Public Health. More

What Does It Take To Keep The Weight Off? About 26 Miles A Week (Interesting Number, Don't You Think?)
The National Weight Control Registry is the now-well-known database of people who have lost 30 pounds and kept it off for more than a year. As the Registry gets bigger, researchers keep dipping into it to see what new info they can find. This analysis looked at exercise habits of the successful dieters. On average, they were burning about 2600 calories a week in their exercise workouts. That's about a marathon a week. The researchers note, nonetheless, a high degree of variability. About 25 percent of Registry folks are only burning 1000 calories a week, while 35 percent are logging more than 3000 workout calories a week. Source: Obesity. More

Exercise Beats Angioplasty For Those With Stable Heart Disease
Angioplasty is a fairly commonplace surgical procedure, often used on individuals who have a high degree of coronary artery blockage from cholesterol plaques. It's known to be only modestly successful, but still it's very commonplace. These brave German researchers took 101 subjects with typical artery disease and performed angioplasty on half while giving the other half a regular exercise training program. After two years, the exercise program was more successful. The exercisers reduced their C-reactive protein levels and interleukin-6 levels by a significant amount (there were no changes in the angioplasty group), and had a 78 percent success rate (no heart attacks) vs 62 percent. Source: European Journal Of Cardiovascular Prevention And Rehabilitation. More

* = all of this is straight from runnersworld.com's Peak Performance section