Obesity
First, Do No Harm
A longtime athlete who found himself constantly falling prey to injury, Greg Roskopf, MA, created a new approach to recovery called Muscle Activation TechniquesTM. The process, which helps to identify unique causes of muscle tightness and weakness in order to remedy them, has been used by professional athletes playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, as well as a wide range of other clients.
When You Lose Weight, Where Does It Go?
When a person loses weight, have you ever wondered where it goes? Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have put together a calculation to explain the process. And it turns out most expert theories are wrong.
Obesity’s Impact on Lifespan
Here’s more reason to encourage individuals who are obese to move more and improve their diets: Obesity can chop up to 9 years off a lifespan.
Frequent Sitting Means Weight Gain for Women
Seated desk work has come under fire these past several years as countless studies have linked it with a variety of health problems. But not all associations affect all people. When it comes to weight, a new study shows that the effects of regular sitting differ by gender and race.
Building Self-Efficacy in Overweight and Obese Clients
You know them well: your obese clients who have tried everything: weight-loss meal programs, fat-burner pills, crash diets, gym memberships; nothing worked for very long. When they turned up at your door, low self-efficacy was all they had to show for their sincere efforts to change.
How One Man Lost More Than Half His Body Weight
Intervention. At 493 pounds and with a pants waist size of 78, Josh was close to hitting rock bottom. The significant weight he carried caused him to lose his job and his house, forcing him to move in with his parents. Concerned for his well-being, Josh’s family encouraged him to seek guidance from a qualified fitness professional. That’s when he met Kevin Buchanek, a personal trainer at Personally Fit by Chris Hill.
Study Asks Adults in Great Britain to Self-Assess Obesity
The first step in overcoming a problem is recognizing that you have one. Unfortunately, many obese adults in Great Britain think they weigh less than they actually do.
Obesity’s Workplace Burden
The negative effects of obesity are many—ranging from personal health problems to global healthcare costs. A fresh report from Yale University’s Rudd Center has found that obesity also takes a significant financial toll in the workplace.
Obesity-related absenteeism has been costing the United States $8.65 billion per year in lost productivity, according to the report. Researchers calculated this staggering number by analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance.
The Hunger-Obesity Paradox: There’s an App for That
More than one-third (78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. But according to a 2014 report by Feeding America, a hunger relief charity, 49 million Americans are “food insecure,” meaning they eat smaller amounts, go hungry or eat less nutritious foods because they can’t afford to eat better. Almost one-third of America’s food insecure are children, the report says.
Social Media and “Weight Talk”
The Internet offers plenty of opportunity to share helpful, positive content. However, it’s also a hotbed of negativity, especially when it comes to discussions on weight.
A study facilitated by researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland, wanted to understand the types of conversations that are taking place on this subject. Using a commercial Web-crawling tool, the investigators explored popular social media sites and pulled posts that included fat, obese/obesity and/or overweight. The process lasted 60 days and culminated in 1.37 million posts.
How to Improve Function in Obese Adults
Mobility can be an issue for adults with obesity, and exercise can help. But is there a preferred method for improving functional capacity in this population? Researchers may have the answer.
Leveraging Change in the Workplace
Gregory Florez is the founder and CEO of V2 Performance, a premier vitality education and performance coaching firm for leaders. Through keynote speaking engagements, customized workshops and seminars, and one-on-one vitality coaching, Florez and his team have improved the health and well-being, work capacity and breakthrough performance of thousands of leaders worldwide.
Fitness as Pharmacy
An accomplished orthopedic surgeon, Gregory Degnan, MD, serves as medical director of ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers, home to 38,000 members throughout Pennsylvania and Virginia. Since a rare medical condition sidelined Degnan’s surgical career, he has worked to map out the ACAC physician-referred exercise program and has advocated for the unification of the healthcare and fitness industries. An avid exerciser, Degnan attended Wesleyan University and Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.
Can Twitter Help Childhood Obesity?
Social media platform Twitter is widely used as a tool for sharing and receiving information. A recent study suggests that tweeting
could play a positive role in reducing childhood obesity rates.
Do Parents Accurately Assess Obese Kids’ Health Problems?
Experts often suggest that in order to reduce childhood obesity levels, healthy habits must begin in the home. However, a recent study shows that many parents miss the mark— even when their child is considered clinically obese.
Fitness Professionals Can Take A Leading Charge In The Fight Against Childhood Obesity
In observance of Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, IDEA has compiled a list of our most relevant articles. Learn how different components of daily life can effect children’s obesity risk, how to fight obesity and how to create effective programming for children.
The Biomechanics of Obesity
Justin Price, MA, is a biomechanics specialist, expert in corrective exercise, and creator of The BioMechanics Method® continuing education program. His assessment and exercise techniques are widely used by health and fitness professionals around the world to help people eliminate chronic pain. Price has been consulted for his expertise by Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Tennis, Men’s Health, Arthritis Today, WebMD and Discovery Health.
The Importance of Size Sensitivity
Business owners attempting to entice overweight clients should hold size-sensitivity training for their entire staff, says weight management expert Rochelle Rice. Indeed, size-friendly facilities are often a good fit for fitness professionals who have experienced significant weight loss first hand. “But there are also trainers, no matter the size, who have the compassion, knowledge and expertise to work with the fuller body,” Rice adds.
30 Seconds to Victory
After spending much of his young life at a healthy weight, Lee Jordan began steadily gaining mass in his 20s. He reached a top weight of 450 pounds and was living what he refers to as a “nightmare of a life.” Inspired by his friend Beth, an ACE-certified personal trainer and now his wife, Lee began his journey to health and fitness by walking 30 seconds every morning down the hallway outside his apartment. Now, more than 275 pounds lighter, Lee is an ACE-certified personal trainer and health coach who specializes in helping people who need to lose 100 pounds or more.
Is Obesity Contagious?
We often hear about an “epidemic” of obesity. This past year, the American Medical Association deemed obesity a disease (AMA 2013). A lot of people have a hard time associating the term “disease” with obesity because body weight is within our control . . . or is it?
Obesity has many properties of diseases, including a genetic prevalence and associations with other diseases or conditions like diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers. Obesity causes losses of certain functions and creates pathological conditions that increase morbidity.