Children and teenagers in the US are getting fatter stomachs, putting them at increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, say researchers. They found the belly fat of children and teens had increased by more than 65 per cent since the 1990s - directly in line with rising obesity rates.
Thank goodness we don't live in some totalitarian nanny state that commands overweight youngsters to eat less and exercise more, or face being shipped off to the gulags . That would be unfair to the little cupcake-smeared darlings. Here in the U. S. of A. all are free to consume delicious morsels of food at any time of the day or night without fear of arrest, torture or having to drop and give me twenty. Pardon me for proffering a wild surmise, but I'm beginning to think that some of the good citizens in this country do not exercise regularly. Perhaps they are on the divan right now, stabbing little hot dogs with long silver picks, sighing as they observe another middle-aged jogger plodding along outside in the street. Is there anyone here who can convince these unfortunate souls that exercise (regarded by some cynics as "a bit of the old ultraviolence") can be beneficial? What if they cry out, "Exercising won't help me! My belly's already too fat!" Are they correct?
Brace yourself, laddies and lasses - it seems that in this Canadian study 297 men with abdominal, visceral or subcutaneous fat were exercised and then divided into three groups of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF): low, moderate or high (high being the fittest). After stratifying each member of the CRF group for the amount of fat they carried, the researchers then looked at their risk factors for cardiac disease. Here's what they found:
For a given level of waist circumference, visceral fat, or subcutaneous fat, the high-CRF group had lower triglyceride levels (P < 0.05) and higher HDL cholesterol levels than the low- or moderate-CRF groups. There was a significant group interaction (P < 0.01) for blood pressure, indicating that the increase in blood pressure per unit increase in visceral fat or waist circumference was greater in men in the low-CRF group compared with the high-CRF group. The relative risks of having the metabolic syndrome were 1.8 (95% CI 1.0-3.1) and 1.6 (0.9-2.7) times higher in the low- and moderate-CRF groups, respectively, compared with the high-CRF group after adjusting for age, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat (P for trend = 0.06).
To put it in English: even fat people can reduce their risk of developing hypertension or cardiovascular disease if they start exercising, especially those individuals with a Falstaffian figure. I can't think of a better excuse to go outside and run around the block...with the kids...and your best friend.
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Yes but then they would have to stop playing their Xbox or miss the Gilmore Girls. And that's just too much to ask.
This is actually rather heartening for me! I'm more than a little on the "robust" side (220# at 5'9") but find it rather difficult to get some of that good CV exercise, since I've got a nasty problem with one of my knees,so walking and running/jogging is right out, unless I want to kill my liver with NSAIDs. Sounds like I'll be getting a bicycle, then! It won't be useless!
Post chemo for breast ca, my weight is creeping up (ah, the icy plunge into instant menopause), even tho I bike/walk daily and walk my two best friends (since they check pee-mail this does take cardio out for me...) and I have begun to think of joining a GYM...8-(
Well, I grew up with JFK's fitness program in school + I walked/biked to/from school and did chores...Gee, I am starting to sound pompous...I feel sorry for today's kids - I really do, for many reasons - too numerous to post here. Anyway, thanks for offering us this good news. I feel less fat and more fit just reading this.