Reuters - After 25 years of successive increases, obesity rates in the United States are holding steady, government health officials said on Wednesday.
Most of us probably don’t think much about getting a when we go to our local gym. Heaven forbid! Staph infection is something you only catch in the boy’s locker room, right? The truth is, staph infection is becoming more and more common, and more dangerous and can be found most commonly in hospitals but it can also be found in schools and gyms.
I think it’s worth talking about since winter is a time when many of us come indoors to escape the brutal cold and find ourselves . And, if the gym is a relatively for you, you may not be privy to gym protocol and most importantly, hygiene. You may even assume that when you walk up to an unused piece of equipment that it’s free of dangerous germs.
The next time you’re in the gym and see that big hairy sweaty guy dripping all over the bicycle in front of you – assume there have been many sweaty guys and gals who’ve been there ahead of him and that none of them have done much more than wipe a towel across the handle bars if that. All together now…Ewww! Always use the disinfectant spray gyms provide to wipe before and after you use a machine.
Here are some facts about staph:
• What to avoid: The bacteria is transmitted through person-to-person contact or by using an infected person's belongings. So to prevent the infection, wash your hands frequently with soap and water — using soap from a bottle, not bar soap, which can breed the bacteria — or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors. And keep cuts and scrapes clean, apply antibiotic ointment and cover them with a bandage.
• Recognize: If any cut or scrape becomes red, hot or infected, see a doctor immediately. In its early stages, MRSA infections may resemble pimples or boils, and they're commonly mistaken for spider bites. It also can manifest as a rash, and may be accompanied by fever or fatigue.
• Where it lives: About 85 percent of MRSA infections originate in health-care settings. So hospital patients should be on the lookout for the symptoms mentioned above and notify a nurse if any arise.
• Treatment: Skin abscesses must be drained by a doctor, and patients are then given an antibiotic, one of the drugs that MRSA hasn't developed a resistance against. More serious infections may require hospitalization, intravenous antibiotics and other treatments.
Read more on the subject from Alexis Grant of the Houston Chronicle .
In a recent walking study from the University of Michigan Health System and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System designed to determine the effectiveness of certain types of goal-setting, pedometers have come out on top. Researchers have found that using a pedometer and tracking your physical activity levels (the study used a website for recording) can be powerful motivators.
For six weeks, participants were given weekly goals based on their previous week's activity and wore pedometers to measure their progress. Fifty percent of the study subjects had "lifestyle goals", meaning that they counted the total number of steps during the day. The other half with "structured goals" only counted steps taken during walks for 10 minutes or more, and aimed for a smaller or 'target' number of steps than the lifestyle group.
In other words, a group participant would have her steps counted whether she went for a half-hour walk or just walked outside to get the mail, while the structured group would only have the half-hour walk counted. But in both groups, the increase in the daily totals came from activities like half-hour walks, not by taking more short trips to the mailbox, to and from the car, or visiting a co-worker down the hall. ()
Healthy Lifestyle Goals
Both groups demonstrated significant increases in their walking, and were comparable in the overall amount of rise of fitness activity. What's interesting is the participant's satisfaction with each of the assigned types of goals. The group reported feeling more satisfied than the structured group, and ended up wearing the pedometer more days and for more hours each day during the study.
The finding sheds light on a debate among exercise experts about the ways in which people should increase their levels of activity. Some have contended that the only effective walking programs are those in which long periods of activity (known as "bout steps" in this study) are counted. Others have said that counting every step is a better motivator and is just as effective as bout-step programs.
"Walkers in the group where every step counted experienced the same benefit as those who just had their bout steps recorded," says lead author Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the U-M Medical School and research scientist at the Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. "The fact that they were also more satisfied with their program suggests that this approach may be more successful for many people than a program that only recognizes long periods of activity." ()
The study, which appears in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, included 35 people with who were both overweight and sedentary. Among the 30 participants who completed the study, steps taken during longer walks lasting 10 minutes or more increased by about 1,900 to 2,700 steps a day, and the increases were roughly the same in both the lifestyle and structured groups. Even though the lifestyle-goals group had every step counted, they, like their counterparts in the other group, chose to increase their walking by taking longer walks rather than by accumulating more steps during many short walks.
The Power of Pedometers
Sticking with an enjoyable program is much more likely to succeed with or improving diabetes. Pedometers were helpful in both groups in raising fitness levels, but aiming for a healthy lifestyle goal may be much more effective in the long term because people find it more satisfying and easier to incorporate in their every day lives.
For more information about weight management with pedometers, read . You can find an excellent pedometer at the Fitwoman.com's . It makes a great gift for a loved one or yourself!
Posted by Laura Brooks
With so many products it's hard to find a genuine one. Though a lot of weight loss pills are available online I think you should go for a natural diet pill.
Check This out. I have lost around 4kgs in a month. It's good otherwise I would'nt be writing all this
Share your weight loss experiences on this blog.
But the whole pie...now that's another story!
Most of us who have visited have heard this pearl of wisdom before. And why do we understand this concept? Because we’ve lived it successfully – many times.
When we diet, or restrict ourselves from the foods we love, we are often restricting certain foods and/or food groups that we may consider trigger foods. We eat this way until we can’t take it anymore, which could be a day, a week, a month or possibly longer. But ultimately, we tumble down that slippery slope of deprivation right into a vat of cookie batter.
On this upcoming holy of holy American eating days, Thanksgiving, lets try to remember that listening to your internal cues, eating til you are satisfied and giving yourself permission to do so, may be the key to unlock a lovely holiday which will not only satisfy your tummy and your pallet, but more importantly, your heart.
Happy Eating!
While coffee shops are still popping up like mushrooms, more and more people are grabbing something cold to kick-start their day: an energy drink. Since the caffeine amounts are about the same, people are finding that they can get the same pick-me-up without having to deal with a searing hot cup. Even so, energy drinks along with coffee still have the same downfall: the impact of caffeine on the body.
One serving of Crave Energy Drink™ contains approximately the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee (100 mg/serving). The caffeine in Crave Energy Drink™ has been buffered (Patented process) to reduce the jitters associated with regular coffee and caffeine.
Does Not Contain Ephedra or Ma Huang
CRAVE delivers high energy levels and alertness in humans, not by speeding you up, but by keeping you from slowing down.
Each time brain cells fire, they product a squirt of a chemical that serves as an off-switch that keeps neural activity in check.
CRAVE, in effect, blocks the chemical, and jams the switch, so it can’t be turned down. This energy-effect can last from 2-4 hours. Additionally, the time-released glycoside system unique to the formula remains in the intestinal tract for a long period, providing increased energy over a 2-4 hour duration.
Mintel's July 2006 Energy Drink report states that many people drink energy drinks for the effect, with 80% stating they drink them “for the kick” and 50% “for mental alertness.” They furthermore suggest that there is “an opportunity to launch or position an energy for everyday mental concentration.” Most existing energy drinks on the market have not had this as their focus. Crave has this focus of health and everyday mental concentration.