Curiously Strong

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

 

 

Curiously Strong

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 06:59:00 -0500

 

 

Curiously Strong

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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January 27, 2005

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Dear Reader,

 

If you caught any of the new NBC reality series " The Biggest Loser "

you learned that in order to transform an obese body into a body of

normal weight in a short period of time, you have to push yourself to

physical extremes that would make a boot camp Marine feel faint.

 

I wonder if the USDA was a producer for this show?

 

In the e-Alert " Eat Like an Egyptian " (1/25/05), I told you about the

revised USDA dietary guidelines (released earlier this month) that

recommend 60 minutes of exercise every day to prevent weight gain, and

90 minutes per day for weight loss.

 

Simply put, that's excessive. As we've seen in several studies, just a

few minutes of exercise each week can eventually make a big difference

in your overall health. But there's one simple factor that many people

leave out of their exercise regimens that provides important benefits:

strength training.

 

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Benefits x 4

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According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), only a very small percentage of older adults in the

U.S. are doing enough to keep their muscles strong.

 

In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Judy Kruger, a CDC specialist

in elder care and chronic disease prevention, noted that exercises

designed to strengthen muscles (such as weight training or resistance

training) yield several benefits, including:

 

* Reducing the risk of falls and fractures

* Increasing endurance

* Promoting healthy bone density

* Improving insulin sensitivity

 

But even though strength exercises promote general good health and

make it easier for older people to carry out normal daily activities,

a 2001 survey revealed that only 12 percent of people aged 65 to 74

perform this type of exercise on a regular basis.

 

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A little goes a long way

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Another key benefit provided by strength training is an improvement of

exercise capacity. It's a simple concept: If you have a high exercise

capacity, then generally speaking you're in good health. But people

who rate the lowest exercise capacities have a much higher risk of

chronic diseases.

 

In the e-alert " Precious Metals " (4/22/02), I told you about research

from the University of Florida (UF) that measured exercise capacity

and aerobic power in subjects 60 to 85 years of age who participated

in resistance training exercise.

 

More than 60 volunteers were randomly assigned to either a

low-intensity exercise group or a high-intensity exercise group. All

the subjects performed resistance exercises three times each week for

six months. At the end of the study, the UF team found that both

levels of exercise significantly improved the participants' exercise

capacities. But the researchers were surprised by this result: The

subjects in the low-intensity group showed GREATER gains in exercise

capacity and oxygen peak than the high-intensity group.

 

In other words, you don't have to push yourself to intense levels of

exercise to get the best results.

 

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One more benefit

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Obviously, weight training increases muscle strength, but older people

get yet another benefit: prevention of sarcopenia - the age-related

loss of skeletal muscle.

 

A report from the International Longevity Center-USA, details a

variety of studies of subjects aged 60 to 96 who overcame the loss of

strength and body mass associated with sarcopenia by using weight

training regimens that lasted from 8 to 12 weeks. In as little as two

sessions a week, most subjects increased their strength, while also

improving balance and mobility. Subjects who continued their weight

training regimens also increased metabolic rate and the ability to

climb stairs.

 

Exercise specialists with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) advise

older people to start with light weights - only one or two pounds -

and then gradually increase the weight according to whatever feels

comfortable. And Dr. Kruger also points out that a few simple

exercises that are easy to do at home are all that's required to

improve muscle strength. So don't let anyone tell you that you have to

pump iron like the governor of California to reap these healthy benefits.

 

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....and another thing

 

An HSI member named Allie would like some help figuring out the

measurements she finds on supplement bottles and in the e-Alert. Allie

writes:

 

" What is an IU; an MG, an MCG? Are there mgs in a mcg; mcgs in an mg?

What is the relationship to IU's? I find it impossible to compare one

supplement with another because I don't know what these abbreviations

stand for. Articles talk about one should take so many milligrams a

day of something (vitamin C, for instance) for good health, but one

bottle has vitamin C -- so many mcgs; another has vitamin C -- so many

mgs. Please help! "

 

Most of Allie's question is easy to answer, although things get a bit

sticky with the IUs. Here's a quick rundown:

 

* One thousand micrograms (mcg) equal a milligram (mg)

* One thousand milligrams equal a gram (g)

* One thousand grams equal a kilogram (kg)

 

IUs are international units, and they don't fit neatly into the metric

system of mass that uses the kilogram as the base unit. For each

substance that's measured in IUs, there's an international agreement

that specifies the expected biological effect that will occur with a

dose of 1 IU. For instance, 1 IU of vitamin C is equal to 50mcg

(although you'll almost always see vitamin C dosage in either

milligrams or grams). One IU of vitamin E (which I've never seen in

any measurement other than IUs) is equal to 2/3 mg.

 

And that's about the size of it.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

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Sources:

" Strength Training Among Adults Aged >65 Years " Morbidity and

Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Vol. 53, No. 2, 1/23/04, cdc.gov

" Strength Training Urged for Elderly " Merritt McKinney, Reuters

Health, 1/23/04, story.news.

" Weight Training in the Elderly " drkoop.com, 12/31/03, drkoop.com

" Growing Older, Staying Strong: Preventing Sarcopenia Through Strength

Training " International Longevity Center - USA, Issue Brief,

September-October, 2003, ilcusa.org

 

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