The Super Bowl is over. The Saints are Super Bowl champs! Did you get your fill of football food and commercials? The conclusion of football season for many of us means that spring is just around the corner. If you believe Punxsutawney Phil who saw his shadow, however, we are in for 6 more weeks of winter. In past blogs we have discussed the decline in physical activity levels of our nation’s youth and some of the potential reasons. A recent study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity has found that inappropriate clothing is another factor that may limit or even prevent young children’s outdoor play¹. Researchers looked at 49 child-care providers from 34 child-care centers in Cincinnati to determine why children’s physical activity levels vary across the centers despite experiencing the same weather conditions. They were shocked to find that having just a few children inappropriately dressed prevented an entire day-care class from going outside to play. Clothing that affected outdoor play included:

•    Inadequate weather protection (i.e. no coat/hat/gloves in the winter)
•    Unstable footwear (i.e. flip flops)
•    “Nice” outfits (i.e. clothing that had to be treated with care)
•    Jewelry (i.e. items that have the potential to get caught in equipment)
•    Ill-fitting clothes (i.e. too lose or too tight)

The teachers that were interviewed speculated reasons as to why parents may dress their children inappropriately which included:
•    Forgetfulness
•    A “car culture”
•    A hectic morning routine
•    Limited income
•    A child’s preference for a favorite piece of clothing
•    Parents concern with child’s appearance
•    Parents failing to understand the importance of outdoor play

These findings are a major cause for concern as 75% of children ages 3 to 6 spend time in childcare.

There are many organizations who are trying to raise awareness of the decline in the level of physical activity of our children and encourage a reversal of this trend. One example is the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council who we highlighted last June in our blog titled The Other You. Since we were talking football earlier, another organization trying to boost kid’s activity levels is the NFL. The NFL has launched the NFL PLAY 60 campaign designed to tackle childhood obesity by getting kids active through in-school, after-school, and team-based programs. They even have an online child-targeted outreach on NFLRUSH.com. As part of this campaign, we here at The Cooper Institute have teamed up with NFL PLAY 60 to launch FITNESSGRAM® into schools and after-school community organizations. NFL PLAY 60 is the premier fitness assessment tool designed to educate families and students on their health related-fitness levels and to encourage healthy behaviors for a lifetime.
To learn more about NFL PLAY 60 and FITNESSGRAM® click on the links above. And remember to think about your child’s clothes before sending them to school or daycare. You may just be affecting a whole classroom’s chance to play!

¹ Copeland, K., Sherman, S., Kendeigh, C., Saelens, B., and Kalkwarf, H. Flip flops, dress clothes, and no coat: clothing barriers to children’s physical activity in child-care centers identified from a qualitative study. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 6: 74, 2009.

In last week’s blog we introduced you to the concept that eating 30 grams of protein at each meal might be a good way to help you manage your weight.  If you haven’t read the blog, check it out and come back here to learn how you can easily get your 30-30-30, even if you are a vegetarian.

Where’s the Protein?
Protein is found in all food groups.  But as you can see from the table below, meat, poultry, fish, milk products, and nuts, seeds, and legumes are the best sources.  

Complementing Proteins

Wait a minute.  What if you don’t eat meat?  You can still get plenty of protein from plant sources such as nuts and legumes.  But there is a catch.  You see protein is made up of building blocks called amino acids.  Animal proteins provide all the amino acids in the quantities your body needs.  Plant foods, except for soybeans and soy products, are low in one or more amino acids.  No worries.  You can get enough of all the important amino acids by eating a variety of plant foods (whole grains, cereals, legumes, nuts, and vegetables) each day. 

The table below shows you how easy it is for omnivores and vegan vegetarians (one doesn’t eat any animal products) to get their 30 grams of protein at each meal.  If you are a vegetarian who eats dairy products and eggs, you have many different ways to get adequate protein at every meal.
 

* These are just the primary protein sources.  Round out a healthy meal with milk, whole-grain, vegetables and fruit.

** eats animal and plant foods

How easy do you think it will be for you to get 30 grams of protein at each meal?  If you already get 90 grams per day, how do you think it helps you with your calorie balance?

Chances are you have heard news that about 2/3 of the adult U.S. population is overweight or obese.  Ever wonder where this comes from? 

The answer is The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).  This is a government run study directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   The purpose is to monitor the health status of the nation so the data can be used to develop health policies, programs, and services that target the least fit members of the U.S. population. 

In 1996, the Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health stated that higher cardiorespiratory fitness, which is the body’s ability to use oxygen, decreases overall death rates and morbidity due to chronic diseases. The body’s ability to use oxygen is a strong predictor of many serious health conditions such as heart disease. But where does this statement come from?

While there has been supporting evidence to this statement, such as research from The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, there has not been any NHANES data until recently. In 1999, a cardiorespiratory fitness component was added to the NHANES study to measure cardiorespiratory fitness using a treadmill test.

On January 15, cardiorespiratory fitness results for 3250 American adults ages 20-49 were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.¹  The results were broken down by age, gender, ethnic group, and body weight category.

Differences in Cardiorespiratory Fitness

* Body weight categories were based on BMI as: Normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.99 kg/m²), Overweight (BMI 25-29.99 kg/m²) and obese (BMI >30 kg/m²).

Overweight and obese Black women had significantly lower cardiorespiratory fitness than their overweight and obese White and Mexican-American counterparts.  As was the case in men, obese women of all ethnic groups had lower cardiorespiratory fitness than their normal weight counterparts.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of many future health problems such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This study is important because it provides the only source of cardiorespiratory fitness data that is based on a national random sample of the U.S. population. Because differences in cardiorespiratory fitness were seen in certain subgroups, the data can be used to develop health policies, programs, and services that target the least fit members of the U.S. population.    

So which category do you fit in and how can you change your data? You have the opportunity to change this data and beat public policy by finding a way to engage in one of the recommended activities from the Stand Up & Eat Active Living Library in hopes of changing this data for the better.

¹ CY Wang, WL Haskell, SW Farrell, MJ LaMonte, SN Blair, LR Curtin, JP Hughes, VL Burt. Cardiorespiratory fitness levels among US adults 20-49 years of age: Findings from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. American Journal of Epidemiology, January 2010. 

In case you didn't know, the NFL Pro Bowl this Sunday.  Whether or not you love professional football, if you are interested in managing your weight you should tune in to another type of “pro” bowl.  That is, getting adequate protein in your diet.  (Be mindful that I am saying, “adequate” not “excessive” here.  More on this later.)

Weight Management Effects of Protein

An emerging body of research¹ is suggesting that protein intake may be connected to reduced hunger feelings when compared to other nutrients such as carbohydrate and fat.  It has not been determined why this is so but it may have to do with protein changing the way the different hormones involved in digestion are metabolized. 

Speaking of metabolism, another potential weight management mechanism of protein is in directly speeding up your metabolism after a protein-rich meal.  As you may know, your body burns some calories to digest food.  This is called the "thermic effect of food."  When protein is eaten, it tends to increase the number of calories burned more than when fat and carbohydrate are eaten.  Say you ate the exact same number of calories at lunch and dinner.  But your lunch was higher in protein than your dinner.  Then your body would likely burn more of the calories eaten after lunch than after dinner. 

Higher protein intake may also indirectly speed up total daily calorie expenditure by helping to maintain – or even slightly increase – muscle tissue.  Lean muscle tissue burns more calories in a 24-hour period than other body tissues.  So the more lean muscle tissue your body has, the more total calories your body burns each day.  

Protein Intake Recommendations

Now you might be thinking that this information gives you license to go out and wolf down a 12-ounce T-bone.  Think again.  Yes, the evidence seems to be pointing to recommending slightly higher intakes of protein for weight management (and for overall quality of life improvement for elderly people BTW).  But new research suggests that the body can only use a certain amount (about 30 grams) of protein at any one meal for muscle mass increase and maintenance².  Eating any more than that amount (a 12-ounce T-bone has 88 grams of protein!) does not lead to additional muscle mass.  The scientists behind this research suggest eating 30 grams of protein at each of three meals per day for a total of 90 grams per day.

So the bottom line recommendation is yes, slightly higher protein intake may help you manage your weight better.  Slightly is the key word because the average American adult already eats about 66 grams (the elderly) to about 90 grams (young adults) each day³. 

Next week I’ll show you how to turn these recommendations into a practical, everyday pro(tein) bowls for you and your family.  In the meantime, enjoy the Pro Bowl on Sunday!

¹ Paddon-Jones D et al.  Protein, weight management, and satiety.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  2008;87(5):1558S-1561S.

² Symons TB et al.  A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects.  Journal of the American Dietetic Association.  2009;109:1582-1586.

³ Fulgoni VL.  Current protein intake in America:  Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2004.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  2008;87(5):1554S-1557S.

The diet vs exercise debate for weight loss continues as TV and web sites market their weight loss programs.  A recent study¹ performed at Louisiana State University examined the benefits of losing weight by diet only and combined diet plus exercise compared to a control group.  The purpose of the study was to determine if dieting plus exercise provides more health benefits than dieting alone. 

Thirty-six healthy male and female, healthy, overweight participants (average age of 39 years) were assigned to either a control, diet, or diet and exercise group.  The diet only group reduced their caloric intake by 25%.  The combined diet and exercise group decreased caloric intake by 12.5% and burned another 12.5% of calories during supervised exercise sessions.  They were allowed to select their own exercise intensity.  Then exercise time was adjusted until they had burned the required number of calories.  The control group was placed on a diet which allowed them to maintain their current body weight.  Researchers measured fitness level, belly fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, insulin sensitivity and weight loss before and after 6 months of participation in the study.    

Both the diet and diet plus exercise groups lost the same amount of weight, pounds of fat, and belly fat.  The diet plus exercise group increased fitness level by 22% with no change in the diet or control groups.  Total and bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) decreased significantly in the diet plus exercise group only.   Good cholesterol levels increased significantly in all three groups including the control group.  However, blood pressure and insulin sensitivity improved in the diet plus exercise group only.     
The results of this study show that losing weight through a combination of diet and exercise provides additional benefits over diet alone. 

These findings are consistent with the fact that both fitness and fatness affect cardiovascular disease risk.  Based on data from this study and a previous study², 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 29% in the diet group and by 38% in the diet plus exercise group.  This research suggests that losing weight through a combination of diet and exercise provides more health benefits than diet alone. 

Another important reason to include exercise as part of a weight loss program was addressed in the Stand Up and Eat blog in August, 2008.  It reported that women who lost 10% or more of their initial body weight were more likely to keep it off after two years if they exercised.  Those who exercised an average of 275 minutes per week (40-55 minutes of exercise 5 days/week) were the most successful in keeping their weight off.  Studies support the need to include both caloric restriction and exercise for optimal weight loss and weight maintenance. 

  1.  Larson-Meyer, D.E., Redman, L., Heilbronn, L.K., Martin, C.K. & Ravussin, E. (2010). Caloric Restriction with or without Exercise: The Fitness versus Fatness Debate. MSSE, 42, 152-159.
2.  Lefevre, M., Redman, L.M., Heibronn, L.K. et al. (2009). Caloric restriction alone and with exercise improves CVD risk in healthy non-obese individuals. Atherosclerosis. 203(1), 206-213.

It is well documented in the nutrition science world that most people can’t count calories correctly.  Need proof?  Take a look at this YouTube clip that we showed you in an earlier blog. 

What’s the big deal about being clueless when it comes to knowing how many calories are in different foods?  If you don’t know the calorie content of the foods you eat then you will have a hard time managing your weight – balancing calories in with the calories you burn – over time. 

Now test yourself.  What do you estimate is the calorie count for each the following foods?  (answers below)
a) 2 cups Frosted Flake Cereal
b) ¾ cup 2% milk 
c) Large glass (12 ounces) orange juice 
d) 1 bagel 
e) 2 tablespoons regular cream cheese

Add up the total calories you estimated for the five foods and compare your total with the correct total shown below.  Now subtract your estimate from the correct calorie total.  Is your answer is a positive number (i.e., your answer was less than the correct answer)?  If so, you may be in danger of putting on weight because you are likely underestimating how many calories are in foods. 

If the answer is a negative number, count yourself in the minority because most people underestimate the number of calories in foods . 

Get a Clue

If you need remedial training in the calorie content of foods, give these ideas a try:

Be a calorie detective.  Search out information about the calorie content of the foods you eat. 

• Reading food labels is a good start but the calorie number on the label may not be 100% accurate as we told you in last week’s blog. 
• Get a calorie count book.  It won’t have all the foods in the world in it but depending on the resource you buy, you can get calorie information for thousands of foods. 
• Go online to places like CalorieKing.com for an easy way to look up calorie content of different foods.

Play with your food. Get out your measuring cups and spoons and find out what a ½ cup of rice or a tablespoon of butter or 2 cups of lettuce looks like.  When you are good at estimating the amounts of different foods you eat, you will be more accurate in your calorie counts for different foods. 

Write a diary. Keep a list of every (this means ALL!) foods you eat and beverages you drink for a couple of days.  Here’s a downloadable form from the Stand Up & Eat Library.  Use the calorie counting resources from “Be a calorie detective” above to look up the calorie content of each food you eat.  Once you have done this, review your diary.  What were the total calories you ate each day?  Now click here to get an estimate of how many calories your body needs.  How does this number compare to the number of calories you ate on your “diary” days?  Chances are you weren’t in perfect calorie balance but just how far off were you?  Big differences can add up to weight gain (you ate excess calories) or weight loss (you burned more calories than you ate).

True, most people don’t have a clue about how many calories they eat each day.  And their ignorance often shows up on their waistline.  But with a little information and some practice, you don’t have to be totally clueless.  

Answers:  a) 293; b) 92; c) 165; d) 360; e) 101; Total = 1,011

Have you ever taken the “Sit and Reach” test?  It is a basic physical fitness test given to participants of all ages to determine trunk flexibility? A good score on this test generally indicates good overall flexibility.  Good flexibility in turn is associated with improved range of motion in movement, and thought to reduce the risk of exercise related injury.  But there is new evidence that being flexible has a strong health related benefit of reducing arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness in turn is associated with increases in blood pressure which is an increased risk for coronary (heart) artery disease and kidney failure.

To test the theory that poor trunk flexibility is associated with arterial stiffening, lead researcher, Kenta Yamamoto, with the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Ft. Worth, tested 526 adults and grouped them by age: 20-39 young; 40-59 middle age; 60-83 older.¹  Arterial stiffness was assessed by the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.  Subjects were classified as either “poor flexibility” or “high flexibility” after the sit and reach test.

Researchers tested for all three components of fitness: cardiovascular, muscular strength, and flexibility. The findings demonstrated that flexibility was an independent factor in determining risk for arterial stiffening.  Also, the results showed that age related arterial stiffness was greater in the poor flexibility subjects than the high flexibility subjects of middle age and older age.  In the young age groups there was no observed relationship of flexibility and arterial stiffness.

Further findings from this study showed a positive relationship between cardiovascular fitness and flexibility.  In general because exercise includes flexibility exercise as seen in stretching for warm up and cool down, active adults are most likely to demonstrate good flexibility than inactive adults.

Since trunk flexibility can be easily assessed on adults of all ages in practical field setting, this measurement may become a “preventive medicine score” for the prevention of arterial stiffening due to aging.  Furthermore, consideration should also be given to the promotion of regular stretching, yoga, and pilates because of their contribution to increased flexibility. Check out the Cooper Institute bookstore for helpful stretching tools.

¹Yamamoto, K., Kawano, H., Gando, Y., Iemitsu, M., et al. Poor Trunk Flexibility is associated with arterial stiffening. Am J Physiol Heart Cir Physiol. 297, H1314-H 1318, 2009.

The saying goes that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.  It appears that you may not be able to believe the calorie content posted on the packaging of frozen foods or the menus of some restaurant chains either.  If you do, you might find that attaining calorie balance is hard to do.  Here’s why.

In a study published last week, researchers found that on average, fast food (i.e., Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Domino’s, Dunkin Donuts) and family-style restaurants (such as Denny’s, Ruby Tuesday, P.F. Chang’s, Olive Garden, Applebee’s) underreported the calorie content of certain entrees by 18 percent on average¹.  Researchers very precisely analyzed the calorie content of 29 restaurant meals using a bomb calorimeter and compared the results with what the food manufacturers  stated on their menu or web sites.  Some were right on (Taco Bell Crunchy Beef Taco at about 190 calories).  Others were way – like 200 percent! – off.  For example, Denny’s grits (served with butter) were measured at 258 calories whereas the stated amount for grits was 86 calories. 

And these inaccuracies are just for the entrees.  Many of the entrees had side dishes for which the calorie content was not counted.  On average, the side dishes added nearly 500 calories to the entrée calorie level.

Did frozen dinners fare any better?  Yes, a bit.  The calorie content of frozen dinners was under reported by 8% on average. 

Before you get all steamed up about the lack of truth in advertising for food, you should know that no one regulates calorie content advertising in restaurants.   So it is kind of amazing that 11 of the 29 restaurant entrees came in at 10% or less from the stated calorie content.  As for packaged meals such as frozen dinners, the Food and Drug Administration allows food manufacturer’s 20 percent leeway on calorie content.  Only 3 of the 10 frozen dinners exceeded this amount.

Use the 20 Percent Rule

So a couple of caveats are needed.  First, this study only looked at 39 foods from 15 different restaurants or food manufacturers.  This is a tiny bite of all the commercially-prepared entrees.  Second, the researchers only purchased only one unit of each food item so it is not known if the measured error would be repeated in duplicate samples.  Obviously more research is needed to know just how far off stated calorie counts are from what is actually provided in an entrée.

Nonetheless, this small study gives us a peek at a potential problem when it comes to calorie balance.  Namely, your calorie tracking may be inaccurate if you have been relying on the calorie information provided by food manufacturers.  A 20 percent error on a 500 calorie entrée is an extra 100 calories that you may not know you are eating.  That’s about a mile of brisk walking.  And if you don’t balance out those extra calories with physical activity, it can mean added pounds or at the very least, frustration that your calorie tracking is not working.

One possible solution is to automatically add 20 percent to the total calorie content stated on the menu of restaurant entrees.  Or you can just not eat one-fifth of the entrée.  Similarly, add 10% more calories than stated on the package for frozen entrees or skip one-tenth of the frozen entrée.   Because of the wide variability in the accuracy of what is on the label and what is in the food calorie-wise, this is a rather crude way of coping with the problem.  But if you don’t take some action, you may find yourself scratching your head as why your calorie-counting efforts aren’t paying bigger dividends.

¹ Urban LE, Dallal GE, Robinson LM, et al.  (2009) The accuracy of stated energy content of reduced-energy commercially prepared foods.  Journal of the American Dietetic Association.  110:116-123.

Is one of your wishes this year to look and feel younger? Who doesn’t want those things! What if we told you we had the answer to the long sought out ‘fountain of youth’? No, it isn’t a magic pill or solution. No, you don’t have to travel far to find it. No, it isn’t something that costs a lot of money nor is it very hard to do. Would it surprise you to know that it is EXERCISE?!

Studies, including many done here at The Cooper Institute, have long shown that exercise can defend against all causes of mortality including heart disease and cancer. Recent research sheds light on one of the possible explanations as to why. Across our life, our DNA divides or replicates in order to create new cells. During this process part of the end of the DNA gets cut off. In order to protect the DNA from deterioration, there is a region of repetitive DNA at the end called a telomere that does not contain codes for proteins like the rest of DNA. So when DNA is replicating, it is part of the telomere that is getting cut off that way the actual coded DNA is protected. When the telomere gets too short however, the cell stops dividing. This cell can continue to function, possibly in an altered fashion, for some time but ultimately cell death will occur. This is thought to be one of the contributing factors to aging.

Recent research has indicated that those who exercise have longer telomeres, therefore having a greater protection against deterioration, in essence, keeping their cells younger. Specifically, German researchers have looked at the DNA of white blood cells of athletes and compared them to the white blood cells of healthy, non-smoking, sedentary adults¹. White blood cells are a key part of our immune system not only fighting off infections but also continuously seeking out abnormal cell growths and destroying them. These researchers feel that this is direct evidence of the anti-aging effect of physical exercise. If exercise maintains the youthfulness of white blood cells by preventing the shortening of the telomere, it may keep them more efficient at dealing with abnormal growths like plaques and cancer cells to name a few. And you don’t to be an athlete to have this protection. Scientists at King’s College in London found that subjects who spent just 100 minutes a week on physical activity had longer telomeres than those five or six years younger who exercised less than sixteen minutes a week². For those who exercised more than three hours each week, even longer telomeres. Their telomeres were longer than subjects ten years younger who only exercised less than sixteen minutes a week! The subjects in this study were twins one of whom exercised significantly more than the other. This strongly suggests that the difference in telomere length was due to lifestyle factors, in this case more physical activity, and not genetics.

This evidence highlights even further the amazing power of exercise! To gain this powerful benefit as well as others, be sure to follow the current guidelines for physical activity that are outlined in one of our past blogs, Be Active Your Way. And to be reminded of the many other “proven” benefits of physical activity, re-read Physical Activity—Where’s the Science? And lastly, re-visit last week’s blog, A New Look at Creating Resolutions. It provides a number of great information and links to really help you make 2010 the year that you become consistent with your physical activity.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and youthful 2010!

1 Werner, C., Furster, T., Widmann, T., Poss, J., et. al. Physical exercise prevents cellular senescence in circulating leukocytes and in the vessel wall. Circ. 120: 2438-2447, 2009.

2 Cherkas, L.F., Hunkin, J.L., Bernet, S.K., Richards, B., et.al. The association between physical activity in leisure time and leukocyte telomere length. Arch. Intern. Med. 168 (2): 154-158, 2008.