Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Eating Season Begins

Dr. Sandra B. Nichols, Director

Arkansas Department of Health

Ah, yes. Tis is the season for the turkey, the dressing and the gravy; the cakes, the pies and the eggnog; and equally traditional, the belt loosening and the scale shock that follow soon after.

Many of us take it for granted that the holiday season gives us license to indulge, nay, over-indulge, in the culinary delights of the holiday season. But then comes the payback, the extra weight that hangs around long after the season has passed.

Actually, caloric overload is probably only part of the problem of an unhealthy, unwanted weight gain. The lack of adequate physical activity is a major factor in being overweight for many of us. These elements combined can be a time bomb for health complications.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37 percent of overweight adults in America lead sendentary lives. A CDC study found that one-third of overweight men and 41 percent of overweight women were inactive during their leisure time. Men and women who were not overweight reported less inactivity.

Unfortunately, physical activity for teenages is also suffering. High school enrollment in daily physical education classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 25 percent in 1995. Early attention to physical fitness is important for lifelong health, and for girls there is an extra bonus.

According to nutrition experts, regular athletic activity during the high school years helps women build bone density, thereby, preventing osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become brittle and thin, cuasing debilitating fractures later in life. Women are five times more likely to develop the disease than men.

Everyone, whether overweight or not, should understand that physical activity is an essential component of maintaining or controlling body weight, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Regular physical activity is especially important for overweight persons, because it can reduce the risk of developing or dying from heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and high blood pressure. The combination of being overweight and a couch potato is a quicker route to health problems.

Low physical fitness has been linked to hypertnesion and stroke. Studies indicate that regular physical activity, through its association with reduced body weight, is a primary preventive measure against stroke and non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

No one is suggesting that the average person train like an olympic athlete.

The general recommendation is to include some type of moderate physical activity within your regular schedule. And, the key word is moderate, too much exercise can do your body harm.

Before beginning any exercise program, consider your physical strengths and limitations and check with your doctor to help determine what is appropriate for your current state of health.

Health and fitness experts advise that walking, bicycling or even gardening for at least 30 minutes per day most days of the week are beneficial for health.

Other examples of moderate physical exercise include:

• waxing a car for 45 minutes;

• pushing a stroller 1 1/2 miles in 30 minutes; and

• swimming laps for 30 minutes.

Some fitness expert advise that you find an activity so comfortable for you that it easily becomes a habit, so you won't constantly look forward to the time when you can stop. It should feel good enough that you want to continue.

No one wants to regain the weight they worked so hard to get rid of, but most people do exactly that. They start exercise programs and diets, lose weight, then give up the weight loss regimen and put the pounds back on.

In addition to reducing the health risks already mentioned, research shows that smokers with high blood pressure and high cholesterol who are in good aerobic shape tend to live longer than inactive smokers who are otherwise healthy.

Findings show that being physically fit has even more advantages. A recent report commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that regular physical activity appears to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, to improve mood and to enhance ability to perform daily tasks through out life.