Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nnW6s-HjVxM

A study from Switzerland’s University of Geneva pinpoints time of entry into high school as the watershed when teens increasing shun healthy physical activity in favor of increasingly sedentary pursuits.  This trend is likely responsible for our current child obesity epidemic as well as the recently reported statistic that kids’ cardio-respiratory capacities are 25% lower now than they were 20 years ago.

The investigators followed 1200 Swiss pupils from ages 8 through 12 years and clocked their actual physical activity as well as their attitudes and motivations.  The results show that at age 9 on average children’s interest in physical play is replaced by escalating concerns about grades and social acceptance.  Adding to that is the ever-increasing screen time that robs hours from physical activity.

The researchers call for more phys-ed teaching and more compulsory PE classes.  I’d agree with that, but the classes need to creatively impart information about lifelong body care and the incorporation of everyday exercise into the growing child’s life.  Let’s not stop at just stranger danger.

Kid’s need to get off their school buses and walk more, run up and down the school stairs rather than drag themselves along, and engage in physical activities while they gossip at recess.

Motivation toward physical activity can’t stop in school.  You parents need to continue it at home, and teen centers must emphasize physical activities such as dancing and community clean ups rather than sedentary board games.  

Teach kids that their bodies follow the universal use it or lose it rule.

Julien Chanal, Boris Cheval, Delphine S. Courvoisier, Delphine Paumier. Developmental relations between motivation types and physical activity in elementary school children. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2019; 43: 233 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.03.006

#teens #activity #obesity #exercise

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nnW6s-HjVxM

A study from Switzerland’s University of Geneva pinpoints time of entry into high school as the watershed when teens increasing shun healthy physical activity in favor of increasingly sedentary pursuits.  This trend is likely responsible for our current child obesity epidemic as well as the recently reported statistic that kids’ cardio-respiratory capacities are 25% lower now than they were 20 years ago.

The investigators followed 1200 Swiss pupils from ages 8 through 12 years and clocked their actual physical activity as well as their attitudes and motivations.  The results show that at age 9 on average children’s interest in physical play is replaced by escalating concerns about grades and social acceptance.  Adding to that is the ever-increasing screen time that robs hours from physical activity.

The researchers call for more phys-ed teaching and more compulsory PE classes.  I’d agree with that, but the classes need to creatively impart information about lifelong body care and the incorporation of everyday exercise into the growing child’s life.  Let’s not stop at just stranger danger.

Kid’s need to get off their school buses and walk more, run up and down the school stairs rather than drag themselves along, and engage in physical activities while they gossip at recess.

Motivation toward physical activity can’t stop in school.  You parents need to continue it at home, and teen centers must emphasize physical activities such as dancing and community clean ups rather than sedentary board games.  

Teach kids that their bodies follow the universal use it or lose it rule.

Julien Chanal, Boris Cheval, Delphine S. Courvoisier, Delphine Paumier. Developmental relations between motivation types and physical activity in elementary school children. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2019; 43: 233 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.03.006

#teens #activity #obesity #exercise

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ClsxEzOQKCI

Hey I get no respect!  Foods containing GMOs which stands for genetically modified organisms have become the Rodney Dangerfields of nutrition.  Zealots have waged disinformation campaigns falsely claiming that GMO food is dangerous despite support for it from the National Academy of Science and the World Health Organization.  Conclusive scientific studies reassure us about its safety and purity, yet two-thirds of consumers fear and avoid GMOs.

Now a collaborative group of American, Dutch, and Welch psychologists and biologists show that the unwarranted smear campaign against GMO food sources may be neutralized by properly explaining genetically modified food to the public.  The test group consisted of 231 American college undergraduates.

The study protocol provided information about the process of genetic modification and its beneficial results including more nutritious, better tasting, more resilient, more pest-resistant, and faster growing crops that can better feed our exploding world population.  Before and after testing predictably revealed greater acceptance and appreciation for GMO-containing food.

Tested and proven knowledge has nurtured modern civilization as we know it including the contemporary medical science that has extended human lifespans and healthspans.  The “earth is flat” doubters will always be there, but try not to be one of them.

Jonathon McPhetres, Bastiaan T. Rutjens, Netta Weinstein, Jennifer A. Brisson. Modifying attitudes about modified foods: Increased knowledge leads to more positive attitudes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2019; 64: 21 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.04.012

#GMO #GMfood

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ClsxEzOQKCI

Hey I get no respect!  Foods containing GMOs which stands for genetically modified organisms have become the Rodney Dangerfields of nutrition.  Zealots have waged disinformation campaigns falsely claiming that GMO food is dangerous despite support for it from the National Academy of Science and the World Health Organization.  Conclusive scientific studies reassure us about its safety and purity, yet two-thirds of consumers fear and avoid GMOs.

Now a collaborative group of American, Dutch, and Welch psychologists and biologists show that the unwarranted smear campaign against GMO food sources may be neutralized by properly explaining genetically modified food to the public.  The test group consisted of 231 American college undergraduates.

The study protocol provided information about the process of genetic modification and its beneficial results including more nutritious, better tasting, more resilient, more pest-resistant, and faster growing crops that can better feed our exploding world population.  Before and after testing predictably revealed greater acceptance and appreciation for GMO-containing food.

Tested and proven knowledge has nurtured modern civilization as we know it including the contemporary medical science that has extended human lifespans and healthspans.  The “earth is flat” doubters will always be there, but try not to be one of them.

Jonathon McPhetres, Bastiaan T. Rutjens, Netta Weinstein, Jennifer A. Brisson. Modifying attitudes about modified foods: Increased knowledge leads to more positive attitudes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2019; 64: 21 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.04.012

#GMO #GMfood

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/cJUGt190R_I

The next time you comb the restaurant menu for a healthy choice, consider new data that shows consuming white meat OR red meat will result in higher blood cholesterol levels compared with downing an equal amount of plant protein.  The study comes from the University of California-San Francisco.

The study also showed that both white and red meat increase circulating quantities of the so-called bad cholesterol LDL when compared with the proteins contained in vegetables, dairy products, beans, and chickpeas.  The investigators caution that white meat versus red meat consumption has other dietary benefits, and the impact of a given food on cholesterol is not the only criterion for healthy food choices.

As always, dietary moderation and good common sense should be your guideposts.  You’re better off enjoying a 4 oz cut of lean steak than a huge filet of chicken fried up as schnitzel.

Nathalie Bergeron, Sally Chiu, Paul T Williams, Sarah M King, Ronald M Krauss. Effects of red meat, white meat, and nonmeat protein sources on atherogenic lipoprotein measures in the context of low compared with high saturated fat intake: a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz035

#cholesterol #LDL #redmeat #chicken #plantprotein

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/cJUGt190R_I

The next time you comb the restaurant menu for a healthy choice, consider new data that shows consuming white meat OR red meat will result in higher blood cholesterol levels compared with downing an equal amount of plant protein.  The study comes from the University of California-San Francisco.

The study also showed that both white and red meat increase circulating quantities of the so-called bad cholesterol LDL when compared with the proteins contained in vegetables, dairy products, beans, and chickpeas.  The investigators caution that white meat versus red meat consumption has other dietary benefits, and the impact of a given food on cholesterol is not the only criterion for healthy food choices.

As always, dietary moderation and good common sense should be your guideposts.  You’re better off enjoying a 4 oz cut of lean steak than a huge filet of chicken fried up as schnitzel.

Nathalie Bergeron, Sally Chiu, Paul T Williams, Sarah M King, Ronald M Krauss. Effects of red meat, white meat, and nonmeat protein sources on atherogenic lipoprotein measures in the context of low compared with high saturated fat intake: a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz035

#cholesterol #LDL #redmeat #chicken #plantprotein

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/U3NkNIovZkc

Despite the almost superhuman feats of athletic prowess displayed in marathons, Iron person contests, and the Tour De France, a new study from Duke University just published in the journal Scientific Advances suggests that that the human body has physical limits defined by our digestive system’s abilities to absorb calories.  A collaborative group from the USA, Scotland, and China studied runners completing 6 marathons a week for 5 months as they raced across the United States.

The data indicates a limit to peak energy expenditure at 2.5 times a person’s basal metabolic rate.  Once the energy demands surpass this wall, the body begins to break down its own muscle and fat tissues to provide fuel, and performance wanes.  

In all contests whether running, cycling, or dragging sleds across the arctic, energy expenditure follows an L-shaped curve with the plateau defined by the gut.  The calorie expenditure max is about 3500/day for women and 4500/day for men. 

Despite this data, athletes continue to push the envelope with their natural abilities and sometimes by consuming dangerous drugs and food supplements.  Just know that, as always, you can’t fool mother nature.

Caitlin Thurber, Lara R. Dugas, Cara Ocobock, Bryce Carlson, John R. Speakman, Herman Pontzer. Extreme events reveal an alimentary limit on sustained maximal human energy expenditure. Science Advances, 2019; 5 (6) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw0341

#marathon #running #biking

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/U3NkNIovZkc

Despite the almost superhuman feats of athletic prowess displayed in marathons, Iron person contests, and the Tour De France, a new study from Duke University just published in the journal Scientific Advances suggests that that the human body has physical limits defined by our digestive system’s abilities to absorb calories.  A collaborative group from the USA, Scotland, and China studied runners completing 6 marathons a week for 5 months as they raced across the United States.

The data indicates a limit to peak energy expenditure at 2.5 times a person’s basal metabolic rate.  Once the energy demands surpass this wall, the body begins to break down its own muscle and fat tissues to provide fuel, and performance wanes.  

In all contests whether running, cycling, or dragging sleds across the arctic, energy expenditure follows an L-shaped curve with the plateau defined by the gut.  The calorie expenditure max is about 3500/day for women and 4500/day for men. 

Despite this data, athletes continue to push the envelope with their natural abilities and sometimes by consuming dangerous drugs and food supplements.  Just know that, as always, you can’t fool mother nature.

Caitlin Thurber, Lara R. Dugas, Cara Ocobock, Bryce Carlson, John R. Speakman, Herman Pontzer. Extreme events reveal an alimentary limit on sustained maximal human energy expenditure. Science Advances, 2019; 5 (6) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw0341

#marathon #running #biking

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/9W6waH_s72k

Even a one hour variation in your day to day sleep pattern can wreak havoc on your body’s metabolism putting your health and life at risk. This conclusion stems from comprehensive study by sleep scientists at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with those at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Previous studies have shown that insufficient sleep duration drives obesity and diabetes.  Now a  study of more than 2000 subjects ages 45 to 84 tracked their sleep patterns with smart watches as well as sleep diaries.

Bedtime and sleep duration variability was associated with higher blood pressures, elevated triglycerides, high blood sugars, and larger waistline circumferences as well as lower levels of good HDL cholesterol.  This was true even when the average sleep durations were comparable.

So as Ben Franklin said, “early to bed, early to rise etc etc etc” still holds true as long as those early hours are pretty much the same every night.   Consistency is up there with moderation as principles by which to live.

Huang, T., Redline, S. Cross-sectional and prospective associations of actigraphy-assessed sleep regularity with metabolic abnormalities: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Diabetes Care, 2019 DOI: 10.2337/dc19-0596

#Sleep #circadianrhythms #varaiability #metabolism #obsesity #diabetes #lipids

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/9W6waH_s72k

Even a one hour variation in your day to day sleep pattern can wreak havoc on your body’s metabolism putting your health and life at risk. This conclusion stems from comprehensive study by sleep scientists at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with those at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Previous studies have shown that insufficient sleep duration drives obesity and diabetes.  Now a  study of more than 2000 subjects ages 45 to 84 tracked their sleep patterns with smart watches as well as sleep diaries.

Bedtime and sleep duration variability was associated with higher blood pressures, elevated triglycerides, high blood sugars, and larger waistline circumferences as well as lower levels of good HDL cholesterol.  This was true even when the average sleep durations were comparable.

So as Ben Franklin said, “early to bed, early to rise etc etc etc” still holds true as long as those early hours are pretty much the same every night.   Consistency is up there with moderation as principles by which to live.

Huang, T., Redline, S. Cross-sectional and prospective associations of actigraphy-assessed sleep regularity with metabolic abnormalities: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Diabetes Care, 2019 DOI: 10.2337/dc19-0596

#Sleep #circadianrhythms #varaiability #metabolism #obsesity #diabetes #lipids