Obesity as Unhealthy as Smoking: Poll.............Most Americans now consider obesity as risky to their health as smoking, according to a new Gallup Poll. Results of the survey of 1,001 adults show 83% view obesity as very harmful to one's health, compared with 79% who said the same about smoking. Researchers say the results reveal a new view of obesity's health risks, and show that medical knowledge about the negative health effects of being overweight has entered the American mind-set.

Exercise can cause acid reflux in some people. This is called exercise-induced gastroesophageal reflux, and is exacerbated by excessive contracting of the stomach muscles.

So if you’re wondering why you have heartburn during or after exercising, this may be the cause. What can you do to avoid it? Here are a few tips:

Don’t eat right before exercise. In fact, you shouldn’t eat any later than 60 minutes prior to your workout.

Avoid large meals, even if it’s a full hour before exercise, especially those foods that are heavy on the protein or fat.

Don’t drink an excessive amount of water right before you exercise. Drinking 8-16 ounces of cold water within the 30 minutes before exercise is plenty.

To keep yourself hydrated, sip on 4-8 ounces of cold water every 10-15 minutes during exercise and drink 16-24 ounces of cold water after you’re done.

Persistent heartburn despite these changes may require the attention of your physician, so don’t hesitate to get checked out if you feel your problem persists or is severe.

Hey there! As many of you know, I recently competed in the Team Universe a couple of weeks ago. Without going into all the details, lets just say I felt and looked good. I will post pictures in the gallery very soon.

Many of my friends ask me, "What are you planning for next?" "When is your next show?" Tough questions to answer right after a very difficult 4 months of training diligently with weights, long cardio sessions, and deprivation of many foods (ice cream and cookies!). But seriously, training for anything takes a lot of thought and one does not simply jump into it without planning. I must admit, I am not sure I put everything I had into my most recent performance

You might think that I was born with brain and muscle and only a few touch-ups here and there got me to high ranking positions. Despite numerous stories of child prodigies (by the way, I am not one of them!), the hard evidence shows that genius and elite athleticism is more made, than born. Studies of elite physical and mental performance confirm what is termed “the Decade Rule”. You have to put in a decade at the very least of the right focused work to even approach mastery in any field. And you have to want to do it. I have been competing for 12 years and my schooling lasted even longer to obtain my DO degree. It does help a little, but only a little, however, if you are born with great talent. In fact, success seems to be only marginally related to talent. The data indicate that the best way to make most Olympic teams is to begin to practice the sport relentlessly - shortly after birth. Notice, I mentioned "Olympic" team. I know most people do not aspire to become Olympians, but I am simply making a point that it is practice, practice, practice that makes an endeavor successful.

The same is true for Tiger Woods. He seems magical on the golf course, but was swinging a golf club before he could walk. He got the best instruction and practiced constantly from infanthood. Even today, he outworks most of his rivals. As you can see, becoming a success in any sport, and genius in science, music, and art are all built from a lot of hard work in that particular speciality . They are never born.

It has been said, that the people who have trained, both in sport and in science, who have become elite, work hard every day, year in, year out. They rarely excuse and they rarely complain.

So, to end a long story short, I have to contemplate heavily on my next move. Once the decision is made.........I will take the steps necessary to succeed. To those of you on the fence about a decision to move up the ladder of success, remember, success takes hard work, devotion, and practice, practice, practice!

Train Hard and Smart!

Your IronLadyDoc

As I become more involved with Preventative Health Sciences, I am finding that many physicians are overlooking the importance of resistance training in weight loss management. It seems that most patients are not educated on its fundamental importance. I found in an article recently published in Circulation, that a new AHA scientific statement summarizing recommendations for resistance training in people with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been developed. I am hoping that this will serve as a reminder to clinicians that there are "singular" benefits to improving muscular strength in addition to regular aerobic exercise.

Despite this being the second set of recommendations on this topic to come from the American Heart Association (AHA), physicians may still overlook resistance exercise — lifting weights, or exerting force against resistance — as part of cardiovascular (CV) fitness regimen.

Telling someone to exercise typically suggests to the patient that they should be doing more walking. Unfortunately, I don't think resistance training is frequently thought of as part of an overall exercise program.

The statement of recommendations that I am referring to was published in a rapid access issue of Circulation, July 16, 2007, entitled: Resistance Training Additive to Aerobic Exercise.

The statement reviews the health benefits of resistance training and its impact on the CV function. It also summarizes the role of resistance training in modifying CVD risk factors, its benefit in specific CVD populations, and provides recommendations on evaluating patients prior to starting a resistance training regimen and suggestions for how such a regimen could be prescribed.

The AHA statement compares the effects of aerobic activities and resistance training on different parameters, noting that some clinicians may be unaware of the differential effects. For example, while aerobic exercise can have moderate effects on percent body fat, compared with merely a small effect of resistance training, resistance training has moderate effects on lean body mass, and major effects on muscle strength, while aerobic exercise has no effect, and minimal effects, respectively. By contrast, both aerobic and resistance exercise produce similarly small effects on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, while aerobic exercise has greater effects than resistance training on triglycerides.

Importantly, both forms of exercise can have similar effects on quality of life. The importance of resistance training is now fairly well recognized in cardiac rehabilitation programs, but its benefits are less commonly appreciated in primary prevention.

Proper instruction and technique is essential for anyone beginning resistance training for the first time, but it is especially important for people with existing cardiovascular disease. Patients who come into cardiac rehabilitation programs typically get that kind of instruction, but people who are not participating in those formal kinds of programs should get in touch with an exercise specialist, or a physical therapist to provide some input on how to be doing resistance training properly. And the key there is that patients who do have cardiovascular disease need to identify themselves as such, so people don't assume they are healthy and give them instructions that would be inappropriate.

Of note, in all of the research to date, there are almost no reports of significant adverse effects of resistance training, although these were all supervised, controlled studies where risk is minimized.

I thought this was very interesting. Not only do I find a need to educate the general public regarding the importance of resistance training, but there is also a need to educate my collegues so they can spread the word.

If you are interested in a specialized program for resistance training and nutritional guidelines, contact Preventative Health Sciences at 515/225-2578. You can also find information at www.phsglobal.com