Health Trends for
2005
Find out what's ahead in food and fitness
Food Fads
Atkins
The low-carb craze that struck fear into the hearts of pasta lovers in 2004
shows no signs of slowing in 2005, say diet and nutrition experts.
More restaurant chains are expected join Subway and others in expanding their
"Atkins friendly" menu offerings. Food manufacturers will also stock supermarket
shelves with a growing number of low-carb or reduced-carbohydrate versions of
popular items like beer, snack foods, and desserts.
But researchers say they're eagerly awaiting the release of new studies that
will address the long-term safety and effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets,
such as Atkins. So far, studies have only looked at these issues in the short
term.
Functional foods
Adding calcium to orange juice was just the beginning. Experts predict more
foods will be fortified with additional ingredients, such as plant stanol
esters, natural substances that have been shown to help promote healthy
cholesterol levels.
Faster Fitness
When it comes to fitness, experts predict that in 2005 workouts will get
faster but more effective by incorporating a variety of mind and body techniques
to provide the most benefits in the least amount of time.
Functional fitness
Rather than working on muscle groups in isolation, functional fitness will
focus on exercising and strengthening several muscles and joints together to
help people perform their daily activities with less pain and discomfort.
Smarter equipment Manufacturers will offer equipment that provides feedback on
everything from lactic acid production (a compound released during exercise) to
preparing for a major athletic event like a marathon.
Ants in your pants keep you slender
Scientists say fidgeting can burn enough
energy to make the difference between fat and thin
The quest for a slim figure need not involve a strict diet or hours in the gym:
scientists have discovered that fidgeting can help to fight the flab.
People who carry a few extra pounds sit still for longer periods than those who
are slim, according to research that suggests ordinary movements have a more
powerful effect on body shape than exercise.
Activities as trivial as tidying the house, playing a musical instrument or even
tapping the feet can burn enough calories to make the difference between fat and
thin.
The findings come from a bizarre ten-day study in which volunteers wore
high-tech underwear that monitored movement. They explain why some people stay
slim despite a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
The reason has nothing to do with the familiar excuse of low metabolism. Even
among self-confessed couch potatoes, those who are trim move around much more
than the obese.
Overweight people sat still for 20 hours longer each day than those of normal
weight, the study in the United States found. This meant that they burnt 350
fewer calories per day the equivalent of a half-hour run.
The slimmer volunteers did not do anything particularly strenuous but were more
active throughout the day. While their obese peers sat still in front of the
television, they were more likely to be doing the ironing or even fidgeting on
the sofa.
The study, conducted by the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota,
calculated the volunteers non-exercise activity thermogenesis or Neat the amount
of energy they used in daily life.
The results, which are published in the journal Science, indicate that this can
be critical to obesity and weight loss.
Our patients have told us for years that they have low metabolism and as
care-givers, we have never quite understood what that means until today, James
Levine, who led the research team, said.
The answer is they have low Neat, which means they have a biological need to sit
more. A person can expend calories either by going to the gym or through
everyday activities. Our study shows that the calories that people burn in their
everyday activities their Neat are far, far more important in obesity than we
previously imagined.
The effects, he said, are so marked that encouraging everyday activity or
Neat-seeking behaviour could play an important role in tackling obesity.
This is entirely do-able because the kind of activity we are talking about does
not require special or large spaces, unusual training regimens or gear, Dr
Levine said. Unlike running a marathon, Neat is within the reach of everyone.
The study involved 20 sedentary people, half of whom were obese and half of whom
were slim. All were fitted with underwear embedded with movement sensors, which
recorded body movements every half second for 24 hours. The volunteers were
provided with fresh undergarments every morning for ten days and forbidden from
only one activity swimming, which would ruin the sensors. They had to follow a
diet prepared by the scientists to ensure an identical energy intake.
This instrumentation appears slightly bizarre as it gives us a covert window
into people’s energetics and every activity in a completely unthreatening way,
Dr Levine said. But because of it, we have a window into people’s activity life
that no oneís ever had before.
In a second phase of the study, the obese volunteers were placed on a calorie-
controlled diet so they lost weight, while the slim ones received extra food to
put on a few pounds. These changes did not alter their Neat behaviour at all,
indicating that it reflects natural inclinations rather than present body
weight.
It most likely reflects a brain chemical difference because our study shows that
even when obese people lose weight they remain seated the same number of minutes
per day, Dr Levine said.
They don’t stand or walk more. And conversely, when lean people artificially
gain weight, they don’t sit more. So the Neat appears to be fixed. But as
physicians, we can use this data to help our obese patients overcome low Neat by
guiding the treatment of obesity toward a focus on energy as well as food. We
can encourage Neat-seeking behaviours.