November 9, 2008 Now’s the time for ‘change’ in your workout habits The one topic that was front and center this week was the word “Change” in politics and, hopefully, the economy. Change can happen in many areas; and in fitness, it has been shown that even a little bit of fitness and exercise can make some dramatic changes in health, weight control and functional ability; or in other words, the ability to move around easier. An article in Nutrition Action diagramed some trends of change in our fitness levels. One area was in the obesity rate. In 1990 there were 11 states that had less than 10 percent obesity. No state had more than a 15 percent rate. In 2001 there was one state - Colorado - that had less than a 10 percent obesity rate; and 26 states (Texas included) had a percentage rate between 20 and 24 percent that was not even on the map in 1990. One state had an obesity rate of more than 25 percent. The remaining states were all in the 15 to 19 percent range. That is a big change in a short time. The effect of this change in obesity levels also saw a change in the rate of the disease diabetes. In 1990, there were 9 states that had less than a 4 percent diabetes rate in people. Four states had a rate between 6 and 8 percent, and rest of the states were between 4 and 6 percent. Jump ahead to 2001, and there are no states in the “less than 4 percent” category. Six states are now in the “4 to 6 percent” bracket; and the addition of categories of “8 to 10 percent” has three states, and 12 states have more than 10 percent of people with diabetes. The rest of the states are in that “6 to 8 percent” category. This is another example of a big change in our health and fitness level and the consequences of not taking advantage of what is available to people. Roughly 90 to 95 percent of the cases of diabetes are the “Type 2” variety. And of that number (24 million with diabetes and 54 million with pre-diabetes), 80 percent of them are overweight or obese. The report mentioned that weight loss is a key to preventing diabetes. “Weight loss was really driving the benefit,” explains Rena Wing of Brown University. “Exercise contributed to weight loss, and in people who didn’t lose weight exercise was helpful in reducing risk, but weight loss trumped exercise.” The amount of weight loss was surprisingly small to attain some benefits. As little as 9 pounds over three years was the average in a study after an initial loss of 14 pounds in the beginning. That averages to about one-quarter pound every week. It is about a 7 percent loss in the beginning, and 4.5 percent over the three years of weight loss. Those numbers are not very large. The recommendation is to control the type of food and the amount of food you eat, and to take a minimum of a brisk walk every day. One of the most difficult things to get a person to start an exercise program is a little self-motivation. The easiest solution to that problem is to get a friend or family member to join you. Start out slow, and make the main goal just getting out on a regular basis and going for a walk. Once you are out on the exercise trail, you will find it easier to pick up the pace a little. The best part of that is if you have set a goal of walking for 45 minutes, the normal distance covered is completed in less time. Once you walk faster you need to keep that 45-minute time frame and walk a little farther. It won’t be long before the distance you are covering is close to three miles. Three miles is about the distance of the 5K races that are plentiful here in San Marcos; and while you are getting in your exercise, you will have more people to walk - or even run slowly with - and end up with a nice T-shirt for the effort. With that in mind, the Thankful Turkey 5K is on the horizon on November 22 out at the River Ridge course starting at 8:00 a.m. If you are fortunate enough to place in an award category, you might get some Thanksgiving dinner. First place gets a nice turkey; second brings you a ham, and even third place is a juicy pie for dessert. For those that relate to the first part of this article you have two weeks to find a friend, begin a walking program (it is amazing how easy it is to walk three miles in that short time) and show up for some motivation to continue your exercise and weight-loss program. It can have profound benefits on your health to start now. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!