A 4-year study by the American College of Sports Medicine, published in Health & Fitness Journal, reveals fitness trends for the coming year. The research, conducted through global surveys, does not report on fitness fads (often exacerbated by celebrity endorsements) and instead focuses on sustainable trends that have made a noteworthy impact on the industry as a whole.

Childhood obesity and how to effectively tackle it will become one of the biggest focuses in 2010. This increasingly growing problem will create a new commercial market while community-based organisations will be created to help address the fact that this new generation may not live as long as their parents or grandparents.

Sport-specific training also looks promising, as athletes will no longer remain dormant during their off-seasons, but will instead continue to work on their strength and endurance training in gyms and at commercial clubs. While serious athletes will be focusing on their off-season training, regular Joes will increasingly turn to Pilates – which could prove to be a very lucrative business for organizations and individuals who stock the specialized equipment that targets the body’s core.

Everyone, including the fitness industry, has been affected by the harsh economic environment, and personal trainers will have to find new and creative ways of retaining clients. Group personal training seems to be a good solution as it allows the personal trainer to work with two or three people at the same time, making economic sense to the client and the trainer.

Other trends include special programs for the elderly, core training, strength training as well as continuing fitness education through accredited associations and organizations, certifying fitness professionals.

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Remember that book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, written by Mireille Guilano in 2004, in which she rambled on and on as to how the fairer sex in France maintain their svelte figures even though the country’s national foods are pastries, cheese and wine? Well it seems French Women DO get fat.

According to a study by TNS Sofres Healthcare and pharmaceuticals company Roche, 26% of the women in France are classified as clinically overweight and 15.1% obese. The research, which was published this week, also noted that the male population has put on weight as well: 38.5% are overweight and 13.9% are obese.

While the French may not be in the same predicament as the Americans, over the past 12 years an average Frenchman (and in this case woman) gained 6.83lb and 1.85 inches around their waste.

“Obesity rates have really risen sharply in urban areas where there’s a concentration of sedentary jobs, public transport, less need to walk and a much greater availability of food,” Dr Marie-Aline Charles, one of the researchers, told Reuters Health. “We’re currently seeing in France the same levels of obesity as in the United States in the 1970s, so we’re about 40 years behind.”

So next time a smug Frenchman alludes to your not-size-0 figure, feel free to refer to this weighty study.

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We all know that eating our food slower, taking the time to really enjoy it instead of just wolfing it down makes us feel fuller quicker. A recent study has found a scientific explanation for your mother’s clichéd warning.

“Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating,” says lead researcher Dr Alexander Kokkinos to Reuters Health in an official statement.

The study, which is yet to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, observed 17 healthy men when they were each given generous portions of ice cream under two different circumstances. In the first circumstance, the men were to finish the ice cream within 5 minutes, and in the second they were given smaller portions to eat over a period of 30 minutes.

The researchers from Athens University Medical School in Greece and the Imperial College London in the United Kingdom found that under the second, slower-eating circumstance, the men produced higher levels of the hormones peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide 1. Both these hormones are released to signal the brain when you’re “full”.

Eating slower at meal times could be used as a way to control your appetite and ultimately your weight. Kokkinos told Reuters that this could be the scientific proof behind your mother’s warning that gobbling down your food will make you fat.

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The city of New York’s health department has announced that the nationwide calorie-labeling initiative is not as effective in curbing the nation’s obesity crisis as the government hopes it will be. In fact, the program may even be futile.

The health department compared data of 10 965 purchases in 13 restaurants in 275 areas in the spring of 2007 with that of 12 153 purchases in the same restaurants in the spring of 2009. Little changed in the number of calories that were actually consumed in the restaurants, even though the calorie information was made visible. What’s worrying is that only 56% of the restaurant patrons said they actually noticed the information, and even more alarming is that only 15% said they took the information into account when placing their orders.

The findings of this latest study were presented by Dr Lynn Silver, the assistant commissioner for the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, at an Obesity Society meeting in Washington. Although the calorie-labeling project didn’t show much change at chain restaurants, a difference could be seen at coffee shops: the number of calories ordered decreased by 10%.

Celeb Diet Doc..
Personally I don’t see why calorie labeling would work at restaurants. The overwhelming majority of food is highly processed and full of calories so there aren’t many smart choices available anyway. It would be like choosing between low tar and standard cigarettes.  A better idea is just post a surgeon general warning on every fast food joint “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Junk Food Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.

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Ok, so apparently there are quite a few foods that can help you lose weight and shed excess pounds. A new study has just added tomatoes to the already long list.

While it’s a no brainer that fruits and vegetables are more likely to help you stay healthy than processed foods, researchers from the University of Reading have found that tomatoes can assist your weight-loss program because the lycopene found in them make you feel fuller (causing you to eat less).

Participants in the small study were given bread filled with cream cheese, enriched with carrot and enriched with tomato, and were asked to note how full they became after eating each. The results showed that the bread enriched with tomato was the most filling. A possible reason? Lycopene reduces your appetite hormones, hence the full feeling.

Although the study was only conducted with 17 participants, lead researcher Dr Julie Lovegrove told the Telegraph that the results were “statistically significant”.

Celeb Diet Doc..
What a ridiculous study? Bread filled with cream cheese doesn’t sound like a recipe for weight loss! I wouldn’t make any conclusions based on a study of only 17 participants. It also leads to a false mindset that weight loss is based on fat, carbs, protein… or in this case lycopene. Remember a lot of these “studies” are funded by companies looking to sell product. Oh and btw, tomatoes will help with weight loss..  as long as it’s not processed into say bread filled with cream cheese. LOL!

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The World Champion athlete and boxer Laila Ali is dedicated to ‘knocking out’ childhood obesity. Most recently she has worked with the Live Like A Champion Tour which is an award-winning initiative based out of California.   The tour encourages kids to get active by teaching them interactive games and sports-themed activities.  Ali is one of the newest council members and she was at Kentwood elementary last week showing the kids conditioning exercises.  She said,

“It is an honor to take on this role with the Governor’s Council and Live Like a Champion Tour. I am committed to promoting healthy eating and active lifestyles and hope that children learn the importance of exercise and a balanced diet through the Champ Corner.”

In the Champ Corner (see photo) kids do sit-ups, push-ups, jump roping and they use a speed bag.  Other celebrities athletes in the tour are Jerry Rice and Misty May-Treanor.  The tour will focus on reaching the state of California’s under served communities and will visit schools, community centers and associations such as the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

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Lucy Danziger, editor of Self magazine, is practicing what she preaches to her readers every month. She’s turned down the car service her publishers provide for her every morning, and has instead decided to ride her bicycle to work every day.

The New York Times recently ran a piece on the editor, saying that after Condé Naste closed down 4 of its titles and heavily clamped down on budgets on all the others, Lucy decided to give up the town car service and hop on her bike.

Lucy started with the company 8 years ago, and when she was provided with the service, wasn’t too fussed about it.

“I was like, ‘I don’t need a car’, then suddenly it’s pouring, and Mr. Newhouse [the Condé Naste chairman] is waiting, and you’re like, I need to get to work today,” she told the daily newspaper.

But the service isn’t always an ideal way to travel, says Lucy. She has had to anticipate what time she leaves her apartment because she still has to call the driver to let him know her departure time.

Lucy, however, seems to be enjoying her morning bike ride so far, but she knows she won’t be peddling through a snowstorm.

“It’s not an absolute,” she told newspaper. “It’s a very New York thing to do.”

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With the nation now fully focused on its alarming obesity crisis, more and more studies are being conducted in an attempt to find ways that help and encourage overweight individuals to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. One such study looks at the influence of weight-loss and exercise-related podcasts.

Published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, the Pounds Off Digitally study lead by Dr Gabrielle M Turner-McGrievy notes that certain types of podcasts (audio recordings played back on a portable music player or computer) can lead to greater weight-loss and a lower BMI.

Two groups of participants with a BMI between 25 and 40 were given 24 podcasts over a 12-week period. The first group listened to a regular weight-loss based program while the second were given “enhanced” weight-loss programs that focused on behavior therapy and social cognitive theory.

While the first group lost 2.1kg, the second group lost 3.5kg and also had a greater knowledge of weight-loss and exercise tips and was motivated to lose more weight. In their conclusion, the researchers noted that the study suggests that entertaining, behavior-therapy enhanced podcasts are a more effective way to promote weight loss than the regular, lecture-like ones.

Celeb Diet Doc..

No surprise here. If you target behaviors you’ll lose more weight over standard weight loss strategies which everyone knows but no one sticks with.

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The week may be nearly over, but you can still do your part during Fat Talk Free Week.

The Reflections: Body Image Program is running a week-long campaign to get women to stop “fat talking” and help change the perception of what is fat and what is healthy. The organization, together with Delta Delta Delta and other partners, are raising awareness across the nation of the dangers of “fat talk” and the effects it has on a woman’s self-esteem and confidence.

“10 million women are dealing with eating disorders in this country, which is more than are suffering from breast cancer. It’s time we take control over our own destinies, our own bodies, and our own inner dialogues,” the program says on its website. “We’re changing the conversation to create a more positive body image for ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, and our friends.”

Now running in its second year, Fat Talk Free Week is inviting women of all ages across the country to remove the word “fat” from their vocabulary and help make a difference, if only for a week.

“Each day, women will be given a daily ‘charge’ of something positive they can do related to having a positive body image, while shining a spotlight on the issues and statistics of body image and eating disorders in women.”

Tanya Zuckerhost, nutritionist, author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret of Permanent Weight Loss, and creator of Skinny and the City website, says the secret to losing weight without hunger pangs and cutting back on the amount of food you eat is fiber.

Tanya told Examiner.com that fiber makes you feel fuller and because you feel fuller you’re less likely to snack on meals or overeat.

“The optimum amount of fiber for weight loss is 25-30 grams of fiber per day for women and 38 grams of fiber per day for men,” Tanya was quoted as saying. “The good news is that it’s almost impossible to get too much fiber. In fact, many of my patients consume 50-60 grams of fiber per day.”

Fiber helps you lose weight because it “contributes to bulk foods”. You feel satisfied because you’re chewing and it’s calorie-free because fiber is indigestible. Fiber also acts like a sponge absorbing fats, sugars, carbs and other nasty calories, preventing them from settling on your hips. Bonus!

“In fact, a study conducted by David J. Baer of the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md., found that women who doubled their fiber intake from 12 to 24 grams per day cut their calorie absorption by 90 calories daily. That’s a 9.4 pound weight loss in a year!”

Celeb Diet Doc
There is this fixation on attributing weight loss to fiber, fat, carbs, protein etc etc.  The answer to profound and lasting weight loss is none of the above as readers of this blog already know.

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