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Track and Field Blogs - Luke Humphrey

Big Props for Time Magazine and CNN for their responsible journalism!

September 2, 2009

As many of you are aware, recently there has been a great buzz about this new research saying that "Exercise is useless," at least according to Time magazine. Then, I'm at work the next day and all hell breaks loose. Most of you know, I work in cardiac rehabilitation at a local hospital. The reason that most of these people are there because they spent the last 40 years of their life being sedentary, eating whatever they desired, or just did whatever they wanted. The last thing these patients need to hear is that they won't lose weight by exercising. Exercise is exactly what they need. Now don't come screaming about genetics and all of that. Yes, I realize that some people got the short end of the stick when it comes to genetics. However, that doesn't give you the excuse to say, "Well, I am screwed no matter what I do." That's complete BS. We all still have to make the right choices.

However, my main reason for being completely pissed off is that when I looked at this research, the first thing I see is that it included six (6) people! Are you freaking kidding me? What the heck is that going to tell you? And of course, there are studies like the DASH study that went on for something like 25 years with thousands of people, proving the effects of proper diet. There is classic study that used the autopsies of thousands of Korean War GI's that showed that heart disease is a lifelong process. Hell, I had over 300 subjects involved in my research for my Master's Thesis. Six people involved and it's in Time magazine and all over the News media. I tell you, I feel like I'm in the novel "1984" I am being spoon fed whatever it is that someone else thinks I should believe!

Alright, here's a couple links that maybe should be looked at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE57K3U920090821

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-and-weight-loss-five-truths

Remember: The average age of a heart attack is 40 years old now. I don't know about you, but that seems very, very young.

Post a Comment

#6	Michael Moore September 9 at 7:08pm Thats why I watch Fox News and The O'Reilly Factor. Boo YAH!! reply
#5	Anonymous Coward September 8 at 12:12pm Jessica, My point is not the article itself. It's the fact that it gets so much credibility with using a mere 6 subjects. That's one of the first things you look at from a research standpoint. reply
#4	Jessica September 7 at 3:59pm I agree that the last thing obese people need to see is any excuse not to exericse. However, in my opinion, that is not what that article is saying. It does acknowledge the benefits of exercise. It wouldnt have been a bad idea to stress those a bit more. However, if i had to sum up that article, it is just trying to stress how much diet comes into the picture. I myself am guilty of eating more as the intensity of my exercise increases. The article is not saying not to exercise, it is saying watch your diet more than anything, and dont go eat a muffin after you exercise. reply
#3	Newname September 6 at 7:32pm I had no idea heart attacks lived that long! reply
#2	RunDMC September 3 at 4:33pm What this country needs is some incentives. Health Insurance discounts for healthy BMI (Body Mass Index). Airlines should have a total weight limit (passenger + bags = 300 lb), charge $$ per pound above that. I have never in my life seen an obese 90 year old. Why? because they die of heart failure before then. Plenty of thin people live to 90. One amazing thing is that "sports fans" are pretty much encouraged to sit on the couch, drink beer, eat eat chips, hot dogs or whatever other processed garbage the commercials sell them. Runners go out and move. There are hundreds of legitimate studies showing that this is a much healthier lifestyle. reply
#1	Amen September 2 at 4:23pm yeah that was a rediculous article!! Anything to sell a magazine I guess reply