Childhood obesity rise in Wales
29/05/2010 at 08:54am by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Worrying figures today suggest healthy lifestyles messages are falling on deaf ears in Wales.
The results of the Welsh Health Survey show large rises in the number of children who are obese and increases in the number of men smoking.
And the annual survey shows fewer people are eating their five-a-day or meeting government guidelines on physical activity.
The survey shows the percentage of children aged between two and 15 classed as obese rose to 19% in 2009, from 16% in 2008.
Wales already has some of the highest childhood obesity rates in the world.
Obesity rates in adults were unchanged – 21% of men and women are obese and a staggering 62% of men are now either obese or overweight, according to the figures published by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The number of adults classed as overweight or obese has been rising steadily in the past decade.
The Welsh Health Survey also shows fewer men are meeting the guidelines of doing 30 minutes of physical activity on five or more days a week – down from 38% in 2008 to 36%.
Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, said: “If current trends continue, the cost to the health service is likely to increase unless measures are put in place to halt this growing problem.
“We need to prevent children from becoming overweight, and parents, schools, health professionals, the media, food manufacturers and the government all have an important role to play in reducing the risk to children’s lives from obesity.”
Dr Williams added: “People with less disposable income will have less money to spend on leisure time and physical activities that cost money.
“This suggests to me that we need to be increasing the power of the messages about walking and using the natural environment, which does not cost anything.”
5 reasons why women should pump iron!
10/05/2010 at 06:08pm by Guest contributor, Liam Sartorius
We’re lucky in that today, we have a great guest blog for you here on Fat Free Fitness from personal trainer and fellow fitness blogger Liam Sartorius, of EverythingZing, a blog for people who love everything fitness, nutrition, health and wellbeing.
He’ll be sharing with us just why women should be weightlifting – so without further ado, I’ll hand over to Liam…
Ladies. It’s time to conquer your fear of dumbbells, overcome your addiction to aerobics and discover the INCREDIBLE world of weight training for women!
I strongly believe all women should lift weights.
And I am not talking about lifting little 1kg dumbbells either… I mean BIG weights, with POWERFUL exercises like Squats, Deadlifts, Presses and Rows.
Take a minute to read these 5 great reasons why and hopefully you will be converted!
1. It will make you firmer and leaner…
Whilst cardio helps to burn fat, it does little to increase your “muscle tone”. The proper definition of a “toned muscle” is a muscle that is partially switched on. This partial contraction makes your muscles feel firmer and look leaner, even when you aren’t working out.
And what is the best way to increase muscle tone? Weight training… ideally lifting a weight that fatigues your muscles within 10 to 20 reps. Want to wave goodbye to your bingo wings? Choose bench presses and tricep kickbacks. Want to firm up your flabby thighs? Weighted squats are a must!
2. It will make you slimmer and NOT bulkier…
If you avoid weight training because you think it will make you bulky, think again. Women lack the essential hormone required for large amounts of muscle gain… testosterone! So unless you are planning on injecting any time soon, stop worrying about bulking up, you really won’t.
In fact, weight training will help you to lose bodyfat. Each pound of muscle you build up has little impact on your size but a huge impact on your resting metabolism – up to 50 extra calories a day! This means that women who lift weights burn more calories, even while they are sleeping.
3. It will make you stronger and more confident…
Unlike men, women aren’t born with natural strength, so if anything women are set to benefit far more from weight training. By challenging your muscles with progressively heavier weights, you will see your body start to adapt and get stronger. It’s a huge confidence boost!
This increased strength makes day to day activities like walking up stairs, lifting heavy bags or carrying children that much easier. When you can deadlift your own body weight you will have no problem picking up adults, let alone a small children!
4. It will help you to improve your posture and balance…
A weak, slouching posture often leads to saggy breasts and a pot belly. By following a well designed weight training programme you will strengthen your postural muscles - in particular your middle and lower back – pulling your shoulders back, lifting your chest and flattening your stomach.
A strong, balanced posture not only makes you look much slimmer, it also strengthens your joints and reduces your risk of injury and back problems as you age. If you choose functional strength exercises you also improve your balance and core stability, preventing falls.
5. It will reduce your risk of osteoporosis…
Osteoporosis is a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture. Women are far more prone to osteoporosis because they have less bone mass than men and take in less calcium. The menopause also increases the risk of breaks as falling levels of estrogen leads to reduced bone density.
Research has proven that in the same way your muscles adapt with weight training, so do your bones. By lifting weights regularly women can actually increase their bone density, in particular spinal bone density. This will dramatically improve your quality of life in later years.
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Please do check out the blogs on the right – have you read them yet?
Liam Sartorius
EverythingZing
http://www.everythingzing.com/blog/
Personal trainer and fitness blogger
On Twitter @EverythingZing
Would you tell your partner if they put on weight?
04/05/2010 at 08:08pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Hi blog readers, I hope you had a great bank holiday weekend.
I'm running a poll on our Facebook page and it would be great if you could take two seconds out to answer this question:
Would you tell your partner if they put on weight?
Click here to become a fan of Fat Free Fitness on Facebook and let us know by voting in the simple one-click poll!
I'll post the results in a blog tomorrow evening, so make sure you check back then.
How to prevent excessive pregnancy weight gain
02/05/2010 at 12:14pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Pregnancy is a time when many women feel it’s acceptable to put on weight – the age old ‘I’m eating for two’ argument tends to be a popular validation.
However, as a dad and a personal trainer, I truly believe this mindset is dangerous, and here’s why.
Lifestyle habits form in as little as 2-3 weeks, according to leading experts, meaning that 9 months is a hell of a long time. Eating badly during pregnancy could be the trigger for a lifetime of poor nutrition, obesity and ill health. How many people have you heard admit that they were ‘much slimmer’ before having children?
‘Baby weight’ is a term many pregnant women I’ve encountered throw around. In my mind, it refers to the weight of the baby, increased blood volume and uterus – all obvious factors that would increase an individual’s weight, yet many women justify body fat increases by putting it down to ‘baby weight’.
Accepting that pregnancy isn’t an excuse for eating badly will prevent undue weight gain that could prove hard to shift after giving birth – not least for the fact that you’ll have a baby to look after and perhaps won’t set aside time for eating well and exercising.
It is estimated that the average woman only needs an extra 300 calories each day during the second and third trimester (last 6 months) – the equivalent of one slice of toast with peanut butter.
Celebrity mums get a bad press for slimming down quickly after giving birth, especially in the case of typically ‘skinny’ celeb mums like Victoria Beckham. The fact is, they are likely to have followed simple nutrition guidelines during their pregnancy to ensure they didn’t put on body fat that simply isn’t needed, so are starting from a much better position than a mum that ate poorly and didn’t exercise during pregnancy.
You could argue that pregnancy is a time to unwind, enjoy foods that you perhaps wouldn’t if you weren’t pregnant and generally get used to the changes your body is going through. I’d never speak against this entirely as treats are, as in everyday life, important, but falling into the trap of eating unhealthy, sugary foods and putting convenience before your health will lead you down a path that it’s difficult to return from.
Exercise is also extremely important throughout pregnancy, just as it is in everyday life. I’m not talking about hill running in the third trimester; I mean gentle, yet persistent activity that can encourage healthy blood flow, increase your chance of ‘bouncing back’ into shape post-pregnancy and also prove relaxing. Swimming, yoga, cycling, jogging and walking are great examples of exercise that can help you better cope with the demands labour and motherhood will place on you.
I’ve spoken to people who quite genuinely believed it was medically forbidden to exercise whilst pregnant, a fact that is unfounded – there are guidelines, such as not lying on your back during exercise, but exercise is definitely recommended.
So, to summarise in three simple points – how not to put on unnecessary weight during pregnancy:
1. Don’t use pregnancy as an excuse to overeat or eat badly
2. Enjoy treats as you would in everyday life
3. Stay active
If you’re reading this, you, or somebody you know could be pregnant. Congratulations if so, I wish you the best of luck with your health and that of the little one.
Staying active is even easier with pregnancy-specific classes and incentives
Keeping a journal can help to lose weight
27/04/2010 at 09:07pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Scientists at the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina in the States found that the type of motivation for dieting and techniques to boost it when it dips could mean the difference between success and failure.
"Motivation has an impact on weight loss but the impact is really mediated by adherence to self-monitoring," said Kelly H. Webber, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky. "If you are going to self-monitor your diet and exercise every day you are going to lose more weight.
Webber, who along with her colleagues reported the findings in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, said the best way to self-monitor is to keep a journal of everything you eat and how much you exercise.
The researchers studied two types of motivation, autonomous and controlled, during a 16-week weight-loss program involving 66 overweight women. Autonomous motivation is driven by personal reasons, while controlled motivation is based more on pressure from others and feelings of guilt.
They found that dieters who were self motivated and who kept a journal tended to be more successful.
"People who actually write down everything they eat and drink during the weight loss program are going to do better. And that is probably why commercial programs like Weight Watchers are very successful," said Webber.
All of the dieters were given questionnaires and asked to describe their motivation. Their weight loss and motivation were measured every four weeks during the program. They also measured their own progress with a online self-monitoring program.
"The importance of motivation is that it gets you to self motivate, which is the behavior that matters in weight loss," Webber explained.
Sustaining motivation was also essential because once it began to drop, usually between weeks four to eight, successful dieters who dropped 5 percent of their body weight were those who managed to keep the motivation going.
Webber suggested that if motivation starts to fall after about four weeks it would be a good time to boost it with initiatives.
"We think that contact with a counsellor is always helpful with motivation and contact with other people trying to lose weight," she said.
"Seek support. I think we need support to keep continually motivated. Some people are successful on their own but most of us need support."
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