Research Summaries #4 - TO YOUR HEALTH (Cont.)

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Research Summaries #4
TO YOUR HEALTH (Cont.)
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Weight Training: More or Less?

If those two-hour-a-day, 15-sets-per-bodypart workouts are driving you to the brink of madness, listen up: You might be working a lot harder than you have to. A paper presented in the journal Sports Medicine reviewed a number of studies on the effectiveness of single vs. multiple training sets for increasing muscle strength and size.

The researchers looked at studies that evaluated the value of performing one set vs. two sets, one set vs. three sets, and one set vs. three or more sets (i.e., performing one set of biceps curls vs. performing two, three, or more sets).

Now here's the big news: After a thorough review of the material, the researchers concluded that "the benefits of resistance training may involve undertaking the minimal amount of exercise needed to achieve the desired response."

Think about your current exercise regimen -- is the amount of effort you're putting in worth the results you're getting? If you're slaving away at the gym but don't seem to be making any
improvements, try slimming down your program for a while, and see what happens. Less might actually be more.

Carpinelli RN, Otto RM. Strength training: single vs. multiple sets.

Sports Medicine, August 1998: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp73-84

Six Cups a Day May Keep Bladder Cancer Away

Having to make frequent trips to the bathroom, even if you haven't been drinking that much, can be an early sign of bladder cancer -- the fourth most common cancer among men.

If you haven't been drinking a lot of fluids, you may want to start. According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, adequate fluid intake may help prevent bladder cancer. In this study, nearly 50,000 men were evaluated over a 10-year period. Results showed that men who drank at least six cups per day (of almost any fluid -- water, juices, tea, coffee, soft drinks, etc.) had a 51% lower risk of bladder cancer compared to men who drank only 1 cup per day.

Making sure you get enough fluids isn't as difficult as it sounds, no matter how active or hectic your life gets. Simply fill a plastic container or bottle (an average water bottle holds 64 ounces, or 8 cups) every morning and bring it with you wherever you go.

Michaud D, Speigelman D, Clinton S, et al. Fluid intake and the risk of bladder cancer in men.

The New England Journal of Medicine, May 6, 1999: Vol. 340, No. 18, pp1390-1397

Teach Your Children the VALUE of Exercise

Evidence suggests that behaviors established at a young age persist in adulthood. If you're a parent, you probably believe the evidence -- that's why you don't want your children "picking up bad habits" from other children, or hanging out with "the wrong crowd."

But this might not be quite accurate, at least not when we consider a potential "good" behavior -- physical activity. According to a recent study, simply increasing the amount of exercise as a child doesn't necessarily mean that your children will exercise as adults. The study compared two adult groups: one that received five hours of physical education weekly for six years during primary school, and a group that received only the standard physical activity requirements (about 40 minutes per week).

Questionnaires completed by the groups showed that childhood physical activity did not have a significant effect on attitudes toward, frequency of, or intentions to exercise as adults. The
authors believe that it may be consistent exposure to the process of exercise and to an overall health-oriented program in childhood may be a more important contributor to positive exercise/fitness patterns in adulthood.

Don't just encourage (or pressure) your children to participate in sports. Teach your children the value of staying healthy and active, and schedule regular visits for them with your family chiropractor. The lessons they learn could last a lifetime.

Trudeau F, Laurencelle L, Tremblay J, et al. Daily primary school physical education: effects on physical activity during adult life.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1999: Vol. 31, No. 1, pp111-117

Too Many Children Still Drinking (and Driving)

The U.S. Surgeon General's Office reports that in the last 75 years, life expectancy has increased for every age group but one: young adults (ages 15-24). Even more troubling is the observation that nearly half of the deaths in this age group can be attributed to alcohol and drug-impaired driving.

To better understand the problem of teenage drinking and driving, an article in the American Journal of Public Health presented data from 10 years of national surveys of American high-school seniors. Three main points emerged from the data, along with a conclusion:

  • Rates of adolescent drinking and driving (and riding with a driver who had been drinking) actually declined from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
  • However, these trends did not continue after 1995, and the rates may have increased again from 1995-1997.
  • A substantial percentage of students have exposed themselves to alcohol-impaired driving, even at the lowest points.

The authors suggest that teenage drinking and driving behaviors can be changed over time, as evidenced by the decline between 1984-1992, but are quick to suggest that improved prevention efforts may also be necessary. Tell your children about the profound dangers of drinking and driving. The lives they save may be their own.

O'Malley PM, Johnston LD. Drinking and driving among U.S. high school seniors, 1984-1997.

American Journal of Public Health, May 1999: Vol. 89, No. 5, pp678-684.

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