It’s hard to imagine a better yoga studio: as the hourlong class goes on, the temperature drops, the light dims and the obligatory relaxation music is as soothing as an eventide symphony on the front porch. And when teacher Claudia Conty gently instructs the class to “make sure you are rooted to the Earth,” that’s not faux teak laminate you’re digging your heels into.read more
Sunday, I returned from Colorado where I noticed more people riding bikes, more people hiking and walking than they do here in North Carolina. I also noticed that there was a whole let less of the people there than there is of the folks here. Hmm, I wondered. Is there a connection?read more
Wednesday morning, I did a one hour workout with a group of women, most of whom were in their 80s. Wednesday evening, I did a half-marathon training run with a group mostly in their 20s. Despite being at opposite ends of the demographic scale, the similarities between the two groups were more striking than the differences.read more
How do you get a million couch potatoes off their sectionals and into their Sauconys?
That’s the challenge BeActive North Carolina is taking on the first of the year when it launches its “One Million, More Active, More Often” program.
Despite the fact it’s been around since 1991, you may not be familiar with BeActive NC. It was founded with a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina with the goal of motivating Tarheels to move more. You may not have heard of them because they mostly work with the middleman, helping community agencies implement programs intended to get us moving. A tall ask in a state where nearly 50 percent of the kids and more than 50 percent of adults don’t get the minimum amount of physical activity they need. Those statistics — and the ripple effect in related medical costs, labor loss and reduced quality of life related to being overweight and in poor shape — are driving BeActive’s campaign to reach more people.read more
Move more, lose weight, so goes the conventional wisdom, right?
Well … .
A curious finding comes out of a four-year study of 212 kids at 54 schools in the town of Plymouth, U.K. This latest finding from the 11-year-old EarlyBird Diabetes Study being conducted by the Peninsula Medical School finds that physical activity may not play much — or any — role in helping kids lose weight. The finding is based on a trial showing that when kids with weight issues were exposed to more physical activity, they only lost about 3 ounces each. The study did find that overweight kids tend to exercise less. Researchers were left to conclude that “early feeding errors” — hefty portions, calorie-dense snacks and sugary drinks — play a much more significant role in childhood obesity.read more