The Seven Wonders of the World: a test for a wise little girl

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Have a fun weekend.

     Have a chuckle to start your weekend.  (e-mail subscribers, head to the blog to view)

Another interesting study...

Which came first, the vitamin D loss or the obesity?  That is the question.  Good to know they are linked, however.  I have wondered why the sudden epidemic of low vitamin D levels in this country.

Vitamin D Loss Attributed to Obesity

TUESDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity can lead to vitamin D deficiency, a new study indicates.

British researchers looked at data from about 165,000 people, and found that a 10 percent rise in body-mass index (BMI) was linked with a 4 percent drop in concentrations of vitamin D in the body. BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.

The link between BMI and vitamin D levels was found in men and women, as well as in younger and older people, the investigators noted.

The findings suggest that a higher BMI leads to lower levels of vitamin D circulating in the body, while a lack of vitamin D has only a small effect on BMI, according to the authors of the study, published Feb. 5 in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Efforts to tackle obesity may also help reduce levels of vitamin D deficiency, said lead investigator Dr. Elina Hypponen, of University College London's Institute of Child Health.

Previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with obesity, but it wasn't clear whether a lack of vitamin D triggered weight gain or whether obesity led to vitamin D deficiency, the study authors noted in a university news release.

Vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and other functions, is produced by the skin when exposed to sunlight. It can also be obtained through foods and supplements.

"Vitamin D deficiency is an active health concern around the world. While many health messages have focused on a lack of sun exposure or excessive use of suncreams, we should not forget that vitamin D deficiency is also caused by obesity," Hypponen said.

"Our study highlights the importance of monitoring and treating vitamin D deficiency in people who are overweight or obese, in order to alleviate adverse health effects caused by a lack of vitamin D," she added.

Although the study reported that higher BMI leads to lower levels of vitamin D circulating in the body, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, has more about vitamin D.

SOURCE: University College London, news release, Feb. 5, 2013

     This is from MSN Healthy Living, 2-6-2013

Good news! Running linked to less osteoarthritis than walking.

This is straight from www.runnersworld.com.

Running Linked To Lower Arthritis Rates Than Walking

Massive study defies common logic and anti-runner bias.

By

Amby Burfoot

Published

February 05, 2013

Running epidemiologist Paul Williams, Ph.D., often doesn’t get the respect he deserves. That’s because Williams doesn’t conduct randomized, controlled, double-blind studies. Those “gold standard” studies are the ones that usually make the headlines.

Instead, Williams collects and analyzes self-reported data from runners. Lots of it. He was a “big data” guy long before the term gained its present currency due to folks like Nate Silver and the “quants” on Wall Street. Indeed, Williams launched the National Runners Health Study in the pages of Runner’s World in 1991, and he’s been happily amassing runner data ever since. (He also collects data for a smaller National Walkers Health Study.)

Every year, Williams runs several of his impressive data sets through a strict statistical analysis, and tells us more about ourselves than we could possibly learn anywhere else. Today the journal Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise has released his latest effort, a look into osteoarthritis (OA) and hip replacement (HR) rates among 74,752 runners (after 7.1 years of follow-up) and 14,625 walkers (after 5.7 years of follow-up).

The first major result is that the runners have roughly half the risk of osteoarthritis and hip replacement as the walkers. This is the opposite of what much common-logic and anti-runner bias would predict. Williams says that running lowers body mass index(BMI) more than walking, and that the lower body weight probably prevents arthritis. See the first table below for details.

Second, he looked at the OA and HR rates of runners logging different amounts of weekly mileage, and divided them into four groups: under 7; 7-14; 14-21; 21+. He set the first group as his standard, and found that the other groups (doing more mileage) had 15% to 18 % lower rates of OA, and 35% to 50% lower rates of HR. In other words, more running reduced the rates of OA and HR, again likely through lower BMI, but contrary to common belief. See the second table below.

Third, Williams found another surprising result: Extra hours of non-running exercises increased the rates of OA and HR where running had reduced them. This seems to support the hypothesis that humans are well-designed for the straight-ahead motion of running and walking compared to the twisting and torquing of many other sports activities.

Conclusion: “Whereas other exercise increased OA and hip replacement risk, running significantly reduced their risk due, in part, to running’s association with lower BMI.”

RUNNERS VS WALKERS: ARTHRITIS AND HIP REPLACEMENT RATES

Respondents	Osteoarthritis	Hip Replacement
74,752 runners*	2,004 (2.7%)	259 (.35%)
14,625 walkers#	696 (4.8%)	114 (.78%)

* 7.1 years of follow-up
# 5.7 years of follow-up

RUNNERS ONLY: OA AND HR RATES BY MILES/WEEK

	<7 miles/wk	7-14 miles/week	14-21 miles/week	21+ miles/week
Osteoarthritis	1.0*	-18.1%	-16.1%	-15.6%
Hip Replacement	1.0*	-35.1%	-50.4%	-38.5%

*set as 1.0 for a comparison standard with the other groups

Note: Williams reported his exercise data as MET hours/day. We have converted to miles/week of running using the best-available tool. See here for more.

World Cancer Day

     Yesterday was World Cancer Day.  You can go to their website, wwwworldcancerday.org, to learn more.


     Here is a light-hearted video from Rethink Breast Cancer.  It will make you laugh.  (Email subscribers, head to my blog to view.)

A much needed recovery week.

     I have been super-tired and sore for a week now, so need to do an extreme cut back in exercise to recover.  I am going to cut my mileage by half, plus switch back to only run/walks at a 30sec/30sec ratio. Hopefully that will help and by next week I will feel re-energized once more.  Plus my right hamstring is really sore and I don't want it to become chronic, so am cutting back on the hills. Wish me well.
     Charleigh will be perfectly happy to walk more.  As long as she is outside, life is good.

Happy blogiversary and runiversary to me!

     I've been blogging and jogging for two years today!  It has been a tumultuous two years, as you know if you have been following my blog. I'm sure I would not and will not survive without healthy eating, exercise, daily sunshine, and my dog Charleigh. (Who rescued who?)
     A synonym for survival is endurance.  Maybe that is why I run, to develop endurance. I obviously don't do it for speed.
     I think we all have an innate sense of what we need to do to endure; or maybe it is fate guiding us.  For the short term, I need these small routines to get me up and going every day, and to quell stress.  I am not looking at the long term yet.  Those questions are too big to be answered easily, if at all.  What is my purpose in life?  What am I going to do with the next 40 years of it?  What do I want to do?  Who am I anymore?
     I will take it day by day with baby steps and small goals.  It is the only way for me.

 We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.   Satir, Virginia
(doggy kisses will have to suffice)