HOW’S YOUR FITNESS SAVVY?: Consumer Reports Fitness Quiz

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Position Paper on Diabetes and Exercise, Women's Heart Disease and Stroke Campaign, National Trails Endowment Grants, Public Health Week Campaign, Recognition of Walking Heroes

RESEARCH NOTES: Boost Your Brain Power, A Walk A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: Fourth Annual Conference on Faith and Health, The 1998 National Black Family Summit, 1998 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Governor's Councils on Physical Fitness and Sports, Yale Conference on Women's Health and Fitness

NATIONAL HEALTH OBSERVANCES: Healthy Weight Week, School Nurse Day, American Heart Month, National Girls and Women in Sports Day

WEB SITES OF INTEREST: Healthfinder, Put Prevention Into Practice, American College of Sports Medicine, On the Move, Shape Up America!

ANSWERS TO FITNESS QUIZ

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HOW’S YOUR FITNESS SAVVY? Try your hand at Consumer Reports’ fitness quiz. Most of their readers got fewer than half of the answers right….do we dare keep score among the readers of our newsletter? Here’s the quiz (answers at end of last page):

1. You should drink fluids whenever you start to get thirsty during exercise. T or F
2. The body burns more calories during hot weather. T or F
3. The health benefits of exercise begin to kick in when you raise your heart rate into your "exercise benefit zone." T or F
4. Your maximum heart rate is the level you achieve during strenuous exertion. T or F
5. It’s best to stretch your muscles for a few minutes before warming up. T or F
6. Weight training is dangerous for people with high blood pressure. T or F
7. Which can raise your level of "good" HDL cholesterol?
   (a) aerobic exercise, (b) strength training, (c) stretching, (c) all of the above
8. Running and other types of high-impact exercise can lead to osteoarthritis. T or F
9. You can prevent muscle soreness by taking a pain reliever after a hard workout. T or F
10. The best first step for sedentary people is to do strength-training exercises for their leg muscles. T or F
11. To build strength, you need to push your muscles to the point of exhaustion. T or F
12. The more frequently you perform strength-training exercise, the more muscle you’ll build. T or F
13. You shouldn’t exercise when you have a head cold. T or F




NEWS YOU CAN USE……

POSITION PAPER ON DIABETES AND EXERCISE: The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association have issued a joint position statement on Diabetes mellitus and exercise. It calls for greater emphasis on promotion exercise as a tool for prevention and control of Type 2 Diabetes. The position paper can be found in the December 1997 issues of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Diabetes Care.

WOMEN’S HEART DISEASE AND STROKE CAMPAIGN: The American Heart Association has initiated a program, "Take Wellness to Heart," to address the special needs of women at risk for heart disease and stroke. This effort includes a new national coalition, a national media campaign, new educational materials, minority initiatives, grassroots activities, and advocacy efforts. Materials and additional information are available from the American Heart Association national office or your state’s affiliate office.

NATIONAL TRAILS ENDOWMENT GRANTS: The American Hiking Society is seeking applications for funding projects to establish, protect and maintain foot trails. Grants normally are awarded to trail organizations and other non-profits with a trail-related focus. Awards range from $1,000 to $10,000. The due date is February 1, 1998. For more information, call Terry Cummings at (301) 565-6704 or send an e-mail to ahsterry@aol.com.

PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK CAMPAIGN: A Planner’s Guide and other materials are now available for National Public Health Week, April 6-12, 1998. The theme this year is "Healthy People in Healthy Communities." For more information, contact one of the campaign’s many partner organizations, including all state and most local health departments, or download the materials from http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/phwphoto/98contes.htm. Be sure to check out the National Public Health Photography Contest that is part of this year’s campaign.

RECOGNITION OF WALKING HEROES: Walking magazine is seeking nominations for "Heroes on Foot," who will be featured in the magazine’s December 1998 issue and will be eligible for great walking prizes. Nominate yourself, a relative, or a friend in one of three categories: Personal Achievement (such as weight loss, recovery, or a feat of endurance), Community Contribution (for pedestrian advocates or conservationists), or Inspiration (for those who inspire others to walk). Submit a photo of the nominee, along with his/her name, age, address, telephone number and a brief summary about what he or she achieved through walking in 1997. Mail your entries, before June 15, 1998, to Heroes, Walking, 9-11 Harcourt Street, Boston, MA 02116.

RESEARCH NOTES

BOOST YOUR BRAIN POWER: Steinberg et al., in the British Journal of Sports Medicine 31: 240-245 (1997), reported that exercise enhances creativity, regardless of your mood. Improvements were highest after low impact aerobics, possibly because this type of class offers more freedom in movement than high impact aerobics classes.

A WALK A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY: Hakin et al., in the New England Journal of Medicine 338:94-99 (1998), found that men in the 60s, 70s and 80s can cut their risk of death almost in half by walking just two miles a day. Every extra mile they walked per day lowered their death rate by 19 percent.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON FAITH AND HEALTH: Parish Nursing and Congregational Health Ministry. February 28, 1998, Columbia, SC. Cost is $10. Registration deadline is January 30, 1998. Featured speaker is Mr. Tom Droege, Interfaith Health Program Director at The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA. For more information, contact Debbie Lee, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, 737-3900.

THE 1998 NATIONAL BLACK FAMILY SUMMIT: Education, Health and Social Welfare, Implications for Economic Viability. March 4-6, 1998, Myrtle Beach, SC. Cost is $200 before February 20; $225 after February 20. Featured speakers include Alexis Herman, Robert Hill, Marva Smalls, Calvin Butts, and Andrew Cuomo. For more information, call Events Unlimited at 803-771-6784.

1998 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNORS’ COUNCILS ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORTS: Back to Basics Summit, Physical Activity and Health for the Right Reasons. March 4-7, 1998, Denver, CO. Cost is $150 before February 1; $165 after February 1. Featured speakers include Don Iverson, Jack Dillenberg, Jim Rippe, others. For more information, call 317-237-5630 or e-mail Govcouncil@aol.com .

YALE CONFERENCE ON WOMEN’S HEALTH AND FITNESS: May 2-3, 1998, New Haven, CT. Featured speakers include Steve Blair, Loretta DiPietro, Christina Wells, JoAnn Manson, James Clapp, and Rebecca Lobo. To receive a conference brochure with specific details, call 1-800-929-0473 or send e-mail to dezinno@gwpo.ynhh.com.

NATIONAL HEALTH OBSERVANCES

JANUARY

January 18-24: Healthy Weight Week. Contact Healthy Weight Journal, 402 South 14^th Street, Hettinger, ND 58639; (701) 567-2646. Website: http://www.healthyweightnetwork.com/.

January 28: School Nurse Day. Contact National Association of School Nurses, Inc., P.O. Box 1300, Scarborough, ME 04070-1300; (207) 883-2117. Website: http://www.nasn.org/.

FEBRUARY

American Heart Month. Contact American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231; (214) 373-6300. Website: www.amhrt.org.

February 5: National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Contact Women’s Sports Foundation, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY 11554; (800) 227-2988. Website: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/.

DID YOU KNOW …..

A 157-pound person carrying a 44-pound pack burns 624 calories per hour of uphill hiking? Want something a bit less strenuous for your wintertime physical activity? How about cross-county skiing at 612 calories per hour on level ground, or snowshoeing at 500 calories per hour? Still a bit much? Well, don’t discount a brisk walk around the block – a 150-pound person can burn 350 calories by walking purposefully for one hour – just keep moving!

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

HEALTHFINDER: Healthfinder is a "gateway" web site which can lead you to online publications, clearinghouses, databases, support groups, web sites, and organizations that produce reliable information for the public. Check it out at http://www.healthfinder.gov/

PUT PREVENTION INTO PRACTICE: Put Prevention into Practice is a national campaign to improve the delivery of clinical preventive services – including patient education and counseling for health behavior change. The program targets primary care providers, their patients, and their staffs. Check it out at http://www.hhs.gov/PPIP/faq.html.

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE: The ACSM is undergoing a "visioning process" that includes revisiting the organization’s vision statement. Here’s your chance to participate, to offer comments and suggestions for improvement. Check it out at http://www.acsm.org/.

ON THE MOVE: ON THE MOVE! is the physical activity promotion program of the California Department of Health Services. It supports a variety of community projects that promote active lifestyles to reduce chronic disease risk. Check it out at http://www.sbdrc.org/Pages/page65.html

SHAPE UP AMERICA! Shape Up America! is a national health campaign initiated by former Surgeon General Everett Koop. The web site contains information about safe weight management and physical fitness. Check it out at http://www.shapeup.org/.

ANSWERS TO FITNESS QUIZ:

1. False: You should drink fluids before you get thirsty.
2. False: You actually burn more calories during a cold-weather workout, keeping the body warm.
3. False: Even moderate exercise is beneficial.
4. False: You can estimate your maximum, without experiencing it, by subtracting your age from 220.
5. False: First you warm up, then you stretch..
6. False. Some studies suggest that strength training can help lower blood pressure.
7. Aerobic exercise: Aerobic exercise raises HDL, while strength training lowers LDL.
8. False: High impact exercise won’t lead to arthritis, at least among those with healthy hips and knees and who train moderately.
9. True: Using a non-inflammatory pain reliever before a strenuous workout can help prevent soreness afterwards.
10. True: Great muscle endurance promotes aerobic endurance.
11. True: You want to force the muscles past the point where they begin producing proteins that will build larger muscle fibers.
12. False: For maximum benefit, you need to allow 48 hours between workouts for full muscle recovery.
13. False: There’s no reason not to exercise, as long as it’s just a head cold (no symptoms below the neck).

How fit are you?

0-3 points: Time to exercise your mind

4-5 points: Not bad, but not highly fit.

6-7 points: Well toned, good capacity.

8-10 points: Better than the average fitness trainer.

11-13 points: Outstanding!