Could “laziness” be explained by a case of missing genes?

McMaster University researchers report that the difference between couch potatoes and athletes may be that the more sedentary group lacks key muscle genes that are essential for exercise.

The researchers conducted experiments in mice and found that when two genes were removed, mice ran for significantly less amounts of time than normal.

“Mice love to run,” said Gregory Steinberg, study researcher. “While the normal mice could run for miles, those without the genes in their muscle could only run the same distance as down the hall and back. It was remarkable. The mice looked identical to their brothers or sisters but within seconds we knew which ones had the genes and which one didn’t.”

The genes in question control an enzyme called protein AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is switched on during exercise. The mice without the genes had lower levels of mitochrondria and impaired ability for muscles to take up glucose during exercise.

“When you exercise you get more mitochondria growing in your muscle,” said Steinberg. “If you don’t exercise, the number of mitochondria goes down.”

Reducing mitochondria, according to the researchers, makes it difficult for people to start exercising. Prior research has already shown that being sedentary can increase risks for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Forget nicotine patches and gum.  Efforts to quit smoking have officially moved into the 21^st century.

According to British researchers, smokers are twice as likely to succeed in quitting if they receive supportive text messages, USA Today reported.

The researchers followed 5,800 smokers in their attempts to quit the habit.  One group was sent motivational text messages while another group received “placebo texts” that thanked them for participating in the study.

The motivational message group received five texts a day for the first five weeks and three per week for the next 26 weeks.

A sample text message read: “TXT2STOP: think you’ll put on weight when you quit? We’re here to help – We’ll TXT weight control and exercise tips, recipes and motivation tips.”

The smokers were also able to text for help during cravings or relapses and would receive appropriate tips for dealing with their current situation.

After six months, the study participants were all tested for a substance found in cigarettes.  Those who had received the motivational texts were twice as likely to still be smoke-free.

The smokers reported the messages helped them through the quitting process, according to lead researcher Caroline Free.

“It made them feel less isolated while they tried to quit,” Free said.

For a small group of smokers, however, the texts actually became unhelpful because the messages reminded them of smoking, which emphasizes the need for individually tailored support.

Only 10.7 percent of smokers receiving motivational messages were still abstinent after six months, but this was double the rate of those who did not receive the messages.  Free suggested that increased personalization and interactivity could make the program even more effective.

The study was published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Click here to read more from USA Today.

One recent survey of Americans on body image found that more than half of all men and women would rather lose their job than gain an extra seventy-five pounds. And nearly 20 percent of the population would give up, or consider giving up, 20 IQ points to have the perfect body.

Obviously, weight and the way we are perceived is an important factor in our daily lives. It’s not surprising then that dieting is on the minds of so many people these days, particularly as people get on in their forties, when the metabolism begins to slow and the pounds begin to add up. So which diet is best? I’ll tell you.

First, let’s look at some of the big blockbuster diets that have appeared over the past decade or so—the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and so on. Each one of these diets has simply incorporated a different method of teaching you about nutrition in order to get you to lose weight. Each one gives you something to focus on, a behavior to motivate you, which is great because, after all, to lose weight you have to change your thinking.

But if you look at the fundamentals, the underlying theme of each diet is calories. Whether you do Atkins, South Beach, or Dr. Phil, it’s really all about calories.

When reviewed carefully, most diets are really nothing more than low-calorie nutrition plans disguised by clever marketing gimmicks. Scientific-sounding “facts” and hocus-pocus “research” are just ornaments on the diet tree. Diet-plan marketers go to great lengths to explain how their diet can work for everyone, or claim that it is carbohydrate intake or fat intake—or whatever the bad intake of the day is—that’s the culprit.

However, the bottom line is that the only way to lose weight is to have a caloric deficit, which occurs only when you burn more calories than you consume.

The average American today consumes 300 more calories per day today than did the average American of 30 years ago. Today’s average American also burns 260 fewer calories each day due to increased automation, technology, and sedentary occupations. Put those numbers together, and it becomes rather obvious why America’s waistline is growing at an alarming rate.

Check Your BMI

The BMI can tell you if you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Adults 20 years old and older can calculate their BMI with this formula:

BMI = your weight/pds divided by height/in x height/in x 703

You are UNDERWEIGHT, if your BMI is below 18.5.

You are of NORMAL WEIGHT, if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.

You are OVERWEIGHT, if your BMI is between 25.0 and 29.9.

You are OBESE, if your BMI is 30.0 or more.

So here is Dr. Manny’s Freedom Diet. If you really want to lose weight, you have to do two things: eat fewer calories and burn more calories. This is not an optional “either/or” plan but an “and” plan. Of course, the calories you eat should be healthy calories. That’s all. Eat less. Exercise more. It really is that simple.

Fight obesity. Spread the word.

Exercise

People spend an enormous amount of time trying to find the perfect exercise, and while they’re doing that, their clock is ticking. Any physical activity is great, though the best kinds of exercise for you are those like walking, swimming, running, hiking, and skiing—all of which have a “global” impact on your body and mind.

Most important, you should stick to the exercise of your choice and do it regularly. If you adhere to those two principles, you’re going to burn calories, feel better, improve your metabolism, and benefit your health.

Any activity you do during the day—from climbing stairs, to housecleaning, to watching TV—will, of course, burn calories. But those activities don’t provide the necessary continuity, and I think the essence of getting into shape and having a good metabolism has to do with a continuity of exercise.

In other words, it’s better to burn 120 calories a day, seven days a week, doing your favorite exercise, for example, than to burn 800 calories doing the housework once a week. It’s the exercise regimen that has an impact on your health, not necessarily the intensity.

Burn, Baby, Burn

Estimated number of calories burned per minute based on an individual weighing about 150 pounds:

Sitting: 1

Talking on phone: 1

Sleeping: 1

Driving: 2

Housework: 3

Cooking: 3

Washing dishes: 3

Stretching: 4

Sex (active): 5

Walking (3 mph): 5

Calisthenics (moderate): 5

Ballroom dancing (fast): 6

Gardening: 6

Swimming (moderate): 7

Aerobics (low impact): 7

Hiking: 7

Jogging: 8

Stair step machine: 8

Bicycling (12 to 14 mph): 10

Basketball (full court): 12

Running (10 mph): 20

To easily calculate how many calories you burn in a day, go to www.healthstatus.com and click on “Calculators” then “Calories Burned.”

It is also very important to drink adequate amounts of fluid when you exercise. You need to drink about a half cup of water for every fifteen minutes of vigorous exercise. People think that muscle cramps during exercise are caused by a shortage of electrolytes, but that’s not true. You get muscle cramps because of water loss and dehydration. Drink that water!