Strategies for Success from SDSU Experts
Each year, more than 35 percent of Americans (about 105,000,000 of us) make New Year’s resolutions. Many vow to lose weight or get more active. Some succeed, but just as many fail. While many make unrealistic resolutions — say losing a substantial amount of weight in a short period of time — others simply lack the motivation to reach their goals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older (nearly 200,000,000 Americans) are either overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese can also lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and other respiratory problems, and some cancers.
Jim Sallis, San Diego State psychology professor and director of SDSU’s Active Living Research program, examines how our surroundings affect our physical health, including how we integrate physical activity into our daily routines.
While Sallis recommends 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day, it’s not just about hitting the gym. There are many ways to work exercise into our daily routine.
“Burning calories in this manner adds up,” said Barbara Ainsworth, a San Diego State University professor of exercise and nutritional sciences and a member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Since 1989, Ainsworth has researched, compiled data, organized and maintained a compendium of physical activities, measuring the energy costs of a variety of activities ranging from regular exercise like bicycling to household chores such as washing dishes, ironing, carrying children and gardening.Tipping the scales
Sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits both contribute to obesity. The good news is that changing either will positively affect your weight. However, while many simply diet to lose weight, Sallis noted that there’s a problem with only dieting.
“When you restrict calories, you’re losing muscle mass. You can increase fat loss and preserve muscle mass with activity.”
Sallis also said that people should avoid watching the scale to gauge how healthy they are. Since muscle weighs more than fat, people replacing their fat with muscle may not see as much of a weight loss on the scale. They may, however, see a difference in their Body Mass Index, or BMI, as their muscles become more toned.
BMI, a simple formula examining height and weight, is used by health care professionals as a reliable preliminary indicator of a person’s body fatness. It can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat.
Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform technique used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. People with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 are considered within the healthy range. Individuals with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are overweight, while those with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese.
Taking the long view
“Activity plays a key role in keeping weight off,” Sallis said. “Anyone can lose weight over a month or two; the key factor is keeping that weight off.”
Keeping the weight off is the hardest part of weight loss, but not keeping it off means chronic illness and medical conditions in the long-term. Sallis encourages people to use as many strategies as needed to achieve their activity and weight loss goals.
“The more they use these strategies, the more successful people are in losing weight and keeping it off,” Sallis said.
In the long run, small changes can have a huge payoff — losing just five to seven percent of your body weight can lower your risk of Type 2 diabetes by a staggering 58 percent!
Get healthy in 2007 with these tips from SDSU experts:
- Set a specific goal. Instead of saying “I want to exercise more often,” state how many more steps you want to take, or how many more minutes you’d like to be active each week.
- Increase your activity gradually. Too many people are over-enthusiastic in pursuing their increase in activity. Don’t hit the gym too hard and end up sore and frustrated. Instead, increase your activity slowly.
- Get a pedometer. Take 10,000 steps per day — it doesn’t matter if you walk or run.
- Think positive! Replace self-defeating thoughts with positive, encouraging thoughts — saying “I can” instead of “I can’t” will do wonders for your weight loss.
- Make sure you enjoy it. Play music or go walking or jogging through an area you enjoy. Do something you truly enjoy at a time of day that works for you.
- Enlist friends and family for support. Have an exercise buddy and a cheering squad to stay motivated.
Related information
- Centers for Disease Control BMI Calculator
- Active Living Research Center
- Active Living Network
- Time Magazine article, “Get Moving,” featuring Jim Sallis
- Unleashing a Passion for Fitness
