No sweat, no smell, no service.

Around this time last year we dispelled the health myth that to get any health benefit from a workout, you must feel the pain.  Today’s myth is along those lines but slightly messier.  Yes, we’re talking about workout sweat.  That salty, wet, smelly stuff that often drips into your eyes after you run a marathon (or go up a few flights of stairs). Today’s health myth: the amount you sweat is a good indicator of workout intensity.

The facts.

Today’s myth seems relatively logical.  If you “work up a sweat,” odds are you’re getting a good workout.  A marathon runner is much more likely to be dripping with sweat after an hour of activity versus someone who takes a merry stroll in the park and may return home with a glisten.

To get to the bottom of this myth, we must first answer one question: What is the purpose of sweating?  Sweat or perspiration is a salty fluid secreted by the sweat glands.  It’s purpose?  To cool the body down.

• An increase in a person’s core or skin temperature will cause the brain (the hypothalamus to be exact) to signal the body that it needs to start cooling down before things get too heated.
• The sweat glands are stimulated, sweat escapes through pores in the skin and the body’s core temperature begins to cool.
• Skin temperature begins to come down as the liquid sweat evaporates off the surface of the skin.

It’s like having your own personal AC system!

The truth.

So it makes sense that if a person works his or her muscles, core body temperature is going to rise and cause the individual to sweat. But is sweat a good measure of physical exertion?  Actually…no!  Dripping sweat is only an indicator that your body is having difficulty cooling itself.  It’s producing sweat faster than it can be evaporated.  This is not a direct indicator of how hard a person is working out.

There are many other factors that can explain why one person sweats more than another.  Genetics, age, gender, fitness level and environment are just a few.

According to the CDC, a better way to measure your level of exertion during physical activity is to use the Borg scale.  This helps individuals measure more accurately how hard their body is working.  The Borg scale takes into account a person’s muscle fatigue, breathing, heart rate AND sweating.  Visit the CDC Physical Activity website to find out additional details.

Sweat and workout quality…busted!

Yikes.

As January comes to a close, I thought some scary health statistics might inspire those with New Years resolutions to keep up the good work.  According to The American Journal of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control, between 1988 and 2006…

• The percentage of obese adults ages 40 to 74 increased from 28% to 36%
• People eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily dropped from 42% to 26%
• People who are physically active 12 times or more per month has decreased from 53% to 43%
• Individuals with significant health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, were no more likely to adhere to healthy lifestyle habits than people without those risk factors
• Only 14% of US adults and 9.5% of teens eat 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables per day.
• The five states with the lowest percentage of adults eating their 5-A-Day are Mississippi (8.8%), Oklahoma and South Carolina (9.3%), Alabama (9.8%), South Dakota (10.1%)

And the surprise statistic of the day: What city has the largest percentage of adults eating 5-A-Day?  Washington DC!  Those politicians know how important it is to stay strong and healthy.  DC may have one of the highest murder rates in the country, but at least they go down fighting.

For those of you working hard to make 2010 a healthy year, way to go!  It looks like we need it.  Learn more about how to get your 5-A-Day by playing our most popular Playnormous health game Lunch Crunch or our newest health game all about food groups, Pyramid Pile Up.

Packing on the pounds.

According to an interview by ABC News, if Americans continue to pack on the pounds at the rate they are now, the cost will be about $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018.  Did you hear that folks?  Obesity-related costs will be 21% of our total medical costs in a little less than 10 years.  That’s pretty unbelievable.

These numbers are based on projections that 43% of American adults may be obese (that’s 30 or more pounds over healthy weight).  All that extra weight increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and many types of cancer.

Kenneth Thorpe, chairman of the department of health policy at Emory University puts it this way.  “Obesity is going to be a leading driver in rising health-care costs. An obese person will have an average of $8,315 in medical bills a year in 2018 compared with $5,855 for an adult at a healthy weight. That’s a difference of $2,460.”

How do we fix our obesity problem?

Many argue that obesity is a personal choice, something that doesn’t affect others.  But what about healthcare costs?  Pretty apropos numbers while the government continues to debate how to handle the healthcare crisis.  People have suggested a multitude of solutions from taxing sugary/fatty/salty foods to taking away coverage from people who refuse to change their lifestyle to forcing fast food restaurants to change their menus.  What do you think is the solution to the American obesity epidemic?

No wheels on the bus?

If you ever rode a school bus during your school days like I did, I’m sure you have some fond memories…and some horror stories too.  No air conditioning, that musty smell, three kids to a seat.  Little Johnny sneezing on your homework.  Ah, those were the days.  Well the folks at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine are trying to change some of that tradition in a very innovative way.  Introducing…the walking school bus.

Walk this way.

Instead of waiting for the traditional yellow school bus to pick you up, put on your sneakers and walk the route. Four Houston schools are utilizing the “walking school bus” method with great success.  Adults lead students wearing brightly colored vests in typical two-by-two bus fashion.  The program has been so successful this year that the schools plan on continuing the program in 2010.  To read more about the walking school bus program, see the summer Nutrition & Your Child newsletter.

What’s in a name?

Same great gameplay, same fun character, now with a new name.

Our second most popular game adopted a new name this week to distinguish itself from all the other games out there named “bubble trouble.”  Meet Bubble Rubble, our physical activity health game that lets you control a cute monster named Chicken Dawg as he makes his way through swarms of activity bubbles.  Some bubbles contain aerobic activities, others contain strength and sedentary activities.  Help Chicken Dawg collect his aerobic activity minutes for the day by crashing into the correct bubbles.

Why Bubble Rubble?

See Chicken Dawg smile with sharp toothed glee when he hits an aerobic exercise bubble like dancing or football.  His exclamation for hitting an inactive bubble like watching TV and napping is equally as entertaining (”Dude!”), but be prepared to be stunned for a moment and release a rock.  Once the rocks pile up at the bottom of your screen, bubbles are harder to find.  One could almost say you’re making a pile of…RUBBLE!  Yep, that’s how the new name came to be.  And the more rubble you have at the bottom of your screen, the harder the game is to beat.

Make Chicken Dawg a happy monster by playing Bubble Rubble today!