18 Dec 2006 - Walk 1 Hour... What's it all about?

This hand drawn sign appeared outside my local supermarket two weeks ago. I thought it was a fantastic idea and quite a cost effective promotional banner, but had no idea what it was about until now.

The community notice board has a smaller promo for a walking group that meets at Woolworths three mornings a week. Where do I sign up?

16 Dec 2006 - Pedometers for dogs - are they accurate?

Amongst the millions of Christmas shopping catalogues, I discovered this product - a dog pedometer!

The promo says, “30-60 minutes of exercise and play will benefit both you and your dog. With the Dog Pedometer you can record minutes and steps of your dog's daily activity to help maintain a healthy weight and live a longer and happier life!”

I'm sure the device can measure time, but given a dog has four legs how does it go measuring steps?

Researchers from Canada have an answer, in a study (1) published in the June 2005 issue of Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association. They fitted out 26 fidos with pedometers, then compared measured dog steps with actual steps at different paces.

At a walk, pedometers overestimated actual steps by around 17% in large and medium dogs and underestimated actual steps by 7% in small dogs. When the dogs trotted or ran the actual and measured steps were the same.

The study authors concluded, “Results suggest that pedometers can measure physical activity in dogs with reasonable accuracy.”

(1) Chan, CB etal., Use of Pedometers to measure physical activity in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2005 Jun 15;226(12):2010-5

7 Dec 2006 - Good-bye Cellulite - Hello, where's the evidence?

If you are a big company that sells a cellulite cream, surely you'd be happy to share your evidence and perhaps the odd research study that shows it works. Not so for Beiersdorf Australia Ltd, the makers of Nivea body's Good-bye Cellulite. Let me share with you my adventure so far trying to find some answers.

Nivea body's Good-bye Cellulite is the cream advertised in magazines and on billboards like the one of the right I snapped at Rhodes' shopping centre in October.

The banner doesn't say much, but the website said on 21 November…

“The unique formula of Nivea body Good-Bye cellulite Gel-Cream with L-carnitine has a cooling effect on the skin which leads to an activation of blood circulation.”

And…

“L-carnitine is substance which is naturally present in the skin. It is known to be involved in fat metabolism - more specifically, it supports the conversion of fat components into energy. A sufficient amount of L-carnitine in the skin is therefore beneficial.”

The Fact Sheet I was sent when I requested evidence for the claims from Beiersdorf states:

“L-carnitine helps in breaking down fat deposits which cause cellulite.”

And…

“Nivea body Good-Bye Cellulite is an effective as an everyday anti cellulite massage, but with no time-consuming massage action required. Apply it to the problem areas once daily.”

Now, I don't know about you or anybody else, but from this guff, I get the impression that if I simply apply (without massaging in) Good-Bye Cellulite to my thighs the L-carnitine in it will break down fat in my thighs.

So, where is the evidence for this sort of effect? Firstly, L-carnitine rates very poorly in it's effectiveness as a dietary supplement for increasing fat burning and therefore weight loss. For example, a study published in the June 2000 issue of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found in women, “Eight weeks of L-C ingestion and walking did not significantly alter the TBM or FM of overweight women, thereby casting doubt on the efficacy of L-C supplementation for weight loss.”

Also, in a 2004 review Common Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss in American Family Physician, the authors stated, “…no trials demonstrate that L-carnitine is effective for weight loss.”

Could this explain why Nu Skin International, Inc. agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to settle US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges over fat-loss, muscle-maintenance and other claims it made for supplements containing chromium picolinate and L-carnitine in 1997.

The FTC's August 6, 1997 Media Release says, among other things;
“In the current case, the FTC's complaint detailing the charges cites numerous statements regarding the five products containing chromium picolinate and L-Carnitine, such as:

• "This supplement contains chromium picolinate, which has been found to help promote the use of carbohydrates for energy, instead of storing them as fat. Metabotrim also contains L-Carnitine, a supplement that encourages fat utilization for energy."

And today, a representative from Beiersdorf informed me that she couldn't share any additional information with me other than the statements above from the Fact Sheet. I let her know I was disappointed with the response. How am I too properly evaluate Goodbye Cellulite if they can't show me how it works?

I'll try to get some more answers and let you know the next stage in this quest to find truth. I'm sure it's out there!

4 Dec 2006 - Say No to Fad Diets in 2007

In the lead up to Christmas I'm starting to cringe at the smorgasbord of fad diets that will be launched in the New Year at yet another/repeat group eager dieters. If there's one New Year's Resolution we all should make, that is to “Say No to Fad Diets”. And by fad I mean…

fad
n. A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.*

For an interesting historical summary of what I'm talking about, read Belly Laughs at Fad Diets
at the US ABC News site.

Saying no to fad diets also means making a commitment to doing the whole nutrition and eating thing the right way in 2007. This will be individual, but for you it could mean:

• Starting with small dietary changes and building week by week (e.g. I will drink at least 1 litre of water each day the first week and then increase it from there)
• Setting simple eating targets rather than completely overhauling your diet (e.g. an extra piece of fruit each day)
• Being patient knowing that every day your diet improves, it provides a powerful habit-building experience
• Blocking out the fad diets your friends are on, knowing the craze may not last
• Feeling confident that you can say you are on the right track to wellbeing, a healthier weight and are immediately enjoying the benefits of better nutrition

1 Dec 2006 - Summer of Salad '06-07 kicks off today

In January I banged on about the Summer of Salad and even published the Summer of Salad song, written by a student of mine.

Well, today it's on again, at least here in Australia where we have long, hot salad munching summers over the Christmas period.

Salad deserves special promotion, given you can much on it until you're full without filling up on too many calories. Salad really fits into the "feel fuller on fewer calories" eating plan.

So, spread the words... the Sumer of Salad is here again!

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