Exercise, Fitness and Health

I was sitting at my desk yesterday when my phone rang and a familiar voice (albeit one I had not heard in a while) announced himself. After the typical small talk he told me about a relay race he and three friends had registered to run the next day. Apparently one of his friends had injured his back and he wondered if I could fill in. I said I would.

The race involved a two mile course around the beautiful Ann Morrison park near down town Boise. Each team member would run the same two mile course and would predict his finishing time before the race began. Awards were given in a unique way. Rather than giving the prize (four large turkeys) to the team with the fastest time, the team that came closest to their predicted total time was the winner.

We drove to the park in the rain and found a group huddled under portable heaters with hot chocolate and coffee being served. Everyone was dressed up warm while waiting to run. The rain drizzled down throughout the race, but the temperature wasn’t too cold (about 50F). I found my friend and met the other two runners in our team. I also got a cup of hot chocolate for my daughter.

Based on my what my treadmill has been telling me I figured I would run the two miles in about 19 minutes. As it turns out I ran at a comfortable pace and finished in 16:24 (so much for treadmill readouts). We apparently ran in a different order than what we told them and so the results website shows them assigned to the wrong person (I ran the second leg). Not bad for having less than 24 hours to plan for it.

I got a great pair of socks with turkeys on them and had a fun activity with my family. Our overall time was only off by 2:19 from our estimate and the fastest runner on our team finished in 14:38. It was a fun race, one that I’ll probably do again.

A research study conducted in the UK by Cancer Research UK and the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme has recently been published online. Similar to the study published by the World Cancer Research Fund and mentioned in my last blog post, this study surveyed 1 million women in the UK aged 50 and older. The study aims to explain correlations between obesity and various kinds of cancer, including breast cancer, endometrial (womb) cancer and ovarian cancer. Find the study and its publications on the official website http://www.millionwomenstudy.org/

The results are similar to those in the previous article showing an increased risk of cancer due to obesity. This reinforces that it pays to eat right and get regular exercise. If you have ideas about how to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, post it in the community forum.

It seems obvious to many people that physical fitness promotes a healthy and happy life. There is now scientific evidence that it may also prolong life. A report recently published by the World Cancer Research Fund outlines the relationship between obesity, diet and various forms of cancer. I have long known that a healthy lifestyle brings many different benefits. It’s nice to know that I’m also reducing my risk of cancer by exercising regularly. Among their published recommendations are:

1. Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight

2. Be physically active as part of everyday life

3. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks.

4. Eat mostly foods of plant origin

5. Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat

6. Limit alcoholic drinks

7. Limit consumption of salt. Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes)

8. Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone

9. Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed

10. Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention

While you may not be able to eliminate your risk of getting cancer, these suggestions may significantly reduce your risk. A summary including these points (with references) and a copy of the full report are available for download or hard copy purchase from the report website here: http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/