Understanding Kinesiology Research

Cultural change in a Homogeneous Community.

2010-04-05T02:42:33Z

I will be commenting on an article entitled "The Reach and Limits of Cultural Accommodation: Public Schools and Somali Muslim Immigrants in Maine (Lindkvist, H. L., 2009)." This article is specifically about Central Maine, but I think that is translates to all of the United States.

The last ten years have brought large numbers of Somali immigrants into the U.S., a heavy number being in Minnesota. This article talks about a group of Somalis that immigrated to the Central Maine ("whitest state in the nation") a very homogeneous community. You can imagine that there have been all kinds of cultural issues but the school system is an area that is really affected. Policy has been a large issue with the Somalis asking for things that are nontraditional to public schools like wearing hijabs to cover the female Somali students' hair, ears, and neck or females not participating in physical education classes where boys and girls may come into physical contact with each other. The school system actually changed this policy to accommodate the cultural practices of the Somali people, but not without a lot of negative feed back from non-Somali parents. This change to the dress code policy still has parents calling the schools with comments like "my kid has to wear bandanas because of their religion."

You would think that by now that people would be more excepting of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds but looking at what Somalis are encountering in Maine, it seems that it is not easy to keep and practice different cultural and religious practices in the U.S. It would seem that Central Maine school systems are set up to force anyone who is not white to assimilate to the residents' ways of life, although most of the cultural accommodations are surrounding the female Somali population.

Non -traditional activities may be the answer to helping with the issues related to physical education in the public school systems (Chase, M., Ballard, W., 2004). In the March 2004 issue of Journal of Physical Education Recreation and Dance, Chase and Ballard suggest that if schools go back to systems where boys and girls are separated during physical activities it would actually benefit both groups due to the difference in how boys and girls learn. This suggestion would actually help with the physical education issue that Somalis have with the public schools. Cultural understanding and accommodation has to happen on both side the school system and the Somali people. As this is America and there is room for all, that does not come without a little change.

Ballard, W. A. and Chase, M. R. (2004). Nontraditional recreation activities: A catalyst for quality physical education. Journal of Physical Education Recreation and Dance, 75(3), 40-45.

Lindkvist, H. L. (2009). The reach and limits of cultural accommodation: public schools and Somali Muslim immigrants in Maine. Just Schools: Pursuing Equality in Societies of Difference. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Thanks,

C.G.

Can a baby be too chubby?

2010-04-01T06:44:57Z

You may see a chubby baby as cute, adorable, and growing well. You probably wouldn't use terms like "overweight" and "obese" to describe an infant, you may, as well, expect that the baby will grow out of the chubbiness eventually as he/she ages. However being too chubby can actually be problematic for infants. In a recent article from New York Times, "Baby Fat May Not Be So Cute After All", it's said that a new research suggest obesity may start in infancy and interventions aimed at school-aged children may be too late. Well, it's never too late. I think focusing on obesity intervention on either school-age children or infants would do any good. Rather than focusing on a certain age group, the intervention should be for everybody.

One of the reasons why we are so focused on obesity intervention in childhood now can be due to the special environment they are in. They are in more controlled environment than everybody else. Change in school can have influence on them; making healthier foods available at school and providing proper physical activities through PE classes. It would be difficult to do such things on other population like college students, adults, and elders since they are less restricted in many ways. However, there are reasons why other population should not be ignored.

There have been studies showing that childhood obesity is linked to obesity in adulthood. In a literature review, Serdula et al. (1993) conclude that the obese children tend to become obese adults. About a half of individuals who were obese at their school-age turned out to be obese as adults. That shows the importance of obesity intervention in children.

One of the risk factors for obesity in infancy and childhood is parental obesity. One study (Whitaker, 2004) found that the children born to obese mothers were twice as likely to be obese by 2 years of age. It's not clear if the obesity was passed to the children genetically or other environmental factors are playing a role. However, children with obese mothers are clearly at higher risk of becoming obese, not to mention that maternal obesity has many other negative effects on the children. Another study (Whitaker, et al., 2004) shows that having an obese parent, either a mother or father, puts you in a higher risk of childhood and adulthood obesity. Thus, obesity intervention in adulthood is also important.

As the news article mentions, obese intervention in infancy may be necessary, too, but I don't think saying the intervention in school-age children may be too late and shifting the target population to infants is the best solution here. The studies show that obesity in pre-school and school-age children leads to adulthood obesity in many cases. The obese infants and children also tend to be from obese parents, and how those parents end up being obese? It seems like obesity is more of generational thing than just an individual issue. If we really want to bring the obesity rate down, focusing on only children, infants, or one particular age group may not be enough. The obesity intervention programs should include all the age groups, and we all need to work together.

Reference

Serdula M.K., Ivery D., Coates R. J., Freedman D. S., Williamson D. F., & Byers T. (1993). Do obese children become obese adults? Preventive Medicine, 22(2), 167-177.

Whitaker, R. C. (2004). Predicting preschooler obesity at birth: the role of maternal obesity in early pregnancy. Pediatrics, 114(1), e29-e36.

Whitaker, R. C., Wright, J. A., Pepe, M. S., Seidel, K. D., & Dietz, W. H. (1997). Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine 337(13), 869-873.

Some Exercise is better than no exercise at all

2010-04-01T04:48:07Z

The Center for Disease Control conducted a longitudinal study in which researchers collected data with the purpose of determining the typical levels and duration of physical activity that "healthy" people tend to engage in on a regular and consistent basis. The starting point for the collection of data was 1997, which was compared to results of the sample thirteen years later, in 2010.
Results showed that in 1997, 43% of all females studied participated in no physical activity during their free time, whatsoever. The aim of the study was to try to reduce that percentage of electively inactive females to around 20%. Likewise, the researchers were trying to increase the amount of moderately active females from 13% to 30% of the sample population from 1997 to 2010. Also, the study was designed to increase the amount of women who participated in vigorous activity from 18% to 23% within the same span of time.
The researchers defined moderate activity as a 30-minute brisk walk, or some other activity of a similar nature and requiring approximately an equivalent exertion level. It is noted by the CDC that, "engaging in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day will help ensure that sufficient calories are used to provide health benefits. [This frequency and exertion level would] result in an energy expenditure of about 600 to 1,100 calories per week."
Furthermore, the CDC makes the assertion that, "if calorie intake remains constant, this expenditure translates into a weight loss of roughly one-sixth to one-third pound per week. Increases in daily activity to ensure a weekly expenditure of 1,000 calories would have significant individual and public health benefit for CHD prevention and deaths from all causes, especially for persons who are sedentary."
Newer research in this area conflicts with the CDC's data and conclusions, however. In an article titled, "Women should exercise an hour a day to maintain weight, study says," a Los Angeles Times author references the Journal of the American Medical Association. A study of a similar sample population of women was conducted over approximately the same span of time; "34,079 healthy US women (mean age, 54.2 years) from 1992-2007 (JAMA 2010)".
The results demonstrate that the CDC's recommendations are only one half of the activity needed in order to prevent weight gain. 60 minutes of moderate activity per day was required, as opposed to just 30 minutes, to maintain a healthy weight among the women included in JAMA's longitudinal study. So, which organization produced the more reliable statistics and conclusive results? Who should we believe and why?
It appears to me that I should believe both sources and consider each study valid and conclusive in their results. There are no easy solutions to the problems surrounding the maintenance of one's own health and the corresponding ideal body mass index/weight management and fitness programs. Put simply, what works for one person, may not work as well for another.
There are too many extraneous and uncontrolled factors to consider either of these studies more valid than the other. DNA was not a consideration for either study, nor were other factors like the amount of children each woman had given birth to in her lifetime prior to the study. All of these considerations were given no application to the methods of collecting data for either study.
Consequently, I will take one very important point from each of the studies: calories out must be greater than calories in for one to lose weight, whether that be for the short or the long term will be determined with further study and greater control over extraneous influential factors being accounted for. In the meantime, I'll assume that more activity is better than less and that any activity beats doing none at all.

References:

http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume2/22Physical.htm#_Toc490380801

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-women-weight-gain24-2010mar24,0,4377150.story

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/303/12/1173?home

Vitamin D and Athletic Performance: Fact or Fad?

2010-04-01T04:10:10Z

When it comes to sports and improving athletic performance, people will do anything. From football players drinking pickle juice to distance runners supplementing with alcohol during a race, performance "enhancers" have been around for a very long time. Romans and Greek Olympians would ingest deer liver and lion heard to gain an edge on their competition for the Olympic Games and other physically demanding tasks (Applegate & Grivetti, 1997). Although supplementation and substance use has been around for an extended period of time, the substances and supplements themselves have changes vastly over the course of time. Performance enhancers like wheat germ oil, ginseng, and gelatin have all come and gone as popular fads of the past. Substances popular today may not be popular in the future, so how can we decide what works and what doesn't? There has been a lot of discussion about the health benefits and improvements in athletic performance associated with supplementation of Vitamin D. This research has created much debate over whether or not Vitamin D plays a role in athletic performance in sport.
Vitamin D can be classified not only as a vitamin, but as a steroid, acting through different various pathways throughout the body (Chalabi & Hamilton, 2010). It can be brought into the body by one of two ways. Either it is ingested by eating foods like fortified cereals, oily fish, egg yolk, and some types of yeast products, or it can be synthesized in the skin by the UV rays from the sun (Chalabi & Hamilton, 2010). Living in the northern part of the Midwest and receiving direct sunlight only 4-5 months out of the year, one has to wonder how prone we are to Vitamin D deficiency. For those who live in a climate where sunlight is available year round, Vitamin D absorption rates are higher because of their exposure to the sun. We are obviously at a large disadvantage living in a colder 4-season climate, but with proper supplementation, can achieve the same levels of Vitamin D as those who live in warmer environments.
Sport performance is a good indicator of body type and composition, especially in the musculoskeletal system. Vitamin D has been shown to play very important roles in the serum levels of calcium and phosphorus, two very important minerals needed for the development of bone. A deficiency in this vitamin has been liked to many deficiency problems like osteopenia, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia (Chalabi & Hamilton, 2010). Healthy bone and vitamin maintenance are large indicators of sport performance, and when these requirements are not met, they lead to increased injury and stress fractures (Larson-Meyer, Peterson, & Willis, 2008). These types of deficiencies not only affect athletic and sport performance, but also daily life activities. Vitamin D may be more than a sport enhancement supplement; it may actually be an overall health enhancer too. Although the research is promising, do not run with your inhibitions yet, more research is still needed in order to quantify just how important this vitamin is. It may be another fad in the field of sport performance, or it may be the missing tool to a perfect nutrition diet of an athlete. Only time will tell what is right and what is wrong..

References:
Applegate, E. A. & Grivetti, L. E. (1997). Search for the competitive edge: A history of dietary fads and supplements. Journal of Nutrition, 127, 869-873.

Chalabi, H. & B. Hamilton (2010). Vitamin D: An update for the sports medicine practitioner. Sports Medicine, 43, 11-16.

Larson-Meyer, D. E., Peterson, N. J., & Willis, K. S. (2008). Should we be concerned about the vitamin D status of athletes? International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 18, 204-224.

Weight loss and maintenance in women

2010-04-01T02:55:12Z

Dear Editor,

I am writing in regards to the article "How much exercise will prevent weight gain?" In it, a study done by a group of Harvard researchers looked to see how much physical activity was needed by adult women to maintain weight loss.

The results of this study are a bit depressing, as it said that women of normal-weight, who exercised one hour per day at a moderate level, did not gain more than five pounds over a three year period, but overweight women who did the same amount of exercise could not prevent weight gain. As a kicker, even normal weight women who got less than seven hours per week of exercise would still gain more weight. How maddening is that?! If a woman is overweight, they gain pounds even if they do workout regularly, and for those who do not do AT LEAST seven hours of exercise per week are basically guaranteed to see increases in their mass.

First, the recommended amount of physical activity for adults is 30-60 per day. Now, that claims to garner cardiorespiratory benefits for people, while not necessarily dealing with weight issues, but it would seem that such benefits would at least help people maintain their weight, not add to it.

Unfortunately, this data coincides with Schoeller (1997), who stated that women, who lost weight, would likely gain 4.5 or more kg during the year following that weight loss, and this also followed the trend that those who started out with less active lifestyles were more likely to gain. The article also comments on the fact that the required amount of physical activity required to maintain weight after weight loss was greater than the amount recommended by Center for Disease Control (CDC). Here, Schoeller claims that the difference in the amount of exercise recommended by the study and the CDC is possibly due to the different goals of each group, with one focusing on weight maintenance and the other aiming to give health benefits.

Another study (Serdula et al., 1999) mentions that two-thirds of adults are trying to lose weight, but that less than a fifth of them are using both reduced caloric intake and 150 minutes per week of exercise. This study seems to contradict the article, stating that the reason why weight loss is so difficult is because people are doing things incorrectly. So, from one study (your article, dear Editor) we are told that losing weight and maintaining weight loss are extremely difficult and made more so due to certain physiological criteria, and from another (Serdula's article), we are told that it is possible to lose weight, but must be done in the correct fashion. This seems to prove the idea that, in researching the human body, if we look around, we can find evidence to support both sides of the same story. How truly frustrating!

With love,

Blast Hardcheese

References:

Schoeller, D. A., Shay, K., & Kushner, R. F. (1997). How much physical activity is required to minimize weight gain in previously obese women? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 66, 551-556.

Serdula, M. K. et al. (1999). Prevalence of attempting weight loss and strategies for controlling weight. JAMA, 282, 1353-1358.

Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents, seriously?

2010-04-01T01:16:44Z

The topic of recent discussion, and controversy, is that of bariatric surgery, specifically in morbidly obese adolescents. I am absolutely beside myself at the thought of this, so please, forgive me now for my language. To even consider such a serious and risky procedure for an adolescent, 13-17 years of age seems a bit over the top. Bariatric procedures are intended for incredibly, morbidly, sickly, ridiculously obese adults who can't fathom the thought of exercise without having a heart attack, not children who should be running around at recess with their friends. These kids are fat for a reason, for many reasons actually. Their parents are fat and have poor habits, so the kids do too, quite possibly the reason for parents even thinking about letting their fat little pukes be approved for this surgery.
I like in the journal article where it says "opponents claim that these young patients are seeking a quick fix and are not ready to take on the responsibility of the lifetime adjustments of the surgery, which include drastic dietary changes along with regular exercise (Barlow, 2004). There it is, there is your solution, "drastic dietary changes along with regular exercise." Here is what you do fatties, quit eating 4000+ Cal. a day and get the couch out of your ass. If you were to calculate the basal metabolic rate (minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life) for some of these little fatties, you would probably find it to be approximately 1250-1400 Cal. per day. So based on a rough estimate of their current caloric intake of ~4000 Cal. a day, if we cut this by a mere 35% (BMR) what do you think would happen? You think they might drop a pound or two? Surprise!! Now lets use are kinesiology backgrounds and remove their sedentary lifestyle filled with TV and video games and replace it with some form of physical activity a couple times a week. So lets see, drastic dietary changes along with regular exercise, is that so hard? Evidently it must be. Please notice in the article where Hyman (2008) notes that in order for the bariatric surgery to work, the patients must have a "strict adherence to a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet and vitamin/mineral supplementation is crucial to preventing nutritional complications." Nutritional complications? Like eating too much? A cause of obesity? Side note, later in the article, Inge (2004) claims that weight gain is another complication if the post-op. guidelines are not followed. I must say I am also a fan of where it is stated that regular visits to the "...sub-specialists (dietitian, psychologist, and exercise physiologist)
must be made during the first preoperative year so that complications can be detected early and compliance with eating behavior, nutritional supplements, medications, and exercise regimens can be reinforced" (Hyman, 2008). If eating behaviors and exercise regimens were enforced to begin with, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Probably my favorite part of the article is the start of the last paragraph. "It is critical to remember that bariatric surgery is not a cure for obesity in adolescents" and "the success of bariatric surgery in adolescents depends upon the individual's ability to be dedicated to making lifestyle changes that include drastically modifying eating behavior and daily physical activity" (Hyman, 2008).
Eat right and exercise, seems to be a reoccurring theme here. Who would have ever imagined?

Hyman, B. Bariatric surgery in adolescents. American School Health Association. August 2008, Vol. 78, No. 8.

Barlow SE. Bariatric surgery in adolescents: for treatment failures
or health care failures? Pediatrics. 2004;114(1):252-253.

Inge TH, Krebs NF, Garcia VF, et al. Bariatric surgery for severely
overweight adolescents: concerns and recommendations. Pediatrics.
2004;114(1):216-223.

exercise rehab for spinal injuries

2010-04-01T00:05:26Z

"Aerobic Exercise During Early Rehabilitation for Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries"
American Physical Therapy Association, published by Dr. Janice Eng

The article that I choose had to do with a young man that injured his spinal Cord; it was looking at how aerobic exercise early on during the rehabilitation process impacts the patient's health. The article points out that in many cases people that receive spinal cord injuries tend to become very inactive. Which like the rest of the population increases the chance for any number of cardiovascular diseases. Tetraplegics are 16% more likely to develop the disease then able-bodied people due to this inactivity. Some of the reasons with this has to do with decreased cardiac output that is seen in people with tetraplegia, thus less oxygen is able to reach the body as a whole. Another factor that plays in to this is the increase risk of metabolic syndrome which doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease in a patient. The article goes on to list several other factors that increase the chance of cardiovascular disease. The finally got to the point of the paper when they explain how there is relatively little research done on the health benefits of aerobic exercise on tetraplegics. The article its self is a case study of the young man and the process of improving his health, so like all case studies it proves nothing, but is more of a call to action for more research to be done on the subject. In describing the patient they explained that the most compelling reason they wanted him to be their patient is that he was highly motivated in improving his cardiovascular fitness, this is all and well but it would have been nice to see how they assessed the motivation level of their subject. One reason I suppose is because they mention that the young man assessed his activity level before the accident as very active. In this case he was enrolled in 1 hour of physical therapy and 1 hour of occupational therapy each day, although this is standard he was also working on cardiovascular fitness. The cardiovascular fitness program was specially designed for a man with limited mobility such as the young man and the researchers took into account many different variables one such as the fact that tetraplegics can rarely get their heart rate above 120, so they used perceived exertion. The assessments they used were ones such as VO2max, HR, and several others. They found that the young man improved in most of their assessments. What they were trying to get across was that there is a need to include Aerobic exercise as part of the rehabilitation of spinal injury patients. I think overall they did quite well in showing their point but since this case study took place in a relatively short period of time (18 months) it is hard to see if they had really decreased the patient's chances of dying from cardiovascular disease. More research defiantly needs to be done on the subject.

Distance Running and Hydration

2010-03-31T22:38:04Z

In any length running race, as short as 5k, there will be multiple water stops for the participants. Research in exercise physiology has shown that when a person is running more blood is sent to the working muscles and as a result less blood is sent to the organs, so typically anything eaten or drank while running will not be digested in time to be useful for the run and that is why it is so important to be properly hydrated before the race starts.. Knowing this, I tend to think that water stops in short races are silly, but now that I am training for a marathon, which places different demands on the body, I wonder about the role of hydration and distance running.
Before the 1970s, people believed that it was best not to drink at all during exercise (Noakes, 2007). The initial push for lots of water was led by a belief that the more water the better, until there were a few significant cases of hyponatremia, especially in slower marathon runners. Since then, organizations interested in running have been reviewing their hydration guidelines.
On the one hand there is the possibility of dehydration. The physical demands of running a marathon can cause significant water loss through sweat, which in turn can impair performance (Cheuvront, Montain and Sawka, 2007). One way dehydration impairs running performance is through decreased cardiac output. As people sweat and lose water, they also lose blood volume which leaves less for the body to use (Kenefick and Sawka, 2007). On top of impairing performance, dehydration can be dangerous. It can cause fatigue, increased body temperature, cramps, confusion and even unconsciousness (Mayo Clinic, 2009).
The main problem with drinking too much water during physical activity is the potential for hyponatremia, which is basically a low concentration of sodium in the blood caused by all the water diluting the blood. Hyponatremia can be very dangerous and over the past few years the number of occurrences has been increasing in events like the marathon (Hsieh, Roth, Davis, Larrabee and Callaway, 2001). In a study by Hsieh, et al. (2001), in one marathon the researchers found that 5.6% of participants needed medical treatment for hyponatremia.
According to Cheuvront, et al. (2007), water needs vary greatly between individuals based on the distance of the run, the pace at which they run, the weather and the individuals body mass. That being said, it is difficult to create one standard that is good for everyone. The guideline that seems most logical is the one from USA Track and Field. The USA Track and Field guideline suggests that thirst should drive water consumption (Levine and Thomson, 2005). This makes sense because our bodies are pretty good at telling us what we need and this process has been improved and adapted over many years.

References
Cheuvront, S., Montain, S., & Sawka, M. (2007). Fluid replacement and performance during
the marathon. Sports Medicine, 353-357.
Hsieh, M., Roth, R., Davis, D., Larrabee, H., & Callaway, C. (2002). Hyponatremia in
runners requiring on-site medical treatment at a single marathon. Medicine & science
in sports & exercise, 185-189.
Kenefick, R. & Sawka, M. (2007). Heat exhaustion and dehydration as causes of marathon
collapse. Sports Medicine, 378-381.
Levine, B., & Thompson, P. (2005). Marathon Maladies. The new England journal of
medicine, 1516-1518.
Mayo Clinic staff. (2009). Dehydration. Mayo Clinic. Available at http://www.mayo
clinic.com/health/dehydration/DS00561/DSECTION=symptoms.
Noakes, T. (2007). Hydration in the marathon: Using thirst to gauge safe fluid replacement.
Sports Medicine, 463-466.

See a doctor? Or tough it out?

2010-03-31T21:02:33Z

Injuries: See a Doctor or Tough It Out?
New York Times, Published by Gina Kolata

In a recent article published in the New York Times, author Gina Kolata makes firm arguments as to why individuals should avoid going to see the doctor for your sport and exercise woes. She states that aches and pains due to exercise are common, and should be toughed out or ignored unless the problem becomes more severe or does not go away after terminating the activity. Her reasons? First, Kolata states that the co-pays often associated with going to the doctor are a literal way of adding insult to injury. Second, Doctors do not often know how to cure the aches and pains. And third, she states that "Sometimes going to a doctor for a diagnostic workup can be precarious, with scans that can show all sorts of apparent abnormalities and injuries that are not causing any problems." (Kolata, p.1, 2010).

Her second point of argument is one that I would like to discuss. In her article she provides evidence from a doctor that she interviewed. Dr. Thompson argues that he himself experienced foot pain, and instead of continuing to work through the pain after 4 years, he consulted an orthopedist. After a round of cortisone injections and shoe inserts, the problem did not subside. But after consulting a fellow friend that works as a podiatrist for the Celtics basketball team, he was told that taping his foot would be a better solution. Since the day he began taping, the problem vanished. When he stops taping, the problem resurfaces. Although this is good supporting evidence for her argument, for anyone that has taken an athletic injuries class, the evidence is feeble. Personally, even I knew that taping is an effective way to ease the pain of plantar fascitis. What this shows is that no matter whom you go to see for your problems, you as the patient need to be aware of current treatment and prevention techniques. Do your research; don't blame the doctor for not knowing exactly how to fix your problem, they might not be familiar with the condition. Take your aches and pains upon yourself and surf the web prior to getting it checked out by a doctor, that way if you do end up spending the co-pay, you will have made your visit worthwhile.

Kolata's third argument for avoiding the clinic comes from issues with MRI's and the pitfalls of the advancements of technology. A study by Dr. Matthew Silvis was conducted on 42 male hockey players, 21 professional and 21 college athletes. The study provided insightful evidence that showed that although none of the players claimed to have any clinical symptoms or showed any level of pain, 70% of the MRI's exposed ligament and or cartilaginous abnormalities. This research does beg the question, how much can we rely on an MRI for a diagnosis? But it also points out that the issues never would have been noticed without the MRI. The best answer to solve this problem comes from simply being a good doctor. Don't rely on the MRI, but also use your clinical knowledge and the evaluation to come to a strong diagnosis. As for the study, the results were disturbing, but as an athlete myself, I was not surprised. Personally, after doing gymnastics for 17 years, I know that there were a slew of things wrong with my body during competition season. Did I ever get MRI's to find that out? The answer is no. As an athlete, you learn to tolerate a certain level of pain and your body and brain adjusts to this pain, meaning that when you should actually be hurting, you are conditioned to think that you feel fine. I would be pleased to see this study conducted on individuals without serious athletic careers. Although athletes are usually deemed more "in tune" with their bodies, they also tend to ignore or write off pain. The conclusion to this argument is that a condition that might not feel serious to a professional hockey player, might seriously affect an individual with a "blue collar" career.

So what's the take home point? Nobody makes the decision but you. If you are experiencing pain that you haven't felt before, if it's severe, if you're worried about, or if you don't want to endure any more discomfort, see a doctor. They might not give you a solution, but it is their job to try. Is this outcome frustrating to you? Remember that even though it's their job, it's your body. Do some research on your own first. It can't hurt to come to the appointment prepared, and your chances for a logical diagnosis and solution could be much greater.

Youth Sports Specialization

2010-03-31T16:55:16Z

I could not agree more with the Rick Collin's article "Specialization in Youth Sports" in the Windser Journal. Mr Collin is a high school track coach who relates his experience with a young girl and her parents' push for soccer success. He writes about turning away a girl who came out for track so that he would be her personal soccer speed coach. She (or her parents) wanted a speed workout three days a week. This was on top of the personal coaching she got in drill work twice a week, skill work once a week, soccer practices twice a week and her premier team practices three times a week. There is no doubt we live in a sports culture. Kids are surrounded by images of Venus and Serena Williams, Lebron James, Michael Phelps, Lindsey Vonn, and Joe Mauer just to name a few. Sports can be great for kids, but their involvement should be monitored and balanced. Organized sport provides benefits such as increased self esteem, social skill building, physical exercise and improved decision making abilities. Unfortunately, sports can also have negative consequences including: eating disorders, violence, aggression and low self esteem associated with too much pressure to win. A recent trend in youth sports has been early specialization, which is a child focusing exclusively on one sport as opposed to participating in multiple sports.

While proponents of early specialization contend that individuals that start at an earlier age reach a higher level of performance than those who train equally hard but commit at a later age, the Power Law of Practice dictates otherwise. The Power Law of Practice states that performance increases monotonically according to a power function. In other words, the more time an athlete devotes to practice, they greater their level of achievement but the more difficult it becomes to make further improvements. Barynina (1992) found that Russian age group swimmers who specialized at later ages advanced at a greater rate than those who did so earlier and declared that early specialization had no performance related advantages. Hodges (1996) found that training based differences between elite and nonelite wrestlers did not occur until approximately 18 years of age. Additional studies in this same vein found similar patterns emerge for soccer, field hockey and triathlon athletes. In addition, Wiersma (2000) notes that specialization appears to be more of a concern for female athletes. He goes on to note that sports that are encouraged for girls prior to the onset of puberty often involved high risks of eating disorders, amenorrhea and developmental and overuse injuries as a result of training. Pressure from parents to excel in one sport at a younger age has been shown to cause a lack of enjoyment in the sport. In addition the deliberate practice advocated by the early specialization approach may be at odds with the level of enjoyment necessary for a long term commitment to a sport. This lack of enjoyment can lead to burn out.

Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of early sport diversification verses early sport specialization. Research has shown that in all but a select group of sports, elite athletes did not become specialized in their sport until later in the development cycle. The so called sampling of sports allowed the elite athletes to learn transferable skills such as balance, speed, mental focus, decision making and body control allowing them to become better overall athletes. The inherent breaks that come from different sporting seasons is another benefit of sampling. These breaks not only allow for physical and mental rest, but also allow the child to participate in important non sport social activities. Another important finding was that deliberate play as opposed to structured or deliberate practice was just as beneficial to the athlete's performance and enjoyment of the sport later in life. Play for play's sake allows children the ability to learn a sport in an informal way where improvising is the norm. Berry (2003) studied the activities of Australian Rules football players and found that during childhood, the expert decision makers invested a greater amount of time in deliberate play activities than structured practice activities which was not the case for the non experts. Research has further shown that there is little difference between a mediocre and elite athlete until the athlete has been participating in the sport for at least ten years. Referred to as the rule of ten, Baker(2003) summarizes that a 10 year commitment to high levels of training is the minimum requirement to reach the expert level. Children who start sooner might become experts quicker, but depending on the type of training required to be an expert, burn out could occur earlier as well.

When done correctly sports help children develop into confident, motivated, physically fit adults. Fraser-Thomas (2005) concludes that organized sports programs need to be consciously designed to assure that youth have positive rather than negative experiences. He further advocates coaches and parents to use an applied sport-programming model of youth development which considers youth's physical, psychological, social and intellectual development and are thus conscientiously designed to foster developmentally appropriate training patterns and social influences. These programs should stress competence, confidence, connection, compassion and character and will combine to create positive youth development. Parents and coaches must walk a fine line when dealing with young children and sports. Children should be allowed to experiment with different activities including multiple sports to help them develop advanced motor and cognitive skills without excessive pressure or expectations. If nurtured properly, these skills will serve them though out life regardless of the level of sport they achieve.

References:
Baker, J. (2003). Early specialization in youth sport: A requirement for adult expertise?. High Ability Studies, 14(1), 85.
Barynina, P. (1992). The aftermath of early sports specialization for highly qualified swimmers. Fitness and sports review international, 27(4), 132.
Berry, J. (2003, June). Expert game based decision making in Australian football: How is it developed and how can it be trained? Brisbane, Australia: University of Queensland, School of Human Movement studies.
Collin, R.(2005, June 28). Specializing in youth sports. Windster Journal. Retrieved on 3/31/2010 from http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14940489&BRD=1633&PAG=461&dept_id=11612&rfi=6
Fraser-Thomas, J L. (2005). Youth sport programs: An avenue to foster positive youth development. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 10(1), 19.
Hodges, N.L. (1996). Wrestling with the nature of expertise: A sport specific test of Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Romer's (1993) theory of deliberate practice. International Journal of Sports Psyhology, 27.
Wiersma, L D. (2000). Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric exercise science, 12(1), 13.

Harmful vitamins?

2010-03-31T16:19:09Z

Harmful Daily Vitamins?
When I was little, my mom always put a Flintstone Vitamin next to my bowl of cereal every morning before school. I did not mind, because it tasted really good and my mom told me that it helped my body grow. Being a college student with unhealthy eating habits, I have made it a habit to take a daily vitamin with breakfast every morning thinking that the vitamin helps even everything out. So it caught my attention when I read in a U.S. News article that stated that vitamins and minerals in daily pills do not necessarily provide all of the benefits that people hope to receive from them.
In the article, it mentioned a study that researched the effects of selenium and vitamin E on prostate cancer, as these two supplements were originally thought to help prevent this type of cancer. However this study of 35,000 men found that these two supplements actually had slightly increased the risk of prostate cancer and diabetes, and the researchers closed the study early. This article mentions that many of the foods produced in present times are fortified with enough nutrients that supplements do not make a difference (Hobson, 2008).
During this time when many vitamins and minerals are being questioned, researchers are pushing vitamin D more than ever. Researchers have yet to find adverse side effects and the vitamin has been found to benefit the entire body. According to Dr. Bruce Hamilton and Dr. Hakin Chalabi (2010), adequate amounts of vitamin D nearly doubles calcium absorption and decreases the loss of phosphorus from the kidneys. The doctors also found that supplementation of vitamin D reduces the loss of type II muscle fibers as people age. In a study by Cannell et. al. (2009), the researchers found that ultraviolet light had a positive effect on athletic performance. The findings that vitamin D positively affects human skeletal muscle, along with these findings that UV light affects athletic performance can be used to benefit training athletes (Cannell, 2009).
Antioxidant vitamins are among the most popular supplements. In a study by Hercberg et. al. (1999), the researchers focused on patients with high risk cardiovascular diseases. The researchers found that antioxidants such as carotene, tocopherol, and selenium had a positive effect on cancer incidence rates. The researchers also found no harmful effects of antioxidant supplementation on health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases (Hercberg, 1999).
In summary, taking vitamin and mineral supplements cannot replace a healthy diet and adequate physical activity, but in most situations, it does not hurt. Personally, I feel that it is common sense to supplement vitamins and minerals that the human body needs if you feel that your diet is not sufficient. Pharmaceutical companies and research will continue to push certain vitamins and hold back on others, but simply taking daily vitamin still seems like a logical habit.

References:
Cannell J., Hollis B., Sorenson M., et al. (2009). "Athletic performance and vitamin D." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(5):1102-1110.

Hamilton, B., & Chalabi, H. (2010). VITAMIN D: AN UPDATE FOR THE SPORTS MEDICINE PRACTITIONER. SportEX Medicine, (43), 11-16. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus with Full Text database.

Hercberg, S., Galan, P., & Preziosi, P. (1999). Antioxidant Vitamins and Cardiovascular Disease: Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?. American Journal of Public Health, 89(3), 289-291. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus with Full Text database.

Hobson, K. (2008). Vitamins and Supplements: Do they work? U.S. News and World Report, Retrieved from:
.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Cope

2010-03-31T13:23:20Z

You look down at the soccer ball in front of you waiting for the whistle to sound. You see the football soar toward you with a loud crowd full of curiosity and expectations. Your heart is pounding and you feel the large amount of butterflies in your stomach. You wait in anticipation. Finally the gun goes off and you take off for that finish line. You focus and try to leave those nervous feelings behind. Many competitive athletes can relate to the pre-competition nervous feelings. At the time, the stress of performing well or pushing through high expectations of teammates, coaches, parents, and fans is almost unbearable. However, athletes stick with their sport and continue to set high goals for themselves or for their team. Further research by John Raglin (2007) has found that stressors may paradoxically benefit from negative emotions traditionally presumed to harm performance (p. 5). Focusing particularly on marathon runners, greater psychological characteristics were recognized. Psychological responses of marathoners to the stressors associated with training and competition allow observation into individual differences in mentality, coping, and performing.
Desirable psychological traits, such as emotional stability and psychic rigor are found to be helpful in athletic performance. Longitudinal research indicates these characteristics do not emerge following sport participation but instead are innate, suggesting that psychological as well as physical attributes may predispose individuals to become physically active (Raglin, p. 2). Having such optimal emotional health will aid an athlete in coping with training and performance and will further encourage participation and competition. Exposure to intense sport stressors such as overload training will result in significant disturbances in the mood profiles of athletes (Raglin, p. 2). Placing too much stress may cause athletes to constantly strive for perfection, which often leads to staleness. Finding the right balance of coping with stress will allow an athlete to perform optimally.
Raglin's study found marathoners cope either through association or dissociation. Association refers to paying close attention to physiological sensation of exertion (muscular fatigue, temperature etc.). Distance runners who engaged in such senses were better able to optimize in efficiency and pace (p. 3). Those who practice dissociation use psychological routines (reliving past experiences, solving mathematical problems etc.) to distract themselves from any discomfort or pain of performing. Typically, athletes who use dissociation are more injury prone and perform below expectations (Raglin, p. 3). Adopting association strategies may help competitive athletes cope and maximize performance.
Another research study from Buman et. al (2008) recognizes that characteristics and coping responses include many physiological and psychological descriptors that lead to various coping strategies such as physical coping (hydration/supplementation), emotion-focused effort (social support), and cognitive strategies (willpower, mental reframing) (p. 1). For most competitive athletes, physical coping comes with trial and error and is eventually learned by the athlete. Emotion-focused effort was found to be the least used strategy for coping, but is still helpful in performance (Buman et. al., p. 13). Cognitive strategies are approached differently among individuals. Most individuals found mental reframing to be the most helpful in coping with training and performance (Buman et. al., p. 13). Getting into a positive mindset and justifying preparation and ability help most athletes suppress stressors of competition.
Whether an individual is highly competitive or purely recreational, competition leads many to cope with stressors. Both research studies have found that athletes vary in mentality, coping, and performing. Learning to associate rather than dissociate may help more of the highly competitive, but understanding your body and how to deal with various situations will help any athlete become more efficient. Not only do physical efforts benefit performance, emotion-focused effort and cognitive strategies also help in suppressing stressors. Finding cognitive strategies such as mental reframing can be beneficial (mostly for recreational athletes) and may help distract the athlete from discomfort or pain that performance may cause. As an athlete (competitive or recreational), finding a balance to cope with the stressors of training and performance is ideal to help advance the athlete's ability. So the next time you wait for the puck to drop, or the buzzer to sound, tune into your body, focus, and know that a little nervousness is not going to hurt you. You just have to learn to cope, and cope appropriately.

Buman, M.P., Omli, J.W., Giacobbi, P.R., & Brewer, B. W. (2008). Experiences and Coping Responses of "Hitting the Wall"for Recreational Marathon Runners. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. University of Florida, University of Minnesota and Springfield College. Vol. 20 Issue 3. http://web.ebscohost.com.floyd.lib.umn.edu.

Raglin, J.S. (2007). The Psychology of the Marathoner of One Mind and Many. Sports Medicine.
Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Vol. 37 Issue 4/5. http://web.ebscohost.com.floyd.lib.umn.edu.

Considerations for Exercise Protocol

2010-03-31T04:54:34Z

The recent article "How much should you exercise?" (Park, 2010) highlights a critical issue in long-term health and well being of Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008), adults should exercise a minimum of 2.5 hours per week while adolescents and children should engage in at least one hour of physical activity daily. A 2009 study in the Journal of Physiology says that short high intensity intervals, about 20 minutes worth, are just as effective in fulfilling the physical activity recommendation. Regardless of how you approach it, fulfilling the recommended daily and weekly physical activity prescription is essential in establishing healthy, active habits and reducing the risk of health complications (USDHAHS, 2008).
Determining the appropriate intensity and duration of physical activity is dependent on the age and underlying health circumstances of the individual never the less, everyone should be engaging in moderate to vigorous intensity exercise on a regular basis (Park, 2009; USDHAHS, 2008). For children and adolescents, high intensity interval exercise may be the most effective in achieving recommended physical activity goals. For example, a study by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Buffalo (2009) explored the difference between continuous and interval physical activity bouts in reinforcing adolescent engagement. Using a cycle ergometer and a button pressing activity, Barkely, Epstein and Roemmich (2009) found that the performance of the adolescent subjects indicated that interval exercise protocol was more reinforcing to participation than continuous exercise. Based on previous observations, children typically engage in short interval-like physical activity during free play which indicates that an interval-based physical activity may yield the greatest level of engagement among adolescents (Barkley, Epstein & Roemmich, 2009). This study does not disregard the effectiveness of continuous physical activity but rather highlights the importance of population characteristics when designing the most effective exercise protocol.
Greaney et al. (2009) conducted a study to help indentify the barriers and enabling circumstances of healthy weight management among college-aged individuals. Both male and females students indicated that a lack of exercise, eating unhealthy foods and time constraints barring them from exercising were the greatest barriers to healthy weight management and lifestyle. On the other hand, conscious food intake regulation, being physically active and university promotion of physical activity and healthy food options were the most reported enablers of healthy weight control among college students (Greaney et al., 2009). College-aged individuals are a unique population that requires clear understanding of their intrapersonal and environmental influences in their eating and activity behaviors in order to adjust the recommended physical activity prescription (USHAHS, 2008) to coincide with constraints of college life.
Park's (2010) article, which illustrated various conflicts among physical activity recommendations and the considerable factors of population needs and environmental influence, demonstrates the overlaying message that physical activity should be a priority among all populations regardless of age or physical ability. In a country with 17% of children and adolescents that are obese and 30% of adults falling in the same BMI category (CDC, 2009), exercise protocol should focus on weight management while utilizing different reinforcing strategies and physical activity designs in order to maximize the likelihood of continuous exercise participation and improved lifestyle choices.
-Dani Benson

Center for Disease Prevention and Control. (2009). Overweight and obesity. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov

Park, M. (2009). How much should you exercise? Retrieved from www.cnn.com

Barkely, J., Epstein, l. & Roemmich, J. (2009). Reinforcing value of interval and continuous physical activity in children. Physiology and Behavior (98), 31-36.

Greaney, M., Less, F., White, A., Dayton, S., Riebe, D., Blissmer, B., Shoff, S., Walsh, J., Greene, G. (2009). College students' barriers and enablers for healthful weight management: A qualitative study. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (41), 4, 281-286.

United States Department of Health and Human Services (2009). Physical activity guidelines for Americans. Retrieved from www.hhs.gov

Protein Supplementation and Resistance Training

2010-03-31T03:12:20Z

Another article that I chose to delve into is about the link between protein and resistance training. I find this article interesting because I have been a strength and fitness coach for about 7 years, and the battle between whether ingesting excess protein (while in a lifting cycle) helps or not goes back and forth.

The second article I chose to review deals with the use of dietary protein in relation to resistance training. Within this article, there is a debate as to whether excess protein intake helps or hurts athletes who participate in resistance training exercises such as weightlifting. The article explains that "educated sources" give the use of protein while resistance training a bad review and that they more often than not side with the opinion that additional protein is not needed and indeed detrimental to an individuals health. The authors of the article are careful to point out that these "educated sources" are often basing their opinions on data that is taken on subjects who are not athletes and therefore do not function in the same way as those who would be resistance training. They also point out that there is very little data on the use of excess protein in resistance training and that the only way to have correct data is to conduct long term studies on athletes who use and do not use superfluous protein in their diets while resistance training. Ultimately, this article explains that there is not enough "population-specific long term data" and that it will be necessary to have such data to make a realistic assessment of the outcome on this issue.

Due to the fact that this study claims there is not enough long term data to make a realistic data, I think it would be a great idea to do just that. One of the problems would be funding. I would guess that a protein supplement company would be more than happy to fund a long term study like this. The issue with that would be a perceived bias. Would it be in bad practice to receive funding for a study from the very companies that produce the product and make a profit from its sale?

Cholesterol Lowering Probiotic Yogurt

2010-03-31T03:08:13Z

One peer-reviewed article that I chose to focus on for this assignment dealt with cholesterol lowering Probiotic yogurt and dietary protein use with resistance training. This article concerning the cholesterol lowering yogurt reports the effects of Probiotic yogurt on individuals with Hypercholesterolemia. This is an interesting topic currently because of the rise in obesity and more common occurrence of cholesterol in the general public. Due to the fact that I plan on becoming a physical education teacher, I believe that it is good to know about nutrition and how new products do or do not fulfill their claims.
This article examines the effect of Probiotic yogurt in relation to regular yogurt in lowering cholesterol. The study used individuals with mild to moderate Hypercholesterolemia and fed them different types of yogurt to help determine whether Probiotic yogurt is better at reducing cholesterol. The study started by having the subjects consume 300 grams of milk per day while not having yogurt of any kind. After a two week period, half of the subjects were given yogurt with Probiotics in them and the others were given ordinary yogurt for six weeks. A four week period where the study was suspended allowed for the subjects to stabilize and then the study started again but with the groups switched after the first two weeks. Through blood tests of lipid levels in each of the subjects, the study found that yogurt with two specific "Probiotic bacteria strains, L. acidophilus and B. lactis, had a cholesterol-lowering effect in hypercholesterolemia subjects".

I really like this study and feel that more could be done. It is an interesting topic that could potentially help those with high cholesterol.