Exercise on a Flying Trapeze

The first time Lori Rhodes saw Cirque du Soleil, 15 years ago, she was mesmerized by the performers on the trapeze and ropes. 'I remember thinking to myself, 'Wow, wouldn't that be amazing to do?' I was the adult fantasizing about running off to join the circus,' says the 44-year-old senior vice president of Lividini Weisenfeld Partners, a marketing communications firm whose clients include Liz Claiborne, Lord & Taylor and Josie Natori. Ms. Rhodes now lives out those dreams three days a week as part of her workout regimen. She takes aerial-conditioning classes, where she climbs 17-foot ropes and hangs upside down by her toes from the trapeze, among other exercises. Ms. Rhodes lives and works in New York City. Ms. Rhodes tries to exercise...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303348504575184372296135364.html?KEYWORDS=fitness

Obese Kids More Apt To Be Bullied, Study Confirms

“Obese children in grades 3 through 6 are more apt to be bullied by their classmates than children who are trim, regardless of their gender, race, social skills, or academic achievement, a study published today in Pediatrics shows. This finding is ‘so disturbing to me,’ Dr. Julie C. Lumeng from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who led the study, told Reuters Health. She also admitted being a bit surprised. ‘Unlike in the 1980s,’ she explained, ‘so many kids are obese now. In some schools, half the class may be overweight...so I really thought that maybe being obese really doesn't result in being bullied as much anymore. I was wrong.’ The study involved 821 US boys and girls 8 to 11 years old. In third grade, 17 percent of the children were obese and 15 percent were overweight.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/05/03/eline/links/20100503elin005.html

National Physical Activity Plan Will Try to Get People Moving

“One day, most kids may jump on their bikes and ride to school. While they're there, they'll be playing active games in high-caliber physical education classes and doing lots of fun recreational activities before and after school. Adults should be able to walk, bike or jog to work, the grocery store or a local park or community recreation center, where they will be able play golf or tennis or take exercise classes. And doctors may talk to their patients about an important new ‘vital sign’ — their physical activity level. These are among the goals that could be achieved with comprehensive, wide-ranging strategies outlined in the new U.S. National Physical Activity Plan, which is being released today by an expert panel representing influential health organizations. Among groups involved are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. The purpose: to create an environment in which Americans can be physically active where they live, work and play, says Russell Pate, an exercise researcher at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. He chaired the panel. Experts have been encouraging people to be physically active for years because it lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and a long list of other health problems. To get the health benefits of exercise, adults need at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity activity a week, such as brisk walking, or 1¼ hours of a vigorous-intensity activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, or a combination, federal guidelines say. But right now, only 31% of Americans do enough regular leisure-time physical activity; about 40% do no regular leisure-time physical activity, government statistics show. Exercise tough to fit in The national physical activity guidelines have not been sufficient to get people moving, Pate says. ‘Educating, cajoling and finger-wagging are not enough.’ It's difficult to work physical activity into daily life, partly because of sprawling communities and long commutes, and many people don't have safe and attractive places to walk, he says. Colleen Doyle, nutrition and physical activity director for the American Cancer Society and a member of the panel that created the plan, says, ‘We are at a crisis with our health in large part because we eat too much and we're not active enough.’”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2010-05-03-physicalactivityplan03_ST_N.htm

Kings Of Fitness In Asia: Two California Natives Take World Gym to Number One in Taiwan

Full text available upon request: pr@ihrsa.org


Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building, will soon have one of America’s largest and oldest fitness brand names as a tenant – World Gym. With 15 locations in Taiwan, World Gym is the largest fitness chain in the country, and World Gym Taiwan is, in turn, the largest franchisee in the World Gym system, both domestic and international. The two people who accomplished this feat, Michael Sanciprian, CEO, and John Caraccio, President, are both California natives who went to Asia seeking the American Dream in the international fitness market and have achieved it. ‘We started with one location in one city and worked our way from there,’ says Caraccio who founded the company in 2004 and has expanded into 5 cities with annual revenues of over US$42 million. Sanciprian says, ‘The key ingredient to success in the international markets is to remember what works in the US market and to stick with it, despite all the cultural and demographic differences that bombard you when you get off the plane.’ During the toughest economical time over the past 2 years World Gym Taiwan has doubled the company size and tripled it revenue. When asked how did they accomplished that Sanciprian says, ” We had two choices, one, sit on the side line and wait it out or, two, be aggressive and take advantage of all the great realestate plays and that is what we did”. Caraccio added, “We were able to get rents 70 percent off from what they were 2 years ago and that was key” The World Gym Taiwan formula has been to make the clubs exciting, full of color and lots of energy. Sanciprian says, ‘when you walk into one of our clubs it feels like you are in Las Vegas or at a rock concert. We are very disciplined in the size of our locations and we focus on low rents. Caraccio says, ‘Every year we are able to learn new ways to operate cheaper and more efficiently in order to increase the profitability of each club. It was also part of my strategic growth formula when I brought on my CEO and Partner Michael Sanciprian 3 years ago. His 20 years of experience and his passion for this business is second to none and that was what I was looking for to lead my company to the next level.’...

Green Gyms: Healthier Grist For Recycled Treadmills

“National fitness chains and boutique clubs alike are retro-fitting old centers and building greener new ones. ‘Health clubs worldwide are continuing to adopt greener practices,’ said Kara Shemin, of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the industry's not-for-profit trade association. Despite the weak economy and rising unemployment, the health club industry is in good shape. An IHRSA survey found that total industry revenues rose two percent in 2009, to $19.5 billion. And experts think health club attendees, who increased to an all-time high average of 102 days last year, will opt to put their money where the ecological grass is greener. ‘As people progressively become more aware of their carbon footprint, and integrate ways to reduce it daily, they will have an expectation that other places they frequent, like their health clubs, will do the same,’ Shemin said.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE6421HD20100503

Advance Notice

Death rates from heart disease in the United States have fallen 66 percent over the last 60 years — a remarkable drop that happened so gradually, many of us aren’t even aware. But not everyone has benefited equally. White men saw a 65 percent drop since 1950; African-American men, just 50 percent. For black men in Mississippi, there have been no improvements at all in the last 30 years. Several studies, including a long-term project in Mississippi called the Jackson Heart Study, are trying to understand why blacks lag behind, said Dr. Herman A. Taylor Jr., who is leading the Jackson study. Researchers do have a good idea of what keeps hearts strong, no matter the ethnicity. ‘The best way to treat this disease is to never get it,’ said Dr. Clyde W. Yancy, president of the American Heart Association. The vast majority of people can avoid heart disease by taking good care of themselves — by controlling their weight and blood pressure, exercising regularly, not smoking, and eating a healthy diet, he said. As Patricia Benson [a surgical technician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital ] knows, though, that can be harder than it seems. mBenson, who is African-American, had a heart attack scare at 55, just a few months after being diagnosed with diabetes. She wishes she made more of an effort to exercise, for instance, though she is on her feet all day at work in the operating room. Taylor said he thinks that exercise, diet, and obesity are key contributors to heart disease among Jackson’s African-American population. Only 20 percent of the participants in his study get to the gym regularly, and 30 percent say they never work up a sweat in a typical week...

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/05/03/heart_health_has_improved_dramatically_but_not_equally_for_all/

D.C. Council Launching Campaign Against Childhood Obesity

“The D.C. Council plans to give final approval Tuesday to school nutrition and physical education standards that would be among the strictest in the country, mandating that low-calorie and low-fat meals be served to about 71,000 students and eventually tripling the time they are required to spend exercising. The measure was inspired by first lady Michelle Obama's efforts to have children eat healthier foods and exercise more, and it would move breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom in many D.C. schools to improve participation. Officials said the program, estimated to cost as much as $23 million over four years, could be paid for through a citywide soda tax. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who sponsored the legislation, said she will propose a penny-per-ounce tax on soda, an idea that appears to have broad council support. ‘When this legislation takes effect in Washington, D.C., it will signal best practices to all of us and pave the way for our nation to follow,’ said Waters, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe in Berkeley, Calif. Cheh's bill also would put much greater emphasis on physical education in city schools. Elementary students, for instance, receive an average of 45 minutes of physical education a week. The bill would increase the requirement to 150 minutes starting in 2014. In middle school, where students now have physical education for one trimester, they would attend gym class throughout the school year for at least 225 minutes a week. ‘We need to pass this 'cause our kids are getting fatter and fatter,’ council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) said at a council meeting...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050103193.html