Putting weights in their place

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 11

Putting weights in their place

You can build a swell set of muscles on the things, but if you’re looking to weight machines for boosting cardiovascular conditioning, you’d be as well off walking, report researchers Linda S. Hempel and Christine L. Wells in “The Physician” and “Sportsmedicine.” The researchers found that while heart rates were pushed to recommended heights by people practising the Nautilus Express Circuit (a non-stop, 20-minute stint progressing from one machine to another), oxygen uptake did not Levels fell short of those recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Calorie-burning was not so great, either. The researchers determined that

an average-sized man would have to exercise for a total of seven and a half hours on Nautilus equipment to bum off a pound. By jogging at a 9-minute-per-mile pace, that same number of calories (3500) could be expended in four to five hours, the researchers said.

Even a relentless attack on weight machines would bum no more calories than walking at a pace of 4 to 5 miles per hour, the researchers concluded. ® O • Snoring may raise blood pressure Bed partners aside, it seems heavy snoring may be annoying to the cardiovascular system, sug-

gests a recent study of 7511 middle-aged men and women in Finland. Male snorers were found to be almost twice as likely as non-snorers to suffer from high blood pressure (women snorers being at three times greater risk). Male snorers proved to be twice as likely as nonsnorers to suffer from angina (heart disease-related chest pains), as well. (In women, no snoring-angina connection was found.)

What is the reason for these cardiovascular disorders in snorers? Possibly a slight malfunctioning of the part of the brain responsible for fluent breathing, the researchers said, with unnatural strains being put on the heart and lungs due to oxygen shortages as a result. (“The Lancet,” April 20, 1985) © 0 0

Smokers have less 86, more cancer

Scientists may be one step closer to pinpointing the mechanism by which smoking causes cancer, after a recent experiment by researchers at the University of Alabama. When smokers with beginning signs of lung cancer were compared with nonsmokers and cancer-free

smokers, significantly less folic acid, vitamin 86, and vitamin C were found in the tissue of their bronchial tubes. This suggests that “levels of these vitamins may affect initiation and progression of pre-neoplas-tic lesions” (pre-cancerous tumours). (“American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” April 1985.) © © 0

Fish oil lubricates’ arthritic joints

Already on record for being healthful for the heart, fish may also be what the doctor ordered for easing the aches and pains of arthritis. A group of 23 arthritis sufferers reported significantly less morning stiffness and fewer tender joints after a 12-week diet that, in addition to being rich in fish (and low in meat, cheese, and full-fat dairy products), was supplemented by 18 grams of fish oil daily. Fish oil’s effectiveness appears to come from its abundance of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a substance thought to encourage the production of some hormones (prostaglandins) capable of boosting the body’s immune system. Copyright 1985 Universal Press syndicate.