To support a mission of increasing public awareness and participation in safe and effective physical activity, the National Council on Strength and Fitness has joined the Inclusive Fitness Coalition (INCFIT). This will expand the organization’s efforts to encourage physical activity in all those with disabilities beyond our sponsorship of the Special Olympics and Athletes with Disabilities. According to the U.S. Census, it is estimated that more than 18% of the population over age 4 has some type of disability. This significant portion of the population faces some of the greatest health risks associated with sedentary lifestyles. The Inclusive Fitness Coalition is a collective group of organizations, associations and public and private localities focused on addressing these health issues through a unified effort to increase access to and participation in physical activity for youths, adults and seniors with physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities.

Women’s increased risk of heart disease post-menopause has been fairly well documented over the last decade. The medical profession has thought the root cause of this increase was related to the hormonal changes that take place after menopause, the natural aging process, or some combination of both. The results of a study recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows unequivocally that the hormonal changes related to menopause result in a dramatic increase in cholesterol levels, specifically LDL (bad cholesterol). This may help explain the reasoning why incidence of heart disease rises drastically post-menopause.

With the latest report from the supplement industry putting it at a nearly $1 billion dollar a year industry and more and more people looking to supplements for any edge or advantage they can get, new research is necessary to either prove or dispel the purported effects of each new supplement that hits the market. Over the past few years, a number of flavonoid/polyphenolic compounds found in many leafy vegetables, berries, and fruit skin have been linked with possible reductions in risk for certain diseases as well as possible ergogenic effects in trained athletes.

A study published in the December 3rd issue of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the increasing rate of obesity will have a stronger, more pronounced effect on life expectancy than smoking in years to come. Researchers used data to forecast both the life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy for a representative 18 year old. The smoking data used was gathered from 4 samples taken from the National Health Interview Survey from 1978 to 2006 and showed a 1.4% average decrease in smoking rates in the 15 years prior to 2005. During that same period of time, data measuring Body Mass Index (BMI) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 1971 to 2006 showed a 0.6% average increase.

The New Jersey Senate Commerce Committee has decided not to take up Senate Bill 2164 (SB 2164) during their final meeting of the 2009 legislative session (occurring in 2010). This is a major victory for the health club industry and an estimated 10,000 fitness professionals from the Garden State. If passed, the Bill in its current form would have been extremely detrimental to the fitness industry in the State.

United States Representative Maria Fudge (D-Ohio) has introduced a resolution to the House that would make September Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. She is calling for a proactive rather than a reactive effort from the health, fitness, and medical community to combat the continually alarming trend of increased childhood obesity. The efforts would focus on education for children and adolescents that is part of a larger push to lower healthcare costs by teaching the importance of healthy lifestyle habits, increased physical activity, correct eating habits, and routine preventive medical screenings.

Ever since the reduction of FDA regulations in the supplement industry in 1994 under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), the industry has become a “buyers beware” market. The signing of the DSHEA made manufacturers themselves responsible for ensuring product safety and purity before a particular product reaches the market shelves. In fact many manufacturers are not required to register their products or get approval before production. One caveat exists however for consumer protection; the FDA can take action against manufacturers that distribute a product deemed unsafe after it has demonstrated so in the marketplace. Unfortunately, many unsafe supplements have reached the general market with negative implications. Recently, several manufacturers have been exposed for infusing various illegal anabolic steroid compounds in their products intended for bodybuilders and individuals looking for performance and mass gains.

It is commonly accepted that consuming meals at a rapid pace can lead to overeating. Research has implicated the rate at which one regularly eats meals to be positively related to obesity. A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism investigated this theory by measuring subjective post-meal appetite, peptide YY (PYY), and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) digestive hormone release in 17 healthy adult male volunteers. “Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating,” explains Alexander Kokkinos, the lead author of the study.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has put out a call to action, asking 100 personal trainers in New York City to volunteer their time and expertise to help overweight, unhealthy New Yorkers. Currently 15 recreation facilities across New York City offer fitness classes and instruction to nearly 1,600 people per week. Those classes are free to participants but the instructors are paid for their work.

The safety of structured resistance and cardiovascular training for the expecting mother has been widely investigated during the previous three decades. The majority of the literature demonstrates that moderate intensity training using appropriate exercise protocol can provide numerous benefits for the health of the mother and unborn child alike. Just a few of these benefits include: improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, improved psychological well-being, reduced maternal weight gain, reduced musculoskeletal discomfort, reduced incidence of lower back pain, reduced postural compromise, decreased incidence of vascular incompetence, and fewer complications during delivery. There are precautions that must be taken however to ensure safety of the pregnant individual, and a physician’s approval should always be obtained.