NCSF Blog

It is well documented that the human body is designed to manage a certain amount of external stress. It seems that moderate levels of stress applied with some level of consistency are handled very well, whereas high levels of stress create an environment of consequential neuro-endocrine and immune responses. Research related to telomere (RNA) erosion and subsequent premature aging links intense exercise, chronic stress, and lack of recovery. Interestingly, there is also a connection with the stress energy metabolism plays as well. Research has indicated that the number of calories one consumes is linked to lifespan and those who consume conservative amounts of food often enjoy a longer life. To add to the notion that less is better, new research from the American Academy of Neurology suggests that consuming more than 2,100 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in later age. MCI is the stage between normal memory loss that comes with aging and early Alzheimer's disease. The study is slated will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21-28, 2012.

Imagine going to make a purchase and you had to abide by the following rules:

1. You have to prepay and wait an extended period of time before the product is delivered.
2. You have to make payments most days of the week.
3. The product may never actually come and there is no refund if it doesn’t.
4. You may make some payments and stop before reinitiating the payment schedule, but any prior payment is lost so you must start the payment process over.
5. You may have to pay more than someone else for the same product and may actually get a lower level product in exchange.
6. Once the product is delivered you must continue to pay for the product.
7. If you stop paying for the product it will be taken away soon after that.
8. The only currency accepted as payment is self deprivation, discomfort, and pain.

Would you make the investment?

With obesity rates and health care costs spiraling out of control among the wealthy countries worldwide, many governmental agencies are implementing novel and aggressive measures to offset these costs and push consumers to reconsider unhealthy (disease-promoting) food choices. In a recent paper published in Health Affairs (2012) researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco suggest a tax on sugary beverages would do the country a world of good. The researchers’ findings suggest, based on data from 2003-2006 NHANES and dietary survey, that a penny-per-ounce tax would reduce diabetes, save 100,000 from cardiac events and stroke, and cut down on premature death. These predictions come from the fact that Americans consume roughly 13 billion gallons/year of sugary beverages. That equates to about 42 gallons per American or 5,376 ounces. At 3 grams of sugar per ounce American average 16,128 grams of sugar/year (64,512 calories/18 lbs fat). This is an obvious problem.

New research from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business investigated the means by which to use exercise variety (or a lack thereof) for improving exercise compliance, motivation and achievement of clients’ fitness goals. The results will be in “The Dynamic Impact of Variety among Means on Motivation,” to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research in April 2012. Authors applied personal training insight to analyze how consumers choose weight-management products/activities to attain their goals. Investigators examined a simple programming pattern which consistently promoted steady motivation and goal accomplishment. This pattern involved beginning with high exercise variety during the initial stages of training, and then progressing to less exercise variety while sticking to specific activities that the client favors and is willing to work hard on.