Facts about Cycling, Sleep, Diabetes, Strength,Smoking

Go for the burn…calories that is

Regular bicycling is a great way to loose weight and improve your physical fitness. A 150-pound person burns 410 calories while pedaling 12 miles in an hour. A 200-pound cyclist burns 546 calories while going 12 miles in an hour—almost the equivalent of a Big Mac®

Source: League of American Bicyclists, www.bikeleague.org.

Many Americans Sleep Deprived

Only one-half of Americans are getting “a good night’s sleep” every night or most nights according to a new poll. Lack of sleep is taking its toll on Americans with mistakes at work and declining productivity, motor vehicle accidents, less sex and problems with intimate relationships. When Americans don’t get enough sleep, it affects their health and can put others at risk. Americans who sleep well, in general, are happier and healthier. Many sleep experts recommend seven to nine hours of sleep a night, but the average American is getting less than that.

Source: “2005 Sleep in America” poll, National Sleep Foundation, www.sleepfoundation.org.

Daily Physical Activity Needs

Adults 18 and older need 30 minutes of physical activity on five or more days a week to be healthy. Children and teens need 60 minutes of activity a day for their health.

Source: “Physical Activity Fact Sheet,” U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, www.fitness.gov.

Waistline Good Indicator of Diabetes Risk

A man’s waist size appears to be a stronger indicator of diabetes risk than the body-mass index according to a study by John Hopkins University researchers who looked at data on 27,270 men followed over a 13-year period. The researchers put the men into five groups according to their waist size. Men with larger waist sizes were at least twice as likely to have diabetes as men with the smallest waists from 29 to 34 inches. Those with the largest waist sizes—40 inches and above—were up to 12 times more likely to have Type 2 diabetes.

Source: American Diabetes Association, www.ada.org.

Strength Training—Less May Be Just as Effective

Strength building may not be as much work as you think. Research suggests that simple, time-efficient, single-set repetitions with less weight appear to be just as effective in strength building as multiple-set repetitions with heavier weights.

Source: Journal of Exercise Physiology online, October 7, 2004.

Smoking Bans in Public Places Gains Momentum

On March 1, Rhode Island became the seventh state to ban smoking in most public places and protect its citizens from second-hand smoke. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York already have laws in place banning smoking in most indoor public places. As the scientific evidence grows on the health hazards of second-hand smoke, efforts are gaining momentum to outlaw smoking in public places.