FitFeud Corporate Wellness Blog

Mythbusters: Fitness, Health, and Wellness Edition

Who doesn't like the show Mythbusters? Ok, some of you, I'm sure. But you can't argue with the premise. Take some commonly held (but usually wrong) beliefs and see if they stand up to the test. For this reason, I'm a huge fan of any site that takes on dispelling health and fitness myths. The TV show is just for fun, but these things actually affect your (and my!) health! 

Here are some of the best recent "mythbusting" articles on health and wellness on the web. If you know any I've missed, let me know in the comments below.

• 14 "Health" Foods That Aren't - Eat This, Not That
• 10 Sleep Myths Busted - Women's Health
• Top 9 Fitness Myths Busted - WebMD
• 10 Food and Nutrition Myths Debunked - Food Network

And because we love video, here's a clip from a recent Today show featuring the fitness director from Prevention Magazine quizzing the hosts on diet and fitness myths.

Plus, here's a bonus mythbuster article penned by Janet McNichol for all you corporate wellness buffs out there: Two Widely Held Misperceptions about Workplace Wellness Programs

Are you smarter than a 5th grader, the childhood obesity edition.

Listen to 10-year old Marshall Reid talk about his approach to weight loss. 

"I'm trying to lose weight, but still be healthy."

Are you taking such an informed and healthy path along the road to weight loss? Watch the video, and see what else you might be able to learn from this inspiring youngster.

Friday Fun: Jimmy Fallon on childhood obesity

"Researchers found that most parents don’t know if their preschool-aged child is overweight or obese. I think the real news here is that those are the only two options."
– Jimmy Fallon

Think America's obesity problem is plateauing? Think again.

A new report entitled, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future," by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, dispels any hopes that America was finally getting a hold of its obesity problem. Obesity rates increased in 28 states, and only one, Washington, DC, where FitFeud proudly calls home, saw rates decrease.

For those keeping score at home, Colorado had the lowest adult obesity rate at 19.1%, and Mississippi had the highest at 33.8%. For what it's worth, Mississippi also had the highest childhood obesity rate at 21.9%, while Oregon's 8.9% was the lowest childhood obesity rate in the country.

The report also highlights the growing regional and racial disparities that exist within this issue.

• Adult obesity rates for Blacks topped 40 percent in nine states, 35 percent in 34 states, and 30 percent in 43 states and D.C.
• Ten of the 11 states with the highest rates of diabetes are in the South, as are the 10 states with the highest rates of hypertension.
• No state had rates of adult obesity above 35 percent for Whites. Only one state-West Virginia-had an adult obesity rate for Whites greater than 30 percent.

But there was some good news in some of the initiatives and actions that are being implemented at the federal and state level. Among others mentioned in the report:

• Twenty states and D.C. set nutritional standards for school lunches, breakfasts and snacks that are stricter than current United States Department of Agriculture requirements.  Five years ago, only four states had legislation requiring stricter standards.
• The new health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, has the potential to address the obesity epidemic through a number of prevention and wellness provisions, expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, and create a reliable funding stream through the creation of the Prevention and Public Health Fund;

Download the full 122-page report PDF to get all the statistical breakdowns, details for every state, as well as a list of recommendations to fight the continuing obesity problem.

Competition: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Competition can motivate us to do amazing things, we know that first hand at FitFeud. Sometimes those amazing things are epically bad for us or just epically weird. Have fun with these videos - it's Friday!

I challenge you to watch this video all the way through and not laugh.

Who doesn't love Wipeout?

The scary part about this one is the child heard cheering on their parent in the background.

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