New Study Reports Successful Weight Loss Maintenance Using Second Life

Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36% of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programs, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for childcare, and loss of anonymity.

In a new study released in the May/June 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, investigators from The University of Kansas Medical Center continue to explore alternative weight management delivery methods to eliminate some of these barriers. The solution they are investigating - virtual reality for weight loss and weight maintenance.

Looking at the results from twenty overweight and obese individuals after 3 months of a weight loss program at a weekly clinic delivered via face-to-face or virtual reality and then 6 months of weight maintenance delivered via virtual reality, the investigators found virtual reality compares favorably with face-to-face for weight loss and may facilitate greater weight maintenance. Debra Sullivan, lead investigator, adds, "Although we found weight loss was significantly greater for face-to-face compared to virtual reality, weight maintenance was significantly better for virtual reality."

The virtual reality weight maintenance program was conducted using Second Life, a Web-based virtual reality environment available to the public. Participants in Second Life create virtual representations of themselves, called ''avatars,'' which can interact with other avatars and navigate through the virtual world of Second Life. Voice communication is accomplished via headset, which allows for person-to-person and group interaction. Education and training takes place on an ''island,'' which is purchased from Second Life and provides restricted group access to the nutrition education/training area.

To further explain how Second Life can be used in this capacity, Dr. Sullivan explains, "Individuals who want to participate in real-life scenarios without real-life repercussions can use virtual reality. For example, participants can practice meal planning, grocery shopping, and dietary control when eating at restaurants and holiday parties to a much greater extent with Second Life compared with the time-limited clinic meeting. Virtual reality may even be able to serve as a more feasible option to monitor individuals after completing a weight loss program."

Study: 4 Out of 5 Doctors Don’t Get Enough Exercise

As a health writer, people often ask me if I've changed my lifestyle to become a healthier person. Do I eat healthier, work out more, and actually put to use any of those nifty tips I learn about every day?

For a long time, my response was, "No—I still have all the same bad habits; now I just feel guiltier about them."

I did eventually get involved in fitness and running, partially thanks to my job. But I still find it hard to squeeze in a workout most days, even though I know how important it is to my long-term health.

Turns out, I'm probably not the only health-related professional who feels that way. Most doctors, who know the dangers of inactivity more than anyone, don't get enough exercise, according to a study published this month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Almost 80% of doctors fall short
Researchers at the United Kingdom's Bedford Hospital NHS Trust surveyed 61 hospital physicians and found that only 21% get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five days a week—that's less than half of the 44% of the overall population in the same age group who claim to meet this goal.

Those who didn't blamed lack of time, lack of motivation, or lack of workout facilities. (Doctors with an on-site gym at their hospital didn't fare any better than those without, however. In fact, a third of them didn't even know it existed!)

Other good habits had seemed to rub off on the junior doctors, who had an average age of 27 and an average BMI of 23.5 (considered normal weight): They weighed less and smoked less than the national average, and only 7% drank more than the recommended weekly amount of alcohol. As for their abysmal exercise habits, many had been more active in school—and had only become couch potatoes after they started their jobs.

What does it mean for us?
While the study was done on British hospital doctors (as opposed to, say, American primary-care physicians), coauthor Lampson Fan, MBBS, is willing to bet that findings would be similar elsewhere.

"In both the U.K. and U.S., doctors are under the influence of the same stresses," he wrote me in an email. "In many ways, it’s probably worse in the U.S. as the doctors there are working on average 30 hours more [a week] than those in the U.K."

While I can't say I'm shocked at these results, the numbers are quite disheartening. If doctors, whose responsibility it should be to promote good health, can't find time to exercise, what hope is there for others out there with demanding schedules—lawyers, truck drivers, working moms, or people who have taken on a second job?

Previous research has shown that doctors who exercise are more likely to counsel their patients to do the same, and that patients are more willing to try exercising when their doctors disclose their own personal workout habits. Think about it: If an out-of-shape doctor pleaded with you to get more exercise, how seriously could you take him knowing that he's not getting enough himself?

Dr. Lampson recommends that health-care institutions do more to promote physical activity among employees, such as sponsoring organized exercise classes, team sports, and discounts with local gyms. If doctors can get passionate about exercise, hopefully they'll pass on that excitement to their patients—or at least set a good example.

Does the physical fitness of your doctor matter to you? Have you ever been motivated—or discouraged—by the health of a physician?

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Want to lose weight? Then run, don't Walk: study

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News)-need to lose weight? Help run more than walk, according to new research.

And to keep out those lost pounds, keep running, suggests Paul Williams, a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California that compared to weight loss and weight control in thousands of runners and walkers in six years.

The same amount of exercise in adults with a body mass index over 28 (considered overweight) resulted in greater weight loss the 90 per cent for runners over walkers, body found.

"Running is more effective than walking in preventing weight gain and weight loss," he said. Both groups shed pounds, but most runners, lost found Williams.

This does not mean that vigorous exercise is all you need to do to lose weight. "You have to add the diet," he said. "Exercise is not the most effective way."

More than a third of adults in the United States are obese, putting them at risk of serious health risks such as diabetes and heart disease.

For the new study, published in the April issue of Medicine Science in Sports & & exercise, Williams estimated changes in body mass index (BMI) of more than 32,000 runners and walkers more than 15,000. (BMI is a calculation of body fat based on height and weight). All drafted between 1998 and 2001.

Participants reported their height and weight for the five previous years. They also provided their waistline and information on their training, miles including run or walked, frequency, rhythm, and any other exercise they did.

Williams has found some differences between runners and walkers. The walkers were older, on average, compared to runners-53 compared to 41 years, respectively, for women; among men, versus 48 62 years.

At the beginning, the runners also had a lower BMI. Average male BMI was 24 runners; women was 22. Average male BMI walkers was 27; women, 25. A BMI of 25 is the low end of overweight.

The walkers were also more likely to smoke and more likely to eat fruits, the study found.

After six years of follow-up, both weight loss groups. But male runners and heavier female runners had better results.

"A woman overweight, of medium height and a BMI over 28 could expect to lose 19 pounds by adding a 3.2-mile to his daily routine, but only 9 pounds of exhausting the same amount of energy at the foot," said Williams. The total weight loss occurs gradually, but the effects are seen from the beginning.

Also performs takes less time to produce the same amount of effort, Williams said. For example, the same woman would need 4.6 km walking at a brisk pace to spend the effort of running 3.2 miles. Running would take about 40 minutes. the walk of about an hour and 20 minutes, he said.

One of the reasons that execution produces more metabolic weight loss is. "If you exercise vigorously as the race, your metabolic rate stays high after exercise," said Williams. "For hikers, much less so."

It was also shown that vigorous exercisers who eat too much are good at following compensation, he said. "If runners overeat one day, they make up for it later," he said.

Williams decided to study running and walking because "runners and walkers expected on what they are doing by how they go," he said. Gym rats, on the other hand, are less precise about reporting their running time, he said.

The results are not a surprise, said Dr. Tim Church, Director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the study.

But the Church said that you shouldn't get all the credit for weight control. "The people who are running are more focused on other issues," he said. "I guarantee you, runners are more focused on their diet than hikers.

And that's a good thing, he said. "If you're worried about your weight, you probably need to focus on diet and physical activity [is]," he explained.

People can exercise strenuously without having to jog or run, he added. Other forms of aerobic exercise, such as swimming or cycling, may be done vigorously.

Not everyone wants to run, Williams agreed. And moderate physical activity, such as walking slower, is still useful, he said.

"The exercise that you do is better than no exercise to do," said Williams. "We show weight loss benefit with your feet; the only benefits that are not as large as with the race. "

But walking is just as good as running to reduce the risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar, according to a different study that the same walkers and runners analyzed. That study was published on-line April 4 in the journal arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Sources: Paul t. Williams, Ph.d., staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California; Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.d., mph, Research Director of preventive medicine, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, La.; April 2013, Medicine Science in Sports & & exercise