Mid Adult Woman Exercising

Buy This Allposters.com

by

Joseph

Weight loss. Folks tend to make it much harder than it needs to be. Sure, it takes hard work and discipline to lose excess weight. No doubt about it, but why is it harder for some people than it is for others?

An Important Study About Weight Loss in Older Adults

I was reading a report published in the 3 February 2011 issue of the Journals of Gerontology wherein researchers in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC studied the effects that self-efficacy (a sociological term analogous to self-confidence in the face of hardship) would have on older adults' ability to successfully lose weight.

After an eighteen month experiment which involved 288 older adults between the ages of 60 - 79, who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease, it was found that subjects who participated in weight loss plus physical activity had developed greater self-confidence. This meant that these people now felt it was within their power to resist the temptation to overeat - a temptation that often sets back the progress of many people who take steps to lose weight.

You're probably thinking that we don't need a scientific study to tell us that people with higher self-confidence fare better than people who lack self-confidence. Yet "because of the growing recognition that excess weight compromises the health of older adults" Jack Rejeski and his colleagues felt it was important to study "the role of self-efficacy for managing negative internal and external barriers related to eating behaviors in older adults" who had obesity related health problems.

They conducted the test by randomly assigning people to one of three groups, the first participated in physical activity and weight loss, the second group participated in physical exercise only, and the third was a control group which focused on successful aging health education.

The Wake Forest University team would then assess self efficacy on a weight efficacy wellness questionnaire before and after the study, to test a hypothesis about the how much more effective weight loss plus physical exercise would have on self -efficacy as opposed to the other healthy living methods. In other words, these scientists wanted to find out how much influence that combined efforts of weight loss and physical activity would have on a person's self-confidence and thus the resolve to overcome obstacles that might derail efforts to get healthy.

Subjects who were assigned to the weight loss plus physical activity group participated in at least 150 minutes of physical exercise each week. They were also given a calorie goal and placed on a caloric restriction program with food choices based on recommendations from the MyPyramid Food Guidance System.

Those in the physical activity group had to complete at least 150 minutes of moderately intense physical exercise each week (just as with the weight loss plus physical exercise group), while the control group followed a treatment program developed by University staff. This last group learned about aging, disease prevention, healthy food choices and discussions with health care professionals.

The Power of Self-Confidence

After six months of research, Rejeski had enough information to make a conclusion about which method best helped people become healthier. I've long been a proponent of a two pronged approach to achieve good physical health. It's possible to shed excess fat and reduce disease risk with either diet or exercise alone, but a program that combines the two is much better (read my article "Diet Or Exercise? Which Is More Effective In Treating Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome?"). It turns out that Rejeski's experiment came to that conclusion, too.

Older adults who participated in weight loss plus physical activity were taught how to handle internal and external challenges that contribute to sedentary (and thus unhealthy) behavior and eating, whereas the physical activity group was only taught how to handle these situations with respect to sedentary lifestyle.

Because the subjects who were taught how to deal with challenges with respect to physical inactivity and eating habits did so well, Rejeski and his team reasoned behavior influences self-regulatory training. That is to say, we are to successfully change our habits, we have to target behavior.

It's good that the Wake Forest University team chose to study older adults. Not only does this demographic experience more health related problems than younger people, it is also thr group which tends to believe that it's too late to change. In fact, it's never too late to change for the better (read my article "How Do You Change The Direction of Your Life?"). Seniors tend to be the forgotten group, society celebrates youth and vitality so the needs of older persons are often ignored.

Older people often accept declining health as a natural consequence of aging. But this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, older people are just as capable as the rest of us in terms of taking responsibility for living healthy. When a person does for himself or herself and is taught how to deal with challenges before they arise - and then successfully overcome those problems when they do occur - it empowers them to better. They develop the confidence to persevere which is, to paraphrase Johnny Cade from the Outsiders, "a good way to be".

In order for you to lose weight and become healthier, it's important to learn how to cook proper meals, recognize foods, etc. that trigger the impulse to eat, and how to exercise properly. You can get support from health care professionals, family and friends. You can still do it even if you're not close to anyone. It all boils down to visualizing yourself as healthy, learning about nutrition, exercise and constantly encouraging yourself to stay with it.

You really can lose weight if you truly believe in yourself.

We are made in the image of God.

                                                        *****

***Spread the word! Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the other social media tools located in the sidebar and bottom of this article to tell others about this website.***

I'm living fit, healthy and happy_(SM). Are you?



Article Source

Rejeski et al. (2011). Weight Loss and Self-Regulatory Eating Efficacy in Older Adults: The Cooperative Lifestyle Intervention Program. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B(3): 279-86.



"You Can Lose Weight If You Believe In Yourself" copyright © 2011 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy_(SM). All Rights Reserved.

Google+