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Four Most Valuable [4MV] Weekly Tips For Living Longer Better | Newsletter

4MV #190 The truth about "Healthy Obesity" ✔ It's not what you think! New study

Published 11 months ago • 8 min read

Hello,

I trust you're safe, fit and well.

All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Our parents used to worry that watching too much TV would make our brains lazy. It turns out that they were right, but there are easy ways to reinvigorate it - see item #2.

As a society we often struggle with simple facts. If you are overweight you are more likely to die earlier, with some exceptions - see item #1.

⭑ More muscle doesn’t count for being overweight ✔
⭑ Extra hours of TV without physical or mental exercise increases dementia risk ✔
⭑ Men are too macho to put on sun cream - apparently. And die ✔
⭑ Strengthening this one muscle can reduce or eliminate your knee pain ✔

01 "Healthy obesity" doesn't exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

While body image is one thing, and fat shaming isn't helpful, it is indisputable that there is a straight-line relationship between excess body fat and an increased risk of death.

Where things get confused is that many studies have found that skinny and obese people - as defined by Body Mass Index (BMI) - have a lower mortality risk than people with supposedly "healthy" BMIs, e.g. 18.5 to 25, and 25 to 30.

This confusion arises because "fat ain't fat'. Visceral fat is fat which sticks to your organs and kills you. Subcutaneous fat - or "body fat" - is stored just below our skin and is metabolically important but neutral.

⇒ Sumo wrestlers have massive amounts of subcutaneous fat and, despite appearances, are not unhealthy.

Nor does BMI account for muscle mass versus fat mass. For example, I am far higher on the BMI scale than others my age because I have much more muscle, but I am healthier despite the BMI scale rating me as unhealthy.

After adjusting BMI calculations for the type of fat and muscle mass, researchers from Sapienza University in Italy found that obese individuals have a 70% increased risk of death compared to those with a healthy adjusted BMI.

More recently, Ryan Masters, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, found that obesity boosts one's risk of death by as much as 91%, vastly more than previous studies suggested.

What this means for you: One in six US deaths, and also in Australia, are related to excess weight, and the proportion is rising. This proportion is rising by about 50% each decade.

Be on the safe and side and give yourself the most chance of living longer better by not only trimming back to a healthy weight, but also by replacing some of your excess fat with muscle.

Fat is a vital organ, but muscle is an even more important one.

Related: ​The Exact Slow Pace You Must Run and Cycle To Max Fat-Burning

//

02 Does less TV time lower your risk for dementia?

Are you watching TV for more than one hour a day? I have bad news for you.

A UK Biobank study involving 146,651 people aged 60 and older showed that those who watched over four hours of television daily were 24% more likely to develop dementia.

The Biobank study demonstrated that more television viewing time was linked with worse cognitive function across all cognitive tests, suggesting a decline in cognitive function over time.

⇒ In contrast, those who used computers interactively for more than one hour daily were 15% less likely to develop dementia. This finding surprised me, and pleased me, since I spend a lot of time chained to my computer each day.

The Biobank study findings align with a 2005 study that showed that each additional hour of TV viewing in middle age increased the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 1.3 times, i.e. 3 additional hours doubles the risk.

What this means for you: These results emphasise that if you wish to live longer better, replacing long stints of watching TV with more engaging and stimulating activities is a must.

Excessive TV viewing poses a direct threat to brain health.

Taking time out to exercise has multiple benefits - it gets you away from the TV and improves your body and brain health.

If you find it hard to give up your viewing schedule, try adding some activity into the ad breaks, such as lowering yourself to the floor and getting up without using your hands (see in last week's newsletter).

You could also add Wordle and learning a language on Duolingo to your daily routine as a bit of cognitive exercise - I do both daily.

Related: ​As You Age Pistachios Can Help You Sleep Better

@Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life

//

03 Why melanoma is so deadly for men?

This article caught my attention because I have had two operations for melanoma, and now, to be on the safe side, I have checkups every six months to ensure nothing has spread and nothing new has appeared.

Men comprise 60% of melanoma cases in the US and 70% of deaths.

Why are men more susceptible to melanoma, the most lethal type of skin cancer? Research indicates that men's skin may not keep antioxidants as effectively as women's, leading to a greater risk of skin cancer. Other research suggests that women's elevated estrogen levels may provide additional protection for their skin.

However, the article suggests that the answer is behavioural, and I believe this is the correct reason, for the following reasons:

  1. Men tend to know less about melanoma (and other cancers) than women;
  2. Men are more likely not to use sunscreen;
  3. Men as less likely to go to the doctor proactively for skin checks.

Very similar reasons apply to men and prostate cancer, which I know about from personal experience.

According to the article, men more often believed that you can have a healthy tan (all tans permanently damage our skin), that a "base tan" can protect you from the sun (it cannot), and you cannot get skin cancer in out-of-the-way spots such as the skin between your toes (you can).

And here's something that may be new to you.

⇒ Every time you have sunburn, you add to the damage of the DNA in your skin cells. While young, your immune system holds back cancer created from this damage. But as you age and your immune system weakens, cancer breaks out and grows.

What this means for you: As we say in Australia - slip, slop, slap. Slip on a shirt, slop on the sunscreen, and slap on a hat.

Protect yourself with sunscreen before you go outdoors, and don't count on hair to protect you - it won't.

And something new, which I do regularly now, is checking the UV index on my Apple Watch. I don't go out without sunscreen and cover if it is more than 5, and I aim to avoid being in sunlight altogether if it is higher than 11. For example, in Summer, I go to the dog park around 4:30 or after the UV drops below 6.

As I mentioned above, I also have a six-monthly skin check. It's a little expensive, but there is no doubt, with my history of sunburn as a teenager, that it could save my life. I recommend you consider an annual skin check, especially if you experienced regular sunburn when you were young.

Related: ​Vitamin D Is Free Yet We Don’t Get Enough And Our Health Is Suffering

//

04 Activating Your Quadriceps Keeps Your Knees Pain-Free

Our exercise of the week is... the Extended Knee Ankle Fl-Ex.

I stumbled across this video and it has great news.

If you're experiencing knee pain, this quadriceps strengthening routine is what you need to start your recovery journey. Whether you're dealing with patellar tendonitis, quad tendonitis, meniscus tear, ACL tear, patellar tracking disorder, or osteoarthritis, targeting your Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle can help you recover.

The Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) is one of four quadriceps muscles.

Your VMO sits on the inside of your thigh. Its primary function is to maintain the proper tracking of the patella in the femoral groove and the overall alignment of the knee joint during movement. Knee pain results from stress on the menisci, cartilage, and ligaments when this tracking and alignment is poor.

⇒ Importantly, the VMO and our other quadriceps muscles absorb and distribute impact forces. Therefore, a strong VMO helps manage these forces and reduces the strain on the knee joint.

What this means for you: By addressing the underlying cause of your knee issues, you can regain full mobility with less or no pain.

The exercise is a precise, controlled flexing of the VMO. In fact, this exercise requires such precision that I will not describe it in full, as you are best to watch the video.

The basic moves are:

  1. Rest your knee over a thick roller.
  2. Focus on contracting your VMO precisely above your knee (not higher up your thigh).
  3. Straighten your knee slowly, feeling every degree of extension until locked out.
  4. Extend your foot away, focusing on extending the ball of the foot (not the toes) - hold for 10 seconds.
  5. Contract your foot back towards your knee, holding your knee in the locked-out position, focusing on bringing the ball of your foot towards you and feeling it in your shin muscle - hold for 10 seconds.
  6. Return to neutral, keeping the knee locked-out, and slowly lower your foot to the floor while keeping the tension in your VMO.
  7. Once your foot rests on the floor, gradually ramp down the tension you are holding in your VMO.

Do 2 sets X 3 reps daily if you are starting with knee pain, and as the pain subsides, set up a regular schedule to maintain the benefits, say 2 or 3 times a week.

Watch the video here.

Good luck in getting back to healthy pain-free knees.

Related: Are You Ab-Wheel Rolling To Back Pain? I Was — Not Now

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you are not yet subscribed to my free exercise app, try now ↓↓↓ Free forever. Opt-out any time. Opt-in by CLICKING HERE PLEASE SEND ME THE EXERCISES. NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO SUBSCRIBE ONE TIME.

>> My Latest Blog Post: How Many Pistachios Should I Eat For Sleep and When?

About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com

'4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page.

Resources for you:

Rebuilding Your Fast-twitch Muscles Doesn’t Require Fast Movements. Rebuild Your Balance in 2 Minutes Daily

This One Exercise Will Reshape Your Body And Your Brain, If You’re Game

As You Age Pistachios Can Help You Sleep Better

How To Keep Your Weight Off With Daily Walks — 5 Fun Level-ups That Everyone Can Do

How To Find Purpose In Your life Without Feeling Like You Are Endlessly Chasing Your Tail

This One Exercise Will Reshape Your Body And Your Brain, If You’re Game

​​Brain Health Is Boosted By Eating Less, Often — Here’s How To Start

Skipping Breakfast May Make You More Likely To Develop Diabetes - Research

​​Measuring Your Waist Will Tell You If You Are On Your Way To Diabetes

​​Rebuilding Your Fast-twitch Muscles Doesn’t Require Fast Movements. Rebuild Your Balance in 2 Minutes Daily​​

Dizziness And Cataracts - Is There A Link?

How To Get The Health Benefits Of Black Tea - Even If You Don't Like Drinking It

How To Walk Better (And Undo The Damage Of Treadmills)

I Started Trail Running At 70. Besides Being Bitten By A Dog I Love It

Drink This Many Cups Of Coffee Daily For Better Health

​​​How Avoiding A High Viral Load Can Save Your Life - Coronavirus

Shining Light On Infrared Therapy - It Helped Unlock My Shoulder

Forget Beetroot Juice, Eat More Vegetables For Nitrate Potency And Longer Life

Why Walnuts Lower Heart Disease and Help You Sleep Better

Holy Mackerel! Researchers Confirm Walnuts Help Your Muscles Stay Stronger Helping Live Longer

Walking Backwards Benefits So Much More Than Your Knees

How To Sleep Better And Recover Like Elite Soccer Players

The Surprising Benefits of Black Tea Daily

How To Go From On-knee to Full Pushups, and Reap The Benefits

I Started Trail Running At 70. Besides Being Bitten By A Dog I Love It

The Surprising Way Hip Flexors Pull You Down Into An Elderly Stoop And ​Shuffle, And How To Avoid It

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Four Most Valuable [4MV] Weekly Tips For Living Longer Better | Newsletter

​"I empower mid-life men and women to make the choice to live as actively and as independently as they can, for as long as they can", Walter Adamson Get access to my weekly research that I don’t share elsewhere. “My wife and I both read your articles each week, and I have to say there is so much confusing data out there, but yours is a great source, well researched, scientific and always relevant.” — Steve Ridgway, subscriber.

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