Motivated by competition or cooperation? Which is better?
Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
A recent University of Pennsylvania study found that college students’ attendance at exercise sessions was 90 percent higher if they felt they were competing against their peers. But as Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further. But cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves offffffffffff.”
We agree: For most of us, it’s support and companionship that are the best motivators for sustained working out or weight loss, with just a touch of friendly competition. As U.S. Olympic marathoner Don Kardong (he placed fourth in the 1976 Montreal Olympic games) says, “Eventually, competition and adventure wane … but I continue running for health, sanity and the ritual of a Sunday trail run with like-minded buddies.”
So if you’re struggling to keep up with your workout routine or to meet your weight-loss goals, don’t go it alone! Especially powerful is joining a group so that you have several partners to depend on and who depend on you. Groups like Team in Training from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Team Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association offffffffffffer instruction, support and inspiration. Not your style? Find one workout buddy who is as determined as you are. A bonus tip: If your resolve fades (you’ve missed the past two scheduled sessions or indulged in foods you know you shouldn’t eat), try mindful meditation to ease stress and refocus your intentions. Often, a call from your workout buddy is what works best!
Apprehensive about heart-health apps
We know YOU wouldn’t buy the Brooklyn Bridge — although many folks have believed they did! Around 1900, con man George C. Parker sold it over and over ( once for $50,000). During that era, William McCloundy, known as
I. U. O’Brien,” also sold the bridge and spent two years in Sing Sing for his efffffffffffforts.
But chances are better that you’d fall for some less-than-reliable apps that promise to monitor your heart health. You think, “Hey, it works on my phone, it’s cool and it’s on Google Play or iTunes, so it must be OK.”
Well, recently, Johns Hopkins researchers published fifindings in JAMA Internal Medicine about a high-blood-pressure app they felt was dangerously inaccurate. And although that one app was debunked, another popular app, called out in a MedPage Today article, still uses the same dubious technology. (The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate apps.) The app not only promises to monitor blood pressure, heart rate, blood lipids and blood oxygen, but also respiratory rate, vision, hearing and lung capacity, and tests for autism-spectrum disorder!
If you have heart disease and want to keep tabs on it, the smart choice is a medical-qual- ity chest-strap monitor or FDA-approved device that monitors heart rhythm. For blood pressure the American Heart Association recommends you use a cuffffffffffff-style unit for accurate readings. And we will revisit this topic in around six months, when the AHA plans to release a policy statement on telehealth, including at-home heart monitoring. So stay tuned, stay safe and don’t let a few bad apps spoil your barrel of good ones.
Question: With cancer rates are on the rise, especially the ones that affffffffffffect women, what can I do to protect myself ? — Michelle S., Walnut Creek, California
Answer: Cancer rates among women are increasing. In 2016, women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with 1,685,210 new cancer cases resulting in 595,690 cancer deaths. Globally, it’s predicted cancer deaths in women will increase 57 percent by 2030.
But YOU can reduce your risk, according to a report from the American Cancer Society and Merck KGaA, called “The Global Burden of Cancer in Women.” Experts think that 33 to more than 50 percent of cancers that affffffffffffect women can be prevented.
The cancers that have the greatest mortality risk for women are lung, breast, colorectal and, internationally, cervical cancer. But if you don’t smoke and don’t drink more than one glass of wine a day, maintain a healthy weight, exercise consistently and get regular screening tests, you’ll slash your risk for these cancers. Also, the HPV vaccine for girls and boys protects against cervical cancer, as well as cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, throat and anus. And eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits lowers your cancer risk; the polyphenols they contain prevent cell damage that leads to cancer.
If you do develop a precancerous condition or one of these cancers, early detection can save your life.
Lung cancer: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends those between ages 55 and 80 who smoked a pack a day for 30 years ask their doctor about screening.
Breast cancer: USPSTF recommends women ages 50 to 74 get a mammogram every two years. You and your doc can decide if you want screening earlier.
Colorectal cancer: Everyone 50 to 75 should be screened for colorectal cancer, usually by having a colonoscopy once every 10 years. Removing precancerous ( and cancerous) polyps saves countless lives!