Obesity studies are the empty calories of public debate
There was yet another conference last week where experts confirmed what we all already know. The United States is fat and getting fatter. The conference issued a companion report. There was also a new study out last week. There’s a four-part HBO series, The Weight of the Nation, that premieres tonight. The HBO series has...
Fun run from the walking dead
Look at the face of a person skiing. OK, that sounds dangerous. Instead, look at the face of a person who has just made that final steep run and slid into the back of the lift line. Smiles. Maybe a look of steely self-satisfaction. Ruddy exhilaration. Actual human emotion. Now go to the gym...
The world needs more exer-games
We have been telling people this for years: what the world needs is an exercycle hooked up to LCD display and a game console, so when you are training during these dark cold months you can stop watching Nancy Grace on the washed out TV at the gym and, instead,...
Old people: not as drunk as the young but hornier than you think
The Centers for Disease Control has release a report of American drinking habits that “astounded” researchers. Note that word: researchers don’t normally admit it when they are astounded, unless it’s by something enchanting, like a new species or subatomic particle. When you say you are astounded by human behavior that...
Winter kills
Winter is the odd season when the mere act of stepping outside can cause pain; it is also, often, void of smell. And it’s a time of death. Extreme heat may make for more dramatic photographs and garner bigger headlines but—in the developed world—cold is a bigger killer. (In fact,...
Health Watch
This is a shoulder season—too cold and too often icy for comfortable biking and too warm and rainy for snow sports (at least at our elevation)—so we are inside more than we like. This is a time to concentrate on health and fitness, building up resources that we can put...
