Dutchmeister’s BodyBlog

Bodybuilding.com has a very interesting article by Dr. Warren Willey, who argues that the best way to fight the obesity epidemic is to not worry so much about losing fat; rather, we should be focusing on building lean muscle mass.

Here’s an interesting quote:

… ONE (indicating there are others not discussed here) of the causes in the development of obesity is energy imbalance over a prolonged period of time. Energy in (eating) exceeds energy out (exercise). The alteration of this imbalance can be obtained by varying one or the other.

Albeit a bit technical, the good doc explains the, er, uh… biomechanics of losing fat (versus weight) and building muscle, and shows the benefits of focusing on muscle-building.

An interesting read.

Check out this sobering article on childhood obesity, as well as this one that recommends weight training for those suffering from diabetes.

Craig’s Ballantyne’s Four-Part Obesity Series is highly recommended.

I found this article on Yahoo! News:

Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes.

After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes — including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.

The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research was led by Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health.

"It’s an exciting finding because so often people say, ‘Oh, it’s all in my genes, what can I do?’ Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot," Ornish, who is also affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, said in a telephone interview.

"’In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?’ That’s pretty exciting," Ornish said. "The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer."

Ornish said the men avoided conventional medical treatment for prostate cancer for reasons separate from the study. But in making that decision, they allowed the researchers to look at biopsies in people with cancer before and after lifestyle changes.

"It gave us the opportunity to have an ethical reason for doing repeat biopsies in just a three-month period because they needed that anyway to look at their clinical changes (in their prostate cancer)," Ornish said.

From Foxnews.com: Study: Big, Carb-Heavy Breakfast Key to Weight Loss

Personally, I’m very suspicious of any diet or weight-loss fads that don’t include regular exercise.  Your thoughts.

I think I’m going to take this coming week off from the weights and just do Muay Thai boxing for 3-4 days a week.  It’s great cardio, and it has done wonders to improve my conditioning.

Bodybuilding Champions Plead Guilty to Killing Assistant

LAS VEGAS —  Bodybuilding champions Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan have entered last-minute guilty pleas in connection with the murder of the couple’s personal assistant.

Titus pleaded guilty late Friday to second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and arson in the death of 28-year-old Melissa James.

James’ body was found in a torched luxury sedan in the desert outside Las Vegas in December 2005.

Ryan pleaded guilty to arson and battery with a deadly weapon with significant bodily harm.

Trial in the high-profile case was scheduled to begin Monday. Both were facing charges of murder with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping and third-degree arson.

Titus and Ryan are scheduled to be sentenced July 18.