American men average 29 hours a week of TV watching, while women rack up about 34 hours! The average American watches four hours and 25 minutes of TV per day. And 49% of Americans say they watch too much TV. The average time per week that the American child (ages 2-17) spends watching television is 19 hours and 40 minutes!

In summary, US adults are watching TV the same number of hours it takes to make one full-time work week. And children are watching enough to fill a part-time job.

Each person, male or female, child or adult, has two options when facing a TV, to watch or not to watch.

Below are five exercises you can do if you choose to watch TV that get you moving (even if only during commercial breaks):

1. Push-ups. If floor pushups are too difficult for you, start off by standing up with your hands on the wall, then pushing back. Do this 10 times; increase the reps as the exercise gets easier.
2. Chair/Couch squats. Stand up, sit down, then stand right back up (for even more of a workout, don't sit down all the way). Do this for the length of one commercial. As it gets easier, do it again for the next commercial.
3. March in place. Move both your arms and legs and add jumping jacks to increase the intensity.
4. While sitting in a chair, or on the couch, do some strength training exercises with dumbbells, or dumbbell substitutes such as soup cans or books. Bicep curls , overhead shoulder presses, side arm raises, front arm raises, and triceps extensions are a few of the great exercises you can do while sitting!
5. Lying on the floor, do side-lying leg raises for the outer hip and inner thigh, with or without weights. Or, sitting up on the floor, use resistance bands to do seated rows (pretend you're rowing a boat).

Below are five alternatives to watching TV that get you moving:

1. Instead of morning cartoons or the morning news, start your day with a short walk. Invite a friend or family member or even the dog! You'll feel refreshed and it gives the perfect opportunity for time well spent with your children, family members, and friends.
2. Instead of watching home improvement shows – do it yourself! Redecorate a room or just rearrange some furniture. Painting and wall-papering provide a great cardio workout!
3. Instead of watching a cooking show or any other informative program, try a class out yourself! Enroll in a local cooking class or try a ballroom dancing class with a partner! You'll meet new people, learn new things, and it keeps you active!
4. Give yourself an extreme makeover. Don't just sit there and watch some stranger be made over, pamper yourself! Take a relaxing bath with aromatherapy and essential oil bath salts. Bring a good book and some soothingmusic and take a break.
5. Now that you have saved yourself and hopefully your whole family over 20 hours of leisure time – treat yourself with a great group activity! Take a trip to the zoo, walk to the local movie theater, go swimming at the nearest lake, pool, or water hole, or just sit back and enjoy all the time you have saved with a good book or some great conversation.

Resources:

Glued to the Screen
tvturnoff.org
TV Fact Sheet
For more TV-watching exercises go to Fitness for Couch Potatoes

The Truth about Breast Cancer and Carbohydrates

A diet high in complex carbohydrates such as legumes, fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (insoluble fiber) does not cause breast cancer. A diet high in simple carbohydrates such as processed foods full of sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and fat is not healthy and is linked to a number of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and possibly breast cancer.

By lumping highly processed foods, like sugars and refined flours, and natural carbohydrates, like starches (corn tortillas), vegetables and fruits together, the media, reporting on a recent study, is creating unnecessary concern. Although each article says, “don't jump to conclusions” or “make generalizations,” each article inadvertently misleads the reader.

The study, by Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, entitled, “Carbohydrates and the Risk of Breast Cancer among Mexican Women” was published in early August of this year. The researches reported that “[t]he strongest association (between carbohydrates and breast cancer) was observed for sucrose intake, and this was stronger among postmenopausal women…Few epidemiologic studies have investigated intake of carbohydrate in relation to the risk of breast cancer, and results are inconsistent.” And the study ends with, “[t]hus, the relation between macronutrient intake and breast cancer among Mexican women deserves further evaluation.”

However, the media is reporting that there is a definite link between breast cancer and a diet high in carbohydrates with such blaring headlines as, “Breast cancer risk doubles if carb intake is high” (Medical News Today ) and, “Study: Eating lots of carbs may raise breast cancer risk” (USA Today).

A single study can not possibly provide concrete evidence regarding such complex and serious issues as breast cancer and diet. According to Dr. John McDougall, MD, “The traditional Mexican diet has been one of corn (tortillas), beans, fruits and vegetables.  This kind of eating is associated with very low rates of breast cancer and all other diseases common to people living in Western societies.”

Breast cancer is on the rise in Mexico . Why? Because animal-based and highly-processed foods encourage cancer growth because they lack the plant-based ingredients, such as starch, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, that prevent diseases. Animal-based and highly-processed foods are high in cholesterol, fat, protein and chemicals, increasing your risk of obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer of the breast, colon, and prostate.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) reaffirms that the public should not make generalizations about carbohydrates and their effect on cancer risk. Carbohydrates offer highly varied nutritional profiles that “range from fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to highly processed chips, cookies, and cupcakes.”

What this debate all comes down to is the long known fact that whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are good for you and chips, cookies, and cupcakes are not.

Case solved.

Resources:

Carbohydrates and the Risk of Breast Cancer among Mexican Women
High Carb Diet Linked to Breast Cancer – More Deceit
WebMD
“A New Risk for Breast Cancer?” Taste for Life. Newsbites. October 2004. p. 16

Misleading Headlines:
MSNBC
USA Today
CBS
Medical News Today