Running: Losing my religion

Forbes India Blog:

I am a runner by religion, and a very staunch one at that. I became a runner when I was 9 years old. I firmly believed that running gives you an even playing ground, which strips all of their social status and financial standing. 

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Medical Columns in newspapers

"Shut your eyes to the medical columns of the newspapers, and you will save yourself many forebodings and symptoms."
— Samuel Hopkins Adams
'The Sure-Cure School,' Collier’s Weekly (14 Jul 1906). Reprinted in The Great American Fraud (1907), 84.

This holds true even after more than a century. Most folks take every word in the newspaper as gospel-word without appreciating the source and person who has just taken something out of context without even understanding the condition and making it very sexy and sell-able.

Disclaimer: I write for a health column in Mint newspaper. The intention is always to present very well researched but simple advice to problems.

Making Champions, Sacrificing Childhood

A few days ago, I received a call from a gentleman who wanted to make his 9 year old son a badminton world champion. He needed my help to get his fitness levels up to the mark.

The problem was that this gentleman wasn't interested in his kid, but was looking only for a world champ. The kid pain thanks to playing the sport without being fit enough, but the father didn't seem too bothered about that.

Just make it more interesting, he then told me that he could do training with his son. Why did he need us or any one else?

I just wasn't sure why he had come to us in the first place.

It's sad to see that kids are used commodities, and not as living beings, leave alone sons and daughters. Can there be some legislation for this?

Child diabetes 'is being missed' - BBC

Your child has a raging thirst and is rapidly losing weight. What could be behind it - it couldn't be diabetes - could it?

For full article in BBC, click here

Too much sitting 'bad for health' - BBC

Sitting for long periods increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death, researchers suggest.

To read full article by BBC, click here

Health First, Medals Later

There is a lot more to playing sports than simply winning

Recently, a father came to me with his eight-year-old son. He wanted his child to become a future world champion in badminton. He wanted me to assess and then address his son’s physical fitness, which he felt was lacking. I was given 18 months to raise the child’s fitness level to international standards. I loved the challenge because I thought I had full parental support and we were on the same page.

To read more, check the story here ... http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/d5GIPv5mCn4Pmf8zESVD8J/Health-first-medals-later.html

Is Cardio workout bad for you (for weight loss or otherwise)?

A friend of mine shared an article that spoke about 'How dangerous traditional cardio workout is for weight loss program.'

I have done a lot of articles on these topics, and always after thorough research. One of them is here... http://www.newslaundry.com/2012/03/quack-quack/ Scroll down till you see a BBC piece that I have spoken about.

For the piece in question, my response is below in red font.

This Type of Exercise can Damage your Heart

by Craig Ballantyne, CTT

Contributor:  Men's Health Magazine

Creator:  Turbulence Training

'Turbulence', are you serious! That is a very constructive term to have for name or training. My confidence level in whatever I am going to read next hasn't really sky rocketed though. Men's Health is not by any means a critically reviewed medical journal, which I am used, so I am going to be tough on them.