This week, read about inspiration for older athletes, myths of modern day dieting, and the lack of nutrition education in medical schools.
Inspiration for older athletes. This year’s Boston Marathon was won by Meb Keflezighi, just shy of his 39th birthday. Remarkably, this is the fastest marathon Keflezighi has ever ran. Like some others, Meb is redifining what “old’ means for athletes. If you’re interested in the amazing feats of other aging athletes, the benefits of staying active throughout life, or curious about strategies to maintain your peak fitness at despite your age, check out my information page for Masters athletes.
Myths of modern day dieting. Yoni Freedhoff, Medical director at Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute, and author of the popular blog Weighty Matters, has been posting some great short videos debunking the myths of modern-day dieting. The myths are featured in his recent book, The Diet Fix, which is a breath of fresh air amidst a sea of fad diet books. Freedhoff lets you know that there are no quick fixes to losing weight, and focuses his book on helping you develop the skills you need to help support permanent behavior change. The book is practical, showcases Freedhoff’s vast-experience as a weight-loss specialist, and is routed in evidence-based behavior change and weight loss strategies.
The Neglect of Nutrition in Medical Education. You may find it surprising (and discouraging!) to learn that most medical students receive very little, if any, nutrition education. In this article, a 2nd year medical student at Harvard Medical School reports on the his mere 9 hours of nutrition education, which is similar (or even better) to other schools. Given that heart disease, diabetes, other chronic diseases, and obesity are leading health problems with recognized dietary causes, it seems that there is much room for improvement in the medical school curriculum. Marion Nestle’s accompanying editorial is also worth reading. Hopefully change is imminent: this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also highlights the problem with a supplement devoted to the topic.(JAMA Intern Med. April 14, 2014.)
Photo credit: By Gr5 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0]
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