Archive for March, 2010

JAMA Study Says Women Need 60 Minutes of Exercise Daily

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Just to maintain their healthy body weight as they age, women need 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every single day, according to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. The 13-year study analyzed more than 34,000 women with a mean age of 54.2 years and a normal diet.

If you’re reading this, you probably care a great deal about your appearance and health, so maybe you are motivated to make the time for 60 minutes of exercise every day. However, most people don’t think visiting the health club for an hour every day is very practical, nor is it exciting; so how can we put this advice into practice?

1. Get 30 minutes of high intensity exercise rather than 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. If you’re able, push yourself harder and burn those calories faster.

2. Gain some muscle with strength training and you’ll burn more fat. Try the kettlebells.

3. Don’t drive to the health club; bicycle or run there. It provides a great pre-workout warmup and adds a few extra minutes of exercise before and after your gym time.

4. Stop searching for that perfect parking spot. Park at the outer edge of the lot and walk.

5. Ask your boss about implementing a workplace fitness program. You may want to mention the surgeon general’s 2010 recommendation to promote healthier work sites. (Tell the co-workers to stop bringing all those cookies and donuts too.)

6. Know the difference between performance and appearance. When you evaluate your fitness and health achievements, it’s easy to focus solely on body weight and areas of excess fat. If you are faster or stronger, congratulate yourself and remember there are ways to enhance body appearance when nothing else works.

7. Exercise should be fun. If your current routine feels like pulling teeth, try something new and always try to keep an upbeat, positive attitude.

2009 AACS Survey Shows 17 Million Cosmetic Treatments

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Doctors performed more than 17-million cosmetic procedures last year, according to a procedural survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.

The Academy chose a different approach this year, polling random physicians as well as its own members for the survey. The results show numbers higher than ever seen before.

“As the economy recovers slowly but surely, we are seeing patients come back and feel better about doing some things for themselves that maybe they’d been putting off for a while.”  – AACS President Mark Berman MD

New You Magazine Has a New Website

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

The website of New You magazine went live this week, and it provides some great resources for consumers to learn about skin health, physical fitness, nutrition and cosmetic surgery. The articles this month are very well written, especially the piece by Dr. Mark Berman and the fitness article about posture by Maria Mercedes.

One section of the site titled Inspired features several patient profiles in which men and women of different ages discuss the impact a cosmetic surgery procedure made on their lives. Another section is about “Achieving the Look” with cosmetic procedures. Featured articles discuss arm lift surgery, laser treatments, vein treatment, the tummy tuck, and the Brazilian butt lift.

According to the media kit, the site should allow readers to upload a photo to the site and use special software to visualize results of a basic procedure.  That feature must still be in the development stage.

Click here to see the New You website.

Acupuncture Probably Not A Cost Effective Wrinkle Treatment

Monday, March 1st, 2010

To correct facial lines and wrinkles, some people on the east coast are spending their money on acupuncture, the ancient Chinese therapy believed to help alleviate a variety of physical ailments and emotional imbalances.

In this youtube video of an ABC News segment, Dr. Bruce Genter, a surgeon well known in Philadelphia is critical of acupuncture as a wrinkle treatment, citing the lack of scientific evidence for that purpose.

But when people claim that it works, are they seeing real results?  If so, is it a cost effective treatment method?

Julia Engstrom, who is featured in the video, says she has undergone Botox treatment and laser treatment in the past. She believes facial acupuncture has improved her skin texture and reduced her wrinkles. Nearing the end of 10 treatments, she says her improvements are a result of improved sleep and relaxation after acupuncture. “I’ve noticed that my skin is a lot smoother, [there’s] a lot less red pigment in there and the wrinkling seems to be a lot less,” Engstrom said.

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