Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of I Heart Radio.
I am Tom Holland, and this is Fitness Disrupted. Let's
talking to a friend the other day, actually the friend
that I traveled to the Grand Canyon with and started
(00:22):
to run across with. So I'm gonna finish, but we're talking,
as we do on our travels, about numerous fitness and
exercise related things, and we're talking about podcast and he said,
it must be difficult to do three shows a week,
and I said, it's challenging, but the content is everywhere.
(00:45):
And I think it was referring to the content more
than the actual physical and just practical part of doing
the show. So the contents everywhere, including the topic for
today's show that I saw just a couple of days ago.
And that's one thing I love about this show. It
just a it allows me to vent. It allows me
(01:08):
to vent. I've said this before, Thank Goodness for the
show because it's probably saved my marriage. Because yes, I've
had radio shows before, and I get to you know,
get it out in articles and books and things like that,
but this podcast is just a gift because it allows
me to vent about things I see and hear and read,
(01:31):
including this actual headline from the Washington Post. I usually
don't even throw out the name of the publication, but
I have to because highly regarded. This isn't just some
random fitness person's website or just some random blog. The
headline was and is, healthy lifestyle may increase life expectancy.
(02:01):
It took my breath away, as I'm sure it does
many of you. Now, those of you new to fitness
not gonna have the same effect as those who have
spent a lot of time in the industry. And this
speaks volumes about one of the major problems with the
(02:25):
industry itself with health is the media. And I don't
want to you know we we we hear about this
all the time, and the media is a problem. This
is a problem. This headline is a problem. And I
have done numerous shows, including one about yes, I named
(02:47):
the publication, then the New York Times and that article
that basically not basically that's said strength training doesn't help
with me pain with a picture of someone doing a
squat with really poor form. There's a problem because people
are consuming this unlike ever before. In the past, you
had to pick up a magazine or you to turn
(03:09):
on a TV show, you could not consume the garbage
and the misinformation that you can today with the speed
and to share just volume. And most people won't read
past this headline. I say this every time I do
a show like this. The vast majority people will just
(03:32):
read the headline. And the headline alone does I would
argue significant damage. The full headline is actually, healthy lifestyle
may increase life expectancy. Research suggests. So it's tough to say.
Research suggests so eight words and the terms may and
(03:55):
suggests I know that that that's what that's what the
study these kind of show. Actually, though I'm gonna I'm
gonna get into that. I don't know if the author
was lazy or what. And again I don't like two
single people out of don't need to name. This is
just that we talk about I talk about the media
(04:16):
as a whole. It's not one specific person, although there
are some very high up that that significantly or consistently
cause problems with misinformation and things like that. But healthy
lifestyle may increase life expectancy. Common research suggests. I'm gonna
give you at the end of this podcast, and it's
(04:37):
not gonna be long, gonna hammer right through it. Just
a couple ideas of what I think the title should
have been. And when you hear the actual study, you go,
how did they just come up with that title? From
that study? There's a problem. People are gonna read this
(05:03):
healthy lifestyle may increase life expectancy researches, so it might not?
Might not? I mean, can we actually can? Can I
go out on a women say a healthy lifestyle increases
life expectancy? Can we agree on that? If we can
agree on that, It's what I say at the opening
of my most recent book, The Micro Workout Plan. If
(05:24):
you don't believe that you have control over how long
you live the quality of your life, that this study
is gonna show. Study's gonna show the quality of life too.
If you don't believe you have control, stop exercising, eat
fast food every day and smoke and do all those
kind of things. If you don't believe you have any control,
(05:46):
that it's totally not up to you. Listen, you can
have any approach to life you want, not mine, not mine?
All right? Starting to get worked up? Quick break when
we come back and get right into it, to study
healthy lifestyle and life expectancy with and without Alzheimer's dementia.
Is that anywhere in the title of the article population
(06:07):
based cohort study B mj A. We will get into
that when we come right back and we are back
talking about like just took my breath away, actual headline,
and some of you may still be going time, you're
(06:29):
you're you're overreacting, not a big deal, it is. This
all plays in to where we are as a country
with our health and wellness. Food is more plentiful than
ever before, access to not for everyone, but as a
whole food, exercise, exercise information, fitness equipment. But we are
(07:02):
unhealthier than ever before, and we are just hopefully coming
out of a pandemic where the main issue with people
getting sick was age you can't control, and then lifestyle
(07:23):
related issues so many of which you can In a
study as I talked about prior podcast, showed that five
or more code morbidities five or more those were the
people who had severe complications and death. And when you
have a headline that healthy lifestyle may increase life inspectacy,
(07:45):
well we already know that it may when it comes
to COVID big time, but we don't talk about that.
We talked about all the other things like putting on
a mask, which is not going to get into that debate.
I know that I did before. But as I like
to say, you know what the most powerful ppe is
(08:08):
our immune system, healthy lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, and a healthy mindset.
But we have these headlines, and yes, we need to
do these studies over and over again. I get it.
That's fine, but we need to reward this big time.
(08:30):
All right, So the study? Did that surprise you when
I read it right before the break? The headline is
healthy lifestyle may increase life expectancy research suggests. The actual
study this is pulled from is titled Healthy Lifestyle and
Life Expectancy with and Without Alzheimer's Dementia Population based Cohort
Study B mj APRI. Really recent. So let's just get
(08:54):
right into the particulars of this study. Really good study again.
Cohort study was research that involved two thousand, four hundred
and forty people, so almost people sixty five and older.
They were all part of the Chicago Health and Aging Project,
which first enrolled people back in Okay. So they were
(09:18):
looking at Alzheimer's and life span, life's, how lifestyle affects
lifespan and Alzheimer's and what I love I always talk about.
I'm all about being positive and good news. There's great
news in this study, but you don't get that from
(09:40):
that headline. You go, exercise might help you help, It
might help maybe some research suggests no, no, no, alright,
So I don't want to get too deep into the
design of the study, but it's a great one. They
used both questionnaires and they actually did testing. So the
question theirs were to assess numerous different things, like they
(10:03):
had a healthy lifestyle scoring system, okay for the participants.
They looked at five factors okay, diet, talk about that
on the show, right, cognitive activity, physical activity, smoking, and
alcohol consumption. People were given one point for each area
if they met healthy standards, yielding a final some score
(10:25):
of zero to five. Okay, So they were given a
score zero to five, with five being best based on diet.
Cognitive activity like what are you do when you doing puzzles?
I'll talk about that in a second, Physical activity, smoking,
and alcohol consumption. What jumps out of you right away?
They're all modifiable, they're all choices. What you eat. Who
(10:46):
says that at the end of every podcast? How much
you move, physical activity and our attitudes cognitive activity, brains,
it's really important. And then you've got smoking and alcohol
consumption as well. All Right. The questionnaires they used a couple.
One was that they assessed late life cognitive activities by
using a structured questionnaire that measures participation in seven cognitively
(11:11):
stimulating activities during the past year. These activities include reading,
visiting a museum, and playing games like cards, checkers, crosswords
or puzzles. Really interesting topic that I haven't touched on specifically,
like those doing those kind of things make you better
at doing those kind of things or does it help
prevent cognitive decline. I'm gonna say it doesn't hurt, right,
(11:33):
I'm gonna say that I do things like playing the drums.
I love the physicality of it, but it's more for
the mental stimulation that comes from it. So I'm a
firm believer that we need to exercise our bodies and
our brains. Right, So they looked at that. That was
one of the questionnaires they used. Cognitive testing was even
more rigorous. Okay. They had cognitive measures including seventeen tests
(11:58):
which included verbal fluency test, Boston Naming Test, Mini Mental
state examination, wordless memory and they were administered with examiners
blinded to population, interview and sampling category great design. A
board certified neuropsychologist used data from these cognitive tests to
summarize impairment in each of the five cognitive domains, including memory, language, orientation, attention,
(12:20):
and perception. Additionally, trained nurse clinicians performed a structured neurological
examination and screened participants medical history. Finally, a board certified
neurologists then reviewed all the data re examined each participant,
emphasizing findings considered to be of clinical importance or atypical.
It was a really good study. Wasn't just self reports,
(12:43):
and it was self reports when it came to exercise,
as it commonly is, self reports to some degree when
it came to diet, as it commonly is. And that
is one of the limitations. Usually save the limitations to
the end. You've got the reverse causality limitation, as always
did one cause the other Chicken and egg? And then
(13:04):
you've got the fact that at sixty five were the
people who had certain medical conditions, would they not take
part in it? And were they already deceased? So you've
got some limitations, as always but a really really good study. Okay,
what's the findings? What's what are the findings going to read? Right?
(13:26):
From the uh? The studies so great? Okay, Women age
sixty five with four or five healthy factors that zero
to five score. So if they're four or five lived
three point one years longer than women age sixty five
zero or one healthy factor. I think that's ridiculously low.
The three years. But but okay, let's let's just accept
(13:51):
it for what it is. You go three. I think
that's well, okay, that's me. But we'll get back to
that because this study shows it's not just how won't
you live? Okay, of the total life expectancy at age
sixty five, women with four or five healthy factors spent
this is what's for me, so amazing, right, spent ten
(14:12):
point eight percent of their remaining years with Alzheimer's dementia,
whereas women with zero or one healthy factor spent nineteen
point three with the disease. Do you understand what that means?
This is the line. It's not just about adding years
to your life, but about adding quality to your years.
(14:32):
I talk about that with strength training. How strength training
is truly the fountain of youth. Sure, thanks to modern medicine,
you can live to or older. But how do you
want the quality of those years to be. Do you
want to be walking around, running around pain free, doing
everything you want? Or do you want to have issues?
(14:52):
It's not just physical. This is why one of the
themes of this show and my life are all the
benefits of exercise that are not on the scale or
in the mirror. Okay, so let me say that again.
The people who had the high healthy scores four or
(15:13):
five okay, ten of their remaining years with Alzheimer's. The
lower numbers, the more unhealthy double. The life expectancy for
women age sixty five without Alzheimer's, dementia and four or
five healthy factors was four years longer than those with
zero one healthy factor. So you are living longer, that's
what the headline stated, may and suggests, but it's the
(15:39):
quality of those years. They had the dementia for half
as long, the quality the avoidance of negative health issues.
So many types of cancer, so many cognitive issues. You're
seeing it now. Had a discussion today with someone just
randomly about their parents and cognitive issues, and I talked
(16:02):
to her about this study and the fact that I
was going to do this podcast right now. This is
one of so many studies I've already done them and
will continue to about the cognitive benefits of exercise. But
where do you see that? Where do you see that
in the marketing? Ever? You see it occasionally in newspapers.
Have you ever seen a commercial for like a piece
(16:24):
of exercise equipment or eating healthy? It's not a fraud product.
I'm thinking about all the supplements topic for anomen I
just did one recently. But you know, when I'm talking
about it's all about weight loss, it's all about vanity.
And that's fine. You're gonna get those things if you
(16:46):
stick to the program, But those are gonna take time.
And who cares if you have cognitive issues? Who cares
how skinny you are? Who cares how good you look?
If your sixties, seventies, eighties, and ninety you have to
deal with major cognitive issues. So this is why I
laugh in a very angry way when I see the
(17:11):
social media people who say, look how skinny I am.
I don't do any cardio, and they're in their twenties
or thirties, and they have good genetics. Getting worked up
all right, Let me get to the men. The results
for the men may Men age sixty five with four
or five healthy factors had a total life expectancy of
five point seven years, longer than men age sixty five
with zero or one. Of the total life expectancy at
(17:34):
age sixty five, men with four or five healthy factors
spent six point one here we go, six point one
percent of their remaining years with Alzheimer's dementia, and those
with zero or one healthy factor spent twelve same findings
double with the disease half the time. Quality of life,
(17:56):
and let me just reiterate it one final time. Those
were the score of four or five healthy factors at
age sixty five lived with Alzheimer's for a smaller proportion
of their remaining years than did those with a score
of zero to one. For women, the difference was about
half eleven of their final years versus nine for those
(18:19):
with a less healthy lifestyle men, who was six percent
versus twelve percent, again half. The conclusion of this study
kind of takes my breath away, but I get it.
This is found in the study itself. A healthy lifestyle
was associated with a longer life expectancy among men and women.
And they lived a larger proportion of their remaining years
(18:42):
without Alzheimer's dementia. The life expectancy estimates might help. This
is what takes my breath away. Words matter. The life
expectancy estimates might help health professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to
plan future healthcare services, costs, and needs. I get it.
Studies have been doing this for a really long time,
and this is how they're worded. But I don't like it,
(19:05):
especially don't like it when it's put into the headlines.
Most people are going to read that study might might
help health professionals. When are we going to get to
should or will? One final quote, prolonged life expectancy owing
to a healthy lifestyle is not accompanied by an increased
(19:27):
number of years living with Alzheimer's dementia, but rather a
larger proportion of remaining years lived without Alzheimer's dementia. Oh
my gosh, amazing great news. Final break. When we come back,
let's just like absorb how amazing those findings are. Regardless
of what that headline stated. All right, we'll be right back.
(20:00):
Like an amazing study and amazing study. Do you get
any of that from healthy lifestyle? May increase life expectancy.
Research suggest that's a Washington Post Like, I'm at a
loss for words based on those eight words and the
(20:22):
fact that there's nothing in there about Alzheimer's and quality
of life and cognitive Like, who's going to read that article?
Most people aren't. It's boring. It reiterates what most people
kind of know, and it's got two words that kind
of say maybe maybe not. It's about adding years to
(20:50):
your life and life to your years. You know. I
was answering a question about motivation again and how to
set healthy goals and how to not focus on body image.
This is how people This is the problem. Though. You
first got to believe, as I said at the beginning,
that this is true, that there are all these potential benefits.
(21:13):
Is it guarantee? No, Then I was gonna say that
everyone would do it, but they still wouldn't do it.
Even if it was a guarantee. Not everyone would do it.
But how many studies, how many times we have to
hear it. That's one of the main focus is of
the show, is bringing you so much information you can't
avoid it, so much research, You go, holy smokes, why
(21:35):
am I not doing it? Why am I not strength training.
Why am I not doing cardiovascular exercise? Why am I
not eating healthy? Why am I not taking a positive mindset?
Because the benefits are potentially so incredible, but it's delayed
gratification and you can't see it. You can't see what's
gonna happen forty years down the road if you're thirty
(21:56):
forty years old and working out. But every time I
do something healthy, every single time I have a healthy meal,
drink a glass of water, avoid a stressful interaction, you know,
control my reaction. Every walk I go with the dogs.
I know that was a positive. I know there was benefit,
(22:19):
and I know that it is going to accrue over time.
But it's the long term approach we are wired for
short term. Can't see the results. It's not on a scale,
it's not in the mirror, and you definitely don't see
it in the marketing. I would love that and the
company that first embraces that and does it well. What
(22:40):
should the what should the heading have been? What should
the headline have been? How about I'll give you one.
Let me just give you one. I have a couple,
but let's just go with one. Even more powerful proof
that exercise not only adds years to your life, but
life to your years. And if you want to be
a little more specific, more brain benefits of exercise, and
(23:04):
there's so many more. But I believe that headline does
a disservice on so many levels, reinforcing the questioning of
the value of exercise, plus vastly diminishing the actual findings
of that study. That's a problem. That's a problem, all right,
(23:24):
But they should get you even more excited every time
I bring you a study like this. Every time you
get on your treadmill, every time you get on your bike,
every time you eat that healthy meal, you should feel
better and better about it. Who's saying it to my
wife this morning as I was eating my healthy breakfast.
(23:45):
It feels so good on so many levels, the healthy food.
And that's not to say I don't indulge. I posted
a picture of of what my running partner, I call
him that, even though again I really really just wanted
to be known that when we run the Grand Canyon
and do things like that, he's gone. I'm running by myself,
but I want to do it that way. But we
(24:06):
went to a fast food restaurant right after because we
were so depleted and ate something I normally don't eat,
and I posted a picture of it and someone said,
I love your honesty. I go listen. That's all you're
gonna get from me, because that's called living. And no
one is perfect or should you be. And actually the
people who claim to be perfect, unhealthy extremes are easier.
(24:31):
It's balance and excessive moderation that's more difficult. There you go,
all right, got that off my chest. I feel better
and you should too, Alzheimer's if you have that in
your family, even if you don't get that cardio in.
Do all these things that I talked about here on
(24:53):
fitness disrupted, all of these small behavioral, positive healthy changes,
and you will slowly become intrinsically motivated. You will do
it because you enjoy it, and that goes for exercise
and eating healthy and everything. Okay, I have finished almost
(25:18):
my new book Proposal. I'm very excited, so I'm in
an especially good mood. That took a long time, my
first non prescriptive book proposal. UM, so hopefully you'll be
hearing about that in a year or so. It takes
a while anyway. The micro Workout Plan is my most
recent book. I get that anywhere, the micro workout plan,
short workouts, my whole philosophy everything, and if you have
(25:39):
purchased it, always greatly appreciate an Amazon review. Again, my
goal is I haven't broken a hundred reviews yet, so
if you have a couple extra minutes and you have
have read it, that would be greatly appreciated. If you
want to reach out, love hearing from you, so many
great questions and comments. Getting ready to do another listener
mailbag show DM me at tom h Fit which is
Instagram as well as Twitter. D M Instagram and Twitter
(26:03):
is tom h Fit and you can also go to
Fitness disrupted dot com. Email me through the site, follow
the show, rate the show, do anything you can to
support the show. Greatly appreciated. My goal is to bring
you the best information distill it to house so you
can live your best life. People. I'm really really passionate
about it, and I love when you try not to
(26:25):
get worked up. I often do well, not often enough, probably,
but that's because stress is a choice. But I do
get stressed when I see you being stripped of and
and cause to waste time and money when it comes
to your health. Unacceptable. All right, So it's not happening here.
(26:49):
Thank you for listening. And remember there are three things
we all control, how much we move, what we put
into our mouths, and our attitudes modifiable. And that's awesome.
I am Tom Holland. This is Fitness Disrupted. Believe in yourself.
Fitness Disrupted is a production of I Heart Radio. For
(27:12):
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
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