Women and Men and Exercise

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I was familiar with this study in PubMed, having found it in searching for strategies to maximize my own exercise and fitness.  I then saw the New York Times piece about it from a few days ago.  Interesting thing, the male and female body and how they respond differently to exercise, hormones, food, and stress.  In the follow-up study of women, women weren't helped as much as the men when they had protein post-workout, compared with a mostly carbohydrate meal.  This was true at one day post-workout and several days later, too.

What this speaks more to from my perspective are the research design implications.  I can understand not being able to get enough female athletes to replicate exercise science studies, but this means that the findings only apply to men (and mostly young, healthy, college-aged men in most cases, too).  This isn't an observation that applies only to exercise science research, but to much of social science research, too.  What we know about many topics in psychology, for example, are known from studies on college students.  They are plenty, willing, and cheap to study.  So, how we understand many of the "basic" principles of psychological functioning is based on the brain of a 20 year-old.  Wow.

Is the BMI overrated (and perhaps clinically useless)?

A study challenging conventional wisdom is making headlines on the Internet (as they often do, every day).  Eric Braverman, MD and colleagues presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Annual Meeting in Boston in recent days.  The study, a retrospective comparison of body mass index (BMI) with body fat percentages from DEXA scans, found that BMI was very insensitive to the presence of body fat.  That is, BMI was not a good predictor of actual body fat, and therefore not a good tool for diagnosing or classifying folks as obese or overweight. 

The DEXA scans detected much more body fat than did BMI results alone (56% vs. 20%) in the sample studied (which isn't adequately described in the abstract, available here).

What we don't know yet (unless you where there at the meeting to hear more details than what is presented in the abstract):

• Sample size & description
• Demographic features of the sample
• Statistical methods used to evaluate the data
• Accuracy & reliability of DEXA vs. BMI in those studied
• Limitations of the study

I'm eager to read the paper reporting more about this study, assuming one gets to print.  I'm also eager to see reaction from obesity researchers to this data; the sample isn't small, even though the recommendations (that BMI be avoided) may be slightly premature.

CEO, a nurse, practices patient advocacy

A recent piece on the value of advocacy and public involvement by nurses. Being political doesn't involve just voting for candidates. Policy is set by politicians, so being aware, connected, and engaged is important.

New England Nursing News | Emerson President, CEO Practices Patient Advocacy

From PBS: Nurses Needed, 10-16-2009

Thanks to a friend for forwarding this great video from PBS on nurses.

See the whole story here:  http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/442/