Last December, The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that over the last twelve years, death rates among 2,600 adults 60 and older were slightly lower in overweight individuals than in normal weight adults.

Wait, what? Isn’t obesity a major health concern?

Actually, the New York Times reports that “despite concerns about an obesity epidemic, there is growing evidence that our obsession about weight as a primary measure of health may be misguided.”

It seems that medical research is taking a different path down the road of health, obesity, and weight loss studies. In fact, the Archives of Internal Medicine, as referenced in the Times suggests that half of overweight people and one third of obese people are actually “metabolically healthy.”

America’s obsession with beauty and looks has long stereotyped overweight people in a negative light. However, studies such as those mentioned above are proving that in many cases, thin or underweight people are in poorer health than those with a few excess pounds. The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted fitness tests and observed mortality rates of their subjects, and discovered that “fitness level, regardless of body mass index, was the strongest predictor of mortality risk.” Therefore, skinny people blessed with a fast metabolism will still find working out to be advantageous to their health, and “big boned” individuals should not be written off as being “lazy” or “sluggish,” as stereotypes suggest. Read More »

Every college girl – hell, every college student knows that school requires a lot of sacrifices. You give up things that you would have never otherwise dreamed of giving up beforehand. I’m entirely guilty of that (and don’t act like some of you aren’t, either); I’ve been taking my summer vacation for granted for years now, just vegging out, doing a little summer work, and reading.

But since I transferred after my freshman year, I lost a few credits. I still need to graduate in 2009; with the way tuition is, I can’t afford another semester or even another year. So since I was a little underweight in the distribution section, I decided to do what any smart, responsible college student would do; I signed up for summer classes.

Summer classes are no joke. They last just about a month, maybe a little bit longer. You’re learning things that are usually spread out throughout a semester, but crammed together into four weeks. It’s fast-paced, hectic, and time-consuming. It’s even harder if it’s a subject you’re not familiar with.

I’m taking Spanish 101 and 102 at my local community college to get my language requirement out of the way. Mind you, I’m already pretty well versed in Spanish. I took it for about ten years in baby steps. But now that it’s pretty much being crammed down my throat and even I’m having some difficulty. Read More »

“Nice ass, you must walk a lot?”

I just read that a group of researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that people who walk, and move about more often, had the highest overall physical activity levels.

Before you say “duh”, it gets better. They also found that although the participants (men and women) who ran burned more calories, the moderate exercisers burned more calories overall.

In other words, in the 30 day study, the runners with their laced up, geared up sneaks laid around after they hit the road, and the moderate walkers bounced around a bit more post-workout.

Makes sense… I can recall many a post-job moment when all I did was grab a PB&J, hit the couch and watched Grey’s.

I’m glad I read this news, I was just starting to berate myself for choosing the stroll instead of the run. Also a side note for you… My Biology professor said that you burn very close to the same amount of calories whether you run or walk a mile. The difference is the after burn of a run is greater…it also perks up the ole’ metabolism.

But, hey, lets just keep walking for now.

Every college has it. The weird course. The bizarre experiment class that must have gotten okayed after the faculty meeting wine (and possibly weed) came out. The course everyone wants to take because it can’t possibly be studied for.

Liberal Arts schools are famous for these types of classes. Being a graduate of a Liberal A. myself, I made sure to take every weird course I could find. Every class with a half-written syllabus, opened ended final, or that was team-taught—I took. And let me tell you, those were some of the best wasted hours of my college career.

Wesleyan, one of the “Most Annoying Liberal Arts Schools” out there, currently has one of the best examples of a weird course I’ve heard in a long time. The reason this example is so good? It’s explanation is as pretentious as it’s description is redonkulous.

Course Name: Feet to the Fire: the Art and Science of Climate Change

Category: Biology
Cross Listed With: Dance

Description: As quoted by Gawker, the first lines of the course description are as follows: “Feet to the Fire is an intensive, interdisciplinary course that melds scientific and choreographic inquiry in pursuit of one of the most important topics facing society: climate change due to global warming”

Class Layout: “Classroom and laboratory sessions”, with a neighboring landfill acting as said laboratory. Read More »

Your four years of college will include many interesting and not-so-interesting courses. Hopefully, when combined, these courses will produce a well-rounded intelligent citizen ready to contribute to society and earn a living.

Long after graduation, you’ll find yourself using some of the knowledge (hopefully, your major) everyday. Other courses will disappear from your mind as quickly as they appear.

For example, I now only think of the two required semesters of Western Civilization when Alex Trebek asks a question related to the Ottoman Empire.

A few classes outside my major, though, have yielded a value far beyond the tuition dollars paid for them. I advise any college student to find time to take five courses. Perhaps one or two will be required and one or two can fill elective options. Even if that’s not the case, don’t graduate without these on your transcript and in your head!

Speech Communications
When you ask people what scares them most, the most common answer is public speaking. This class may not completely cure a fear of public speaking, but it can give you the confidence you need to make a presentation in front of crowds. More than that, the class teaches how a good speech is organized. You’ll learn how to use humor (and when to avoid it) and how to keep an audience interested. Speech classes generally give plenty of practice in writing, researching and delivering speeches…all followed by valuable feedback.

Psychology
This one is obvious. Even though the first class is very basic, you’ll learn a lot about yourself, others and relationships. This class will improve your parenting skills, your skills as a spouse and give you a broader understanding of mankind. Read More »