motd Sat Feb 18, 2012

[Guest guest]

YOUNG HEARTS

Saturday, 18 February 2012

I've been having such a great time teaching

workout classes at different universities around the

country. In fact, this weekend, I'll be teaching a

big Sweatin' class for students at California

State University, Northridge here in the

Los Angeles area.

I can remember my college

years like they were only yesterday.

Oh, I can remember my own college years like they were

only yesterday. (But, trust me, it was a lot

longer ago than that! LOL.) When I was in college,

besides hitting the books, I was also hitting every

bag of chips, bowl of ice cream and Snicker's candy

bar I could get my hands on. Needless to say, my

weight continued to grow during my college years. But

later in life, I turned things around with my weight

and with my life. And of course today, my own good

health is a daily priority. (Yours should

be, too!)

As I thought about how I used to eat when I was in

college and, with my appearance at Cal State coming

up, I began thinking about today's college students.

I wondered about their eating habits and how much

exercise they do every day.

The American Heart

Association discovered that one-third of college

students don't think the way they live now will affect

their health later.

Ask any 18-24 year old college-age student if they're

living healthy and, nine-times-out-of-ten, they'll

probably answer YES. Well, the real answer is more

like a big...NO! At least, that's what the

American Heart Association found out in a national

survey they recently conducted. The AHA discovered

that one-third of college students don't think the

way they live now will affect

their health later. (Boy, that's one final

exam question they'd get wrong!)

Take a look at some of the AHA's other survey

results. I'm sorry to say, they paint a truly

unhealthy picture of our nation's college-age

population.

--Less than half of them exercise regularly.

--About half are not at a healthy weight.

--Almost one-third of them eat fast foods regularly,

while only 1/4 of them eat enough fruits and

vegetables.

--15% of them smoke.

Boy, those aren't very good findings, are they? All

of those behaviors alone or, even worse, combined

with each other, increases a young adult's risk for

stroke, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease as

they get older.

But the good news is that it is possible

for them to reduce their risk of getting any of those

illnesses. That is, if they take on healthier eating

habits and make exercise a regular part of their

lives. But they've got to start...now!

Say, looks like I've got a few things to tell all of

those young hearts I'll meet at Cal State this

weekend!

Love,