Make like a hamster
“Desk job” will take on a new meaning if Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James Levine has his way. Levine envisions offices of the future being filled with treadmill desks, where employees can keep fit while getting their work done. The physician says keeping obesity at bay requires deliberate movements all day every day.
In an interview in the February/March issue of Eating Well, Levine says it’s really not that hard to accomplish this goal. Of the 300 people who have tried treadmill desks, walking 30 minutes out of each hour, there were no failures. In another study, when normal people were asked to stand around and walk for 2 1/2 hours every day, all succeeded by using various techniques that fit their lifestyle. One woman watched TV only when walking on her treadmill. Another woman divided her walk into three 50-minute sessions–before work, at lunch and in the evening. Simply walking at a “shopping pace” of 1 mile per hour burns 100 calories an hour. The faster you go, the more calories you burn.
The position of the treadmill to a computer at your desk should be at eye level to avoid foot and back pain and so you don’t sweat.
Desks that can be adapted for use with a treadmill can be found at www.standupdesks.com, www.anthro.com, and www.hardwoodfurniture.com. For more information on the Mayo Clinic’s Office of the Future and images of their own facility in Rochester, Minn., go to www.mayoclinic.org/news2005-rst/2836.html.
Fast-food reform
Artery-clogging trans fats, the big offender to health, are on their way out, now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that trans fats be listed on the nutrition labels of food products. That change already has brought forth many healthier, reformulated products, says a feature in the January/February issue of Health magazine.
For example:
– McCain, the world’s largest producer of frozen french fries, now offers fries free of trans fat.
– Frito-Lay now has 35 brands of trans-fat-free snack chips.
– Crisco has a zero-trans-fat shortening.
Some restaurants, such as Ruby Tuesday and McDonald’s, are following suit by frying only in trans-fat-free canola oil and/or reducing the trans fat in their chicken meals. Nevertheless, food producers haven’t yet found a way to take the trans fats out of everything, so beware of those doughnuts and cookies.
Scamming your kids
Giving kids medicine when they’re sick can be a struggle, but not if you know the tricks. Here to help are David Borgenicht and James Grace, authors of “How to Con Your Kid: Simple Scams for Mealtime, Bedtime, Bathtime–Anytime” (Quirk Books). They suggest:
– Mix the medicine with cold grape or orange soda.
– Mash an ice pop and stir the medicine into it.
– Mix the medicine with chocolate syrup.
