Preferred health and science writer Jane Brody reports that Americans now spend more than $46 billion a year on weight-reduction programs, and that the obesity rate of adults has doubled since the 70s.  Go figure. Brody did, and she returned with the conclusion that Americans eat too much. Way too […]

There are ten exercises in this workout, chosen by the editors of Men’s Journal as the best 30-minute workout ever, a claim that would have to put it up against spearing woolly mammoth or performing with Madonna. Whatever. Geezer will not quibble. But then, neither is he likely to attempt […]

Some readers might think that $235 is a lot to pay for shoes that make even the slightest motion (OK, just standing around) more strenuous than it has to be, but others would argue that the first set of readers is cheap, lazy, and/or lacks a proper appreciation for flat […]

Why is that people who play hard at sports make more money in their careers? Let the Boston Globe count the ways. The paper quotes James Shulman , author of The Game of Life: College Sport and Educational Values, saying that athletes’s self confidence and competitive nature leads them to […]

Anyone remember Passive Exercise–the very attractive notion that you don’t actually have to move your body to get is shape, just hook it up with something that will move it for you? Well, it’s back now, with buzz, in the form of vibrating platforms. The Boston Globe reports that health […]

Are competitive athletes more likely than the rest of us to turn into human blobs when the games are over? The New York Times doesn’t say exactly that, but it comes close. The paper quotes Dan Gould, the director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan […]

The Washington Post points us to a report in the International Journal of Obesity whose authors looked at more than 100 studies on potential contributors to obesity, besides diet and exercise, The experts concluded that there was at least some scientific support for the following ten reasons: 1. Inadequate sleep. […]

Following a report that just one drink can make you dumb, Geezer now directs readers’ attention to  claim that they would like to believe: intense cardio can make you smarter. Men’s Health is behind this one, and the magazine cites several studies to back it up. Here are two: “One […]

In the event that you, gentle reader, are suddenly called up to start in one of the World Cup games, would you be ready? Geezer thinks not, but he does offer some advice, in the form of dietary recommendations from Chris Rosenbloom, a professor of nutrition in the College of […]

The  L. A. Times’s Janet Cromley takes note of the remarkable physiques of World Cup soccer players and wonders if there is some way, any way, for the rest of us to look like that. The best answer, predictably, is to play soccer several hours a day, preferably with other […]