A $19.95 Cure for Obesity?

By Craig Ballantyne

You want to lose weight and you want to lose weight NOW. So it's no surprise that you may be tempted by the "quick fix" of weight-loss drugs.

Here's one reason to avoid them: They're expensive! A month's worth of Xenical, for example, could run you over $300. Fortunately, there is a much cheaper way to fight obesity.

According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the simple pedometer is fast becoming a popular tool for motivating physical activity. In a review of studies that used a pedometer to increase activity, researchers found that it increased activity by an extra 2,491 steps per day. That was a 25 percent increase in activity - which, in turn, led to weight loss and a decrease in systolic blood pressure of 3.8 mmHg.

The researchers recommend aiming for 10,000 steps per day. And all you need is a cheap pedometer to spur you into action. (You can find an accurate, high-quality pedometer online for only $19.95.) This will help you increase your fitness and get you ready for more intense exercise for greater results in the future.

It's Fun to Know: Why We Hang Up Christmas Stockings

Why do we hang oversized socks on the mantle during Christmas? One theory is that the tradition comes from a story about the original Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus. St. Nicholas left gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed money for their dowries. The stockings had been hung next to the fire to dry.

(Source: the HowStuffWorks website)

Word to the Wise: Euphemism

A "euphemism" (YOO-fuh-miz-um) is a nice way of saying something that is not nice. The word is from the Greek for "to use auspicious words."

Example (as used by Jeff Giles in a New York Times review of Legends of the Chelsea Hotel by Ed Hamilton): "The Chelsea Hotel describes itself as 'a rest stop for rare individuals,' a euphemism that still manages to pass the truth-in-advertising test if you take 'rare individuals' to mean artists and addicts, and 'rest stop' to mean possible death."

Michael Masterson
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2228, 12-18-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

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