Does diet/fitness form part of your New Year's Resolutions?

Well, it is the New Year and everyone is talking about fitness. There are many different groups of people. There are those that are very stoically opposed to more exercise, saying that they are not changing anything just because it is 2011. At the other end of the scale, there are those that are jumping into the New Year with gusto, with hundreds of fitness-related resolutions to stick to. In between, are the rest of us, wanting to get more fit and healthy, but trying to make sure that we can actually stick to what we plan (at least for the first few months!!).

 But I read a few interesting articles recently, that showed that both the fitness fanatics or the living room loungers COULD be right. The only problem is the 2 articles contradict each other a bit, as we so often find when reading articles about health – a superfood one week, may be too full of sugar the next….

Anyway, the first article suggests that flabby hips and thighs could help the treatment of a range of illnesses including heart disease, arthritis, motor neurone disease and diabetes.

But when you read a bit further, it is not quite as simple as that. Doctors and scientists want to extract stem cells from our excess fat to keep on hand as a personal body repair kit. And any person of average weight would have enough spare fat to extract the stem cells.

For example, some scientists are carrying out research to convert stem cells from body fat into insulin-producing cells to treat diabetes. The type of stem cells found in fat — mesenchymal stem cells — are already known to be able to develop into bone, fat or cartilage.

Other researchers are working at turning the stem cells in fat into cells to be used in the repair of the liver and to treat central nervous system disorders.

One British doctor has applied for a licence to store stem cells from the fat removed from women undergoing liposuction as a cosmetic procedure. A new stem cell storage company, Precious Cells, has a list of 15 clients waiting to store stem cells from fat removed during cosmetic surgery. Companies that offer families storage of stem cells from their babies’ umbilical cord blood are also now planning to start fat banks.

In Holland, new research by the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam found that stem cells taken from fat on a patient’s stomach can safely improve the function of the heart after a heart attack. Results of a small trial of 14 patients, presented at the American Heart Association last month, showed that bloodflow through the heart was 3½ times better for patients who received stem cells from their fat compared with those who received a placebo.

Ok, and what does the second article say? Well, that almost half of women are putting themselves at risk of cancer due to their bulging waistlines. While a common perception is that men carry more weight around their middle, Government figures show 44% of women in England have a large waistline, compared with 32% of men.

Experts from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommend that women have a healthy waist measurement of less than 31.5in (80cm) while men keep to less than 37in (94cm). Excess body fat increases the risk of all cancers, but is strongly linked to cancers of the bowel, pancreas, breast and womb lining.  People can measure their waists by putting a tape measure half-way between their lowest rib cage and the hip bone.

Ok so what does this all mean? Well, basically nothing has changed. The same things that we have heard so many times are still true – keeping your weight down to an acceptable level is important for your health. It is just that sometimes we have a part to play i.e. in keeping our waist below certain measurements, but other times science can lend a helping hand – using our own fat cells (and even someone of average weight has them!) to keep us healthy in the future.

 So still something to think about if we are working on those healthy New Year’s resolutions!!