Exercise, for many individuals, is a yearlong activity. For some, the holidays are a time to kick back, sometimes at the cost of cutting back on regular exercise with resulting weight gain that may accumulate year after year.
This was not the case for 1972 recorded visitors at Pinnacle Peak Park, in Scottsdale Arizona this Thanksgiving. Approximately 1,100 hikers completed 50% of the trail and as many as 800 more, many of which were local residents and their out of town visitors, completed the therr and one half mile (official trail end) or four mile (extended hike) round trip. That’s equivalent to more than 5,000 miles and 1.2 million calories burned. For many this "Turkey Hike" is a tradition.
During the six week holiday season between Thanksgiving week and New Year’s, the average American has been said to accumulate two or more pounds of weight gain (depending upon whose estimates you subscribe to, this has been estimated as high as six pounds and self reported up to 10 pounds).
Some individuals manage to lose a portion of the weight gained. However, previous studies suggested the average American gains up to 1.8 pounds of weight each year – almost half from the holidays.
A weight gain of 0.9 pounds over the holidays and 1.8 pounds annually may not seem like much, until you consider that this gain is accumulative year-after year-after year.
In a study reported in a National Institute of Health news alert, Susan Z. Yanovski, M.D., Executive Director of NIDDK's National Task Force on the Treatment and Prevention of Obesity, found that participants in the study “did not lose the extra weight gained during the holidays, and ended the year a pound and a half heavier (1.4 lb) than they were the year before."
“Volunteers reporting more physical activity had less holiday weight gain. This “suggests that increasing physical activity may be an effective method for preventing weight gain during this high-risk time."
Individuals in the study also overestimated how much they actually gained. "This is a 'good news/bad news' story," said Dr. Yanovski. "The good news is that people don't gain as much weight as we thought during the holidays. The bad news is that weight gained over the winter holidays isn't lost during the rest of the year."
Weight loss during the holidays, as a result of exercising, is also accumulative. Chances are not many individuals cut calories during the holidays. However, if the average adult was to burn as little as 167 additional calories each day during the holiday season, their total calorie expenditure could be equivalent to approximately a two pound weight loss or at least help prevent a two pound weight gain during the holiday season.
You do not have to hike to burn calories, just walking two - thee miles per hour daily for about 30 minutes is sufficient to keep those extra pounds from accumulating.
Click here to calculate how many calories you can burn exercising.
For additional information: Pinnacle Peak Park,
Pinnacle Peak Park will be open the remainder of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend from 6:45 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and Sunday for hiking, leisurely walks and rock climbing for the experienced climbers. Want to avoid the holiday crowds, Pinnacle Peak Park is open every day of the year, sunrise to sunset (except Christmas day).
Sources: http://www.niddk.nih.gov, http://www.healthstatus.com, http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
