Who is Dr. Paul Kennedy?

A former physical education teacher, football coach and wrestling coach, Dr. Paul Kennedy served as Strength and Conditioning Coach at both Penn State University, where he received his doctorate in the exercise sciences, and Rutgers University following a successful career as a competitive weightlifter. With his extensive educational background as well as his years of practical experience as a backdrop, “Dr. Paul” also hosted and starred in “The Bally Total Fitness Show”, a 13 segment series of half-hour programs covering numerous health and fitness topics from strength training and flexibility to cardiovascular training and nutrition. For over two years, he also appeared weekly on local television programs in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Detroit as an in-house expert on various fitness topics and trends.

Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., Research Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, has this to say about Dr. Kennedy: “He is extremely knowledgeable in his field of exercise science and a true expert in the area of strength training. Dr. Kennedy is a most articulate individual and has the rare ability to explain complex concepts in an easy to understand, educational and motivational manner.”

His latest contribution to the world of fitness, is his world-class fitness ‘educational’ video “The Kennedy System.” Now available to the public, his 4 disk DVD set is a revolutionary way of cutting your work-out time in half, and creating the body you want. Men and women have found tremendous success using his system. Read a testimonial here: http://kennedygirls.wordpress.com/

Education is what Dr. Paul Kennedy is about. Let him save you the trouble.

Topic of the week: Exercise and Dementia

Every week, Dr. Paul addresses a specific topic related to health and fitness. Please send in your questions.

Exercise and Dementia

Regular readers of the TOTW will know that I often use the phrase “Exercise is medicine”. It never ceases to amaze me about the number of people who discover, through properly administered regular exercise, that a more physically active body (lifestyle?) is a healthier body—on a variety of levels. I have even written before about the suspected relationship between exercise and brain function. Some recent evidence seems to point in that very direction. In the last couple of years, the “link” between brain function and exercise adherence has become stronger and stronger. The reason for the “link”, at least according to scientists that do this sort of research, is ‘theoretical” but the following example of research in this field may serve to show the obvious—at least to me.

A couple of years ago, the revered British medical journal known as the Lancet, published the results of a study in Sweden involving nearly 1,500 participants and the possible link between exercise and brain function starting in “middle-age”. Although the results were seen as groundbreaking—they were not a surprise to me. Here’s the scoop! Men in their forties and fifties were surveyed (based on the results of many previous studies) and ranked with respect to their level of regular exercise (i.e. the number of times per week that they were involved in some sort of moderately vigorous exercise such as walking and cycling). After a period of a little over 20 years, the men were again tested for dementia and the brain disease known as Alzheimer’s. The kicker to this study was that the men were also tested to see if they had the gene that is thought to give one a greater chance of acquiring Alzheimer’s.

The results were, to me, predictable but the researchers were apparently astonished to find that those who exercised at least twice per week when first tested and surveyed for activity level were far LESS likely to suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease when tested in later years (in their sixties and seventies)—and this included the test subjects known to have the Alzheimer’s Disease gene (apoE4). The connection was also not necessarily related to the INTENSITY of the exercise chosen. It was simply related to participation in SOME form of regular exercise as a part on one’s lifestyle. Hmmmmm! How could this be? I wonder what happened?

Could it be that regular exercise increases blood flow to the brain? Could it be that since 80% of the oxygen used by the body is used by the brain be at all related to the health of the brain? Could the delivery of nutrients to the brain by the blood be a factor? Could the more efficient elimination of the waste products of brain metabolism be enhanced by regular bouts of exercise? Is the performance of the central nervous system improved by increased blood flow? The researchers could only “theorize’. But I won’t! Of course exercise was the common factor in improved brain function even with age. As Homer Simpson would say—“Doh!”

I’m Dr. Paul Kennedy and that’s the “Be Fit, Stay Fit” Topic of the Week. Good luck with YOUR program. I KNOW you can do it!

Copyright © 2003-2005 by Dr. Paul Kennedy. All rights reserved.
May not be reproduced without expressed written consent of Dr. Paul Kennedy

Topic of the week: Inflammation

Inflammation

I wrote in this space about three years ago concerning “inflammation” with respect to arthritis (see “Exercise and Arthritis”). Indeed, although exercise can actually cause inflammation when it is “overdone”, inflammation in and of itself is now considered a possible marker for the presence of some diseases. Now, that doesn’t mean that exercise CAUSES disease (for all you non-exercising rationalizers out there). Indeed, regular and properly performed exercise has been shown to assist in keeping inflammation to a lower level and, therefore, may help to prevent disease. But, as I pointed out in the above-cited article, the increased presence in the blood of a substance known as C-reactive protein (or CRP) is a marker for and associated with many different illnesses. In reality, we all, at some time or another, have different levels of “systemic” inflammation present in our bodies. This is different from “acute” inflammation associated, for example, with joint pain and swelling.

CRP has been shown to be a marker for many diseases such as coronary artery disease (a common precursor for heart attacks and strokes), most forms of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. This is probably why there are now so many anti-inflammatory drugs on the market. So what is one to do to prevent the encroachment of inflammation or, at least, keep the level of inflammation at a minimum? Well, it’s not as mysterious as one might think. For starters, a lower calorie eating plan or “diet” can help to keep chronic systemic inflammation at bay. As an example, obesity has been linked to higher levels of CRP so a reduction in fat weight may help to reduce this “biomarker” for inflammation and disease. Additionally, keeping a lid on highly processed foods, saturated fats and even refined sugar can greatly reduce levels of CRP. Smoking (no surprise there) is also a trigger for an inflammatory response by the body that essentially begins as an inflammation of the lining of the lungs.

But there is one “medicine” that is extremely effective against the occurrence of this systemic inflammation. Once again, exercise IS medicine! In this case, regular exercise of sufficient intensity is actually PREVENTIVE medicine. By encouraging blood flow to the cells and, thereby, increasing increasing oxygen to the cells, exercise can actually help to REDUCE systemic inflammation. Of course, after each “bout” of exercise, inflammation levels in the blood will rise slightly, but, over time, CRP levels in the blood can actually decrease and systemic inflammation can be reduced or effectively controlled. And less inflammation appears to be a great way to reduce the incidence of many chronic diseases. As always, see your doctor before beginning any exercise program especially if you have a history of high CRP levels in your blood.

I’m Dr. Paul Kennedy and that’s the “Be Fit, Stay Fit” Topic of the Week. Good luck with YOUR program. I KNOW you can do it!

Copyright © 2003-2005 by Dr. Paul Kennedy. All rights reserved.
May not be reproduced without expressed written consent of Dr. Paul Kennedy