The sunny warm weather is conducive to outdoor sports and activities. Countless adults and more especially students out of school for the summer are participating in tennis, soccer, cross country running, gymnastics, and other sports. These student athletes and others who engage in recreational sports and exercise can be vulnerable to excessive training for all the right and wrong reasons. Parents, family members, coaches, teachers, athletic trainers, friends and health providers must be aware of potential for exercise abuse…as part of the “fitspiration” movement.
It takes only a cursory glance through social media to become aware of the “fitspiration” movement. This catchy term may accompany posts of workout videos, pictures depicting physical activity, or pictures of individuals showing off the muscular bodies they obtained through dedication to rigorous exercise regimens. In a sense, exercise and fitness have become trendy in our society, with more strenuous exercise routines being perceived as more impressive. Cars boast bumper stickers with numbers such as “13.1,” “26.2,” or even “50,” referring to the distances so proudly conquered by runners. When we hear a friend has decided to commit to a rigid training schedule to complete a marathon, we are often in awe of their self-control and motivation, wishing we were that dedicated. But can exercise be a bad thing? The answer is complicated. Exercise is one of the best things we can do for our health. I have heard physicians say that if all the benefits of exercise could be bottled up into a pill; pharmaceutical companies would be fighting for the chance to sell it. However, it can get complicated when one’s reasons for exercising stem from a potentially destructive place, rather than a pursuit of health.
Exercise bulimia is a term used to refer to the excessive use of exercise to burn calories or try to keep a low body weight. It is not a medical diagnosis in and of itself, but the notion of using exercise to make up for excessive calorie consumption or maintain an unhealthily low body weight can occur in both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Moreover, when excessive exercise occurs in combination with a significantly low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, a disturbed body image, undue influence of body shape on self-worth, or a failure to recognize the seriousness of the condition, an individual would meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa.
Anorexia nervosa can cause serious complications in all body systems. Some examples include disrupted functioning of the heart, reduced lung capacity, hormonal imbalance, amenorrhea, (loss of the menstrual period in women), changes in brain structure, and in severe cases, difficulty with memory. The hormonal changes associated with amenorrhea, especially when coupled with extreme exercise, can lead to reduced bone density and can put women at high risk of stress fractures. Stress fractures are breaks in the bone that occur from overuse through large amounts of exercise rather than the traumatic bone breaks we typically think of where an obvious event results in a broken bone.
Because exercise bulimia can be a part of an eating disorder with potentially life-threatening consequences, it is important to be aware of the warning signs that someone’s exercise routine might be part of an eating disorder. Signs of exercise bulimia may include:
While the definition of exercise bulimia implies a voluntary engagement in excessive exercise for weight loss, my experience from being on female track and cross country teams in high school and college has shown me that anorexia nervosa does not always fit the mental picture we may have of someone who refuses to eat at all or even of exercise bulimia where an individual compulsively engages in excessive exercise. During cross country, the mileage we ran likely would have been considered excessive by the average person. Our team often trained 7 days a week with run-length ranging from 5-12 miles. Most runs were at least 7 miles, and some of my teammates had long runs in excess of 12 miles. The men on our team ran even farther. In hindsight, one of my teammates may have met the criteria for a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Her weight was significantly below normal, she feared weight gain, did not eat sufficient calories to replenish what she burned on runs, and despite knowing she was thin, did not fully recognize the potential health consequences due to her low weight. However, it was not a clear cut problem. She was not an obvious candidate for an eating disorder because she was not pursuing the excessive exercise; she was simply following her coach’s training plan. If she did not exercise to the extent she did, the amount of food she ate would have been considered normal, so seeing her eating habits alone did not trigger any red flags. Finally, cross country runners are known for being lean, often even emaciated; it was a common side effect of the sport often not given a second thought. Thankfully, this runner never fell victim to the dangerous downward spiral that is sometimes seen in patients with anorexia nervosa. However, it is important to be aware of the unsuspecting ways in which an eating disorder can sometimes present.
Treatment of eating disorders typically involves a multi-pronged approach with nutritional counseling, psychotherapy, and general medical care playing a role. The nutritional counseling aims to help the patient restore a healthy diet to attain a healthy weight, the psychotherapy aims at getting to the root of the issues that may have contributed to the onset of the eating disorder, and general medical care may be necessary to manage any complications from the eating disorder depending on its seriousness. Educational programs about eating disorders and risk factors have also been shown to be successful in helping to prevent eating disorders.
It can sometimes be a fine line between a healthy passion for exercising and eating well and the start of an eating disorder. Especially in athletes where extreme exercise is part of the sport and putting in extra training is rewarded, it is valuable to be aware of the signs and symptoms of exercise bulimia to help prevent a loved one from crossing over that line. Though serious health consequences are possible in the setting of an eating disorder, treatment and recovery are very possible.
GCSOM Guest Author: Mary Pelkowski, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MD Class of 2022.
For More Information: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
Visit your doctor regularly and listen to your body.
Keep moving, eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and live long and well!
NEXT MONDAY – Read Dr. Paul J. Mackarey “Health & Exercise Forum!”
This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at GCSOM.
For all of Dr. Paul's articles, check out our exercise forum!
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Due in great part to improved awareness and advances in treatment and early diagnosis, the survival rate continues to improve. The American Cancer Society relies on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to provide survival statistics for different forms of cancer.
While the overall 5-year survival rate for breast cancer is 90% and the 10-year survival rate is 84%, the survival rate for those fortunate to have early detection and treatment is even more encouraging. For example, when breast cancer is determined to be “localized” (no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the breast), the 5-year survival rate improves to 99%! AWARENESS AND EARLY DETECTION ARE CRITICAL!
Maintain Healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) – studies repeatedly show that obesity increases the risk of breast cancer. A healthy BMI for women falls between 18.5 and 24.9. To find out your BMI visit: www.calculator.net
Maintain a Healthy Diet – the Mediterranean Diet emphasizes plant-based foods such as vegetables, beans, whole grain, fruits, nuts and seeds, and plant-based oils, especially olive oil. Avoid sugared drinks, refined carbs and fatty foods and eat fish or chicken instead of red meat.
Limit Alcohol Consumption – While no alcohol consumption may be optimal, up to one drink a day for women is acceptable.
Avoid or Limit Hormone Replacement Therapy – Studies show that menopausal hormone therapy increases the risk of breast cancer. For those who must take hormones to manage menopausal symptoms, limit the time period to less than three years and avoid progesterone.
Consider Estrogen-Blocking Drugs – For women with a family history of breast cancer or those over 60, consulting your physician about the pros and cons of these drugs.
Do Not Smoke – Studies show that smoking increases the risk of breast cancer. Visit: smokefree.gov for help with smoking cessation.
Breast Feed – According to the scientific literature, women who breast feed for at least a year in total have less risk of developing breast cancer. So, breast feed as long as possible.
Participate in Research – What can you do to help? Participate in clinical trials studying new and more effective ways to detect and treat breast cancer. Visit the National Cancer Institute
Limit - Manage Stress - According to a recent long-term study, both men and women have a higher incidence of cancer in those who did not manage chronic stress well. Life is full of potential stress and it cannot be avoided. But, you can learn to handle stress better. Exercise, meditation, and counseling are some options to explore. Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) videos.
Exercise – A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association from Harvard has found that regular exercise can improve the survival of patients with breast cancer.
NEXT MONDAY – Read Dr. Paul J. Mackarey “Health & Exercise Forum!”
This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at GCSOM.
For all of Dr. Mackarey's articles visit our Health and Wellness Page!
Lung Cancer is a deadly disease. Until recently, a chest X-ray, often used only after patients developed symptoms, discovered the disease when it was in its late stages. Over the past few years, however, an effective and safe screening test has been developed and those who are at high risk for lung cancer can now be screened annually using low-dose spiral CT scans.
FACT 1: Each year over 250,000 people in the United States are newly diagnosed with lung cancer.
FACT 2: 90% of individuals who have lung cancer will eventually die of the disease, making lung cancer the most deadly cancer in the United States for both men and women.
FACTS 3: 85% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking.
FACT 4: According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 22% of people aged 18 years and older residing in Northeastern, PA smoke.
FACT 5: The best prevention measures are; not smoking or using tobacco products, and avoid second-hand smoke or high air pollution environments.
One of the reasons for the high mortality rate in lung cancer is that the disease is often not discovered until it is advanced and treatment options are limited. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of lung cancer are easily mistaken either for a mild illness or for things such as “smoker’s cough”. By the time many patients are diagnosed, their disease is advanced and may involve lymph nodes or other organs.
For some cancers, there are established screening tests that help to identify these cancers at an earlier stage. For example, routine screenings through colonoscopies, mammograms, and pap smears are well established and have saved thousands of lives. Historically, lung cancer has not had such a screening test. This however, is about to change. This past summer, the United States Preventative Task Force (USPTF), an independent committee charged by congress to evaluate the most current data and make recommendations for disease screening, released a draft of a new proposal for a lung cancer screening test.
The USPTF now recommends that all persons who are at high risk for lung cancer should be screened annually using low-dose spiral CT scans. High risk persons are identified as those who are between the ages of 55 and 79, who have a history of 30 pack years or more of smoking, and who are either still smoking or who have quit within the last 15 years. A “pack year” is defined as smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day for a year. For example, a person could have 30 pack years of smoking if they smoke 1 pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years. Similarly, they could have a 30 pack year history by smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day for 15 years.
CT, or computed tomography, scans are a form of three-dimensional imaging used by clinicians to visualize the organs and other anatomy of patients. The scan can detect abnormalities on a patient’s lung with much earlier and with greater sensitivity than an x-ray. Much like a mammogram, low-dose CT scans do not diagnose cancer but are a way to identify patients with abnormalities that need to be investigated further for the possibility of cancer. This new screening test will allow physicians to see possibly cancerous abnormalities of the lung before the disease can spread and become impossible to cure. The scan is non-invasive and generally considered very safe. Low-dose CT scans carry about 5 times less radiation than traditional high-dose CT scans and are equivalent to about 15 x-rays.
It is projected that this new screening practice will save the lives of between 15 and 20% of those diagnosed with lung cancer by detecting cancers before they can progress to the point that they are resistant to medical treatment. The draft of the new proposal for lung cancer screening that the USPTF released this summer was based off of a landmark article in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2011. Once the final document is published, clinicians will be encouraged to adopt these screening practices and insurance companies will use these recommendations to adopt their policies regarding coverage for testing.
While this screening is a major step in the detection and treatment of lung cancer, it is not a substitute for quitting smoking. The best proven methods to prevent lung cancer and its deadly consequences is to not smoke, use other tobacco products, and avoid exposure to second-hand smoke.
If you or a loved one need help quitting tobacco products, you may contact your physician or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.lung.org. For more information on the new lung cancer screening guidelines visit: www.cdc.gov
NOTE: These signs and symptoms can be attributed to many different causes and are not exclusive to lung cancer. Always discuss your symptoms with your physician.
Patients who fit all of the below criteria:
*A pack year is defined as 1 pack of cigarettes per day for a year
Medical Contributor: Sarah Bashaw, MD is a graduate of TCMC (presently GCSOM).
Medical Reviewer: Greg Cali, DO, Pulmonologist, Dunmore, PA
Read “Health & Exercise Forum” – Every Monday. This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.com
Paul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at GCSOM.
For all of Dr. Mackarey's articles visit: mackareyphysicaltherapy.com/forum/
