To look and feel our best aesthetically
entails more than having various aesthetic procedures and judicious
make-up. It requires a positive state of mind, a good lifestyle,
good nutrition, and suitable exercise that benefits us and fits our busy
lifestyles. Simply, we need holistic, balanced lives to look and feel our best
and be our healthiest. To help our clients achieve their aesthetic
goals and healthy lifestyle goals, we will occasionally include evidence-based
health and lifestyle information in our blog to help our clients achieve what
they want to achieve and help optimize their looks and health.
Exercise has long been held to be an
important part of achieving and maintaining good health physically and
mentally. Exercise includes aerobic activity and resistance activity
to get the most benefits. Each is important for different
reasons. Both forms of exercise have been touted to be better for
metabolic health, but which one is? The question was asked in a
study reported in the JAMA Network Open. Their conclusion was that
people’s aerobic endurance -or the lack of it- can influence their metabolism
potentially more than muscular strength or weakness. The results and
conclusions have significant implications for anyone deciding which type of
exercise could be most beneficial for their health.
The study used data gleaned from the
performance testing records of 580 young Finnish military recruits. They
rode stationary bicycles and performed weight lifting exercises to measure
their maximum aerobic capacity and muscular strength. They also had
extensive blood work and general health testing and completed questionnaires
about their lifestyles. From analysis of the different data, researchers
grouped the men and assessed their metabolomes (number and types of metabolites
in your body) of the aerobically fittest men against the men who were out of
aerobic shape, and separately, the strongest against weakest. The conclusion? The results
suggest that aerobic capacity affects metabolism substantially more than
muscular strength does, in beneficial ways. (Health Tap Saturday Digest)
Demographic trends and societal changes
often affect health trends, in both beneficial and detrimental ways that are
slow to be recognized. Changes in the workplace, gender make-up of
many professions and other trends have had a significant effect on the equality
of the genders. A research group in North Carolina did a study in
1985 where they recruited primarily college and university setting individuals
from 20-34 years of age. They analyzed grip strength and pinch
strength (the force generated to squeeze two fingers together) for 237 men and
women in the right hand. Men averaged 117 pounds of force and women
79 pounds of force in grip strength. What is the implication of grip strength
for our health? It is accepted that a person’s grip strength
generally correlates to body strength and health outcomes such as cardiac
health.
The format of the study was repeated in
2016, with researchers recruiting a similar demographic of 20-34-year-old
college and university-based men and women in North Carolina again and repeated
the grip and pinch strength study. The average grip strength of
millennial men had fallen to 98 pounds, 19 pounds less than their parents’ generation.
The 25-29
Year-olds averaged only 92 pounds of grip
strength. The 30-34-year-old age group had lesser decrease in
strength, averaging 106 pounds of grip strength. The pinch strength also
decreased but not so dramatically for all the men’s groups.
What about the women’s
results? The women averaged 79 pounds of grip strength, the same as
they did 30 years earlier. Interestingly, the 30-34-year-old group of
women averaged 98 pounds of grip strength, the same as the average older
millennial male in the study, compared to a 31-pound disparity 30 years
ago. The average grip strength overall for women was lower because
of weaker readings in the 25-29-year-old group.
Is this a result of mass effeminization of
the millennial male or a crisis of masculinity? Simply, no. It is more of
a reflection of the demographic changes in the workplace, with loss of manual
labor jobs and expansion of the information economy for men. It is
less so for women, hence the similar grip strength result. Less
physical activity generally is associated with less strength and weight
gain. The decrease in grip strength for men also has long-term
health implications and longevity, which is already being reflected in
plateauing and decreasing longevity for males.
The newer study appeared in the Journal of
Hand Therapy and in the Washington Post. The study reflects the results for
college and university associated people and may not reflect similar results in
the general population.
A new, first in class medicine for acne
mentioned in the Purely Skin 4 Me Blog last month is coming soon. Clascoterone
1% cream is the first topical medicine that blocks male hormone receptors in
the sebaceous (oil) glands, reducing the effect of dihydrotestosterone
stimulation that is an important driver of acne. It is also the
first new class of topical acne treatment in forty years. A New Drug
Application was submitted by Cassiopea SpA based on two phase three studies
that compared 1% cream applied twice daily or the cream’s vehicle and the
results in improvement were statistically significant when measured at twelve
weeks. An open-label study was continued for an additional 9 months
and showed no evidence of hormonal effect internally, despite an enlarged
application area. Adverse events (minor) in skin were primarily some redness
and dry scaly skin. It will be nice to have new, effective topical therapy
available for acne, especially hormone-related adult acne.
