Archive for August, 2010

There is no doubt that the rising prevalence in obesity among adults and children has major implications for healthcare costs, quality of life, and lifespan. The statistics are sobering: over one-third of US adults are obese; adding overweight adults to the mix increases the figure to 68%. Making matters worse, research indicates that 16% of kids are obese, not a great way to get started in life. Regardless of how errant the BMI might be at accurately characterizing the overweight and obese, a quick trip to any shopping mall in the country confirms the obvious: too many Americans are fat.

Sweat can be a sloppy nuisance, a sign of hard work, a stinky indication of poor hygiene, and a body-cooling lifesaver. In fact, it’s likely that sweat has been and will continue to be all of those things for anyone who is physically active, especially during warm weather. Sweating helps us survive in jungles and deserts, on athletic fields and gymnasium courts, on farms and construction sites, and in fitness centers and saunas. Most people know very little about sweating, yet sweating is one of our body’s most indispensable responses to physical activity.