From Abs to Z, health gets a full workout

Fitness is a big topic on the web. To the uninitiated like myself it's a mind-boggling but educational experience.

My web wanderings took me to Cyberdiet where I learned about the Body Mass Index - "a popular tool now used by health professionals to screen individuals for their degree of obesity."

I didn't want to know mine, but if you do you can enter your weight and height and the site will do the calculation. If you like numbers, the site has lots about calories and even a way to calculate activity.

The www.fitnesslink.com told me all about abs - "chiselled, rock-hard, six-pack, washboard, ripped, cut, chicklets, speed bumps. Contrast those nicknames of affection and awe with what we usually see in the mirror: pot belly, beer belly, paunch, sag, bulge, gut, pooch."

I made the contrast and had to move on quickly.

Closer to home, the website of Peter Mellow, lecturer at AUT, told the truth about sweat: "It's something that even your closest friends may not tell you. Along with bad breath, body odour is one of the least talked about subjects ... "

Did you know, for example, that sweat glands are less numerous in the neck and back and most numerous in the palm of the hand. And that the total number is about 2,381,248 on the average person?

The Mind and Body section of Fitness Online made a good argument for being an optimist: "Findings show that focusing on the upside will make you healthier and happier."

Optimism may even keep you alive longer. A recent study tracking 839 male and female patients from the Mayo Clinic found that the pessimists (determined by personality testing) had a 19 per cent higher mortality rate than optimists.

The motivational tip of the day at Fitness Tips when I looked was from Peter A. Cohen: "There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of little steps." The nutrition tip was to: "Wait 10 minutes before snacking: most between-meal snacks are usually impulsive acts. Waiting before you eat will often make you realise you aren't hungry after all."

I didn't look much at the array of fitness equipment you can find online, but at Elite Fitness I was taken by the i-FIT.com interactive CDs which feature "heart-rate-paced music, step-by-step verbal coaching from your personal trainer, and interactive workout programs." Apparently digital impulses embedded in the soundtrack "automatically adjust both your speed and incline, as if you had a personal trainer right there with you."

And finally at the Food Pyramid I learned something pretty important.

Think you're eating a balanced, nutritious diet by choosing foods from each of the four food groups? You're wrong.

In 1992, the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services decided four food groups were not enough, and created the food pyramid.

"Cereal, rice and pasta are at the bottom of the pyramid. The FDA recommends six to 11 servings of these foods daily.

"The next level of the pyramid recommends two to four servings of fruits and three to five servings of vegetables.

"The third level includes two to three servings of milk, yoghurt and cheese, and two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts.

Fats, oils and sweets are on top of the pyramid, and should be eaten sparingly." Darn!

If you want more fitness, the following jumpsites have a pile of healthy links:

Fitness partner

Fitness find

Fitness

Cyberdiet

Peter Mellow's website

Fitness online

Fitness tips

Elite Fitness

Food Pyramid