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Blog criado por Bruno Coriolano de Almeida Costa, professor de Língua Inglesa desde 2002. Esse espaço surgiu em 2007 com o objetivo de unir alguns estudiosos e professores desse idioma. Abordamos, de forma rápida e simples, vários aspectos da Língua Inglesa e suas culturas. Agradeço a sua visita.

"Se tivesse perguntado ao cliente o que ele queria, ele teria dito: 'Um cavalo mais rápido!"

sábado, 21 de abril de 2018

[READING] Exercise Can't Save Us: Our Sugar Intake Is The Real Culprit





Here’s an interesting one. Most people believe that exercise is the key to weight loss, but they might be apparently wrong about it, research suggests. I would like to share this article written by Alice G. Walton. I hope it can be of any hep for you folks! Enjoy it.


In a fascinating and scorching editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, three authors argue that the myth that exercise is the key to weight loss – and to health – is erroneous and pervasive, and that it must end. The evidence that diet matters more than exercise is now overwhelming, they write, and has got to be heeded: We can exercise to the moon and back but still be fat for all the sugar and carbs we consume. And perhaps even more jarring is that we can be a normal weight and exercise, and still be unhealthy if we’re eating poorly. So, they say, we need a basic reboot of our understanding of health, which has to involve the food industry’s powerful PR “machinery,” since that was part of the problem to begin with.

The major point the team makes – which they say the public doesn’t really understand – is that exercise in and of itself doesn’t really lead to weight loss. It may lead to a number of excellent health effects, but weight loss – if you’re not also restricting calories – isn’t one of them. “Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers by at least 30%,” they write. “However, physical activity does not promote weight loss.”

Plus, in the last 30 years, exercise has stayed about the same, while overweight and obesity have skyrocketed. So something else must be at play – like the type of food we’re eating. That part has gotten steadily worse over the years, as highly-processed sugary foods and sodas have taken over as our go-to choices. “According to the Lancet global burden of disease reports,” they write, “poor diet now generates more disease than physical inactivity, alcohol and smoking combined.” This is a disturbing statistic. But it gets worse.


The related and larger issue is that even normal weight people who exercise will, if they eat poorly, have metabolic markers that put them at very high risk of chronic illness and early mortality. “Up to 40% of those with a normal body mass index will harbour metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity, which include hypertension, dyslipidaemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease.”


And the crux of the issue is this: We're continually "fed" the idea that all that's behind the rise in obesity is lack of exercise, or sedentariness. There have certainly been a lot of studies and popular articles suggesting that sitting is our downfall. Instead of effective messages about diet and health that science actually knows to be true, “members of the public are drowned by an unhelpful message about maintaining a ‘healthy weight’ through calorie counting,” the team writes, “and many still wrongly believe that obesity is entirely due to lack of exercise. This false perception is rooted in the Food Industry's Public Relations machinery, which uses tactics chillingly similar to those of big tobacco.”


What we know to be true is much simpler: "Sugar calories promote fat storage and hunger," the write. "Fat calories induce fullness or satiation." For every additional 150 calories in sugar (i.e., a can of soda) a person consumes per day, the risk for diabetes rises 11-fold, regardless of how much or little we exercise. The single most effective thing people can do for their weight, they write, is to restrict calories – and even more, restrict carbohydrates.


So if this is all true, and research seems to suggest it is, how will it change? It might take quite a lot of work to shift our psychology around food, especially since advertising is so saturated with the message that carbohydrates are good for us. The celebrity endorsements might need to be tweaked, the authors say, and certainly the way foods are advertised and, perhaps, created, need to be shifted. The public should be repeatedly hit with the message that whole, natural foods, where possible and affordable is the best way to go. If you're trying to lose weight, reduce your calories (especially sugars) – don't think exercise alone will cut it. And even if you're normal weight, you can't subside solely on junk and stay healthy.


The authors end with this powerful finale: “It is time to wind back the harms caused by the junk food industry's Public Relations machinery. Let us bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity. You cannot outrun a bad diet.”




Read the original text (here) or the study “It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity: you cannot outrun a bad diet” (here)

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domingo, 15 de abril de 2018

Look at that… they’re back!


September, 27th 2017, that is precisely when I wrote my last post here on Portal da Língua Inglesa. Since last September many things have been happening to my life. However, one thing I can safely state – I have been really busy!

First of all, I became the coordinator of Languages without Borders in my university and I had to deal with many issues related to it. Apart from that, I have been teaching many classes at the very same university. And – in December – I traveled to Toulouse, France, in order to study the French language once again.



Considering most things, I have been doing since I last published an entry here – and I also became a PhD student at PPGI/UFSC – posts became almost impossible to be written by me.  

Yes, there has been a lot of things to do since last year and I am still trying to get used to all of them. That is the reason why – you must have noticed that – this weblog has been the way it is; that is, no new posts, no comments, less visits from you readers and so on and so forth.

You know what they say ‘Nothing comes of nothing’ that is, if you do not do something in order to get what you want, you will not deserve anything – because nothing comes for free; even freedom costs something. That is why I have been away – I have been trying to accomplish my goals and I can safely say that I have been working really hard in order to do so.

I am just writing this one to say that I am back and I will be posting a thing or two every Wednesday – if times allows it. Finally, I do hope that you guys enjoy my new posts in here. See you around!

By the way… do you know the difference between a PhD student and a Ph.D. candidate? (I will try to state the difference in my next post). 


PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.
Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!
Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com
Did you spot a typo?
Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?
Do you disagree with something on this page?
Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page: