Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – Apple Watch Review & Childhood Obesity

Welcome back!

Nick and I have been making progress on our training, bit by bit. We kick off this week’s podcast episode with a recap on what we’ve been doing.

Nick has been finding his Title Boxing classes to be a built in workout, which has been good since time between work and parenting has been somewhat limited.

He also gets into what he’s doing in his diet – intermittent fasting (phase two – which includes a 10 hour eating window and 14 hour fast). He’s already lost five pounds, which he wasn’t expecting, thinking he didn’t have that much weight to loose.  The point was never to loose weight, but rather to attempt to eliminate precursors of detrimental health conditions like insulin resistance and cancer. You can read more about his previous blog post on intermittent fasting and its benefits here.

I meanwhile, have been focusing on childcare, which is a workout in itself, but have already dropped over 20 pounds off my pregnancy weight (mostly due to breastfeeding). My available time to workout is about 30 minutes, so whatever I choose to do (Peloton bike or yoga usually) must fit in that window.

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We’re big fans of our Peloton Cycle

My cardio is the area that I have seen the most need for improvement. My goal for training has not been to loose weight though, but rather just to continue to combat postpartum anxiety and depression.

Our first main topic of the episode is a review of the new Series 3 of the Apple Watch.

podcast pic 11-6

Now, if you’ve been listening for a while, you might recall my review of the Fitbit Charge 2 earlier this year (listen to that ATF episode here) in which I stated that it was a test on whether I would like a fitness tracker and heart rate monitor at all. I wasn’t ready at that time to invest in anything more.

Well, I decided recently that I was ready for a smart watch, as the actual watch functionality was something that I really missed. With the latest release of the Apple Watch, Series 3, I felt it was finally time to make the move.

So first, a quick introduction to what I got!

I purchased the Series 3 – 38MM Apple Watch with GPS and the gold aluminum case, along with the Pink Sand Sport Band.

apple & Apple

The specs include:

  • Gold aluminum case
  • Built-in GPS and GLONASS
  • Faster dual-core processor
  • W2 chip
  • Barometric altimeter
  • Capacity 8GB1
  • Heart rate sensor
  • Accelerometer and gyroscope
  • Water resistant 50 meters
  • Ion-X strengthened glass
  • Composite back
  • Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz)
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • Up to 18 hours of battery life
  • watchOS 4
In terms of the look and comfort, the 38mm size is great for my wrist size, as is the band, which fits even my smaller wrists surprisingly well. Plus the band is made of high performance fluoroelastomer that will stand up to my heavier use. The ability to customize the look by switching out the bands is the icing on the cake!
One of the best parts of this watch, is the watch face/s. Not only do they actually show up when I look at my watch (the Fitbit was not as sensitive) but the multiple, customizable faces that you can switch between and manage on your iPhone via the Apple Watch app, are crystal clear and very convenient.
Another key strength of this device is the integration with the iPhone, which is truly amazing. Everything is customized and controlled/setup through the iPhone via an app. It even has some of the same functionality (flashlight, talk to text, Siri, reminders, sound controls, etc.) to the iPhone.
Some of my favorite apps/programs include:
  • Heart Rate Monitor is pretty accurate and can run ongoing or in the background, depending how you’re using it (will drain battery life if using it to track an activity).
  • Activity – Set goals and get reminders. All of which integrate into the Health App on your iPhone
  • Workout – Quickly select a workout for tracking purposes. All metrics integrate into the Health App on your iPhone
  • Weather – Pretty straight forward, but seeing it on your watch at a glance is remarkably helpful
  • Timer & Stop Watch – Again, straight forward, but handy for a variety of instances
  • Maps – Would probably be good when you’re walking around and need to find something. Just takes a little time to get the directions on your watch.
  • Messages – Not particularly health focused, but is a simplified version of the Messages app in your phone. The talk-to-type tech is surprisingly accurate and makes it all that much easier to respond to texts without having to get your phone.
Finally, the magnetic charger sits in my bathroom and is super easy to lay the watch on. The fact it’s the basic charging cube cord makes it easy to interchange with other cords in my house (which are everywhere since we have so many apple products!).
The popularity of the Apple Watch means it’s been appearing on the wrists of people of all ages, including teens and kids! The question of whether these younger age groups are truly using these gadgets for fitness is somewhat questionable given our next topic… childhood obesity rates.
Nick came across this article in Time magazine recently that cited a study in a medical periodical, about how the BMI (ratio of weight & height) indicates that childhood obesity has risen 10 times worldwide over the last 40 years. [Insert gasp here]
The study reported dramatic increases in childhood obesity in African and Asian countries especially, which have historically had low obesity rates. This was a surprise to us. Additionally, in several countries where childhood obesity rates were already high (including the U.S.), the rates have plateaued, however, the researchers believe it is more due to coincidence and not policy action.

 

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A related article Nick recently saw from the Washington Post (link) stated non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease (cirrhosis of the liver) is the fastest growing reason for liver transplants among young adults in the U.S.. This disease can be caused by obesity, hypertension and diabetes (i.e. high intake of sugar and grains IMO). One researcher in the article stated that they had a patient develop this condition at age 13.

It should be noted that the number of liver transplants due to non-alcohol related cirrhosis is small, but what is alarming is the dramatic increase in its prevalence over the last 10 years.

All in all, it’s an alarming study, reinforcing how important food and health education is among our youth!

As we wrap up, we encourage you to please visit our sponsor hempcoffeeexchange.com and use the code ‘ATF’ to get 20% off at checkout!

Reach out to us on social media (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) or send us and email at elementaltampa@gmail.com.

Links to this week’s episode

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/apple-watch-review-a-childhood-obesity/id1121420986?i=1000394456914&mt=2

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/apple-watch-review-a-childhood

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/apple-watch-review-a-childhood-obesity

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