Avoid obesity among cheese steaks and soft pretzels

by Terry Cipollini staff writer

In case you have not heard the people of Philadelphia are fat, not P-H-A-T, but F-AT. An article in the January issue of Men's Fitness magazine reports that 30 percent of our city are obese. The article caused such an uproar that Mayor John Street made an appearance on the "Oprah Winfrey Show." He has vowed to establish a fitness task force to help reshape the city of Philadelphia.

The massive amount of publicity has turned this issue into a joke. The Center for Disease Control and other healthcare professionals do not see anything funny about this epidemic. The CDC attributes 300,000 deaths per year to obesity. They use the Body Mass Index to determine if a person is overweight. To determine your BMI multiply your weight in pounds by 703, then divide that number by your height in inches squared. A BMI of approximately 19 - 25 is considered an acceptable weight for women and 20 - 26 is an acceptable weight for men.

The good news is that a new focus on weight management is being accepted by healthcare professionals. According to Dr. Maria Elena Hallion of the sports science department this new focus is based on accepting your body shape and type and focusing on being healthy. "Skinny and healthy do not go together," Hallion said.

In Hallion's professional opinion she believes that people feel getting at a healthy weight requires painful exercise and starvation which is simply not the truth.

"To attain a healthy weight a person needs to combine moderate caloric reduction with moderate caloric expenditure," Hallion said. In simple language, eat a little less and do a little more. Hallion recommends first modifying the quality of food you eat. Eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Create a healthy diet, then begin to work on reducing the quantity.

Another scientific area of interest rests with the Basal Metabolic Rate. The BMR refers to the energy a body needs to maintain itself. This accounts for about 60 percent of the body's ability to bum calories.

To aid in weight management a high BMR is needed.

According to Hallion there are two main ways to increase the BMR. One way is to eat small meals more frequently. "If you eat an English muffin, yogurt and apple for breakfast, hold the apple and eat it two hours later," Hallion said. The second way is to enhance muscle tone through resistance training. "This would include simple exercises like push-ups, pull-ups or use of dumbbells," Hallion said.

To work toward weight management a person needs to be realistic, set small goals and be patient. According to Hallion the slower you take these lifestyle changes the more likely you will be to maintain them.

"To do something is better than doing nothing," Hallion said. For more information on the subject Hallion recommends a book titled "Fit Or Fat" by Covert Bailey.

Figure skating championships feature new faces Athletes find home in nearby training center

by Kendra Clark sports editelr

A lifetime of hard work and dedication will come together this weekend; Feb. 1113 in Cleveland Ohio as the State Farm U .S Figure Skating Championships will take place. This year's competition will headline Michelle Kwan I the ladies division, Michael Weiss and Timothy Goebel in the men's division, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman in the pairs, and Naomi Lang and Peter Tcheryshev I the dance division.

The U.S figure skating championships serves as the selector for the world team, who will represent the United States in Nice, France through the dates of March 26 through April 2.

In the ladies event Kwanwill be going for her fourth national title, but she will have some stiff competition from some very young competitors. Sara Wheat, Jennifer Kirk, Elizabeth Kwon, and Sasha Cohen have all moved up from the junior level this past year. Also Deanna Stellato who won the Novice national title a year ago has skipped the junior level and has moved up to the senior rankings. Others to watch our for include Naomi Nari Nam, Angela Nickodinov, Stacey Pensgen, and Brittany Mcconn. The strongest challenger to Kwan will probably come from 14 year old Sarah Hughes. She placed fourth last year and went on to place seventh at the world championships in Lyon, France has improved immensely on her artistry and has added two different triple-triple combinations. The men's event will be all about the quads. Weiss who is the reigning U.S champion has been out for most of the season with a stress fracture in his upper left ankle. The man to challenge Weiss is 19 year old Goebel who will be competing in front of his hometown. Goebel also became the first skater in history to land three quadruple jumps in a program earlier this season.

The pairs division will be weak this year with two of the top U.S pairs teams out due to injury. Reigning U.S champions Danielle and Steve Hartsell are out due to Danielle shattering her knee cap earlier this season and the third place finishers of last year's championships Laura Handy and Paul Binnibose are out due to the fractured skull of Binnibose. Teams to look out for are the newly formed pairs team of two time gold medallist and Olympic competitor Kyoko Ina and her new partner John Zimmerman. Also, the brother and sister team of Tiffany and Johnnie Steigler who have placed just out of medal contention for the past few years are a team to look at.

In the ice dancing event reigning U .S champions Naomi Lang and Peter Tcheryshev look to have competition by the young team of Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek who are the reigning Junior national and world champions. Another team to take note of is the local team of Debbie Koegel and Oleg Feduikov. This team belongs to the Ice Works Figure Skating Club and trains at Ice Works in Aston.

With a lot of youngsters making the transition to the senior level it is sure to be an interesting competition. You can see it on Saturday at 4:00 P.M and 9:00 P.M on ABC.

by Stephanie Masucci assistant a&e editor

The United Sports Training Center (USTC) formally named Sportsplex is now the newest home to athletes in the area.

Residing in the beautiful area of Downingtown, athletes from all around come to this large establishment to refine their athletic abilities.

I decided to play field hockey on a mix team at the facility to keep in shape over the summer. Games were played twice a week and it gave me the opportunity to play with former Olympic contenders and watch them display their skill and passion for all those who paid attention.

It was amazing. I was surrounded by athletes who loved their sport so much that they would give up their Monday and Wednesday nights to compete.

One lady I played with was over 50 years old. She was the best player on her team. They were an organized team that played all year around. In their off season they would play at camps like this one.

The last week of play the director of the field hockey events Kim Bosner offered me the position of coaching at two week long camps.

I anxiously agreed to coach 7-13 year olds one week, and then 14-17 year olds for the second week.

Young girls gathered every morning to learn from such great women as Vonnie Gross a former Olympic coach. Her passion for the game was evident in the way she coached these young girls. She knew how to get her point across and she did it with enthusiasm.

Young boys and girls were filtering in and out all week attending the soccer camps, which have been busting at the seams.since the women's World Cup.

The girls all told me about how they wanted to be just like Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain who practice with the U.S. women's soccer team on USTC's main field.

The employees of the camp said that around 600 kids cut school on the day they found out that the national team would be making an appearance.

The attendance would have been doubled if people were notified that the girls were coming. It was kept quiet to avoid a huge crowd.

Another sport that is offered at USTC is lacrosse. Camps are held all year round for children and leagues are available for adult play.

Anyone who has an interest in this sport would find it very advantageous to attend these sessions.

The Philadelphia Wings team was seen practicing in one of the main indoor fields. Inline hockey, deck hockey and wall climbing are just a few of the other activities available at USTC. A Lightning Fl;t training program is offered to improve your running and jumping.

USTC is a place where an athletes can feel at home. There is something about these people that you just can't seem to get enough of.

They understood my passion for field hockey and they all felt equally passionate about their own sport. I just wish that there were more places like this one that could open the doors for the young Michael Jordon and Mia Hamm hopefuls.