I had difficulty in previous posts creating working links to websites. Here are those sites again:
The Consilience Group is my company's site where you can learn more about me and The Consilience Group.
SBRnet is the site of the firm that commissioned Consilience to write a series of studies on the future of sports. If you need detailed information on participation in sports or the business of sports, this site is a good place to get it. Trial subscriptions are reasonably priced.
Shaping Tomorrow is a site where you can learn a great deal about emerging trends. Some of the information is free; some is by subscription.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
HHS Comprehensive Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
On April 27, HHS Secretary Leavitt announced the formation of an Advisory Committee to make recommendations on Comprehensive Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Some of the Advisory Committee members participated in an Institute of Medicine Workship on this subject last October. In it, they reviewed the scientific literature on the health benefits (and some of the risks (injuries)) of exercise. The Surgeon General of the United States had reported on health benefits of exercise back in 1996 and the World Health Organization had reported on the health benefits of exercise and risks of a sedentary life in 2002 in preparation for its initiative to formulate its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The Advisory Committe is to have its first meeting on June 28 and 29. I have asked HHS to be put on the mailing or emailing list for further information on the committee's activities. I believe they will provide this information to me as the Committee's conduct must be governed by the Advisory Committee Act. I intend to make further posts on this subject as I get the information.
The Institute of Medicine workshop added value by reviewing later medical literature and reaching conclusions on the amount and strength of data supporting the various possible benefits of exercise. To read all the referenced literature in summary workshop report would require months of intense concentration.
I believe that sporting goods manufacturing and retailing and sports instruction and training businesses in particular should monitor the Advisory Committee's deliberations and recommendations because what they recommend could make possible much more targeted marketing of their offerings in the marketplace.
The Institute of Medicine workshop added value by reviewing later medical literature and reaching conclusions on the amount and strength of data supporting the various possible benefits of exercise. To read all the referenced literature in summary workshop report would require months of intense concentration.
I believe that sporting goods manufacturing and retailing and sports instruction and training businesses in particular should monitor the Advisory Committee's deliberations and recommendations because what they recommend could make possible much more targeted marketing of their offerings in the marketplace.
Friday, June 22, 2007
i Practice What I Preach
I have believed in the importance of exercise for good health ever since high school when I was on the the cross country and track teams. I was never a very good competitive runner, but I believe I still benefit from the training for distance running I did so many years ago.
I kept running (mostly non-competitively) until I was in my 40's and the pavement pounding got to be too hard. After giving up running, I took up bicycling and particpated in quite a few long-distance rides, including the MS-150 ride sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. There are many athletic events like this in which people pay to participate and raise money for the charity. In doing so, they do good for themselves and those less fortunate. A spectator at the start of the MS-150 ride one year was an MS victim in a wheelchair. His sign read, "Your legs help mine!". I found that sign very powerful. Since many of these events are strenuous, one has to train for weeks or months before participating in them. I can't help but think that the training plus participation builds an exercise habit that is good for one's health. I have not seen any data on this in my studies of fitness and sports, but I feel confident this is so.
Have any of you out there in cyberspace built an exercise habit as a result of training for and participating in charitable exercise events (e.g., marathons, triathlons, shorter runs, walks, bike rides, etc.)? I would love to read your responses.
Now I am in my late 60's and i still try to stay active with a mix of exercises--golf (waliking the course, not riding), bicycling, weight training, swimming, and, most recently, yoga. Yes, yoga, the apartment complex where my wife and I spent the winter in California offered group yoga lessons. I was the token male in a couple of them, and I took private lessons from the instructor as well. Her name is Robin Downes, and I recommend her instructional video which I now use Yoga Flava for Relaxation.
I do think more men should take up yoga and perhaps other forms of exercise in which most of the participants are woment like Pilates. I believe it helps greatly to improve and maintain flexibility. We men should consider exercise programs on their merits (Yoga has been endorsed by the American Council on Exercise!) rather than on whether they are masculine or feminine. We can learn a lot from what women are doing in exercise. If they can benefit from boxing, wrestling and weight lifting, we can benefit from yoga and pilates.
What do you think about that?
Ken Harris
I kept running (mostly non-competitively) until I was in my 40's and the pavement pounding got to be too hard. After giving up running, I took up bicycling and particpated in quite a few long-distance rides, including the MS-150 ride sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. There are many athletic events like this in which people pay to participate and raise money for the charity. In doing so, they do good for themselves and those less fortunate. A spectator at the start of the MS-150 ride one year was an MS victim in a wheelchair. His sign read, "Your legs help mine!". I found that sign very powerful. Since many of these events are strenuous, one has to train for weeks or months before participating in them. I can't help but think that the training plus participation builds an exercise habit that is good for one's health. I have not seen any data on this in my studies of fitness and sports, but I feel confident this is so.
Have any of you out there in cyberspace built an exercise habit as a result of training for and participating in charitable exercise events (e.g., marathons, triathlons, shorter runs, walks, bike rides, etc.)? I would love to read your responses.
Now I am in my late 60's and i still try to stay active with a mix of exercises--golf (waliking the course, not riding), bicycling, weight training, swimming, and, most recently, yoga. Yes, yoga, the apartment complex where my wife and I spent the winter in California offered group yoga lessons. I was the token male in a couple of them, and I took private lessons from the instructor as well. Her name is Robin Downes, and I recommend her instructional video which I now use Yoga Flava for Relaxation.
I do think more men should take up yoga and perhaps other forms of exercise in which most of the participants are woment like Pilates. I believe it helps greatly to improve and maintain flexibility. We men should consider exercise programs on their merits (Yoga has been endorsed by the American Council on Exercise!) rather than on whether they are masculine or feminine. We can learn a lot from what women are doing in exercise. If they can benefit from boxing, wrestling and weight lifting, we can benefit from yoga and pilates.
What do you think about that?
Ken Harris
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Home Team Advantage
In my Physical Activity Trends study, I examine the complex set of factors why America's children do not get enough exercise and thus become too fat. Of course, diet also has a lot to do with the epidemic of childhood obesity in my country, but I have focused on lack of exercise. One of the problems is the competitive team sports model for childhood and youth physical activity. There are lots of school and non-school sports teams for children and youth in America. Soccer, baseball and softball are particularly popular. Children who are good enough athletically to make these teams do get enough physical activity; in fact, sometimes they get too much exercise from overusing the same muscles in the same sport with too little time off from play and practice (e.g., rotator cuff injuries from baseball pitching). Children who don't make these teams, or who do make the team but do not play regularly because of the constant pressures to win become discouraged and retreat to inactive pursuits. Simultaneously, recess and physical education programs are being cut back and safety and security concerns have made the primary modes of transport to and from school riding the school bus or being driven in parents' cars.
Momsteam (http://www.momsteam.com) is a group trying to reform children's sports. Today, I learned of and ordered a new book written by Brooke de Lench, Momsteam, Editor in Chief, entitled Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports, and i look forward to reading it. More to follow, when I have done so.
In the meantime, if you are an adult looking for fitness advice for yourself, I suggest Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About Exercise and Health by Gina Kolata.
Momsteam (http://www.momsteam.com) is a group trying to reform children's sports. Today, I learned of and ordered a new book written by Brooke de Lench, Momsteam, Editor in Chief, entitled Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports, and i look forward to reading it. More to follow, when I have done so.
In the meantime, if you are an adult looking for fitness advice for yourself, I suggest Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About Exercise and Health by Gina Kolata.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Introduction
Hello:
My name is Ken Harris. I am Chairman of a futurist consultancy called The Consilience Group, LLC. We at Consilience have a mission of helping everyone interested in what the future may hold to see the parts of the future that can be seen up to as a much as a half century ahead. You can learn more about us by visiting our website http://www.theconsiiencegroup.com.
So why I am calling this blog Exerfuture? In it, I will be dealing with a myriad of issues related to the future of fitness and sports. My expertise in this field comes from my training and experience as a professional futurist (Gained by self-teaching and by taking training courses given by the World Future Society and others), my consulting work for a company called Sports Business Research, and my own participation in recreational fitness and sports activities and being a professional sports fan (mainly of baseball, football, and golf). Sports Business Research sells a vast array of data on the business of sports. You can learn more about their work by visiting their website (http://www.sbrnet.com). Sports Business Research has commissioned Consilience to write a series of studies on the future of fitness and sports. We published the first one Physical Activity Trends: Business and Policy Implications in October 2005 and the second Global Aging and Sports: The Impact of Aging on The World of Sports in October 2006. We plan to pubish report #3, the 2007 edition of Physical Activity Trends: Business and Policy Implications no later than October 2007. The first two reports are for sale. You can order them in print or on CD or DVD by calling me at 301-657-3731 or by emailing me at kenharris39@mac.com if you will pay by check or by calling the President of Sports Business Research, Mr. Dick Lipsey at 609-896-1996 if you will pay by credit card.
One of the most exciting phenomena in fitness and sports is the emergence of a vast network of recreational trails in all parts of the United States. These trails provide car-free places for Americans to get many forms of exercise like running, walking and bicycling, and Americans are flocking to them. For example, the one nearest my home in suburban Washington, DC, the Capital Crescent Trail is heavily used on weekends. I recently wrote a trend alert on recreational trails for the online newsletter Shaping Tomorrow. It was published in the June 13 issue.
Shaping Tomorrow is a wonderful publication for getting up-to-date information on many aspects of the future, not just the ones I am concentrating on right now--exercise, fitness, health, and sports. You can check out what they have to offer by visiting their website http://www.shapingtomorrow.com/a.cfm?a=consil.
My name is Ken Harris. I am Chairman of a futurist consultancy called The Consilience Group, LLC. We at Consilience have a mission of helping everyone interested in what the future may hold to see the parts of the future that can be seen up to as a much as a half century ahead. You can learn more about us by visiting our website http://www.theconsiiencegroup.com.
So why I am calling this blog Exerfuture? In it, I will be dealing with a myriad of issues related to the future of fitness and sports. My expertise in this field comes from my training and experience as a professional futurist (Gained by self-teaching and by taking training courses given by the World Future Society and others), my consulting work for a company called Sports Business Research, and my own participation in recreational fitness and sports activities and being a professional sports fan (mainly of baseball, football, and golf). Sports Business Research sells a vast array of data on the business of sports. You can learn more about their work by visiting their website (http://www.sbrnet.com). Sports Business Research has commissioned Consilience to write a series of studies on the future of fitness and sports. We published the first one Physical Activity Trends: Business and Policy Implications in October 2005 and the second Global Aging and Sports: The Impact of Aging on The World of Sports in October 2006. We plan to pubish report #3, the 2007 edition of Physical Activity Trends: Business and Policy Implications no later than October 2007. The first two reports are for sale. You can order them in print or on CD or DVD by calling me at 301-657-3731 or by emailing me at kenharris39@mac.com if you will pay by check or by calling the President of Sports Business Research, Mr. Dick Lipsey at 609-896-1996 if you will pay by credit card.
One of the most exciting phenomena in fitness and sports is the emergence of a vast network of recreational trails in all parts of the United States. These trails provide car-free places for Americans to get many forms of exercise like running, walking and bicycling, and Americans are flocking to them. For example, the one nearest my home in suburban Washington, DC, the Capital Crescent Trail is heavily used on weekends. I recently wrote a trend alert on recreational trails for the online newsletter Shaping Tomorrow. It was published in the June 13 issue.
Shaping Tomorrow is a wonderful publication for getting up-to-date information on many aspects of the future, not just the ones I am concentrating on right now--exercise, fitness, health, and sports. You can check out what they have to offer by visiting their website http://www.shapingtomorrow.com/a.cfm?a=consil.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)