Senior Member Physical Fitness

[Holding Pattern]

Can a group of 400 pound GTL/GTM's hike 6 miles into the woods, and carry a casualty back out on a litter, without becoming a liability themselves? Maybe, but probably not.

Yeah, when was the last time that a CAP "Ground Team" actually did something like this?

We're not equipped or even trained for this. If we have to evacuate a causality, we call the "professionals" who have much better equipment and training to do the job.

Seems we used to do this... what changed?

1. Proliferation of local rescue teams who are much easier to call out.
2. Lawyers.

What are the solutions to these problems?

You willing to take the fiscal responsibility?

Is that the solution?

[SarDragon]

The primary cause for obesity is eating too much. Until people learn to cut down on their food intake, they are going to be fat. This is what we need to encourage among the members, and society in general.

I would strongly argue that it isn't eating too much, but, what you are eating that causes obesity.

I eat anything I want. Anything. Pizza. Donuts. Chips. Quarter pounders. And healthy stuff, too. I weigh 178 pounds, and am 5'10" tall. It's all about quantity.

It is all about quantity for you.  For others, it is about what.  For others, it is about what and quantity.  For others, it is about activity.  For others, it is about what, quantity, and activity.  For others, it is about something different.  As I said, subpopulations of humans are predisposed by biomarkers.  What may work for one subpopulation does not necessarily work for another subpopulation.

I have spent a lot of time eating away from home over the years, and have observed the eating patterns of many people, both from afar, and in the group I'm eating with. With very few exceptions, the heavy people eat a LOT of food. It doesn't help that many restaurants serve huge portions, but it's not very hard to push the plate away without finishing what's been served. Buffets provide a lot of entertainment on eating. The heavy folks go through twice, or fill more than one plate to heaping, and eat huge desserts.

Food intake quantity is, by far, the single easiest thing to control when talking about weight. Don't eat too much, don't weigh too much. Your commentary is certainly valid, and those factors have a bearing, but, based on what I see every day, and discussions with my doctors, they are not the primary reason people are fat.

[LSThiker]

I have spent a lot of time eating away from home over the years, and have observed the eating patterns of many people, both from afar, and in the group I'm eating with. With very few exceptions, the heavy people eat a LOT of food. It doesn't help that many restaurants serve huge portions, but it's not very hard to push the plate away without finishing what's been served. Buffets provide a lot of entertainment on eating. The heavy folks go through twice, or fill more than one plate to heaping, and eat huge desserts.

Food intake quantity is, by far, the single easiest thing to control when talking about weight. Don't eat too much, don't weigh too much. Your commentary is certainly valid, and those factors have a bearing, but, based on what I see every day, and discussions with my doctors, they are not the primary reason people are fat.

Using people at restaurants as your data points would seem to fall into the "what and quantity" category.

Again, what works for one subpopulation may not work for another subpopulation.  The Harvard School of Public Health has a decent webpage dedicated to this very topic.  I would like to point out a brief point the authors make (although they do expand on both the quantity vs quality topic and leave the bottom line as "make any change is better than no change"):

Conventional wisdom says that since a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its source, the best advice for weight control is simply to eat less and exercise more. Yet emerging research suggests that some foods and eating patterns may make it easier to keep calories in check, while others may make people more likely to overeat.

For your reading enjoyment as there is other good information for others, the link is:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/diet-and-weight/

[lordmonar]

And one wonders why we don't have a Senior Member Physical Fitness Program?

[abdsp51]

And one wonders why we don't have a Senior Member Physical Fitness Program?

Not needed in any capacity.

[lordmonar]

And one wonders why we don't have a Senior Member Physical Fitness Program?

Not needed in any capacity.

Even if there was some need (like we would like our members not die so we don't have to replace them) we can't have a civil discussion on what is the best way to meet that goal.

[abdsp51]

And one wonders why we don't have a Senior Member Physical Fitness Program?

Not needed in any capacity.

Even if there was some need (like we would like our members not die so we don't have to replace them) we can't have a civil discussion on what is the best way to meet that goal.

Civil discussion is fine and dandy but wheb you have people insistent on having something not needed it can be brutal...

[Brit_in_CAP]

Started to post and changed my mind.

[winterg]

There is no added benefiet to the org trying to teach the adult members about healthy lifestyles. <snip>

I don't know that your position here can be defended.

Members who eat healthier and maintain an active lifestyle would see several health benefits that would allow them to participate more actively in CAP for a longer time.

Eating right and exercising means you will be healthier which directly contributes to a better mental state and directly contributes to a better physique which can improve your confidence and self esteem.  And regular exercise is shown to lead to a reduction in stress.

Making healthy choices helps prevent certain conditions such as heart disease, strokes, and high blood pressure.  The Mayo Clinic says that regular physical activity and proper diet can help you prevent a wide range of other health problems, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, and arthritis.

Proper diet and exercise gives people a boost of energy as well as promoting better sleeping habits.

The American Council on Exercise reported on an eight-year study of 13,000 people. The study showed that those who walked just 30 minutes each day significantly reduced their chances of dying prematurely, compared with those who exercised infrequently.  A longer life means more years in CAP!

I strongly believe that promoting a healthier lifestyle among our membership would have noticeable benefit with returns on invest seen almost immediately.

As to whether CAP should offer information and possible options to our membership about healthier choices, why not.  I have asserted from the beginning that anything should be voluntary in the same way that our Chaplains offer information and guidance to our membership regarding spiritual well being.  Members are in no way obligated to take them up on their offer of assistance.

[Stonewall]

Life isn't all unicorns and rainbows.

I'm all about health and fitness, but outside of there being a need (flight physicals and maybe some ground ops work) CAP really has no place in instituting fitness standards for seniors.

[winterg]

Life isn't all unicorns and rainbows.
I'm all about health and fitness, but outside of there being a need (flight physicals and maybe some ground ops work) CAP really has no place in instituting fitness standards for seniors.

I absolutely agree.  Implementing fitness standards for senior members would never work and make a significant portion of our membership unable to serve in CAP.  That is why I suggested a voluntary program members could engage in at will to help promote better health.

[Garibaldi]

This is why we can't have nice things. Ask the 50,000 members about their opinion on a given subject, and you'll get 49,999 differing opinions.

Personally, I've always wondered why we can't have some kind of physical fitness program for seniors. Sure, we could run PT with the kids, and I would not feel very self conscious about doing so. I would think it would give me a little more respectability, that I'm willing to do what they do, rather than stay a "fat and fuzzy" SM who can't even manage to keep up on a road march, which actually happened to me on a SAREX recently. It's embarrassing, honestly, because I used to be in fairly good shape.

I'm not saying it's for everyone, but for those of us who need to be active, it's something to think of. Not mandatory, because you can join a gym, read all the diet tips online, or do the exercises yourself. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to lead a GT up the side of a hill and have to be carried down because I had a heart attack.

Yes, the other option would be to not lead or participate in GT ops, which is where I'm headed due to my age and lack of physical fitness, but where does that get me? Fatter, lazier, and more prone to dying sooner. But that's my choice, I suppose. Either get busy living, or get busy dying.

[abdsp51]

There is no added benefiet to the org trying to teach the adult members about healthy lifestyles. <snip>

I don't know that your position here can be defended.

Members who eat healthier and maintain an active lifestyle would see several health benefits that would allow them to participate more actively in CAP for a longer time.

Eating right and exercising means you will be healthier which directly contributes to a better mental state and directly contributes to a better physique which can improve your confidence and self esteem.  And regular exercise is shown to lead to a reduction in stress.

Making healthy choices helps prevent certain conditions such as heart disease, strokes, and high blood pressure.  The Mayo Clinic says that regular physical activity and proper diet can help you prevent a wide range of other health problems, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, and arthritis.

Proper diet and exercise gives people a boost of energy as well as promoting better sleeping habits.

The American Council on Exercise reported on an eight-year study of 13,000 people. The study showed that those who walked just 30 minutes each day significantly reduced their chances of dying prematurely, compared with those who exercised infrequently.  A longer life means more years in CAP!

I strongly believe that promoting a healthier lifestyle among our membership would have noticeable benefit with returns on invest seen almost immediately.

As to whether CAP should offer information and possible options to our membership about healthier choices, why not.  I have asserted from the beginning that anything should be voluntary in the same way that our Chaplains offer information and guidance to our membership regarding spiritual well being.  Members are in no way obligated to take them up on their offer of assistance.

I don't shell out hard earned dollars or give up valuable time to hear about healthy lifestyles and choices I have a fitness center a Dr and my grandma to do that for me. 

You can cry and spout voluntary all day long provide something more than repeated regurgitation (which oh wait you can't)....  Again no added benefit to the org to try and preach healthy lifestyles and choices that's what Dr's and gyms are for.  CAP needs to stay in it's lane and stick to it's missions given to it. 

[RiverAux]

In this case, most areas (but certainly not all) have ground SAR solutions that are easier to mobilize and control than CAP.

Actually, I think it is the other way around.  Most areas do not actually have ground SAR teams.  If you're east of the Rockies local GSAR teams are very few and far between. 

[PHall]

In this case, most areas (but certainly not all) have ground SAR solutions that are easier to mobilize and control than CAP.

Actually, I think it is the other way around.  Most areas do not actually have ground SAR teams.  If you're east of the Rockies local GSAR teams are very few and far between.

Rather bold statement, got a cite for that?

[RiverAux]

Well, we've been talking about this issue on CAPTalk for 10 years and it has been generally agreed that there are very few government-sponsored SAR teams in the eastern US in comparison to the far west and I would think that CAP members discussing this issue are pretty aware of what is going on in their states.  In my own state east of the Rockies only about 10-15% of counties have a SAR team. 

The last time I checked (and it has been about 5 years) there were more CAP ground team members than NASAR members.  Not a definitive comparison, but it says something about the lack of trained GSAR people across most of the US (and that we, for better or worse, are some of the most available resources around. 

If someone would like to spend a few days googling to prove me wrong, thats fine.

[Alaric]

In this case, most areas (but certainly not all) have ground SAR solutions that are easier to mobilize and control than CAP.

Actually, I think it is the other way around.  Most areas do not actually have ground SAR teams.  If you're east of the Rockies local GSAR teams are very few and far between.

Plenty in Illinois, I used to be a part of the Naperville SAR Team and most of the counties had one as well

[Scuba_Instructor]

How about a fitness ribbon as an incentive?  The Navy is looking into a fitness award I understand.  https://dmna.ny.gov/awards/fit.html. The NY Army National Guard has such a ribbon, as do the naval sea cadets... If CAP negotiates a good gym rate with a national fitness chain, they could easily administer it and issue a fitness letter (not that different from a non profit organization writing a letter of 60 hours community service participation for the CAP community service ribbon). Just an idea.

[PHall]

Well, we've been talking about this issue on CAPTalk for 10 years and it has been generally agreed that there are very few government-sponsored SAR teams in the eastern US in comparison to the far west and I would think that CAP members discussing this issue are pretty aware of what is going on in their states.  In my own state east of the Rockies only about 10-15% of counties have a SAR team. 

The last time I checked (and it has been about 5 years) there were more CAP ground team members than NASAR members.  Not a definitive comparison, but it says something about the lack of trained GSAR people across most of the US (and that we, for better or worse, are some of the most available resources around. 

If someone would like to spend a few days googling to prove me wrong, thats fine.

There may be more CAP Ground Team members then NASAR members, but, how many times has the CAP GT folks been used vs the NASAR members?
I know of a large number of CAP GT members who have never been on a "live" mission. Just SAREX's and Training Missions.

[RiverAux]

Yep, primarily because CAP hasn't made a priority of making sure the proper folks know that we have trained and capable personnel.