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ARTICLES > 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 |
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First of Its Kind in Top of Utah
Tami Martinez
Standard-Examiner Staff, July 27, 2004
“Patients” at Julie Knighton Physical Therapy in South Ogden pay $200 for an initial metabolic test, exercise/nutrition counseling and a follow-up test that tracks improvement after six to eight weeks. Another assessment, say six months after the initial visit, costs $75. The tests and visits are not typically covered by insurance.
New Leaf’s metabolic-rate technology is the first of its kind available to the general public in the Top of Utah. Other tests measure metabolism only at rest, so they aren’t as specific and customized as the newer technology, which also measures metabolism during exercise, Knighton says.
The resting rate
The technology uses a gas-mask-like contraption strapped over the face. With the patient relaxing on an examination table and breathing into a tube for 12 minutes, the machine measures the amount of oxygen the body consumes and how much carbon dioxide is exhaled. The heart rate is also tracked.
All three figures are used to determines the body’s resting metabolic rate – the calories the body uses “if you were to just sit and do nothing” but breath, digest food, etc. Those calories generally account for 60 percent of 75 percent of the total caloric expenditure for the day, Knighton explains.
This metabolic profile is unique for each person, but it also gives an objective measure of the body’s fitness compared with people the same age and gender.
The exercise rate
After the resting metabolic rate has been determined, it’s time to head to the treadmill or exercise bike to determine the body’s “peak oxygen uptake”, or VO2 max. This shows the ability of the heart, lungs and circulation system to deliver oxygen to exercising muscles.
Again wearing the mask and with the computer tracking the heart rate, the patient begins the exercise and, depending on physical condition, the intensity of the exercise increases slightly every minute or so.
When the amount of oxygen consumed and carbon dioxide exhaled become equal, that point is considered the VO2 max.
Next comes the body’s anaerobic threshold, which shows how efficiently the muscles use oxygen to produce energy. Often referred to as the “operational threshold,” it represents the level of work and efficient fat-burning the body can sustain over time.
When the body works above the anaerobic threshold, muscles start to ache and tire because of lactic acid buildup cased by the accumulation of carbon dioxide and the lack of oxygen.
This threshold is the point where the body begins to burn less fat. Pushing the threshold is what marathon runners do to increase endurance. The closer the anaerobic threshold is to the body’s VO2 max, the better the level of fitness.
Once the body hits its AT during the test, the exercise is dramatically slowed so the computer can measure how quickly the heart recovers. If the heart rate immediately slows, the patient is in good physical condition.
The anaerobic threshold helps the technician determine what exercise intensity – golf, walking, running, swimming, etc. – will be most effective in meeting the patient’s goals.
A customized plan
The New Leaf technology puts together the information from the resting and exercising tests to determine what heart-rate zone the patient needs to reach and maintain to either more effectively burn fat or increase endurance.
Using this information, the patient uses a heart-rate monitor and a watch to time the length of the workout and keep the heart rate at just the right level.
The tests help the technician determine the number of calories the patient’s body burns at rest and how many are burned during exercise in the “zone.” The goal is to feed the body enough calories to keep it energized for exercise but not so much as to gain weight.
“If you have too restrictive of a diet and a caloric intake that’s too low, the body thinks it’s starving and starts feeding on its muscles, and you have less energy, become irritable, get shaky, suffer from headaches, plus you’re more susceptible to illness,” Knighton said. “Some people even find out they have to increase their caloric intake so they have the energy to exercise and burn off fat.” |
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