That's Fit

Everybody loves the weekend. It's the time where we can kick back, relax, and enjoy not being consumed by the weekday grind of work and whatever else. Oddly enough, though, Saturday and Sunday are two of the worst days for hospital treatment due to 'weekend effect'; a medical phenomenon related to the increased risk of dying from cancer and other conditions based on weekend visit to the hospital.

According to a Canadian study, published a little while back in the journal Stroke, people are also at a greater risk of dying from a stroke if it is suffered during the weekend.

Researchers reviewed the medical data of 26,676 patients admitted into 606 Canadian hospitals. Of those patients, 24.8 percent were admitted on Saturday or Sunday. After controlling for outside variable such as gender, age, pre-existing medical conditions (other than the stroke), it was revealed that stroke patients admitted on the weekend had a 14 percent higher risk of dying within seven days than those patients admitted on a weekday.

I heard it on the radio yesterday, the news flash revealing that some police officers in Canada are parking themselves at fast-food drive-thru windows in order to catch drunk drivers. Why go fast-food? Because law enforcement officials kept hearing from drive-thru employees, "You should be here late at night." And because who doesn't like to eat after consuming too much alcohol?

Project WULF -- stands for "would you like fries?" -- puts cops right in the drive-thru booths where they can pick up on slurred speech and can sniff out the smell of liquor. When suspicions mount, the observing officer advises a second officer who stops the vehicle as it departs.

Already, a number of impaired-driving charges and roadside suspensions have been issued as a result of Project WULF. But does this make it a good venture? One of my morning radio co-hosts says it's a great thing. Getting drunk drivers off the road is critical, he says. His partner says it's totally unfair, a form of entrapment even. What do you think?

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy

My guest this week is the very excellent athlete and adventurer Will Gadd. Starring on Discovery Channel's Fearless Planet, Will guides us through the world's most spectacular natural wonders to teach us how these land formations were created. The show is really so gripping that as I lay sick and exhausted in bed a few weeks ago, I refused to fall asleep. I couldn't miss his journey through and lesson about the Sahara. (No.....I don't have TiVo.Yes, I know I'm a nerd.) I was wishing this show was around when I was back in school learning about geography. If it was.....I think I would have actually been interested in the subject and learned all of the things I was supposed to learn back then. Totally entertaining!

From Canmore, Alberta, Will has won every major ice-climbing competition in the world and holds the distance world record in paragliding. He's one of the most successful outdoor sports athletes in the world, as well as an award-winning film-maker and writer. He has flown his para-glider over the Grand Canyon, climbed icebergs in the North Atlantic, won the X Games, written a best-selling outdoor instructional book and regularly writes for the New York Times and other international magazines and newspapers.

As I interviewed Will, we giggled a lot as he was totally down to earth (when not hanging from it). He's a new Daddy and considers that his most exciting, yet rewarding adventure. He's also the real deal when it comes to healthy living. He has some especially unique insight on food, which I think we could all learn from.

Fitz: You're the ultimate outdoor sports guy....in amazing shape. You're world renowned for excellence in ice climbing, mountain climbing, paragliding, kayaking , caving and skiing; a bit of a lunatic. How did you get started with all of this?

Will: I actually began my escapades in utero. My Mom was hitting the mountains while pregnant with me. My Dad's a climber too. I grew up with it.

Fitz: What does your wife think about you dangling upside-down from ice all the time?

Will: She totally gets it. She's (Kim Csizmazia) also a champion ice climber.

Fitz: That would probably help! And now you have a daughter?

Buy a bike with a price tag of $1,000 or less in Ontario and you won't pay any tax. No tax on accompanying safety equipment either.

"I trust this will encourage people to take the opportunity to become more active and to lead healthier lives," said Margarett Best, the province's minister of health promotion.

It seems biking incentives are nothing new in Canada. British Columbia has had a program in place since the early 1980s that cuts the tax from purchases of bikes, parts, and accessories. Alberta residents get $300 toward a bike when they retire an old car. And the federal government offers a fitness tax break to parents who enroll their kids in athletic programs.

While tax breaks don't even compare to parental and peer encouragement when it comes to healthy living and while fitness doesn't have to cost a cent -- consider the good old-fashioned walk -- this is certainly an option that may prove inspiring to some.

How about you?

When I read this article titles Canada must cut back on carbs, my mind immediately went to a land of spaghetti, bread and sweets. But carbohydrates aren't the problem -- carbon emissions are.

According to Mark Jaccard, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada is like a bloated, overweight carboholic -- always meaning to go on a diet but never actually doing it. The diet in question is a change from environmentally-harmful to environmentally-friendly, and as a country, so few Canadians are adopting it.

I can attest to this. I live a semi eco-friendly existence and I am the exception, not the rule. What will finally make us realize that we need to take care of our beauty country? More taxes? What do you think?

Yesterday, I told you about Vermont being named the healthiest state in the US. Well, here's some news for us canucks -- BC has been voted the healthiest province in Canada, followed by Alberta in second, Saskatchewan in third and Ontario in the fourth place.

Do you find these results surprising? I don't. I live in Alberta and while most people (read: those from Ontario) assume we're a bunch of beef-eating, beer-swilling rednecks, I know differently -- the majority of people here seem to be into fitness and healthy eating. And can you blame us? With the Rockies so nearby, it's hard to stay indoors.

For more info on how your province ranked, click here.

Health-conscious Canadians on the run now have an alternative to the typical fast food restaurants. As Kelly recently told us over at Green Daily, organic fast food chain Ozone Organics debuted a new restaurant in London, Ontario recently. Offering all-organic vegetables as well as antibiotic and hormone-free meats, Ozone Organics is hoping to change the face of fast food, or at least give people a choice.

The restaurant's interior was built with recycled materials and even the cutlery is bio-degradable (though it's questionable whether bio-degradable cutlery is really "green"). It may still be fast food, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

An osteoarthritis drug called Prexige has been taken off the shelves and can no longer be sold in Canada after Health Canada decided to pull the product. The drug was approved in November 2006 as a treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee and later was approved to treat general osteoarthritis symptoms in adults.

However, patients -- including two in Canada -- began reporting serious liver problems after taking the drug. Australia was the first country to pull Prexige and the United States rejected the drug altogether due to concerns over these side-effects.

Those who have been prescribed Prexige who want more information on the story can look here, and should visit their doctors in order to find an appropriate treatment to replace the drug.

When I was growing up, if there was a kid in the neighborhood that had a trampoline that kid was the most popular person on the block. In the summer, all the local youngsters would head over to double-bounce each other and on hot days, run a sprinkler underneath to cool off. Not only was it great exercise, it was a whole lot of fun.

So I find it disappointing to read that both the Canadian Paediatric Society and Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine have recommended that parents not let their their kids use trampolines at home for recreational purposes. I realize that the bouncy equipment results in loads of injuries each year. According to the information I found, injuries ranged from approximately 20,000 to 60,000 a year in the US based on 5-year period and between 149 and 660 a year in Canada over a 13-year period -- which doesn't sound like much compared to the US numbers but the they are actually pretty similar when looked at on a per capita basis.

Granted that's a lot of broken arms and sprained wrists but rather than suggesting an altogether ban as a solution, I prefer Health Canada's approach which advocates educating kids about the dangers of trampoline use. Basically, parents need to be reasonable and take responsibility for their kids safety. It's important to advise children on safe trampoline use, set strict boundaries and be willing to take the time to supervise but I don't think that it's necessary to prevent your kids from using trampolines at all.

With the FIFA Under-20 World Cup going on right now in various city's throughout Canada, and with kids getting excited about having hip soccer mega-star David Beckham playing for the L.A. Galaxy, soccer's (aka football) popularity is soaring among youth across North America.

The world's most popular sport has never gotten the same kind of play on this continent (with the exception of Mexico, where it's always been huge) as it has around the globe, but that's all starting to change. Soccer is quickly becoming one of the most popular recreational sports among younger kids, with leagues starting for children as young as 3-years-old. Sure, the little ones don't really know the rules but it gives them a chance to run around, have fun and begin to develop a love of the game.

Even adults who previously joined softball teams are getting into things. I've got a group of girlfriends, the majority of whom have never played before, who have created their own team this year just for the fun of it. Most of the team is pushing 30 and many have kids under 18-months-old. It's great exercise and it gives everyone a chance to get out and socialize. If you want to get in the game, take a look at the US Soccer Federation site for all kinds of info.

The paramedics team and potential patients in Calgary, Alberta Canada have a new tool at their disposal to make emergency responses and treatment even better: a specialized ambulance for extremely obese patients. Designed to make it safer for both the patients and the paramedics, the "bariatric response team" will be reserved for patients weighing between 400 and 1000 pounds. Equipped with special gear like a hydraulic lift and fancy air mattress to make positioning large patients easier, this new ambulance will mean some patients who used to be unable to transport in an emergency vehicle at all can now do so safely and with dignity.

It's everywhere we look -- our kitchens, our desktops, our cars, our children's toy boxes. Plastic -- in today's modern world, it simply can't be avoided. But should we be avoiding it?

According to recent research, probably. It's not the plastic itself, but the chemicals that are used in the making of it. When plastics become worn, those same chemicals can leach into our foods, drinks, and homes. In fact, a recent study of Canadian citizens found that levels of 68 different types of chemicals were found in adults, and scarily, even higher levels in children.

There are "good" plastics and then there are very bad plastics, like PVC. PVC -- or vinyl -- is found in a variety of products, including personal care products and children's toys. Vinyl has been found to leach phthalates -- known endocrine disruptors -- as well as mercury and dioxins over its lifetime. Though numerous agencies agree that PVC should be monitored, there are few regulations in place.

A while back on our sister site, Gadling, I made it public that I would be registering and running in my first marathon. Considering I'm not a HUGE running fan, I wanted to prove to myself that after putting in so many walking miles on the Steps Across America tour, I'd be able to push myself and my fitness level a bit further by running a full 26.2 miles. Now onto the training.

To my advantage, a good pal is helping me get started, providing me with reading material, scheduling runs on my calendar, and so on. I'm presently in the middle of Week Three training, with 15 more weeks separating me from the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon on October 29, 2006.

Marathon training, like anything else, would be easy if it were the only thing we had penned in our planners, but that isn't always the case. Take my situation. In the midst of my training schedule, I'll be flying to Tajikistan for a three-week period. I'm not certain how much of the country's female population goes running on a daily basis or for long distances. I'm really trying to keep my calm and hope that I'll be able to find a decent gym or run undisturbed in the post-Soviet country. But what if I just can't? Sounds like a silly question, but seriously? One suggestion already tossed my way was to pack a jump rope to keep some level of cardio activity. Obviously this isn't going to compensate for one of the long runs. So, my question is this: