Investigators from the Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health & Leisure in Porto, Portugal conducted a study to analyze the association between blood pressure and (1) body mass index (BMI), (2) degree of physical activity and (3) cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF) in young people.

The study included 66 boys and 97 girls (average age around 14). Measures were taken of blood pressure and cardio-respiratory fitness during the school day, and accelerometers were used to determine degree of physical activity, both during and away from school.

Researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles conducted a 4-week pilot study to determine whether Interactive Guided Imagery could be effective for stress reduction (and therefore reduce the metabolic disease risk associated with obesity and hypercortisolism) in overweight Latino adolescents.

Overweight Adolescents Lose Weight, Body Fat, Waist Circumference

A ten week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program in Australia delivers significant improvements in 47 overweight Australian teenagers.

Research from the University of South Australia in Adelaide examined the effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioral Training (CBT) program (called CHOOSE HEALTH) for improving body composition, diet, and physical activity in overweight and obese adolescents.

Researchers at Peninsula Medical School, at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in the UK conducted a review of the literature to determine the effectiveness of complementary therapies on reducing body weight.

The review looked at evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews. Literature searches were conducted on Medline, Embase, Amed, and the Cochrane Library until January 2004. There were no restrictions regarding the language of publication.

Three different studies from the U.S. and the U.K. show the effectiveness of hypnosis for helping people lose weight, especially when it is used as an adjunct to a behavioral weight loss program.

This study examines the effect of adding hypnosis to a behavioral weight-management program on short- and long-term weight change. One hundred nine subjects, ranging in age from 17 to 67, completed a behavioral treatment either with or without the addition of hypnosis.

Meta-analysis at the University of Connecticut reveals that, not only does hypnosis/imagery double weight loss when added to a behavioral program, but the benefits escalate substantially over time.

Researchers from the University of Connecticut at Storrs ran a third meta-analysis of the effect of adding hypnosis to a behavioral program for weight reduction. They collected data from 2 more studies, and corrected for computational inaccuracies in the 2 previous meta-analyses. Just as with the Canyon Ranch pilot study with our Weight Loss imagery, it continues to look like adding a right brain intervention like hypnosis and/or imagery to a behavioral program will double weight loss.

Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques.

Researchers at Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, compared the value different kinds of relaxation techniques for improving post-exercise muscle pain in adult, male runners over a 6 month period. Thirty-one runners were divided up into 3 groups: a meditation group (n = 11); an autogenic training group (a simple self-hypnosis technique similar to the Relaxation Response) (n = 11) and a control group (n = 10). Before and after the six months relaxation training, measures of reactivity to exercise were taken immediately after and 10 minutes after exercise, as well as indicators of metabolic activity (blood lactate concentration, heart rate (HR), and oxygen consumption (VO2)). Resting heart rate was also assessed weekly at home during the trial. State anxiety was measured before and after the training period. Investigators found that after the relaxation training, post-exercise blood lactate concentration - a key factor in post exercise muscle pain - was significantly decreased in the meditation group (p<0.01) as compared with the control group. No difference was observed in lactate responses between the autogenic training group and the control group. There were no significant differences among the groups with regard to heart rate, oxygen consumption, or levels of anxiety. The study tentatively concludes that meditation training may reduce the lactate response to a standardized exercise bout.

Citation: Solberg EE, Ingjer F, Holen A, Sundgot-Borgen J, Nilsson S, Holme I. Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2000 Aug;34(4): pp. 268-72. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques.

Researchers at Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, compared the value of 2 different kinds of relaxation techniques for improving post-running pain in adult, male runners over a 6 month period. Thirty-one runners were divided up into 3 groups: a meditation group (n = 11); an autogenic training group (a simple self-hypnosis technique similar to the Relaxation Response) (n = 11) and a control group (n = 10).