Fans of The Biggest Loser were shocked to learn celebrity trainer Bob Harper suffered a severe heart attack two weeks ago and is currently on a shaky path to recovery. According to Cosmopolitan, Harper collapsed mid-workout at a New York gym, but luckily received CPR from a doctor working out in the same facility. Harper has previously spoken about heart disease running in his family, CNN reports. Considering Harper represents the pinnacle of health for millions of Americans, the fact that he suffered a heart attack at 51 years of age raises some questions about the role genetics play versus lifestyle choices.
But Harper is far from alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 610,000 Americans die from heart disease every year, making it the leading cause of death for both women and men. Worryingly, more than 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. But is there one thing we could be doing to prevent these health complications from happening? Dr. Nieca Goldberg, who serves as the medical director at NYU’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health, says there are several factors at play when it comes to reducing the risk of heart attack. While there are no simple answers, there are proven steps we can take to reduce our risk. In an interview with GOOD, Dr. Goldberg explains exactly what those factors are and how we can best address them.
Obviously, we’re all a little shocked that Bob Harper of all people had a heart attack. Without diagnosing Harper, how big of a role do genetics play versus lifestyle choices when it comes to heart health?
You know, it happens a lot … This was many years ago, but a woman had heart disease and her husband said to her, “I don’t understand how you have this problem, because I’m the one who eats all the steak and French fries and all those things.” Then we get into a discussion of having clogged arteries is a multifaceted problem in that lots of things lead to that. It’s not only just being fit, but high cholesterol, diabetes, cigarette smoking, your diet, being overweight, and somehow genetics also (play a role). About half of it is explained by the traditional risk factors everyone knows, and the other half is unknown. Part of that is genetics.
Are there certain things we can’t control no matter how perfect our diet is or how much we exercise?
Well, we need to sort of make the distinction that you could have the perfect diet and exercise program, not smoke, and do everything right, and that will lower your risk of heart disease; but if you have certain a genetic predisposition, it won’t eliminate your risk for heart disease. There are studies that show that some people who have a family history of early heart disease, meaning your mom was less than 60 or your dad less than 50 when they had their heart disease diagnosed or had a heart attack, then if you exercise, that lowers your risk. But if you take one of our common medicines—for instance, we use cholesterol-lowering medicines—that can lower the risk … anywhere from 30 to 50 percent. And some of the newer drugs may do that even more.
Is it possible to exercise too much? Can you put strain on your heart by overdoing it?
Well, that’s a sort of relative term because people have different fitness levels. If you’re trained to exercise and you’re feeling fine doing it, there’s not anything to say it’s a bad thing to do. I think if people have underlying heart problems, then their exercise regimen has to be modified depending upon their condition. And we certainly do stress testing on people to see what their fitness level is when they have heart disease or symptoms to understand how much exercise they’re capable of. If somebody is sedentary and then all of a sudden decides to run a marathon and are really not taking care of themselves, those are the kind of people you get concerned about.
What should the number one priority be when it comes to maintaining a healthy heart?
The number one priority is that you should know where you are on the scale of heart disease risk. First, you need to know your family history and you need to get a checkup and know all of your risk factors—your cholesterol, your blood pressure, your sugar levels to see if you have diabetes. And if you still ask me the number one thing that everyone should try to do to help lower their risk for heart disease, I would still say it’s exercise because it works on so many of the risk factors.
Maybe this is getting too nitpicky, but does it matter what kind of exercise you do?
Well, you should like what you’re doing because that means you’ll stick with it. The other thing I can say is that for heart disease prevention, you should do aerobic exercise, but also strength training because it helps strengthen your muscles for your aerobic exercise. Also, it will reduce your percentage of body fat.
For more information about taking care of your heart and reducing your risk of heart disease, check out these tips from the American Heart Association.
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.