Fitness videos can damage your health
VIDEOS that promise bulging biceps, thin thighs and a flat stomach are more likely to give users an aching back, strained muscles and a pot belly, according to a Consumers' Association report published today.
A panel of fitness experts found that nearly half the workout videos reviewed in the report put users at risk from dangerous and outdated exercises. The report accuses many of the videos of making dramatic and unrealizable claims, such as: "The body you've always dreamt of could be yours'' and "Lose cellulite for ever''.
The panel's main complaint was that too many "ill-advised celebrities'' were endorsing videos, despite having no professional qualifications. "Unless presenters are doing the exercises correctly themselves, you're going to follow their mistakes, risking injury,'' the report says.
The actress Jane Fonda, who introduced aerobics tapes to Britain in the early 1980s, was criticised for her out-of-date and potentially dangerous exercises in her New Workout. "Burn all copies,'' one member of the panel said. Lizzie Webb, the breakfast television fitness presenter, was berated for a video that includes "dangerous side lean bounces'' and a generally risky routine.
The model Cindy Crawford's fitness video was described as atrocious by Health and Fitness magazine recently. It said that Miss Crawford over-extended her back in the exercises risking serious back strain to make her chest stick out and to appear more sultry.
Also criticised is the Muscle in Motion video, by the Chippendales male strippers, described as "totally and completely unsafe''. "The person who put this together must have been living in a box for the past ten years,'' was one comment on the video, which claims: "Muscle in Motion is bound to get your heart beating faster, even if all you do is watch.''
Among the videos to be praised was that of the singer and actress Cher, who is commended for being shown following the routine of her personal instructor and not pretending to be an expert.
The panel, which included a sports medicine expert, a physiotherapist and a representative from the Association for Health and Exercise Teachers, condemned the Callanetics programme as generally unsafe. The Quick Callanetics video, which promises "a perfect flat stomach'', will deliver an aching back, rounded shoulders and a pot belly, the report says.
Risky exercises will not necessarily cause harm, especially if the person doing them is already fit, the panel says, but it emphasises that there are safer ways of achieving the same effect. People buying fitness videos are advised to check the instructor's qualifications before buying, and to stop exercising immediately if they feel pain.
Even the more worthwhile videos seem unlikely to have much impact on the health of the nation. Although two million fitness videos were sold last year, the report found that two thirds of buyers never used them, or used them less than once a month.
Many frozen fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than fresh ones, another Consumers' Association survey says. It found that frozen spinach had twice as much vitamin C as the fresh or tinned varieties and that frozen raspberries, broccoli and peas were at least as good as fresh ones.
Fresh produce loses vitamins as it decays, and canning destroys nutrients. The association says that home freezing is unlikely to retain nutrients, as it is impossible to replicate the extremely low temperatures used by the frozen food industry.
A panel of fitness experts found that nearly half the workout videos reviewed in the report put users at risk from dangerous and outdated exercises. The report accuses many of the videos of making dramatic and unrealizable claims, such as: "The body you've always dreamt of could be yours'' and "Lose cellulite for ever''.
The panel's main complaint was that too many "ill-advised celebrities'' were endorsing videos, despite having no professional qualifications. "Unless presenters are doing the exercises correctly themselves, you're going to follow their mistakes, risking injury,'' the report says.
The actress Jane Fonda, who introduced aerobics tapes to Britain in the early 1980s, was criticised for her out-of-date and potentially dangerous exercises in her New Workout. "Burn all copies,'' one member of the panel said. Lizzie Webb, the breakfast television fitness presenter, was berated for a video that includes "dangerous side lean bounces'' and a generally risky routine.
The model Cindy Crawford's fitness video was described as atrocious by Health and Fitness magazine recently. It said that Miss Crawford over-extended her back in the exercises risking serious back strain to make her chest stick out and to appear more sultry.
Also criticised is the Muscle in Motion video, by the Chippendales male strippers, described as "totally and completely unsafe''. "The person who put this together must have been living in a box for the past ten years,'' was one comment on the video, which claims: "Muscle in Motion is bound to get your heart beating faster, even if all you do is watch.''
Among the videos to be praised was that of the singer and actress Cher, who is commended for being shown following the routine of her personal instructor and not pretending to be an expert.
The panel, which included a sports medicine expert, a physiotherapist and a representative from the Association for Health and Exercise Teachers, condemned the Callanetics programme as generally unsafe. The Quick Callanetics video, which promises "a perfect flat stomach'', will deliver an aching back, rounded shoulders and a pot belly, the report says.
Risky exercises will not necessarily cause harm, especially if the person doing them is already fit, the panel says, but it emphasises that there are safer ways of achieving the same effect. People buying fitness videos are advised to check the instructor's qualifications before buying, and to stop exercising immediately if they feel pain.
Even the more worthwhile videos seem unlikely to have much impact on the health of the nation. Although two million fitness videos were sold last year, the report found that two thirds of buyers never used them, or used them less than once a month.
Many frozen fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than fresh ones, another Consumers' Association survey says. It found that frozen spinach had twice as much vitamin C as the fresh or tinned varieties and that frozen raspberries, broccoli and peas were at least as good as fresh ones.
Fresh produce loses vitamins as it decays, and canning destroys nutrients. The association says that home freezing is unlikely to retain nutrients, as it is impossible to replicate the extremely low temperatures used by the frozen food industry.