‘Biggest Loser' trainer says fitness a mental and physical process

By Dorene Internicola

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As celebrity trainer Dolvett Quince challenges and prods obese, unfit contestants to slim down and shape up on the weight-loss TV show "The Biggest Loser" he also uses survivor skills acquired during his childhood to boost their self esteem.

The Los Angeles-based trainer said getting fit is a mental as well as a physical challenge. He can identify with the struggles of his outsized team because as an adopted child he was mentally and physically abused and has experienced his share of self doubt.

"I walked into an environment where education was low and discipline was high," said Quince, 40, who was born in Stamford, Connecticut. "I understand what it's like to feel defeated and because I faced my own demons I can empower others."

Quince said fitness for people who are 100 pounds (45kg) or more overweight, involves a lot more than pushups.

"Health is a four-point component: emotional, physical spiritual and mental," said Quince, whose best-selling book, "The 3-1-2-1 Diet: Eat and Cheat Your Way to Weight Loss - Up to 10 Pounds in 21 Days," was published last month.

The fitness coach, who began his career at the YMCA where his clients included the elderly, mothers, teenagers and children, tries to chip away at people's personal doubts and past disappointments.

"People become extremely vulnerable as their bodies fatigue and they're going through transformations. It's in that vulnerability that the concrete cracks and some light pushes in," he said in a phone interview.

Karate, yoga, hiking and basketball are included in his fitness regime. At the gym he suggests combining cardio training, usually running on a treadmill, with strength training to systematically target different muscle groups.

"Doing intervals keeps your body guessing," he explained.

Lauve Metcalfe, a wellness coach and past president of the International Association for Worksite Health Promotion, believes shows like "The Biggest Loser" can raise public awareness about the importance of fitness.

But she has concerns about the rapid weight loss, often 10 pounds a week or more, expected of contestants.

"A pound and a half per week is a healthier goal," said Metcalfe, who is based in Tucson, Arizona. "And the aspect of every week getting on that scale, and the shame if you haven't met (the goal), is a negative,"

Quince attributes his success in helping people get in shape to his refusal to take no for an answer.

"I think people don't necessarily truly love working out," he said. "I think it's more like, ‘Man, must we work out? Can't we just have a drink?"

His job, he added, is to instill belief as well as to motivate people to move.

(Editing by Andrew Hay)

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Cancer biggest killer of Hispanic Texans

Sep. 30, 2013 — More Hispanic Texans die from cancer than any other cause, according to a new report by the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas research group.

The report documents cancer as the leading cause of death among Hispanic Texans under the age of 76. Only three percent of Hispanic Texans are older than 75.

Texas's Hispanic population has more than doubled since 1990. Texans of Hispanic ethnicity now comprise 38 percent of the state's population.

The findings are published in a September 2013 special issue of the Texas Public Health Journal, available online at http://txcercit.org/.

Based on data from the Texas Cancer Registry, Medicare claims records and state vital statistics, researchers compared rates and trends for cancer in Hispanics to those for non-Hispanic whites in Texas. Key findings include:

• Hispanic Texans are less likely to be screened for breast or colon cancer.
• Hispanics have lower rates of new cancer diagnoses for breast, colon and lung cancer.
• Of the cancers diagnosed in Hispanics, fewer were in the earliest, most treatable stages -- those typically detected through screening. Breast cancer at the most advanced stage was diagnosed at a 12 percent higher rate.
• Cancers more common among Hispanics were stomach and liver cancer in men and stomach, liver and cervical cancer in women. Such cancers can arise from untreated infections.
• Overall mortality from all cancer was lower among Hispanics with the exception of stomach and liver cancer.
• Survival after a diagnosis of cancer is superior for Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic whites.

These findings were based on 10 years of data about the diagnoses of new cancer cases and 21 years of data about cancer deaths.

The CERCIT researchers noted one puzzling contradiction. Even though cancers tend to be more advanced when diagnosed in Hispanics, death rates were lower than in the white population. This phenomenon, known as the Hispanic Paradox, has been noted before by other researchers looking at disease and survival rates across the spectrum. Hispanic Americans tend to survive illness and live longer than white Americans with the same diseases even though the Hispanics have less education, income and access to health care.

Foreign-born Hispanics had lower mortality rates than those born in the United States, according to analyses of regional differences within the state.

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