cardio causing hypothyroidism

tobnrn

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/women-running-into-trouble/

Interesting article on cardio causing hypothyroidism & weight gain in women.
Thoughts and or discuss

scottb81

So, according to this article the men were right up until the 1960s when they said women's bodies were to weak to run marathons and that should confine themselves to short distances,

Do you agree with this?

80Ben

. double post - sorry!

80Ben

I thought the article was too extreme and it really struck a nerve with me. The author (John Kiefer) keeps saying that cardio is bad without even mentioning the effects on cardiovascular health. When he says that cardio causes hypothyroidism, he's just not looking at the bigger picture. First of all he is very buff, so I guess it's easy for him to start an article with an entire paragraph dissing people at the gym that are not shaped like bodybuilders. He's part of the reason why so many people hesitate to join a gym, and obesity is more dangerous to your health than cardio. If his goal is to have the biggest arms possible there's nothing wrong with that, but he shouldn't impose his training regimen on everyone since not everyone has the same end goals.

Of course if all you do is run to burn the 4000 calories you ate yesterday you'll still gain weight. And overdoing anything it is never a good thing. Cardio should be part of a well-rounded training regime, along with strength exercices and a balanced diet.

Telling people to stop doing cardio because it "devastates your health" is ludicrous. Not doing it is a lot more dangerous. Instead of putting cardio down, he should provide alternatives.

Also, fund raisers like Team in Traning don't promise you will lose wight... they simply promote fundraising and a healthy lifestyle. And when he says that 20 hours plus of cardio per week is stupid because it's a part-time job, I wonder how long he spends lifting weights to look the way he does.

Just ask any doctor if cardio is bad for your health.

There was an interesting article by Paul Gains in June's issue of Canadian Running, which I believe trumps the situation of John Kiefer and his friend Jessica. Here's a quote:

"To get a more balanced picture of the risks and benefits of running, it's worth considering the data collected by Paul Williams, an epidemiologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Over the past two decades, Williams has been following more that 100,00 runners, tracking their health, training and lifestyle to search for patterns - and he's found plenty.

When Williams looked at the incidence of cardiovascular disease in his subjects, he found a striking result: in a sample of 35,402 runners followed for 7.7 years, the risks of heart attack, angina and bypass surgery declined with every additional kilometer per week run. In fact, those running more than 9k per day were 65% less likely to suffer angina and 26% less likely to suffer fatal or nonfatal heart disease than those running fewer than 3k per day. In other words, the more you run the less likely you are to die from a heart attack.

That doesn't mean that running grants you immunity from heart disease. Runners with risk factors like age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking or a family history of early heart disease should be particularly cautious - especially if they notice unfamiliar warning signs."

meshashesha2012

it's articles like these that are used to fuel weight lifting vs cardio debates.

i dont know why those extremists who have these debates assume cardio means you're stuck in a gym doing 3 hours of low level elliptical training or that weight training means that you're actively bulking, shooting steroids and swigging 500 calorie protein shakes while spending 3 hours working out every single muscle in your body via isolation movements

the truth is both are beneficial especially when done in moderation together.

muscleheads who can't run a mile or touch their toes is just as bad as someone who can run a marathon but cant do 10 push ups or 1 decent pullup.

DavPul

Sigh.....can this thread just get folded into the sad "Cardio makes you fat!!!" thread that's been going on all week? It was kicked off by responses to the same article. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/644543-cardio-make-you-fat

Maybe it could get it's own subtopic inside Fitness and Exercise along with "HRMs", "Just starting out" and "Supplements that waste money" and several other topics that make multiple daily appearances. This site could be more efficient by rounding all the shouting into one place.

tobnrn

I personally think a good mixture of the two are best for overall health reasons. One works cardiovascular health while the other works bone density & muscle strength. I did find the correlation between lots of cardio & hypothyroidism interesting. For me it sparked an interest into researching the matter more in-depth.

tobnrn

I thought the article was too extreme and it really struck a nerve with me. The author (John Kiefer) keeps saying that cardio is bad without even mentioning the effects on cardiovascular health. When he says that cardio causes hypothyroidism, he's just not looking at the bigger picture. First of all he is very buff, so I guess it's easy for him to start an article with an entire paragraph dissing people at the gym that are not shaped like bodybuilders. He's part of the reason why so many people hesitate to join a gym, and obesity is more dangerous to your health than cardio. If his goal is to have the biggest arms possible there's nothing wrong with that, but he shouldn't impose his training regimen on everyone since not everyone has the same end goals.

Of course if all you do is run to burn the 4000 calories you ate yesterday you'll still gain weight. And overdoing anything it is never a good thing. Cardio should be part of a well-rounded training regime, along with strength exercices and a balanced diet.

Telling people to stop doing cardio because it "devastates your health" is ludicrous. Not doing it is a lot more dangerous. Instead of putting cardio down, he should provide alternatives.

Also, fund raisers like Team in Traning don't promise you will lose wight... they simply promote fundraising and a healthy lifestyle. And when he says that 20 hours plus of cardio per week is stupid because it's a part-time job, I wonder how long he spends lifting weights to look the way he does.

Just ask any doctor if cardio is bad for your health.

There was an interesting article by Paul Gains in June's issue of Canadian Running, which I believe trumps the situation of John Kiefer and his friend Jessica. Here's a quote:

"To get a more balanced picture of the risks and benefits of running, it's worth considering the data collected by Paul Williams, an epidemiologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Over the past two decades, Williams has been following more that 100,00 runners, tracking their health, training and lifestyle to search for patterns - and he's found plenty.

When Williams looked at the incidence of cardiovascular disease in his subjects, he found a striking result: in a sample of 35,402 runners followed for 7.7 years, the risks of heart attack, angina and bypass surgery declined with every additional kilometer per week run. In fact, those running more than 9k per day were 65% less likely to suffer angina and 26% less likely to suffer fatal or nonfatal heart disease than those running fewer than 3k per day. In other words, the more you run the less likely you are to die from a heart attack.

That doesn't mean that running grants you immunity from heart disease. Runners with risk factors like age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking or a family history of early heart disease should be particularly cautious - especially if they notice unfamiliar warning signs."

I didnt read it that way. I took it to mean if your doing cardio over 65% hr for 1+ hours 6 days a week it can have an effect on T3 levels.

Tigermad

I was diagnosed with hypo a couple of months ago. I didn't have any symptoms when I was a lot bigger but when I lost most of my weight and did lots more exercise this is when I started feeling weird and light headed so went to the docs and found out.

Jynus

I thought the article was too extreme and it really struck a nerve with me. The author (John Kiefer) keeps saying that cardio is bad without even mentioning the effects on cardiovascular health. When he says that cardio causes hypothyroidism, he's just not looking at the bigger picture. First of all he is very buff, so I guess it's easy for him to start an article with an entire paragraph dissing people at the gym that are not shaped like bodybuilders. He's part of the reason why so many people hesitate to join a gym, and obesity is more dangerous to your health than cardio. If his goal is to have the biggest arms possible there's nothing wrong with that, but he shouldn't impose his training regimen on everyone since not everyone has the same end goals.

Of course if all you do is run to burn the 4000 calories you ate yesterday you'll still gain weight. And overdoing anything it is never a good thing. Cardio should be part of a well-rounded training regime, along with strength exercices and a balanced diet.

Telling people to stop doing cardio because it "devastates your health" is ludicrous. Not doing it is a lot more dangerous. Instead of putting cardio down, he should provide alternatives.

Also, fund raisers like Team in Traning don't promise you will lose wight... they simply promote fundraising and a healthy lifestyle. And when he says that 20 hours plus of cardio per week is stupid because it's a part-time job, I wonder how long he spends lifting weights to look the way he does.

Just ask any doctor if cardio is bad for your health.

There was an interesting article by Paul Gains in June's issue of Canadian Running, which I believe trumps the situation of John Kiefer and his friend Jessica. Here's a quote:

"To get a more balanced picture of the risks and benefits of running, it's worth considering the data collected by Paul Williams, an epidemiologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Over the past two decades, Williams has been following more that 100,00 runners, tracking their health, training and lifestyle to search for patterns - and he's found plenty.

When Williams looked at the incidence of cardiovascular disease in his subjects, he found a striking result: in a sample of 35,402 runners followed for 7.7 years, the risks of heart attack, angina and bypass surgery declined with every additional kilometer per week run. In fact, those running more than 9k per day were 65% less likely to suffer angina and 26% less likely to suffer fatal or nonfatal heart disease than those running fewer than 3k per day. In other words, the more you run the less likely you are to die from a heart attack.

That doesn't mean that running grants you immunity from heart disease. Runners with risk factors like age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking or a family history of early heart disease should be particularly cautious - especially if they notice unfamiliar warning signs."

It struck a nerve because you imagined the article was about something that is was not even remotely about. Not a single thing you have typed here has any relevance upon the content of the article in question.

Health != fat loss. And the article was about fat loss. NOT health.

lesle1

umm... I run and run and run... and that sounds like cardio to me. I had hypothyroidism before I started running.

mlb929

It's amazing what the internet can produce and provide to us. What would we have done with our health without the new access to anything.

From personal experience - I am hypothyroid. I exercise a lot, do plenty of cardio, and weights. My weight losses have always come at times that I quit exercising for a few weeks, maintained minimal healthy calories, removed diary, whites, and wheat from my diet, I have each time dropped 10lbs - went right back to my cardio, and never gained it back.

I believe that there are always plusses and minuses to any side of any story. Cardio also raises cortisol levels, and there is a theory out there that less is more when it comes to cardio. However, I don't follow that plan, don't want to follow that plan, and enjoy my cardio way too much to give it up.

I had hypothyroid before I was fit - I still have hypothryoid, but am thin, fit, and healthy now. I struggle at times with feeling run down, but we all do. I have other healthy issues from running, like anemia, but in the long run - I would rather take my chances and continue my cardio than give it up.

No one has even mentioned that estrogen makes you fat too...maybe I should give up that LOL J/K.

Azdak

It is also likely that losing a lot of weight predisposes you to future weight gain (and, of course, that study is on my work computer).

I don't think that anyone thinks that we should all stop losing weight because of that.

You always have to be careful about overgeneralizing studies--especially those that look at isolated "micro" effects. A substantial number of fitness myths have their origin in this common error.

If you follow this "logic" to its conclusion, you would expect that lifelong runners would look like this:

ahamm002

So I actually wasted my time checking some of the studies the author cited. Lets just say that studies definitely do not back up his claims. For example, he posted this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6748921, which supposedly proves how cardio impairs thyroid hormone. While this study did find the subjects had mildly impaired thyroid hormone when they increased their cardio, they also improved their body compositions and increased their lean body mass. He didn't mention that part of the study though!

BrianSharpe

The author completely misrepresented / misinterpreted the data from the studies cited.

Cardio makes you fat all over again.............broscience at its best.

Bobby_Clerici

I don't know about this article or its conclusions.
Anyway, Cardio is great for health - like tofu!
And if I eat 10 pounds of tofu per day, I suspect problems may result.
Don't over do cardio.
Simple deal. We always called a similar phenomenon "over-training".
That ruins performance.

tlnurse

I'm a Cardiovascular nurse....and while that definitely does NOT make me an expert....I do know the benefits of cardiovascular exercise would far out-weigh any risk of thyroid dysfunction.....which even if it was affected....could simply be treated. There is a huge percentage of UNDERDIAGNOSED Hypothyroid disease in the United States. It is not a routine blood test that primary Dr's perform unless it is requested by the patient. My suggestion for anyone struggling with unexplained weight gain, fatigue, cold intolerance, etc....would be to talk to your family Dr. and request a simple blood test to check for thyroid dysfunction......but KEEP doing your Cardio:)

tobnrn

I dont think he was stating cardio makes you fat. At least that is not how I interpreted the article.

Tricialew32

Cardio is key in avoiding running zombies so I'm going to keep doing it 3 times a week at least. Thyroidbedamned!:huh:

shammxo

I was diagnosed with hypo a couple of months ago. I didn't have any symptoms when I was a lot bigger but when I lost most of my weight and did lots more exercise this is when I started feeling weird and light headed so went to the docs and found out.

Me too! I found out last week.

dedication6

I'm a Cardiovascular nurse....and while that definitely does NOT make me an expert....I do know the benefits of cardiovascular exercise would far out-weigh any risk of thyroid dysfunction.....which even if it was affected....could simply be treated. There is a huge percentage of UNDERDIAGNOSED Hypothyroid disease in the United States. It is not a routine blood test that primary Dr's perform unless it is requested by the patient. My suggestion for anyone struggling with unexplained weight gain, fatigue, cold intolerance, etc....would be to talk to your family Dr. and request a simple blood test to check for thyroid dysfunction......but KEEP doing your Cardio:)

To add to your suggestion....Also have it checked if any type of thyroid problems run in your family!!

ShrinkingShawna

I already have hypothyroid, and I take 150mcg of Levothyroxin (Synthroid) every day. I've had it since I was a teenager, and it most certainly wasn't caused by cardio exercises. (Mine is hereditary, thanks Mom!) It also doesn't make you obese. I'm obese because I ate too much fried chicken and stopped MOVING. The health benefits of cardio far outweigh any possibility of getting hypothyroid anyway, and to be honest, I imagine there are a great deal of people who go undiagnosed. It's not a standard test performed.

Eating crap and not exercising make you fat.

I was never overweight until my late 20's. Hypothyroid is not a "fat" sentence. Fried chicken is.

dnunny

I have had hypothyroidism for 13 years. It wasn't because I was exercising. It runs in my family (mom, aunt had thyroid cancer). I do know that when I exercise, eat better, drink water-I lose weight. My problem is I don't stick to to long enough. I gained weight because I ate unhealthy foods, and too much of it. I also didn't exercise. I lost weight before (90lbs) and I did it by exercising and watching what I ate. I gained it back because I stopped taking care of me.

RobynMWilson

it's articles like these that are used to fuel weight lifting vs cardio debates.

i dont know why those extremists who have these debates assume cardio means you're stuck in a gym doing 3 hours of low level elliptical training or that weight training means that you're actively bulking, shooting steroids and swigging 500 calorie protein shakes while spending 3 hours working out every single muscle in your body via isolation movements

the truth is both are beneficial especially when done in moderation together.

muscleheads who can't run a mile or touch their toes is just as bad as someone who can run a marathon but cant do 10 push ups or 1 decent pullup.

RobynMWilson

Exactly!! I'm building muscle b/c my mom was DX'd with hypothyroidism in her early 40s (she never did cardio a day in her life lol) and went from being naturally thin as a toothpick to a size 14 in one year. I'm building muscle to rev my metabolism so hopefully if my thyroid decides to mess with me I'll have a defense against weight gain. But I still do cardio 2-3X per week. It's all about a well-rounded program. Too much or not enough of ANYTHING isn't good!

bathsheba_c

So, mostly what I got from the article is that the author doesn't know anything about hypothyroidism other than that T3 levels are depressed. Otherwise, why would he bring in the overeating rant? Hypothyroidism doesn't cause increased appetite; it causes decreased metabolism, so that even women who eat "right" gain weight!

ShrinkingShawna

Hypothyroid does NOT CAUSE MAJOR WEIGHT GAIN.

http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Thyroid_and_Weight.pdf

For those that don't feel like reading the whole thing:

"Most of the extra weight gained in hypothyroid individuals is due to excess accumulation of salt and water. Massive weight gain is rarely associated with hypothyroidism. In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism."

80Ben

Jynus: You should read the entire article before criticizing with no arguments whatsoever.

ArroganceInStep

In other news, breathing causes death 100% of the time.

ces921

bump

LexyDB

A friend of mind started cardio and bang, five years later was infected with an STD and died in a car crash five years, three weeks and two days to the day. Ruined his sex life and killed him because he took up running.

That is as plausible as the link to the article in the first post.