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CDS Member News and ArticlesProfessional News Articles : : ON PRACTICE MANAGEMENT by Janyce Hamilton : Most dentists are trim but stiff: Secret to 55 year-olds functioning akin to 35-year-olds Most dentists are trim but stiff: Secret to 55 year-olds functioning akin to 35-year-oldsNovember 19, 2009 Dr. Mike Hodish received his DMD from University of Connecticut in 1982. Twenty-seven years have passed, but he is no worse for the wear at his Connecticut dental practice. Why? Dr. Hodish credits exercise: “It helps my endurance in the practice. I can concentrate and work intensely for many more hours, with less physical and mental deterioration in my ability through the day, if I have been good about exercising.”
He spends time on the treadmill every other day, and does some light work with free weights and a weight machine. “I have all of this in my home. I definitely don't kill myself with it; I am no jock [but] I find even light exercise is helpful.” “Exercise is the medicine needed to prevent cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, and 92 percent of men and 96 percent of women do no exercise or not enough. That includes dentists!” he said. It’s a rainy November morning, but Dr. Odiatu is all sunshine talking with me while daughter, Sage, 1, fusses in the background. “Sorry about that, but I’d rather be around my kids than in a hermetically sealed room.” He also has a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, with his fitness-oriented co-writer and lecturer wife. The Odiatus have published two books: Fit for the Love of It (2002) and The Miracle of Health (2009). Three days a week are spent practicing dentistry. As a child, his overeating and love of fast food caught up with him. At 17, his 5’9 frame ballooned to 215 lbs. “I got a D in physical education because all I cared about was academics.” He did trim down, yet seven years after graduating from dental school his weight was up to 215 again. “If my back hurt, I’d just take Tylenol instead of walking and stretching. And abuse of Tylenol analgesics are is the number two cause of liver failure.” One day trying on clothing in a men’s store he stood at one of those three-angle mirrors. “I almost called security to say, ‘There’s some fat guy standing right in front of me!’ and I realized that was me.” Now 46, he’s eating healthy, leaping stairs instead of pressing elevator buttons, and coaching others to do the same. In fact, one attendee of his seminar at a past Annual Session of the American Dental Association told him the next year that she had lost 100 pounds from his inspiring message. How to move moreGet a fitness coach, join a gym or get equipment at home — because without resistance training, Dr. Odiatu said, humans lose 1 percent of muscle mass annually after age 30. “By 70, you then have half your muscle mass.” According to the American Geriatrics Society, muscle wasting is a key part of the aging process. Minimal moves for your wellness between patient treatments:
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