Mitchell, Ted, Tim Church & Martin Zucker. (2008). Move yourself: The Cooper Clinic medical director's guide to all the healing benefits of exercise (Even a little!). New York: Wiley. Much has been written about the importance of reforming the American diet. However, there is an equally important aspect of fitness and the maintenance of a healthy weight: exercise. Move yourself: The Cooper Clinic medical director's guide to all the healing benefits of exercise (Even a little!) is a positive, upbeat book that proclaims the value of even small amounts of exercise, as a way of encouraging overweight Americans to change their negative lifestyle behavioral patterns. Given the multiplicity of prescriptions to Americans about the right way to 'move more' as well as to 'eat less' as the way of addressing their weight problems, it is worth considering the question as to if it is enough to do even small amounts of exercise as a way of enhancing general fitness.

The Cooper Clinic is a well-established research institute devoted to accumulating data about physical fitness. The book focuses on what are perhaps the two areas of greatest interest amongst clinicians and patients alike today: how to reduce the risks of lifestyle diseases and how to lose weight. The benefits of fitness, according to the book for the former, are undeniable. A lower rate of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis; higher levels of energy, improved productivity in the workforce, and improved mood can all be generated through exercise. But many people struggle to fit exercise in their lives. The book advocates fitting additional activity bursts into the day, by walking rather than driving a car whenever possible, taking the stairs, and making...

It suggests that additional exercise has significant health-promoting potential.
The book does not discount the importance of diet: there is a sample 1500 calorie-a-day weight loss plan. However, its philosophy is to focus on fitness, rather than thinness. It is better to feel motivated by changes such as improved strength, health, and energy levels. The book offers several 'plans' for readers to embark upon healthy life changes, and advocates logging calories and activity to improve accountability. It includes many 'real life' examples to inspire the average reader who is making the shift from the couch to the treadmill.

The overall perspective of the book is on moderate exercise, and there are even scare stores such as 'Chad,' who shifted too quickly into a fitness program, and because of an underlying heart condition, died of a fatal heart attack (Mitchell, Church & Zucker 2008: 102). Better to buy a pedometer, they say, and track the number of steps logged. However, the book also cautions certain groups, such as mothers, who say that they get enough exercise running after their children. It notes that mothers actually become more sedentary after having children, not less, even though they may feel worn out after taking care of children (Mitchell, Church & Zucker 2008: 107). Moderation in all things, from exercise to diet is its advice.

For a person who is already active, simply walking a certain number of steps per day may not seem like 'enough.' In terms of calorie expenditure, it will not add a significant additional weight loss. In fact, the book states that it is healthier to be slightly overweight and exercise than it is to be lean and inactive…