Facebook Makes You Fat and Crazy; Chocolate Milk is Good for You

Have you ever been asked to be a part of a study? I have, once, on weight loss. I was hand-picked AFTER I lost a lot of weight, so, now I am skeptical when I read reports about “success”. Two recent studies that have been posted talk about two of my favorite things, Facebook and chocolate milk. Facebook makes you fat and crazy, according to one study, and chocolate milk is the perfect after workout replenishment. Who are these people? Are they us?

The chocolate milk study… damn that sounds good right now… sorry, the chocolate milk study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, states that chocolate milk in and of itself, may be an excellent alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade. I guess the main point the study makes, is that while sports drinks may be great at replenishing electrolytes and immediate use carbs/sugars for faster recovery to be able to go out and do it (whatever your “it” is) again, milk also has more protein to repair muscles. And, while a glass of regular milk may have some protein and carbs, popular chocolate milk has twice as many as many replenishment sports drinks, and therefore a better full package option. Great, let’s do this!

Now, I sit down in front of my HP Touchsmart All-in-One computer and check Facebook and because Facebook makes me feel good about myself (loser friends) or bad about myself (oh crap, I’m the loser fiend) I am more likely to grab a cookie over a granola bar, or perhaps better yet, a chocolate milk. This, according to another study, published at RT.com, is exactly what is happening to many of us.

The two researchers, who are both professors of marketing, conducted five studies on 100 Facebook users to determine how use of the social media giant affected the lifestyles of the study participants. Those who spent more time on Facebook generally had a higher body mass index, increased levels of binge eating, higher levels of credit card debt and a lower credit score. One particular study found that those who browsed Facebook for five minutes were more likely to choose a chocolate-chip cookie over a granola bar as a snack.
Later it says… 

And if weight gain, rude behavior, credit card debt and low credit scores aren’t enough to convince users of the negative effects of Facebook, a second study shows that Facebook users are more likely to suffer from psychotic episodes.
So, according to these two studies, chocolate milk is good for you post-workout and Facebook is making you fat and crazy. But wait, who are these people? Well, in the instance of the chocolate milk study, these people are active cyclists, and the study comprises of them drinking the chocolate milk between cycling activities. So, if I’m training from the Amgen, I can afford some Nesquick… good to know. Glad somebody paid top dollars to researchers to figure that one out.

As for the Facebook study, I don’t know who the subjects were. The report states some very “general” terms, like subjects had a higher body mass index. Note, it didn’t say higher body fat, it said BMI, which is a crap number anyway. Also, no race, age, gender or other information was provided. I’m sure they have it all, but if it’s not in what you read, don’t make any rash decisions off of it.

Okay, so, my point is, don’t trust headlines (not even mine) for your news on fitness and nutrition. If you really want to know more, drill down and learn more. Find a study of interest and think it may apply to you? Then find out who the subjects were and if the circumstances and results are like your life. If not, stick with what you know.

Brian Jagger is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer who used to top the scales at well over 300lbs. He has lost the excess fat, become fit and now works as a personal trainer/fitness coach and part-time working actor on various TV and film projects. Jagger is also the co-host of the fitness for all focused podcast “FitBody Radio” which can be heard live weekly at FitBodyRadio.com or via podcast through the itunes store.