Pro Surfer, 32, Dies After Bout With Dengue Fever

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that Andy Irons, a three-time world surfing champion from Hawaii, died Tuesday in a Dallas hotel room while traveling home to Kauai. He was 32. His death was confirmed by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office. The results of a preliminary exam by the medical examiner Wednesday revealed no trauma or reason to suspect foul play. The cause of death is pending toxicology tests, which could take weeks to complete.

Irons had been scheduled to compete at the Rip Curl Pro Search, an Association of Surfing Professionals competition that began last weekend in Puerto Rico. But he withdrew because of illness related to dengue fever, according to a statement from his sponsor Billabong. A virus transmitted by mosquitoes, dengue fever is associated with tropical areas. Symptoms include severe headache and muscle and bone pain, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

While Irons was returning home, his illness worsened during a layover in Dallas. He was discovered in bed Tuesday morning by staff members at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after failing to respond to a wake-up call. Hotel employees alerted emergency personnel, who pronounced him dead at 9:46 a.m. local time, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Dengue is caused by any one of four related viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. There are not yet any vaccines to prevent infection with dengue virus (DENV) and the most effective protective measures are those that avoid mosquito bites. Dengue has emerged as a worldwide problem only since the 1950s. It is endemic in Puerto Rico, and in many popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Periodic outbreaks occur in Samoa and Guam. Although dengue rarely occurs in the continental United States, this past summer the CDC identified 28 cases in the Florida Keys.

Whither the Segway

Hey, wait for me!The other day in New York City, we saw someone, er, pedaling a crazy contraption like this, southbound in traffic, alongside whizzing yellow cabs and hulking delivery trucks. It was a funny moment, like seeing a trailer for the forthcoming scary movie Escape From The Gym! (starring Will Ferrell, of course). If the extraterrestrials are studying earthling behavior, what would they make of this odd collision of instincts: the narcotic effect of spinning has taken bikers inside, while the concrete-jungle-inspired elliptical machine, an urban gym fixture, has been re-configured for the out of doors? Chicken, egg....

Well, it turns out, that one model, the ElliptiGo, was invented out of necessity.  In 2005, company co-founder and former cyclist and Ironman triathlete Bryan Pate could not longer run because of hip and knee injuries. A lifetime of contact and endurance sports had caught up with him, and by the ripe age of 32 he could only engage in low-impact exercise. He considered returning to cycling but he'd always found the saddle of a bike and the riding position seriously uncomfortable, and besides, cycling workouts take too much time. So, he started using the indoor elliptical trainer. He he liked the exercise, but he hated being locked in a gym. To solve this problem, he decided to buy a low-impact running device he could ride on the street. Foreshadow next new fitness craze........

Meanwhile in Britain, great minds think alike. 

Number of Marathoners Hits Record High

Marathon participation in the United States hit a record high of about 467,000 finishers in 2009, according to Running USA, a nonprofit group that tracks running trends. The ING New York City Marathon, to be run this year on November 7th, attracts about 100,000 participants every year. Last year, there were 43,660 finishers--28,485 male and 15,175 female. 

Fitness By Madge

In partnership with her manager Guy Oseary and New Evolution Ventures (NEV), Madonna has announced the launch of Hard Candy Fitness global gyms which will open in major cities around the world. The first Hard Candy Fitness is a 30,000 square foot space scheduled to open in Mexico City mid November in the exclusive Bosques de las Lomas area. Madonna, who has been reported to work out intensely as many as three times a day, will be there to snip the ribbon.

Madonna, rarely far from the gym

"Our goal is to create an environment inspired by Madonna's vision and high standards of what the ideal gym would be.  Hard Candy Fitness will be a reflection of Madonna's point of view and will reflect her input on every detail including music space, light and other design cues.  Madonna's touch will be everywhere," stated NEV Chairman Mark Mastrov.

Hard Candy Fitness will offer training methods including private, group and dynamic training including traditional classes such as Zumba, Latin Moves and Cardio Kickboxing as well as new programming designed specifically for the brand.  The fitness center will also include a Bike Studio, a Mind Body Studio featuring something called The Great Wall, where members can practice BarWorks, Sculpting, Capoeira and the newest trends in Yoga. It will also house a healthy alternative juice bar, or bar de zumos, depending on your time zone. The locker rooms, well, the locker rooms will be lavish.

Members will also have access to high-tech cardiovascular equipment with personal viewing screens, more than 60 pieces of strength equipment, free weights and the myriad group fitness, functional training accessories and brands including PreCor, Hoist, Free Motion, Nautilus, Hammer Strength, StarTrac, AbCoaster, and TRX suspension training.

No word yet on membership fees, first U.S. outpost, or the chances of Madonna leading arm-sculpting workshops or krumping classes.

Sleep: The Latest Way to Lose Fat

There will be no big marketing budget behind this diet breakthrough, no FDA approvals, no celebrity endorsements: Research published this month in the Annals Internal of Medicine (one of the the big kahunas of peer reviewed medical journals) establishes that sleep--and sleep alone--is one of the most powerful diet tools ever identified. 

There's not a diet pill on the planet that could accomplish what sleep did in this study, which compared two groups of overweight non-smokers on calorie restricted diets for 14 days. One group clocked 8.5 hours of sleep per night, and the other logged 5.5 hours of sleep per night (which the authors point out is a "norm" for people in this day and age.) Both groups ate roughly 1,450 calories a day. After two weeks, the people who slept more lost more fat than the group who slept less. More than half of the weight loss during the 8.5 hours of sleep versus only one quarter of the weight loss during the 5.5 hours of sleep was fat. People literally burned fat while they slept.

Read Dr. Merrell's blog on the study.