What's your Health IQ?

Try this quick myth buster fitness quiz, and test your fitness knowledge. For each question, note down your answer (True or False). Once you complete all 9 questions, check your answers with the correct answers given below.

The best part about this fitness quiz is that if you crack it, you can gloat in the glory of being a myth-buster :) And if you don't crack it, then read the answers to become a myth-buster.

State whether the following statements are True or False -

1. Toe touching helps to reduce fat?

2. Potatoes are fattening?

3. A non-vegetarian diet makes you fat?

4. By doing a 200 crunches a day, I can lose my paunch and get a six pack?

5. Eating Banana and Milk will make me fat?

6. Walking is a great exercise to get in shape?

7. I'm diabetic. I should avoid sugar, but refined flour (Maida) is okay for my diet?

8. Nuts are high in fat, and thus bad for you?

9. Running is only for kids and athletes?

Answers are given below -

If you score:

0-3: This is the average score for this fitness quiz. Don't believe any information without understanding why it is so. You should read the explanations below to understand better.

3-6: Congratulations, you are above the average fitness awareness levels. Read the answers below to understand more.

6-9: You are well aware of fitness information. You should educate the people around you with this information. Hope you are using your knowledge of fitness information to your benefit.

Answers -

1. False

2. False

3. False

4. False

5. False

6. Partly True :)

7. False

8. Partly False

9. False

Answer Explanations -

1. Yoga has some toe touching exercises. From that a common myth has spread in India that toe touching will help lose fat from the belly. But what does toe touching do?

- Every time you bend to touch your feet, you stretch your back muscles, and compress your belly. So, your belly fat is getting compressed.

Now, think about an analogy - take a rubber ball. Compress it 20 times. Has the rubber reduced? Similarly, by compressing your fat, it doesn't reduce. You might burn some calories doing this, but that calorie burn is minimal.

2. Potatoes are very healthy vegetables - they're loaded with energy providing carbohydrates, fiber, protein, iron, Vitamin C and other minerals. They Glycemic Index of a potato is not high.But potatoes absorb fat, so depending on the cooking process they might absorb the oil/butter. So, its the potato concoction that can be fattening, but not the poor spud by itself.

3. Many meats like fish and chicken are high in protein, and low in saturated fat (bad fat). The protein helps to build muscle, which in turn burns calories.

Again, the cooking process might make it fattening. If you eat butter chicken, its not the chicken itself that is fattening, but the curry that is loaded with cream and fat.

4. Crunches help you work those abdominal muscles, but not lose fat on that belly.

5. Banana and milk are not fattening. Both banana and milk have a relatively low Glycemic Index, so its not the carbohydrate content that makes you fat. The total calories from this concoction are lower than a bag of chips. Besides, it provides you with lots of nutrients.

6. Walking is an exercise and may help you burn calories. But the calorie burn is not significant enough to make a big enough dent in your fat loss plan.

Also, your body gets used to walking very fast, so it burns fewer calories when walking the same distance.

7. Maida (refined flour) has a very high Glycemic Index, and has the same effect on your body as sugar.

8. Nuts are loaded with unsaturated fat (good fat) and have cholesterol lowering power, along with protein.

9. Most adults in India assume this. But why should running be limited to kids and athletes. According to a recent study, running can actually help you live longer and healthier.