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August 2012
If your workout routine doesn’t include weights, a new study of exercise and diabetes risk may convince you to add resistance training to your aerobics regimen. Researchers analyzed data on 32,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study; over 18 years, 2,278 developed diabetes. Participants who spent at least 150 minutes weekly doing both aerobic and resistance exercise were 59% less likely to develop type-2 diabetes than their sedentary peers. Both aerobic and resistance exercise were associated with lower diabetes risk, but men who did both had the lowest risk of all. Although more was better when it came to weight training, as little as 10 minutes a day provided a benefit. Previous studies showing exercise helps prevent diabetes mostly focused on aerobic activity, although resistance training had been shown to improve blood-sugar control in those already with the disease. Even though the new study looked only at data on men, researchers expressed confidence the findings would also apply to women. — Archives of Internal Medicine…
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August 2012
Patients with COPD may breathe a little easier if they try the ancient Chinese practice of tai chi. Results from a new randomized trial with 42 sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease show that those assigned to learn tai chi improved endurance and peak exercise capacity compared to a control group. Participants, average age 73, were either given standard medical care or enrolled in a 12-week program of 2 hour-long weekly Sun-style tai chi sessions, with home practice on other days. The gentle Chinese exercise regimen was also associated with improved balance and strength. Benefits against COPD symptoms were comparable to those seen from a conventional pulmonary rehabilitation program. — European Respiratory Journal …
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August 2012
To paraphrase a famous campaign dictum, it’s the calories, stupid. An unusual research project has challenged the notion that modern sedentary lifestyles share the blame with calorie overconsumption for obesity rates. By measuring energy expenditure among the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer tribe in northern Tanzania, researchers concluded that differences in calorie intake, not activity levels, mostly explain rising obesity in the Western world. Contrary to expectations, after adjustment for body size and composition, the Hadza expended energy at a rate similar to people in the US and Europe. So much, apparently, for the theory that the change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to sedentary modern ways has made us fat. While stressing that physical activity has important other health benefits, scientists concluded, “Differences in obesity prevalence between populations result primarily from differences in energy intake rather than expenditure.” — PLoS ONE…
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August 2012
More Americans are walking for their health, but their average time spent walking has dropped, according to new CDC findings. The agency reports that the percentage of Americans who say they walk at least 10 minutes a day increased from 55.7% to 62% from 2005 to 2010. But the average time devoted to walking declined, from 15 minutes a day to 13 minutes. Nonetheless, walking remains a key contributor to meeting the recommended 150 weekly minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity: Walkers were nearly 3 times more likely to meet that goal. Overall, the CDC said only 48% of adults get the recommended amount of exercise in any form, and one-third get no physical activity at all. “You have to build it into your regular routine and make it a part of your life,” advised CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “I would say there’s no single drug that can do anything like what regular physical activity does.”…
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July 2012
Australian scientists have added to the evidence that high-intensity exercise, such as sprinting, works better than jogging or other moderate aerobic exercise for burning off body fat. They assigned 46 sedentary 20-something men to either an exercise or a control group. Those in the exercise group did 20-minute routines, 3 times a week, in which they sprinted on a stationary bike for 8 seconds, then rested for 12 seconds. After 12 weeks, the sprinters lost an average of 4 pounds of body fat while adding 2.6 pounds of muscle. Most important, scientists said, was that the sprinters saw a 17% reduction in the belly fat stored around internal organs, which has been linked to higher risk for heart disease. Men in the control group, by contrast, gained weight and increased waist circumference. “Sprinting is a very efficient form of exercise,” researchers commented, “and it’s fun.” — Journal of Obesity
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June 2012
Not only formal exercise, but any physical activity such as gardening, housework or walking, may lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center measured the ordinary activity levels of 716 people without cognitive impairment, average age 82, using a wrist device called an actigraph. The device recorded movement of all kinds over 10 days at the start of the study. Over the next four years, 71 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s. Those in the bottom 10% of total physical activity were twice as likely to develop the disease as the most-active 10%. Researchers noted that animal studies have shown that moving around more in an enriched environment protects against cognitive decline, possibly by boosting the number of neurons and the size of blood vessels feeding the brain. They added, “Even very old people who can’t participate in formal exercise may be able to derive the benefit.” —Neurology
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June 2012
When it comes to exercise, research presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine suggest moderation really is a virtue. Scientists at the University of South Carolina and other institutions analyzed data on 52,656 American adults participating in the 31-year Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Participants underwent at least one physical and answered questions about their exercise habits; about 27% reported running, though at varying levels. Looking at data on the 2,984 participants who died, the new study found that runners were 19% less likely to die of all causes than non-runners. But running in moderation — 1-20 miles a week at 10-11 minutes per mile — was most strongly associated with reduced mortality risk, more so than not running at all or running longer or faster. “These data certainly support the idea that more running is not needed to produce extra health and mortality benefits,” researchers commented, adding, “More is not better, and actually, more could be worse.”
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May 2012
You probably didn’t realize you were going against the experts by combining weight training and aerobic exercise on the same day. Not to worry (if you were): Despite the warnings of many in the sports world, two new studies report there’s nothing to the theory of “muscle interference” or “exercise antagonism” that advocates separating the two types of exercise. The popular notion held that weight training interferes with the body’s response to endurance exercise, while aerobics blunts muscles’ ability to strengthen due to weight training. Swedish scientists put this one day/one type of exercise theory to the test with a group of active young men, who pedaled a stationary bike using only one leg and then did strength training with both legs; muscle biopsies showed no difference between the legs. In a similar study with sedentary middle-aged men, Canadian researchers tested the effects of separate aerobic and strength exercises, then combined them. Again, there was no evidence of “interference” in the combined exercises. — Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, The Journal of Applied Physiology
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May 2012
Previous studies have shown that exercising your body and your mind can help protect your memory as you age. Now a new Mayo Clinic study has found a synergistic benefit from doing both. Combining mentally stimulating activities, such as using a computer, with moderate exercise decreased the odds of memory loss more than either activity alone. Researchers studied 926 Minnesotans, ages 70 to 93, who completed questionnaires on physical exercise and computer use. Moderate physical exercise was defined as brisk walking, hiking, aerobics, strength training, golfing without a golf cart, swimming, doubles tennis, yoga, martial arts, using exercise machines and weightlifting. Among mentally stimulating activities participants were asked about, the study singled out computer use because of its popularity. Of the study participants who did not exercise or use a computer, 20.1% were cognitively normal and 37.6% showed signs of mild cognitive impairment. Among participants who did both, 36% were cognitively normal and only 18.3% showed signs of impairment. — Mayo Clinic Proceedings
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May 2012
Pumping iron might also be good for your aging brain, according to new findings at the University of British Columbia. In a 6-month randomized trial of 86 women, ages 70-80, suffering mild cognitive impairment, those assigned to resistance training using machines and free weights significantly improved their scores on memory tests. The study compared resistance training with aerobic exercise (an outdoor walking program) and a control group that did only balance and stretching activities. The aerobic group got fitter but saw no memory benefits. In MRI scans of 22 participants, those in the weight-lifting group also saw significant functional changes in areas of the brain associated with cognition and memory. Researchers concluded that the study provides “novel evidence” of the benefits of strength training for those suffering mild cognitive impairment. — Archives of Internal Medicine
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February 2012
It’s important to supplement your aerobic exercises with strength training, using weights or resistance to give your muscles a workout. But now Brazilian researchers suggest that supplementing your strength training, in turn, with the omega-3s found in fish oil could make those exercises work better. Scientists at Paraná Federal University compared muscle strength and functional capacity before and after three months of strength training in 45 senior women. Two groups of women were given two grams daily of fish-oil supplements, with one group starting the pills 60 days before the training began. All the participants showed muscle improvement, but the two fish-oil groups improved more and also performed better in a chair-rising test. Only those getting fish-oil supplements showed improvements in electromechanical measures of muscle performance. Omega-3s have been shown to play a role in the plasma membrane and cell function of muscles, the researchers noted. — American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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February 2012
A new analysis of data from the global Interheart study helps answer the question of whether physical activity on the job helps protect your heart. Researchers compared 10,043 people who’d suffered a first heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI) with 14,217 healthy controls. Both light and moderate on-the-job activity were associated with reduced risk of an acute MI, compared to being sedentary. Only strenuous work was not linked to lower MI risk, possibly because such labor tends to involve lifting heavy objects rather than aerobic activity. All levels of leisure-time physical activity, as expected, were associated with reduced MI risk, ranging from 13% lower risk for mild exercise to 24% lower for moderate-to-strenuous activity. Even participants getting less than 30 minutes of exercise a week were at lower risk than the completely sedentary. The study also looked at MI risk and lifestyle factors such as ownership of an automobile or television—both of which were associated with increased risk in low- and middle-income countries, likely because they encourage more sedentary habits. — European Heart Journal
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February 2012
Is your doctor overweight? The answer may make a difference to your own weight issues. A new nationwide survey of 498 physicians finds that doctors who are overweight or obese are less likely to engage their patients about the need for weight loss and feel less confident in their ability to provide counseling on diet and exercise. The 49-item questionnaire asked physicians about their own body-mass index (BMI), as well as their dealings with patients’ weight management. Normal-BMI doctors were more likely to say that physicians should serve as role models by maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly. And doctors’ perceptions of whether patients’ weight met or exceeded their own made a big difference in whether the doctor recorded a diagnosis of obesity or initiated a conversation about weight loss. — Obesity
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January 2012
People at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease may be able to offset that propensity by exercising, according to a new observational study at Washington University in St. Louis. Researchers used PET scans to image the brains of 163 participants, ages 45-88, who tested normal on a test for cognitive decline. They identified 52 as carriers of APOE epsilon-4, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Among sedentary APOE epsilon-4 carriers, the scans showed greater buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. But the carriers who were physically active, meeting the American Heart Association guidelines for regular exercise, showed no more buildup of amyloid plaques than found in the brains of non-carriers. Although the study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect, the scientists noted that the genetic risk “makes beneficial lifestyle factors, such as exercise, preferentially important.” — Archives of Neurology
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December 2011
Just in time to help Americans keep their New Year’s diet and exercise resolutions, the USDA has released a new nutrition SuperTracker at the ChooseMyPlate.gov website. The free online tool highlights the second in a series of themed consumer messages supporting the MyPlate icon: “Enjoy Your Food, But Eat Less.” SuperTracker lets consumers:
• Personalize recommendations for what and how much to eat and amount of physical activity.
• Track foods and physical activity from an expanded database of foods and physical activities.
• Customize features such as goal setting, virtual coaching, weight tracking and journaling.
• Measure progress with reports ranging from a simple meal summary to in-depth analysis of food groups and nutrient intake over time.
• Put the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines into practice.
• Support family and friends by adding their individual profiles.…
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