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Volume 1, Issue 2
Keep your kids on the right track with regular exercise
Worried about high blood pressure? Exercise your worries away!
Exercise for you and your baby
Active Seniors Have a Lower Mortality Risk
American Diabetes Association updates exercise recommendations
Keep your kids on the right track with regular exercise
While preventing kids from engaging in risky behaviors can seem like a daunting task, parents will be happy to hear that exercise can help.
Adolescents who engage in regular physical activity, such as participating in team sports and utilizing recreational centers, engage in less high risk behaviors, according to a 2006 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study also showed that physically active teens were more likely to have higher self esteem and better grades than adolescents who were sedentary. 1
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Worried about high blood pressure? Exercise your worries away!
Nearly one in three Americans have high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. While treatments can vary, all include lifestyle modification, such as diet and physical activity.
Men and women 50 years and older, who engage in a minimum of three hours of physical activity a week are able to better control their blood pressure and reduce their risk of full-blown hypertension.2
Exercise for you and your baby
Are you or is someone your know planning to have a baby? The Center for Prenatal Studies has uncovered important information that could make your pregnancy safer for you and your baby.
A recent study of two different samples of women indicated that those who exercise vigorously in the year before their pregnancy could reduce their risk for gestational diabetes by 81%. While vigorous exercise had the best results, even moderate amounts of exercise made a difference, reducing risk of gestational diabetes by up to 59%.3
Active Seniors Have a Lower Mortality Risk
Daily activity, including regular exercise, helps older adults live longer, happier, healthier lives, according to recent research out of the National Institutes of Aging.
Researchers followed 302 older adults, aged 70 to 82, for six years and found that only 12% of participants in the most active group died as compared with nearly 25% in the sedentary group. The results also indicated that seniors in the most active group had a better mental outlook than seniors in the other two groups.4
American Diabetes Association updates exercise recommendations
New exercise recommendations from the American Diabetes Association further emphasize the importance of regular physical activity in preventing and treating diabetes.
The majority of individuals seeking to control their blood glucose levels, maintain a healthy weight, and lower their risk for heart disease should engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week.
However, individuals looking to prevent heart disease, or lose 30 pounds or more, should accumulate 4 hours and 7 hours of exercise a week respectively. The new recommendations are based on a variety of medical research, which show that exercise should be varied depending on an individual's health goals.6
Sources
1 Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P. (2006). Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns are Associated with Selected Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors. Pediatrics, 117, 1281-90.
2 Elmer PJ, et al. (2006). Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on diet, weight, physical fitness, and blood pressure control: 18-month results of a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 144, 485-95.
3 Rudra CB, Williams MA, Lee IM, Miller RS, Sorensen TK. (2006). Perceived exertion in physical activity and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Epidemiology, 17, 31-7.
4 Manini TM, Everhart JE, Patel KV, Schoeller DA, Colbert LH, Visser M, Tylavsky F, Bauer DC, Goodpaster BH, Harris TB. (2006). Daily activity energy expenditure and mortality among older adults. JAMA, 296, 216-8.
5 Sigal RJ, Kenny GP, Wasserman DH, Castaneda-Sceppa C, White RD. (2006). Physical activity/exercise and type 2 diabetes: a consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care, 29, 1433-8.
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