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Volume 1, Issue 6
Exercise Helps Seniors Maintain Independence
Regular Exercise Vital in Preventing Cancer Recurrence
Back Pain? Consider Exercise Rather Than Surgery
Exercise Helps Build Women's Bones
Exercise Helps Control Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetic Children
Exercise Helps Seniors Maintain Independence
Many seniors will tell you that one of the most difficult things about aging is dealing with the loss of their independence and having to learn to rely on others to help them with simple tasks such as getting around the house and running errands. New research from the National Institutes of Aging indicates that regular exercise can allow seniors to remain active and independent into their twilight years.
Study participants were separated into two groups. One group received only health education materials and participants in the other group exercised regularly, focusing on endurance, strength training, flexibility and balance. After six and 12 months, seniors in the exercise group performed better on physical activity tests and were more likely to be able to walk 400 meters on their own.
1
Regular Exercise Vital in Preventing Cancer Recurrence
The American Cancer Society, one of the country's foremost experts on cancer prevention and treatment, has updated their physical activity and nutrition recommendations for cancer survivors. According to their updated report, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight are vital for cancer survivors.
For some kinds of cancer, just one to three hours a week of exercise can lower the risk of cancer recurrence and death, as well as death from all causes. Exercise has also been shown to improve fitness, fatigue, and several other quality of life aspects in cancer survivors. 2
Back Pain? Consider Exercise Rather Than Surgery
Each year many Americans undergo back surgery in an effort to relieve herniated disk pain and ward off future problems such as neurological deterioration, numbness and even paralysis.
However, a recent study of over 1,200 participants at more than 13 U.S. hospitals indicated that in the end, physical therapy may be as effective as invasive surgery in easing back pain. Patients who opted for surgery tended to have more immediate pain relief, but over time both methods had the same overall results. 3
Exercise Helps Build Women's Bones
Milk isn't the only thing that does the body good. Like calcium, weight-bearing exercises help promote bone and metabolic health.
Recent research from the University of Connecticut indicates that with long-term weight training, women produce increased amounts of a growth hormone that is produced in the pituitary gland. This hormone not only plays a vital role in bone and muscle development, but it also prevents against tissue breakdown and stress fractures. 4
Exercise Helps Control Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetic Children
For diabetes patients, controlling blood glucose levels is important in preventing a variety of diabetes related complications. Now there is good news for children who suffer from Type 1 diabetes. A study published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has found that regular physical activity may help lower blood glucose levels.
The children in the study were separated into three groups based on the number of times they exercised per week. Not only were blood glucose levels lower among those who exercised more frequently, but also the girls often had lower BMI scores and the boys required lower insulin dosages.5
Sources
1 Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, November, 2006
2 Doyle C, Kushi LH, Byers T, Courneya KS, Demark-Wahnefried W, Grant B, McTiernan A, Rock CL, Thompson C, Gansler T, Andrews KS. (2006). Nutrition and physical activity during and after cancer treatment: an American Cancer Society guide for informed choices. CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56, 323-53.
3 Weinstein JN, et al. (2006). Surgical vs nonoperative treatment for lumbar disk herniation: the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT): a randomized trial. JAMA, 296, 2441-50.
4 Kraemer WJ, Nindl BC, Marx JO, Gotshalk LA, Bush JA, Welsch JR, Volek JS, Spiering BA, Maresh CM, Mastro AM, Hymer WC. (2006). Chronic resistance training in women potentiates growth hormone in vivo bioactivity: characterization of molecular mass variants. American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism, 291, E1177-87.
5 Herbst A, Bachran R, Kapellen T, Holl RW. (2006). Effects of regular physical activity on control of glycemia in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160, 573-7. |
