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Volume 2, Issue 8
Regular strength training may slow the progression of Lou Gehrig's Disease
Regular exercise and limiting "screen time" helps dieters keep the weight off
Women's weight at middle age is a key indicator of future diabetes risk
Breast cancer survival impacted by regular exercise and healthy diet
Retirement brings decrease in overall physical activity for older adults
Regular strength training may slow the progression of Lou Gehrig's Disease
According to a new Canadian study, individuals in the early stages of Lou Gehrig's Disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), may help maintain physical function and quality of life by regularly participating in moderate strength training exercises.
For six months, participants were split into two groups, a control group that did the daily stretching routine that is standard for all ALS patients and an intervention group that added regular, moderate strengthening exercises three times per week. By the end of the six-month period the intervention group showed a 12 percent slower decrease in function and a 16 percent slower decline in quality of life.
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Regular exercise and limiting "screen time" helps dieters keep the weight off
Losing weight is a difficult feat and for many, and keeping it off is just as hard, but a new government study indicates that maintaining weight loss is possible. Researchers studied the lifestyle habits of 1,310 adults ages 20 to 84 who had lost ten percent of their body weight over a year period.
Results indicated that lifestyle habits have a direct impact of weight loss maintenance. Participants who did not meet the governments recommendation of 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week, were twice as likely to regain the weight as participants who met the recommendations. Similarly, participants who put in four or more hours of "screen time" (computer or television) were twice as likely to regain the weight as individuals who put in one hour of less of screen time.
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Women's weight at middle age is a key indicator of future diabetes risk
A new Australian study suggests that overweight women who want to reduce their risk for diabetes later in life should lose the excess weight before they reach their forties.
Researchers followed over 7,200 women ages 45-50 for a period of eight years and periodically asked the women to complete health surveys. The findings indicated that participants considered overweight or obese with BMI's of 25 or greater at the onset of the study were at the highest risk of developing diabetes after eight years. In addition, very obese women with BMI's of 35 or higher were 12 times more likely to become diabetic after eight years.
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Breast cancer survival impacted by regular exercise and healthy diet
A new study from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego indicates that breast cancer survivors can significantly impact their mortality risk by eating a healthy diet and participating in regular moderate physical activity.
The study followed nearly 1,500 women in the early stages of breast cancer for a period of 5 to 11 years. Researchers found that regardless of participant's weight, women who ate the recommended five servings a day of fruits and vegetables and who walked briskly for thirty minutes a day six days a week were able to reduce their risk of death by fifty percent.
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Retirement brings decrease in overall physical activity for older adults
While retirement is a time for adults to relax and live a slower paced life, new research indicates that retired adults are relaxing too much and not getting enough physical activity.
Dutch researchers followed a group of older adults and found that among those who had retired, the majority did not increase their leisure and sport-related activities to replace the loss of work-related physical activity. Older adults in retirement therefore saw a decline in overall physically activity at a time in their lives when being active is vital to maintaining their health. This is especially detrimental to individuals who are physically active in their commute to work or on the job, such as manual laborers.
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Sources
1 Bello-Haas VD, Florence JM, Kloos AD, Scheirbecker J, Lopate G, Hayes SM, Pioro EP, Mitsumoto H. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of resistance exercise in individuals with ALS. Neurology, 68, 2003-7.
2 Weiss EC, Galuska DA, Kettel Khan L, Gillespie C, Serdula MK. (2007). Weight regain in u.s. Adults who experienced substantial weight loss, 1999-2002. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 33, 34-40.
3 Mishra GD, Carrigan G, Brown WJ, Barnett AG, Dobson AJ. (2007). Short-term weight change and the incidence of diabetes in midlife: results from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Diabetes Care, 30, 1418-24.
4 Pierce JP, et al. (2007). Greater Survival After Breast Cancer in Physically Active Women With High Vegetable-Fruit Intake Regardless of Obesity. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25, 2345-2351.
5 Slingerland AS, et al. (2007). Aging, Retirement, and Changes in Physical Activity: Prospective Cohort Findings from the GLOBE Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 165, 1356-63.
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