Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

This isn’t too mysterious. A number of recent studies are making it ever more clear that even small bits of exercise can give you a boost – in health and happiness. It doesn’t take long bouts of intense activity. From the Journal of Happiness Studies You gotta love this journal. Peer-reviewed and devoted to the scientific […]

Athleisure has taken over popular culture. It seems like everyone is working out. Runners are everywhere we turn. People move through their their days ready for yoga with their mats and togs. And yet, we’re also more sedentary than ever. How can this be? Could it be that our appetite for exercise plays a role? […]

You can’t outrun a bad diet. So says the wisdom of the internet. But a new study published yesterday in Circulation suggests that maybe you can outrun bad genes for heart disease. Emmi Tikkanen and colleagues found that fitness, strength, and physical activity might erase some – but not all – of the risk for heart disease, […]

Sometimes simple things can have lasting effects. A new study in PLOS Medicine points to an excellent example. The subject is a 12-week walking program with pedometers. Follow-up on two different randomized controlled studies show real increases in physical activity three to four years after the program. More Than Just the Gizmos The story behind […]

Perhaps you’ve noticed. Popular culture has embraced fitness. Athleisure is everywhere in fashion. Gyms are enjoying a prolonged trend of seemingly limitless membership growth. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the number or people who say they are meeting guidelines for physical activity is growing. But is our popular fitness culture putting a dent […]

This story is profoundly sad. We were reading about a recent decision by the USPSTF to affirm a broad recommendation for intensive lifestyle programs for obesity. The decision is a good one. Reporting on it by the American Academy of Family Practice (AAFP) unfortunately is not so good. AAFP presents the views of someone they […]

The headlines say the benefits of exercise can outweigh the health effects of severe obesity. The study says no such thing. The study examined fitness, not exercise. It showed that fitness might benefit even people with severe obesity, not that it cancels out obesity’s risks. But what will most people remember? The headline. A new […]

“Having a gym nearby does help us to lose weight, suggests new research.” So says Medical News Today. This bit of classic click bait for weight loss season comes from Lancet Public Health. It’s an observational study of the correlation between a person’s risk of obesity and their home address. The authors found that people […]

One of the problems facing public health is the framing of public health policies as obesity prevention strategies. Such policies may be good for broader population health outcomes but may not have an effect on obesity. Another problem facing public health is the failure to recognize that obesity is a complex chronic disease. No Simple […]

It’s here. On this holiday, many people will stop everything as they gather with family for a festive time and seasonal foods. Maybe it’s a goose, maybe it’s eggnog. or maybe it’s Chinese food. Though a bit of mindfulness might help, the menu is probably out of your hands. So your best bet for seeking […]