Posts Tagged ‘physical activity’

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 […]

On the subject of obesity, one way or another, it takes only seconds. Almost always, the subject of personal responsibility will claim its central role. To some people, it’s even a key tool for allocating scarce medical resources. But with a new paper in the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Sven Ove Hansson helps us […]

“What gets measured gets managed.” This bit of wisdom from Peter Drucker got its start with Lord Kelvin. By now, the whole idea of tracking has become a bit of a holy grail for weight management. We get many prompts for tracking: weight, diet, and physical activity. And generally, keeping track of what we’re doing is […]

Getting down to the facts about the health benefits of physical activity is harder than it should be. But three new studies this week and a new roadmap for change certainly set the stage. The popular myth is that working out is a great way to lose weight. But the truth is better than the […]

Varidesk is the fastest growing business in Dallas. Somehow, many workers now believe standing desks have important health benefits. Maybe standing desks will save them from an early death in a desk chair.  Or maybe not. Truly, the data is mixed and all of it is observational. No matter. It’s moving tons of products for […]

Yet again, we have the PURE study this week stirring up headlines around the world. A couple of weeks ago, it was nutrition. Today in Lancet, they’re publishing data on the potential for exercise to prevent deaths. Scott Lear and colleagues say that 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week can make a big […]

How can insignificant results be clinically significant? It happens. Especially when researchers believes that their program must have a big effect. Consider this conclusion from a recent study of an program to promote more play: Although the differences between intervention and control were not statistically significant, the effect size indicates clinical significance. Promoting Physical Activity Through Child’s Play […]

Are we building places that harm our health? Yesterday, distinguished professor Jim Sallis told us, unequivocally, yes we are. At the National Academy of Sciences, he opened a survey of the young science of built environments and obesity. The Roundtable on Obesity Solutions sponsored this workshop. Rarely Studied Until the 21st Century Well into the […]

Is that electronic leash on your wrist really doing anything? Can you rely upon fitness trackers for good information? A pair of recent studies add to the reasons you might doubt it. Heart Rate, Yes; Calories Burned, No Researchers from Stanford tested seven fitness trackers and published their result in the Journal of Personalized Medicine. […]

“Open your bedroom window at night to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes.” The Telegraph reports this simple solution from an Oxford endocrinology professor. In a similar vein, the Guardian says “access to nature reduces depression and obesity.” That promise comes from a report of the Institute for European Environmental Policy. Cool Night Air Professor Asheley Grossman […]