Exercise and a Healthy Weight Adds Years to Your Life
According to a new study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), maintaining a healthy weight and getting enough exercise – as recommended by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans – can increase your life expectancy by up to 7.2 years. The study, published in Public Library of Science Medicine, followed over 65,000 adults over age 40 for 10 years.
According to the findings, people who engaged in moderate exercise for 75 minutes per week gained 1.8 years of life compared to people who reported no exercise. People who got the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise gained 3.4 years. In addition, those who were active at least 150 minutes and maintained a healthy weight lived 7.2 years longer than their inactive counterparts. Overall, this research shows that more leisure time activity is associated with a longer life span, and this effect is increased when combined with maintenance of a healthy weight.
Steven C. Moore et al. Leisure Time Physical Activity of Moderate to Vigorous Intensity and Mortality: A Large Pooled Cohort Analysis. PLoS Med. 2012 November; 9(11): e1001335.
Physical Activity Cuts the Risk of Chronic Disease
Metabolic syndrome refers to a combination of risk factors – like high blood sugar and obesity – that increase your risk of heart disease, and its frequency is rapidly increasing in China. New evidence published in the Public Library of Science One (PLoS One) shows that regular exercise can reduce a person’s risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Researchers analyzed data from over 15,000 Chinese adults aged 50-70 participating in a nationwide study, and found that engaging in physical activity significantly reduced the odds of developing metabolic syndrome. In addition, for every additional hour of dance per week, participants saw a 5% reduction and every hour of tai chi, a 9% reduction in risk. According to this study, a person could reduce their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 20% simply by exercising 3-4 times per week.
Chen M, He M, Min X, Pan A, Zhang X, Yao P, Li X, Liu Y, Yuan J, Chen W, Zhou L, Fang W, Liang Y, Wang Y, Miao X, Lang M, Zhang P, Li D, Guo H, Yang H, Hu FB, Wu T. Different physical activity subtypes and risk of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and older chinese people. PLoS One. 2013;8(1)
Regular Exercise Reduces the Risk of Breast Cancer Side Effects
Breast cancer treatment can result in a number of negative side effects including pain, weight gain, limited shoulder mobility, and hot flashes, all of which can decrease quality of life.
A recent study, published in Cancer Causes & Control, conducted a survey of women during and after breast cancer treatment to assess the effect of exercise (alongside several factors) on side effects. Results showed that sedentary women were more likely to experience limited shoulder mobility, chest pain, weight gain, swollen lymph nodes, and breathlessness compared to their physically active peers. While side effects and their severity depend on the type of treatment, in general exercise was associated with fewer side effects and should be encouraged as part of treatment.
Gho SA, Steele JR, Jones SC, Munro BJ. Self-reported side effects of breast cancer treatment: a cross-sectional study of incidence, associations, and the influence of exercise. Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Jan 8. [Epub ahead of print]
Is A High Protein Diet a Better Weight Loss Strategy for Young Women?
Over the past few years, high protein diets have become a popular strategy for weight loss, and some evidence has indicated that they can be effective. However, there is little information on weight management among young women. A study published last month in Diabetes, Obesity, & Metabolism, compared two energy equivalent diets in two groups of young women, one of which was on a higher protein diet. Participants weight and body fat were measured at 6 months and a year. After 6 months, women on a high protein diet lost more weight and more fat, but after a year there was no difference.
This evidence indicates that, for healthy young women, a higher protein diet can result in more weight loss in the mid-term. But in the long term, both higher and moderate protein diets will result in similar amounts of weight loss. Research has shown that successful, lasting weight loss is a result of lower calorie intake and regular physical activity.
Griffin HJ, Cheng HL, O’Connor HT, Rooney KB, Petocz P, Steinbeck KS. Higher-protein diet for weight management in young overweight women: a 12 month randomised controlled trial. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2012 Dec 26. doi: 10.1111/dom.12056. [Epub ahead of print]
Physically Active Youth Perform Better In School
In the United States, several studies have linked higher levels of physical activity to better academic performance in children and adolescents. Now, a study in the Iranian Journal of Public Health found that the same trend applies to adolescents in Korea. The research, which looked at data from over 75,000 adolescents who took the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, found that the odds of having a higher academic record increased as daily physical activity increased.
Shin YS, So WY. Association between Physical Inactivity and Academic Record in Korean Adolescents. Iran J Public Health. 2012;41(10):36-42. Epub 2012 Oct 1
