Fitness

You know you don’t have the healthiest diet. Most of your meals come from a box or a can. Vegetables are the exception, not the rule. You’re frustrated and you know you need to eat more healthily, but you need someone or something to light a fire under your sedentary behind. According to new research, you might be more inclined to improve your diet if you get moving, first.

Molly Bray, study co-author and chair of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, said:

Being physically fit in middle age may prevent 2 things: developing depression as a senior, and dying from heart disease if you do happen to become depressed.
Researchers looked at 18,000 Medicare individuals and found that those who were the most fit were 16% less likely to develop depression. The fittest were also 56% less likely to die from heart disease if they developed depression, and 61% less likely to die from heart disease if they remained depression-free.

In a study exploring the link between vitamin D and levels of physical fitness, researchers discovered that people who had a higher capacity for exercise also had higher levels of the nutrient in their blood. This suggests that having an ample amount of vitamin D in your diet can help boost your exercise stamina.

You’ve probably heard that Americans spend too much time sitting on their duffs. Well, not much has changed. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans still sit too much. In fact, 4 out of 10 adults don’t get any moderate or vigorous exercise on a weekly basis.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released new exercise guidelines on November 12 – for the first time in a decade. The recommendations state that Americans should sit less and move more, but there is good news for those who don’t particularly enjoy a 5-mile run: The guidelines say it’s perfectly fine to exercise in small doses. [1]

Obesity has become such a widespread issue in the United States that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended in a recent report that people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher should be prescribed intensive behavioral interventions.

In a clinical report, the American Academy of Pediatrics urges doctors to write kids a prescription for play, explaining that playtime is vital for children’s “social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills.”
The report – an update to a report released in 2007 – notes that ample playtime helps little ones manage stress and forge nurturing relationships with their caretakers.
It reads:

Did seeing gym class coming up on your schedule fill you with dread and loathing? The reason I ask is, a new study suggests that your past experiences with physical education may influence your feelings about exercise today, and whether or not you’re physically active. [1]

Doctors usually advise people with multiple sclerosis (MS) not to exercise for fear that it could exacerbate the illness, but a recent study out of Denmark suggests that resistance training may slow down the progression of MS by slowing brain atrophy and, in some cases, enhancing brain volume. [1] [2]

If you have avoided becoming a runner because you were worried that the constant pounding on your joints might cause you problems later, well, you may not have anything to worry about. An analysis of 17 studies involving nearly 115,000 people should put your mind at ease. The findings suggest that recreational running may actually be good for your hips and knees. [1]