Stay Young by Running

For people who run regularly, you may be extending your disability-free, higher quality of life. When senior author, James Fries, began research on vigorous exercise in 1984, many scientists expected the results would do more harm than good. Some experts believed the long-term effect of serious running would be an onslaught of orthopedic injuries, with older runners suffering from chronic injury. But Fries believed it would improve quality of life and reduce the period at the end of a person's life where they couldn't carry out daily tasks on their own.

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Understanding "Good" Fat May Help Fight Obesity

A recent understanding of the origins of brown fat cells - the "good" kind of fat that burns energy and keeps us warm - may lead to the discovery of new treatments for obesity. Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said they used a single molecular switch to turn immature muscle cells into brown fat cells in the lab. This suggests that brown fat may be more akin to muscle cells than traditional white fat cells. Another team from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston found a protein important for bone growth helped promote the development of fat tissues in mice. Both teams claim their new findings lend understanding about the origins of brown fat, which releases energy, in contrast to white fat, which only stores energy.

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Obese Women's Newborns Have More Birth Defects

The fetuses of obese women have an increased risk of birth defects such as spina bifida and other neural tube defects, a recent analysis of previous studies showed.

Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States and in increasing numbers of countries around the world. Complications from the condition threaten to overwhelm the health-care system. For example, some evidence suggests that pregnant obese women are more prone to give birth to babies with abnormalities, known as congenital anomalies. Such abnormalities contribute significantly to stillbirth, infant death, preterm birth and childhood illnesses.

- Obese Women's Newborns Have More Birth Defects video

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Caffeine Found to Reduce Pain of Exercise

A cup of coffee prior to intense exercise can make a workout more tolerable by modulating the way the nervous system processes pain, a recent study showed.
   
The study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, was done by Robert Motl, professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois.

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Yoga Reduces Fear of Falling Among Elderly

Taking yoga classes yields a slight but important decrease in the fear of falling among senior citizens, a recent study showed, as well as conferring greater lower-body flexibility and removing constraints on their leisure activities.

Fear of falling may have a significant impact on the health and quality of life of older adults because it causes them to curtail their social and physical activity. It has this effect even on those who have never fallen.

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Expert Commentary: Dr. Micozzi, M.D - May 18, 2009

Yoga and the Fear of Falling

Anything that can reduce the fear of falling among senior citizens would truly be a valuable contribution to society. Such a fear may not seem like a big deal. But the fact is that, among the elderly, it can have huge repercussions – on both a personal level for each affected senior citizen and on a societal level in terms of increasing the burden on the health-care system.

- Expert Commentary: Dr. Micozzi, M.D - May 18, 2009 video

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More Exercise Induces Women to Eat Treats

Overweight women who engaged in exercise for one to two hours a week lost several pounds over six months without dieting. But paradoxically, those who exercised even more – three hours a week – failed to lose as much as expected.

The researchers, who published their findings in PLoSONE, a Public Library of Science online journal, speculated that the reason for this phenomenon was that the women who exercised the most rewarded themselves with food treats for their “sacrifice.”

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Self-Confidence, Motivation Key to Exercising

It's all in the mind. At least that's where it starts in terms of pursuing an exercise regimen, according to a recent study.

The investigation, performed on 5,167 Canadians by a team of researchers led by Sai Yi Pan of the Public Health Agency of Canada, found that self-confidence in participants' ability to exercise and a strong desire to do so were the main factors in whether they actually went ahead with an exercise program. And the main reasons for holding back from exercise were negative psychological factors. (Read more about Self-Confidence, Motivation Key to Exercising)

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Fewer Black Women Who Exercise Have Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is less frequent among black women who engage in vigorous walking for exercise several times a week, according to a recent study, regardless of whether they're thin or fat.

The study, performed by Julie Palmer of Boston University and her colleagues and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is one of only a very few that have been conducted on how exercise benefits black women. (Read more about Fewer Black Women Who Exercise Have Diabetes)

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Treadmill Exercise Helps Patients With Leg-Artery Disease

Patients with leg arteries partly or fully blocked by plaque, a condition that hinders walking and often produces debilitating leg pain, had their walking endurance and quality of life boosted by treadmill exercise, according to a recent study.

The condition, known as peripheral artery disease (PAD), afflicts approximately one in 16 American adults 40 years of age and older. The disorder leads to a gradual deterioration in leg function. There had never before been a study done on the influence of exercise on PAD sufferers. (Read more about Treadmill Exercise Helps Patients With Leg-Artery Disease)

- Treadmill Exercise Helps Patients With Leg-Artery Disease video

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