Physical Activity News and Research

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Study finds nutritional risks in users of GLP-1 drugs

Adults with overweight or obesity taking the new generation of weight loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide tend to eat significantly less, leaving them vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies, according to one of the first real-world studies to examine dietary behavior in people using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dual GLP-1/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) dual agonists RAs (collectively referred to as GLP-1 RAs) with the help of an AI-powered nutritional tracking app.

9 Apr 2026

Early childhood habits shape physical activity levels in adolescence

The numbers are sobering: nearly 80 per cent of the world's teenagers don't get enough physical activity, according to the World Health Organization.

9 Apr 2026

Higher optimism may lower dementia risk in older adults

Higher optimism in adults aged 70 and older was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia over up to 14 years of follow-up in the Health and Retirement Study. The association remained after adjustment for demographic factors, depression, health conditions, smoking, and physical activity, although the study was observational and cannot prove causation.

9 Apr 2026

Study shows long-term weight benefits for breastfeeding mothers

Breastfeeding does not only affect your weight while you are breastfeeding. Women gain up to 6.5 kilos less on average later in life if they breastfeed for at least three months, according to a new study.

9 Apr 2026

Swapping passive screen time with mental activity may cut dementia risk

Research shows that mentally active sedentary behavior can reduce dementia risk, emphasizing the importance of daily cognitive engagement for brain health.

9 Apr 2026

High-quality plant-based diets linked to lower dementia risk

Eating a higher quality plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias compared to eating a lower quality plant-based diet, according to a study published April 8, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Apr 2026

Metformin boosts an exercise-linked metabolite and may help control weight in prostate cancer patients

Metformin raised the exercise-linked metabolite Lac-Phe in prostate cancer patients across disease stages and treatment settings, while Lac-Phe itself did not predict anticancer response. Patients in the BIMET-1 metformin arm also showed better weight management during anti-androgen therapy, highlighting a possible metabolic benefit relevant to prostate cancer care.

7 Apr 2026

Estonian study reveals varied stress responses during first pandemic year

Karel Kulbin, a well-being researcher at Tallinn University, focuses in his doctoral thesis on how perceived stress levels and depressive symptoms among Estonian residents changed during the first year of the pandemic and what role active leisure activities played in this.

6 Apr 2026

Metformin mimics exercise-related metabolic effects in prostate cancer patients

A new study has found that metformin, a widely prescribed diabetes drug, may mimic one of exercise's core biological effects in men with prostate cancer, raising levels of a molecule tied to energy balance and weight control even when patients are inactive.

6 Apr 2026

Irregular bedtimes double heart risk for those getting below 8 hours

Irregular sleep timing significantly impacts heart health, with inconsistent bedtimes linked to a higher risk of major cardiovascular events over a decade.

6 Apr 2026

Moderate wine intake tied to slower biological aging in men

Researchers studying 22,495 adults in Southern Italy found that men with moderate wine intake in the traditional Mediterranean diet range showed slightly slower biomarker-based biological aging, with the lowest estimated aging signal at about 170 mL per day. The study also found that overall ethanol intake did not show the same moderate-level pattern, and higher total alcohol intake was linked to faster biological aging in dose-response analyses.

2 Apr 2026

Obesity, sleep, smoking, and inactivity show the strongest links to hypertension in U.S. adults

A cross-sectional analysis of 20,912 U.S. adults found that obesity, overweight, inadequate physical activity, smoking, and short or long sleep were each associated with higher odds of hypertension, while overall diet quality by HEI-2015 was not significantly associated. Sleep associations differed by sex, and lower sodium intake remained linked to lower odds of hypertension in sensitivity analyses.

2 Apr 2026

American Heart Association's 9 diet rules to lower heart disease risk

The AHA's dietary guidance emphasizes food choices over fad diets to reduce heart disease risk and improve cardiovascular health across all life stages.

2 Apr 2026

Do your genes dictate how your lifestyle choices impact aging?

Lifestyle-behavioral factors and socioeconomic status play an important role in shaping healthy aging, but their effects may differ depending on your DNA, according to a new international study led by Adelaide University researchers.

2 Apr 2026

Walking remains most popular activity despite low guideline adherence

In a study of U.S. adults, walking was, by far, the most popular leisure-time physical activity, while rural residents also enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing, and urban residents more commonly reported running, weightlifting and dance. Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to meet physical activity guidelines.

1 Apr 2026

Sleep duration and genetics interact to affect functional health

1 Apr 2026

What happens when more of your exercise is vigorous instead of moderate?

In a large UK Biobank analysis, a higher proportion of vigorous physical activity relative to total activity volume was associated with lower risks of eight major chronic diseases and all-cause mortality, even after accounting for overall activity volume. Device-based data suggested that activity intensity generally offered greater preventive potential than total volume alone across most outcomes.

31 Mar 2026

Plant-focused diets may decelerate epigenetic aging processes

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on March 20, 2026, titled "Plant-based dietary patterns are associated with slower epigenetic aging."

31 Mar 2026

How swapping unhealthy foods can significantly reduce your heart risk

More than half of adults and about 60% of children in the U.S. have unhealthy diets, which can contribute to higher rates of health factors such as high blood pressure and obesity, and lead directly to poor health outcomes including deaths from cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions, according to the American Heart Association.

31 Mar 2026

Lifestyle care in primary clinics allows for safe diabetes deprescribing

A new research study provides real-world evidence that deprescribing glucose‑lowering medications is both feasible and safe when patients with type 2 diabetes receive lifestyle‑informed care in primary care settings.

31 Mar 2026