Physical Activity News and Research

RSS

Survey finds majority of Americans are at risk of heart disease due to their lifestyle factor

To help draw attention to National Child Health Day (today), the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) has released findings from a new national consumer survey and launched a campaign to educate families about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

5 Oct 2009

Rewarding healthy behavior with incentives helps lower healthcare costs

On September 30, the U.S. Senate voted to adopt a measure aimed at rewarding healthy behavior as part of the Obama Administration's overall healthcare reform legislation. The Senate Finance Committee voted for a bi-partisan amendment that would allow health plans to provide financial incentives for people to quit smoking, exercise more and engage in other healthy activities.

3 Oct 2009

Study to determine vitamin D's effectiveness in pregnant women with asthma

A group of pregnant women who have asthma or allergies will get extra vitamin D as part of a study to determine if the vitamin can prevent their children from developing asthma.

3 Oct 2009

University of Florida to study whether exercise can prevent disability in older people

The University of Florida will receive $29.5 million in federal stimulus funds over the next two years from the National Institute on Aging to begin a six-year study on whether a program of structured physical activity can prevent or delay major movement disability in older adults.

3 Oct 2009

Fear of dangerous strangers keeps children and youth away from physical activity

Fear of dangerous strangers in inner-city neighbourhoods is keeping kids and teens from using playgrounds and parks to be physically active.

3 Oct 2009

Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles effective for older women with urinary incontinence

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that a program of pelvic floor muscle exercises, combined with pelvic health education, can be an effective way to manage urinary incontinence in elderly women.

3 Oct 2009

BMI training course launched by Anthem Blue Cross to tackle childhood obesity

In a continued effort to keep screening for childhood obesity at the forefront, Anthem Blue Cross' State Sponsored Business launched an innovative on-line Body Mass Index (BMI) training course featuring a virtual BMI wheel and web-based interactive practice sessions to help provide hands-on experience.

3 Oct 2009

Cybex International to raise funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Cybex International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of premium exercise equipment, is treading for a cause. Hundreds of the Medway, Massachusetts-based Company’s pink 750T treadmills will be moving at varying speeds in fitness clubs and YMCA’s across the country beginning today, October 1 – and with a purpose – to raise funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

3 Oct 2009

CSIRO launches wellbeing plan for kids

Written by researchers in CSIRO's Preventative Health National Research Flagship and based on extensive research, The CSIRO Wellbeing Plan for Kids reduces the guess work for parents by focusing on key lifestyle habits that will make a significant difference in achieving a healthy and active lifestyle for the whole family.

1 Oct 2009

Exercise may help reduce breast cancer risk

Post-menopausal women who engage in moderate to vigorous exercise have a reduced risk of breast cancer. This comes from researchers writing the open access journal BMC Cancer who investigated the link between breast cancer and exercise.

1 Oct 2009

Peanuts can help control obesity in children

A landmark study published in Obesity shows that, 80% of high-risk adolescents decreased or maintained weight, while almost 65% of the control group gained at one year.

1 Oct 2009

AAP receives grant to promote awareness on childhood obesity

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announces that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, to promote community and regional approaches to obesity prevention. Through the grant, AAP will launch two national grant programs, which are focused on encouraging both established pediatricians and pediatricians-in-training to develop collaborative methods to educate communities about the health effects of childhood obesity.

29 Sep 2009

CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation for State Farm

State Farm has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the organization’s commitment to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of its employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle and in the workplace.

29 Sep 2009

NIH funds Brown University's Samoan genotyping project

Do some people have special "susceptibility" genes that make them vulnerable to obesity and diabetes, triggered by poor diet and less exercise?

28 Sep 2009

Fear of back pain from care work is predictive of actually developing it

Whether from heaving, twisting, bending or bad lifting postures, it's well known that caring for the sick or elderly can lead to back pain. This often results in time off work or dropping out of caring professions altogether. Now Danish research published in the online open access journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders suggests that the fear of getting back pain from care work is predictive of actually developing it.

24 Sep 2009

Study on leisure experiences of women with intellectual disabilities in group homes

Brenda Rossow-Kimball, who did post-graduate research with Donna Goodwin, in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, investigated the leisure experiences of five women with intellectual disabilities in two group homes. They found major differences in how leisure was experienced in each group home. In one, the women were provided with support and encouraged to make their own decisions about how they used their leisure time; there was a genuine interest in the women engaging in independent spontaneous leisure, according to Rossow-Kimball. In the other home leisure was supervised by the staff, scheduled into the activities of the home, and managed by the staff, which, the researchers say, doesn't teach the women how to discover what they like to do for leisure.

24 Sep 2009

Pregnancy can cause metabolic syndrome

Childbearing is associated directly with future development of the metabolic syndrome - abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, insulin resistance and other cardiovascular disease risk factors - and for women who have had gestational diabetes, the risk is more than twice greater, according to a study co-authored by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

23 Sep 2009

Switch programme offers promise for use in youth obesity prevention

The SwitchTM programme, 'Switch what you Do, View, and Chew', has been shown to be capable of promoting children's fruit and vegetable consumption and lowering 'screen time'. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine tested the programme and report that it offers promise for use in youth obesity prevention.

22 Sep 2009

Report on evidence-based disease prevention programs released by TFAH and NYAM

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) released a new report today featuring a range of evidence-based disease prevention programs that have shown results for improving health and reducing costs in communities.

22 Sep 2009

Mild exercises for the bed-bound patients helps to combat muscle wasting

Critical care experts at Johns Hopkins are reporting initial success in boosting recovery and combating muscle wasting among critically ill, mostly bed-bound patients using any one of a trio of mild physical therapy exercises during their stays in the intensive care unit (ICU).

22 Sep 2009