Physical Activity News and Research

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Majority of Canadians with asthma consider their disease 'well controlled'

A new survey, Asthma Insight and Management in Europe and Canada (EUCAN AIM), reveals that a majority of Canadians with asthma considered their disease "well controlled" at the time of the survey. However, in the year prior to the survey, more than half (52 per cent) required acute treatment for asthma, including seeing a doctor for worsening symptoms (45 per cent), unscheduled emergency room visits (28 per cent), and being hospitalized overnight (five per cent).

5 Oct 2010

EU called upon to tackle problem of chronic non-communicable diseases

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation - and ESMO - the European Society for Medical Oncology.

5 Oct 2010

UnitedHealth announces $2.25 million to support Y's healthy-living initiatives

UnitedHealth Group has announced a three-year, $2.25 million commitment to support the Y's healthy-living initiatives and efforts to prevent obesity and related chronic diseases.

5 Oct 2010

IBM employee-wellness program shows some success for kids

Reuters: "In 2008, IBM launched an Internet-based 'children's rebate program' that let employees and their families choose from a selection of goals revolving around healthy eating, group physical activity, reduced 'screen time' and positive parental role-modeling. A $150 check was offered as incentive to complete the 12-week program. … More than 22,000 employees signed on to participate, representing about half of all employees with children covered by IBM's health plan." About 12,000 completed the program and received the rebate.

4 Oct 2010

Mind-body intervention effective in treating persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors

A group-based, holistic, mind-body intervention was equally effective in treating persistent fatigue and improving quality of life for breast cancer survivors, regardless of their race.

4 Oct 2010

Fred Hutchinson Center offers research-based tip sheets on breast cancer

Throughout October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, are offering a series of weekly research-based tip sheets regarding a variety of topics related to breast cancer, including breast cancer prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

4 Oct 2010

Look AHEAD intervention program improves risk factors in obese, type 2 diabetic patients

An intensive lifestyle intervention program designed to achieve and maintain weight loss improves diabetes control and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results of the Look AHEAD study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are published in the Sept. 27, 2010, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

4 Oct 2010

Vigorous exercise reduces breast cancer risk: Study

Vigorous exercise of more than two hours per week reduces the risk of developing breast cancer in postmenopausal African-American women by 64 percent, compared to women of the same race who do not exercise, according to researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

4 Oct 2010

School vending machines can influence students' dietary choices

With over 23 million children and adolescents in the US overweight or obese, the risks for many chronic diseases continue to increase. An article in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association examines the diets of American youth and finds some disturbing results.

1 Oct 2010

Physical activity reduces risk for womb cancer

Women who exercise and keep active are around 30 per cent less likely to develop womb cancer than couch potatoes - according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer today.

30 Sep 2010

Michigan University researchers receive funds to study breast cancer risk factors

A team of researchers led by a Michigan State University scientist has been awarded $14 million to identify risk factors for breast cancer in young women, focusing on growth, diet, physical activity and body size during a woman's lifetime.

30 Sep 2010

Misperceptions about flavored and sports beverages

Children who practice healthy lifestyle habits such as eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical activity may be negatively impacting their health because they tend to consume large amounts of flavored and sports beverages containing sugar, according to research at The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

29 Sep 2010

Routine, short bouts of exercise can increase fitness levels

Trying to get fit but can't work it into your daily schedule? Incorporating even relatively short bouts of exercise into a daily commute appears to deliver significant rewards, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

28 Sep 2010

European Society of Cardiology to support EuroPRevent Meeting

Workplace wellness programmes play a vital role in preventing cardiovascular disease and stroke. This year's World Heart Day theme is to encourage employers and employees to take simple steps to improve heart-health in the workplace. The European Society of Cardiology is keen to support this theme, which coincides with the upcoming launch of two major initiatives at the next EuroPRevent Meeting in April 2011 in Geneva.

27 Sep 2010

Breast cancer survivors with functional limitations more likely to die of poorer health: Study

Basic physical limitations following breast cancer treatment can have far-reaching consequences that substantially affect how long a patient lives.

27 Sep 2010

Wiecha receives grant to provide health education to African-American women with type-2 diabetes

BUSM Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs John Wiecha, MD, MPH, in the Department of Family Medicine, has received a National Institutes of Health American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Challenge grant from the National Library of Medicine. The grant, valued at more than $950,000 will fund a study to provide health education to African-American women with type-2 diabetes.

27 Sep 2010

HHS announces grants to support public health programs

Six months after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius highlighted another important facet of the law today with the announcement of nearly $100 million in grants made possible primarily by the new law's Prevention and Public Health Fund.

27 Sep 2010

Active commuting helps to stay fit

Men and women who walk or ride a bike to work appear more fit, and men are less likely to be overweight or obese and have healthier triglyceride levels, blood pressure and insulin levels, according to a report in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Sep 2010

HHS awards grant to promote better primary care services for mentally-ill patients

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today awarded more than $26.2 million in grants to support and promote better primary care and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

27 Sep 2010

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

Despite the vast majority (91%) of workers believing that it is their employer's responsibility to create a healthy working environment, nearly a third (32%) of employees feels their workplace actually hinders their ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, according to new independent research commissioned by the World Heart Federation and conducted by Opinion Health.

24 Sep 2010