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Highlights
Exercise is Good for You
According to the National Institute on Aging, the combination of a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet contributes to more deaths in the United States than anything except smoking.
It’s Never Too Late to Start
A report published in the February 2006 Journal of Aging and Health found that an exercise program that combines walking and weight lifting can have a big impact on senior fitness. The average age of the study participants was 83.5. After exercising twice a week for four months, the volunteers significantly increased their body strength, balance, and flexibility.
Need motivation? Get a dog
A study in the February 2006 American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that dog owners do almost twice as much walking as those who don’t have a four-legged friend. Regular walking is a good way to stay in shape.
Exercise and Illness
- Exercise helps kids ward off future neck pain. A study published in the February 2006 British Journal of Sports Medicine found that women who had the greatest endurance strength as teenagers had a lower risk of neck tension than those with lower teenager endurance strength. Men who were more flexible as teenager had a lower risk of neck tension than those who were less flexible in their younger years.
- Walking improves the health of people with diabetes, and lowers their medical expenses. A report in Diabetes Care found that people who exercised for 38 minutes per day lowered their blood pressure, cholesterol and AIC levels, and heart disease risk, even if they didn’t lose weight. The increase in activity equaled about 2,200 extra steps a day.
