Fitness - Exercise
REVIEW our Selected Fitness Articles in 2006. Stay informed and updated!
If you have any questions regarding our Search Reports, please contact us at info@infomedsearch.com.
CONTINUE YOUR INFOMEDSEARCH RESEARCH with our previous InfoMedLinks. Start with InfoMedLinks 2006.
Fitness and Exercise
General Information
NEWS:
Brits 'dying not to do exercise' "Most UK adults are so unwilling to exercise that not even the threat of an early death is enough to get them off the sofa, a survey suggests. Only 38% of people questioned by YouGov said they would do more exercise if their life depended on it. … Dr David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said it made for depressing reading but confirmed what had been shown in clinical trials, where even those who had a heart attack did not change their lifestyles. "Children instinctively exercise when left to their own devices, but they don't because they're stopped from doing that by the school curriculum and parents scared of child abductors and murderers lurking on every corner. "So, if it doesn't become a habit, you're not going to work hard to go against the tide and introduce it as an adult." He added that exercise could be incorporated into everyday life. "
Does Running Cause Arthritis? "… possible explanations [less pain for runners]: endorphins, fewer muscular injuries, and the high pain threshold that runners might develop. An Arthritis Foundation paper called "Exercise and Your Arthritis" offers a more direct answer. "The stronger the muscles and tissues around your joints, the better they will be able to support and protect those joints," it says. "If you don't exercise, your muscles become smaller and weaker." … She goes on to say that obesity is a major culprit in the onset of arthritis, and that runners do themselves a lot of good simply by keeping the pounds off. Also, "Runners keep their muscles strong and well-balanced, which helps the joints." … As we age, we naturally experience more aches and pains. However, a long-term study of runners over 50 showed that the runners had a smaller pain increase than a non-running control group. The women runners benefited the most."
Even Small Amounts of Exercise Are Beneficial "Even small amounts of physical activity — approximately 75 minutes per week — can improve cardiorespiratory fitness levels of sedentary overweight individuals, a study shows. While this level of exercise is lower than that currently recommended to produce weight loss, the current findings may be used to encourage those people who do not exercise at present to start doing some form of physical activity, the authors advise."
Exercise cuts heart risks for type 1 diabetes kids
Exercise may restore some youth to blood vessels "Moderate exercise might help older adults' blood vessels relax, a study has found -- pointing to one reason why exercise lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes. As people age, their blood vessels can become more constricted and less pliable in response to blood flow, a change that contributes to high blood pressure and clogged arteries. But in the new study, older men who took up regular exercise were able to substantially reduce this effect of aging. The findings are good news for sedentary older adults, researchers say, because the benefit required only moderate activity -- namely, taking a walk five times a week."
Exercise, exercise, rest, repeat -- how a break can help your workout "Taking a break in the middle of your workout may metabolize more fat than exercising without stopping, according to a recent study in Japan. Researchers conducted the first known study to compare these two exercise methods—exercising continually in one long bout versus breaking up the same workout with a rest period. The findings could change the way we approach exercise."
How Exercise Lowers Cardiovascular Risk
Metabolic Syndrome: How Much Exercise? Moderate Exercise Can Curb Metabolic Syndrome Symptoms, Study Shows “Participants who got low amounts of moderate exercise or high amounts of vigorous exercise made the biggest strides against metabolic syndrome. The biggest improvements were seen in those who got a lot of vigorous exercise. But moderate exercise was sufficient. "A modest amount of exercise at moderate intensity -- that's just a brisk walking pace -- and in the absence of dietary change can significantly decrease your risk of metabolic syndrome," says Johnson. “
Pedometer Pushes People to Walk More "People who start a walking program for their health get more out of it by using a pedometer, a device that counts their steps, a new study shows. 'People who use pedometers increase their physical activity by about 2,000 steps a day, about a mile,' said study author Dr. Dena M. Bravata, a senior research scientist at Stanford University. 'They also seem to lower their blood pressure more and lose more weight.' "
Public 'misled' on exercise needs ""Misleading" government guidelines have led to many Britons wrongly believing that moderate exercise is as beneficial as a vigorous workout, a study alleges."
Regular Exercise Reduces Risk Of Blood Clots, Study Suggests "Overall figures for both sexes showed that participating in sports at least once per week, regardless of the type of sport or its intensity, reduced the risk of developing a blood clot in a lung artery by 46 percent and a blood clot in a leg vein by 24 percent. … The findings also show that people who did not participate in sports were more than four-times as likely to develop a blood clot if they were obese (with a body mass index of 30 or greater) than lean (with a body mass index of less than 25)."
Study explains the physiologic benefits of diet and exercise "Insulin sends a vital signal in the body, telling cells to use sugar from the blood. When cells become less sensitive to insulin, which often happens as we age and gain weight, the body makes more insulin to compensate. For a long time, researchers thought that "more insulin signaling was good," … But this insulin is also hammering the brain, and we now think that's probably a bad thing." … Recent studies in the worm C. elegans and in fruit flies have shown that reducing insulin signaling lengthens lifespan. But in mammals, reducing insulin signaling can lead to fatal diabetes. White suspected that the key to explaining this paradox -- and to maximizing both health and longevity -- is to reduce insulin signaling only in the brain. … The easiest method, White says, is old-fashioned diet and exercise. Although obesity and sedentary lifestyles tune down the body's sensitivity to insulin, exercise tunes it back up. Furthermore, eating smaller meals keeps insulin low in the bloodstream, ensuring that less reaches the brain."
Use It Or Lose It: Physical Activity In Middle Age "The team found that middle-aged people who maintained a reasonable level of physical activity were less likely to become unable to walk distances, climb stairs, maintain their sense of balance, stand from a seated position with their arms folded, or sustain their hand grip as they get older."
Vigorous Physical Activity May Improve Knee Joint Structures
ARTICLES:
Physical Activity Guidelines Updated
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity as Mortality Predictors in Older Adults (JAMA. 2007) "Conclusions In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity. Clinicians should consider the importance of preserving functional capacity by recommending regular physical activity for older individuals, normal-weight and overweight alike."
Commuting physical activity is favourably associated with biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease. (Eur J Epidemiol. 2007) "Conclusion Commuting physical activity, independent of leisure time physical activity, was associated with a healthier level of most of the cardiovascular risk factors. An increase in commuting physical activity in the population may therefore reduce the incidence of CVD."
Dangerous Exercise --Lessons Learned from Dysregulated Inflammatory Responses to Physical Activity. (J Appl Physiol. 2007) "Exercise elicits an immunologic "danger" type of stress and inflammatory response that, on occasion becomes dysregulated and detrimental to health. Examples include anaphylaxis, exercise induced asthma, overuse syndromes, and exacerbation of intercurrent illnesses. In dangerous exercise, the normal balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses is upset."
Effects of exercise on brain function: role of free radicals. (Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2007)
Evidence for an Interaction between Exercise and Nutrition for Improved Bone Health during Growth. (Med Sport Sci. 2007) "Current evidence suggests that regular weight-bearing exercise and adequate dietary calcium intakes (around 1,000 mg per day) may be required to optimize bone health; however, exercise would appear to be more important for optimizing bone strength because it has a direct effect (e.g. via loading) on bone mass and structural properties, whereas nutritional factors appear to have an indirect effect (e.g. via hormonal factors) on bone mass."
Exercise and the immune system. (Clin Sports Med. 2007) "Regarding the direct effect of exercise on the immune system, moderate exercise seems to exert a protective effect, whereas repeated bouts of strenuous exercise can result in immune dysfunction. Understanding the relationship between exercise and infectious disease has important potential implications for public health and for clinicians caring for athletes and athletic teams."
Exercise can be pyrogenic in humans. (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007)
Exercise training and sympathetic nervous system activity: evidence for physical activity dependent neural plasticity. (Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2007)
Exercise-Is it Possible to Have Too Much of a Good Thing? (Heart Lung Circ. 2007)
Health Benefits of Tennis. (Br J Sports Med. 2007) "It was concluded that people who choose to play tennis appear to have significant health benefits, including improved aerobic fitness, a lower body fat percentage, a more favourable lipid profile, a reduced risk for developing cardiovascular disease, and improved bone health."
Immune function in sport and exercise. (J Appl Physiol. 2007)
Is the anti-inflammatory effect of regular exercise responsible for reduced cardiovascular disease? (Clinical Science (2007)) "Exercise training also induces the expression of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mediators in the vascular wall that may directly inhibit the development of atherosclerosis. Limited studies in humans and more comprehensive assessments in animal models have confirmed that exercise is atheroprotective and helped identify a number of the mechanisms to explain these effects."
Physical activity and knee structural change: a longitudinal study using MRI. (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007) "CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these associations were modest in magnitude, but they suggest that knee cartilage volume and tibial plateau area are dynamic structures that can respond to physical stimuli. Greater muscle strength and endurance fitness, especially in women, may be protective against cartilage loss, but it also may result in a maladaptive enlargement of subchondral bone in both sexes, suggesting that physical activity may have both good and bad effects on the knee."
Physical activity and prevalence and incidence of mental disorders in adolescents and young adults. (Psychol Med. 2007)
Physical Activity and Public Health in Older Adults. Recommendation From the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association (Circulation 2007) "Summary—The recommendation for older adults is similar to the updated ACSM/AHA recommendation for adults, but has several important differences including: the recommended intensity of aerobic activity takes into account the older adult’s aerobic fitness; activities that maintain or increase flexibility are recommended; and balance exercises are recommended for older adults at risk of falls. In addition, older adults should have an activity plan for achieving recommended physical activity that integrates preventive and therapeutic recommendations. The promotion of physical activity in older adults should emphasize moderate-intensity aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening activity, reducing sedentary behavior, and risk management."
Physical Activity and Public Health. Updated Recommendation for Adults From the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association (Circulation 2007) "Primary Recommendation—To promote and maintain health, all healthy adults aged 18 to 65 yr need moderate-intensity aerobic (endurance) physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days each week. [I (A)] Combinations of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity can be performed to meet this recommendation. [IIa (B)] For example, a person can meet the recommendation by walking briskly for 30 min twice during the week and then jogging for 20 min on two other days. Moderate-intensity aerobic activity, which is generally equivalent to a brisk walk and noticeably accelerates the heart rate, can be accumulated toward the 30-min minimum by performing bouts each lasting 10 or more minutes. [I (B)] Vigorous-intensity activity is exemplified by jogging, and causes rapid breathing and a substantial increase in heart rate. In addition, every adult should perform activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance a minimum of two days each week. [IIa (A)] Because of the dose-response relation between physical activity and health, persons who wish to further improve their personal fitness, reduce their risk for chronic diseases and disabilities or prevent unhealthy weight gain may benefit by exceeding the minimum recommended amounts of physical activity."
Physical Activity and Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Events. Potential Mediating Mechanisms (Circulation 2007) "Conclusions—The inverse association between physical activity and CVD risk is mediated in substantial part by known risk factors, particularly inflammatory/hemostatic factors and blood pressure."
Physical Activity Recommendations and Decreased Risk of Mortality (Arch Intern Med. 2007) "Conclusions Following physical activity guidelines is associated with lower risk of death. Mortality benefit may also be achieved by engaging in less than recommended activity levels."
Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and insulin resistance: a short update. (Curr Opin Lipidol. 2007) "SUMMARY: Increasing physical activity reduces insulin resistance. As both intensity of exercise and genetic factors may modulate the magnitude of this effect, current physical activity for health guidelines that emphasize engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity in a 'one-size-fits-all' approach may need revision in the future to optimize the potential benefits accrued from individuals becoming more active."
[Physical exercise and sport activities in patients with and without coronary heart disease] (Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2007)
Prior exercise delays the onset of acidosis during incremental exercise. (J Appl Physiol. 2007) "In conclusion, prior heavy-intensity delayed the onset of intracellular acidosis and enhanced exercise performance during a subsequent incremental exercise test. Key words: phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy, intracellular pH, phosphocreatine, 31P-MRS, plantar flexion."
Recovery of Erectile Function in Aging Hypertensive and Normotensive Rats Using Exercise and Caloric Restriction. (J Sex Med. 2007) "Conclusions. Similar to previous studies, erectile function progressively decreased with age in both hypertensive and normotensive rats. Erectile responses were found to be substantially improved by an intervention involving exercise and CR, but not necessarily involving weight loss."
Regular Physical Activity Modifies Smoking-related Lung Function Decline and Reduces Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2007) "Conclusions: This prospective study shows that moderate to high levels of regular physical activity are associated with reduced lung function decline and COPD risk among smokers."
Resistance Training in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: 2007 Update (Circulation 2007)
School-based physical activity and changes in adiposity (International Journal of Obesity (2007)) "Discussion: Higher levels of school PE were associated with lower gains in adiposity in boys. This strengthens the case for including recommendations on school PE time as part of population strategies to control adolescent obesity. "
The Effect of Exercise on Bone Mass and Structural Geometry during Growth. (Med Sport Sci. 2007) "We know that weight-bearing exercise is important, and that activities should be dynamic, variable in nature, applied rapidly and intermittently, and that relatively few loading cycles are required."
The Psychological Benefits of Vigorous Exercise: A Study of Discordant MZ Twin Pairs. (Twin Res Hum Genet. 2007)
The reduction of physical activity reflects on the bone mass among young females: a follow-up study of 142 adolescent girls. (Osteoporos Int. 2007) " CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study show that regular physical activity is valuable in preserving the peak bone mass acquired at puberty in particular. Many of the girls who markedly reduced their activity levels lost bone in their femoral neck prior to their 25th birthday."
Using pedometers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review. (JAMA. 2007)
Go to the top