Physical activity and sport sessions in schools have jumped by 53 per cent at primary level, and 17 per cent overall, in the last two years since Active Schools was launched with ?12 million per annum of backing from Ministers.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed an amended health claim that would communicate to consumers the value of foods high in calcium and vitamin D for reducing the risk of osteoporosis. The National Dairy Council (NDC) acknowledges and supports the body of scientific evidence that backs the proposed claim, which indicates that a lifestyle that includes a well-balanced diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D, and physical activity, helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
While millions of Americans place fitness as one of their top New Year’s resolutions to improve shape, muscle tone and overall appearance, cancer survivors have another priority — life.
Researchers report in the January issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press, the discovery of a genetic “switch” that drives the formation of a poorly understood type of muscle. Moreover, they found, animals whose muscles were full of the so-called IIX fibers were able to run farther and at higher work loads than normal mice could.
Women who exercise by doing housework can reduce their risk of breast cancer, according to a new study. The research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.
For older Americans, reversal of the brain shrinkage that occurs as people age is just one benefit of greater physical activity, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of Gerontology — Medical Sciences (Vol. 61A, No. 11). In a special section devoted to exercising and aging, this edition of the journal features five separate reports on the topic.
A high level of physical activity in women who smoked reduced their risk of developing lung cancer by 28 percent compared to smokers who did not exercise, an analysis of more than 36,000 women shows.
Memory training and other non-drug treatments may one day help older adults ward off declines in mental function, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in an editorial in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
While the benefits of regular physical activity are well documented, public health officials struggle for methods to promote increased physical activity that will work in American society. In a study published in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers examine the challenges in promoting physical activity in a society less and less inclined to walk, run or exercise.
An analysis of previous studies suggests that for people with a history of vascular disease, folic acid supplementation does not decrease the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke, as has been suggested in some research, according to a review article in the December 13 issue of JAMA.