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An estimated 80% of older adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. A study found that adding a relatively minimal amount of movement, about 3,000 steps per day, can significantly reduce high blood pressure in older adults. This study sought to determine if older adults with hypertension could receive these benefits by moderately increasing their daily walking, which is one of the easiest and most popular forms of physical activity for this population. The study focused on a group of sedentary older adults between ages 68 and 78 who walked an average of about 4,000 steps per day before...

New research supports the idea that the brains of older adults who maintain physical fitness by engaging in regular strenuous exercise more closely resemble those of younger adults. The researchers used functional MRI to measure fluctuations in blood oxygen level-dependent signals as the 52 study participants performed tasks involving several varieties of cognitive control. The fMRI scans indicated that young adults primarily used the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—a classical working memory, cognitive control center of the brain that is activated more as tasks became more demanding. In general, the brain calls upon its resources like firefighters respond to a multi-alarm fire:...

What Is Salt? Salt is a seasoning that can flavor food and act as a preservative. It’s about 60% chloride and about 40% sodium. Nearly all unprocessed foods -- think veggies, fruits, nuts, meats, whole grains, and dairy foods -- are low in sodium. The salt that we do eat helps relax and contract muscles, lends a hand with nerve impulses, and balances the minerals and water we take in. How Much Salt Do You Need? Our body needs only a small amount of sodium. We should get about 1,500 milligrams of it every day. But the average American takes...

Good cardiorespiratory fitness when young is associated with up to a 40% lower risk of developing 9 specific cancers later on—at least in men—suggests a large long term study. These include cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, bowel, kidney, and lung. At the start of their stint, when they were aged between 16 and 25, conscripts underwent a standard battery of assessments. The final analysis included more than 1 million men (1,078,000), 84,117 (7%) of whom subsequently developed cancer in at least one site during an average monitoring period of 33 years. Compared with men with...

Static isometric exercises—the sort that involve engaging muscles without movement, such as wall sits and planks—are best for lowering blood pressure, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence from clinical trials. In a bid to potentially update information on the best form of exercise for controlling blood pressure, they trawled research databases looking for clinical trials reporting the effects of an exercise training intervention lasting two or more weeks on resting blood pressure. The exercise interventions were classified as aerobic (cardio); dynamic resistance training; a combination of these; HIIT; and isometric exercises. Healthy resting blood pressure was defined...

Neuroscientists have found that intensive exercise could slow the course of Parkinson's disease. The finding could pave the way for new non-drug approaches. The research has identified a new mechanism responsible for the positive effects of exercise on brain plasticity. Professor Paolo Calabresi, said, "We have discovered a never observed mechanism, through which exercise performed in the early stages of the disease induces beneficial effects on movement control that may last over time even after training is suspended." Previous work has shown that intensive physical activity is associated with increased production of a critical growth factor, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor...

Regular physical exercise, such as resistance training, can prevent Alzheimer's disease, or at least delay the appearance of symptoms, and serves as a simple and affordable therapy for Alzheimer's patients. This is the conclusion of an article. During the study, the mice were trained to climb a 110 cm ladder with a slope of 80° and 2 cm between rungs. Loads corresponding to 75%, 90% and 100% of their body weight were attached to their tails. The experiment mimicked certain kinds of resistance training undertaken by humans in fitness centers. At the end of a four-week period of training, blood...

Researchers have long known that moderate exercise has a beneficial impact on the body's response to inflammation, but what's been less understood is why. New research done on a mouse model suggests that the answers may lie at the production level of macrophages—white blood cells responsible for killing off infections, healing injury and otherwise acting as first responders in the body. "Much like if you train your muscles through exercise, we showed that exercise of moderate intensity ended up training the precursors of those macrophages in the bone marrow," says Ali Abdul-Sater. "The way that exercise is doing this is...

The commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet has resigned, Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative in the country's Far East announced on Thursday. Putin's envoy, Yury Trutnev, said that Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 65, has been appointed the head of a group that is in charge of military sports training and patriotic education, Russia news outlet Kommersant reported. Avakyants had held the position as commander of the Pacific Fleet since 2012. News of his resignation comes a week after Russia decided to conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a "surprise inspection" of its Pacific Fleet. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu...

Regular exercise at some point in life is a key to better cognitive health in old age, researchers say. Starting sooner is better and sustaining it longer are, too. A new British study has found that exercising at least once a month at any time in adulthood is linked to better thinking and memory function in later life. People who reported being physically active at least one to four times per month in separate surveys at the ages of 36, 43, 53, 60 to 64, and 69 had the biggest benefit. The effect was greater than for those who said...

Overclassification ensures the public won’t get a full view into the government’s behind-the-scenes machinations leading up to the events of January 6. The public is gradually learning how, despite repeated denials and non-answers, top government officials were well aware of the potential for violence on January 6, 2021. A chief investigator on the January 6 select committee told NBC News last week that law enforcement was privy to a trove of intelligence indicating problems could arise during the election certification process but, for some unexplained reason, chose to ignore the warning signs. “The Intel in advance was pretty specific, and...

Six minutes of high-intensity exercise could extend the lifespan of a healthy brain and delay the onset of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. New research published in The Journal of Physiology shows that a short but intense bout of cycling increases the production of a specialized protein that is essential for brain formation, learning and memory, and could protect the brain from age-related cognitive decline. The specialized protein named brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to form new connections and pathways) and the survival of neurons. Animal studies have shown that...

Shortly before Christmas, when no one was paying attention, the people who make Hollywood’s latest fave fad diet drug got the green light to give the stuff to fat kids. And as they’ve done during COVID, the American Academy of Pediatrics saluted smartly and promptly switched its fat kid guidance, moving from medical oversight, diet, therapies, and exercise to interventions that doctors and Big Pharma control: surgery and the newly approved drug.Now, after the American Academy of Pediatrics approved giving the injectable diabetes drug semaglutide, found in Ozempic and Wegovy, to kids, the group has switched its guidance from wait...

Is five minutes of exercise a day enough? If a big commitment is daunting, there’s good news for those who prefer to start small, says this professor.One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to exercise more. Many of us set ambitious goals requiring a big, regular commitment, but then abandon them because they’re too much to fit in. Plans to exercise more in the new year are often broken within a month. So how can we exercise more regularly in the new year? If the aim is to build long-term fitness and health, the exercise must be sustainable....

How did U.S. exercise trends go from reinforcing white supremacy to celebrating Richard Simmons? That evolution is explored in a new book by a historian of exercise, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of the book Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession, out Jan. 2023. Nowadays, at the beginning of every New Year, many Americans hit the gym to work off their holiday feasts. This momentum usually starts to fade in mid-January, according to a 2019 analysis of data on fitness tracking apps by Bloomberg. But such new year’s resolutions are pretty new—as is the concept of exercise...

Fitness influencers and Twitter users blasted a TIME interview for portraying exercise as an activity with roots in White supremacy. "How did U.S. exercise trends go from reinforcing white supremacy to celebrating Richard Simmons?" the TIME article, titled "The White Supremacist Origins of Exercise, and 6 Other Surprising Facts about the History of U.S. Physical Fitness" asked. The article was heavily mocked on Twitter, with critics saying it was destroying the media's credibility. "Honestly, I want them to keep pumping articles like this out to eviscerate every remaining shred of their credibility and perceived legitimacy," British rapper Zuby tweeted. "It...

Regular physical activity can extend colorectal cancer patients' lives. In a first-ever study, scientists looked at the impact of exercise on the gut microbiome of cancer patients and reported a positive association. Researchers found physical activity was also beneficial to obese cancer patients, who typically have a less healthy gut microbiome. The team found that regular physical activity can aid in creating a healthy gut microbiome, while also reducing inflammation. These findings were reported in patients independent of their body mass index (BMI). "A patient who is active has a more diverse microbiome and lower abundances of colorectal cancer-promoting bacteria,...

A study found aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 72%. According to the researchers, intensity aerobic exercise increases the glucose (sugar) consumption of internal organs, thereby reducing the availability of energy to the tumor. The study combined an animal model with human volunteers. The human data indicated 72% less metastatic cancer in participants who reported regular aerobic activity at high intensity, compared to those who did not engage in physical exercise. The animal model exhibited a similar outcome. Prof. Levy stated, "Our study is the first to investigate the impact on the lungs, liver, and lymph...

Exercising on an empty stomach helped people to burn about 70% more fat than those who exercised two hours after eating, a study found. Sports scientists also found that the participants—who undertook both fasted and fed exercise in the evening—did not overcompensate for the calories skipped earlier in the day. While studies have suggested the benefits of exercise could be increased when done in the morning following an overnight fast, the team's own research found that evening exercise, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., is the most popular time for people due to other commitments. Therefore, the researchers designed the...

If the brain no longer responds correctly to the hormone insulin (insulin resistance), this also has a negative effect on the metabolism in the body and the regulation of eating behavior. A recent study shows that as little as eight weeks of exercise can help restore the brain's insulin sensitivity in severely overweight adults. This opens up new therapeutic possibilities for reducing obesity and diabetes risk factors in the future. Fourteen women and seven men aged 21–59 years with a body mass index of 27.5–45.5 took part in the study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine insulin...