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Volume 3, Issue 6
Exercise helps keep knees healthy and strong
Light exercise beneficial for Crohn's disease patients
Inactivity increases risk for diabetes
Regular exercise helps protect the heart
Diet and exercise improves motor skills in obese children
Exercise helps keep knees healthy and strong
Osteoarthritis is the world's most common joint disease, which affects many adults over the age of fifty. Disease prevention has been debated for years, as researchers struggled to determine the impact exercise has on weight bearing joints, such as the knee. Recently, a team of researchers in Australia set out to find a clearer answer to this ongoing question, and found encouraging results.
Researchers studied a group of healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 79 with no history of knee injury or osteoarthritis. Participants were asked a variety of questions about their activity levels and then an MRI was taken of their knees to measure cartilage volume. In the end, researchers found that both vigorous and weight bearing activity increase cartilage volume, which protects the knee against osteoarthritis and other knee injuries.
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Light exercise beneficial for Crohn's disease patients
Crohn's disease is a digestive disorder, which affects more than half a million Americans. Symptoms of Crohn's disease can be serious and tend to flare up periodically. There has been concern over the years that exercise can make these symptoms worse. However, new research indicates that light exercise, such as walking a few times a week, can improve the quality of life and well being among patients with mild symptoms.
Canadian researchers studied a group of 32 patients with Crohn's disease, all of whom were in remission or suffering from mild symptoms. Half of the participants walked for 30 minutes three times a week, while the other half maintained their regular level of activity. After three months the exercise group reported an improvement in their symptoms and quality of life while the maintenance group reported no change or an increase in symptoms.
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Inactivity increases risk for diabetes
The results are in: watching too much television can be hazardous to your health. In addition, while most exercise recommendations tout 30 minutes of exercise a day, a new study out of Australia indicates that may not be enough.
Researchers at the International Diabetes Institute studied a group of 8,000 adults over the age of 35 who did not have diabetes. Their levels of daily activity were measured using an accelerometer. Upon analysis researchers found that the majority of individuals were spending 6 to 7 hours a day in a seated position exerting no energy. They also found that while some participants were getting 30 to 150 minutes of exercise a day, sitting for long periods in front of the television or at a desk can negate the positive impact of the exercise and increase their risk for diabetes and obesity.
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Regular exercise helps protect the heart
While it is a well-known fact that regular physical activity can significantly lower your risk for heart disease, until recently scientist have not been able to explain how exercise protects the heart.
In a study published in Circulation, the medical journal of the American Heart Association, researchers found that overall, the beneficial effects of exercise account for 60% of improvements in heart health. At closer look, evidence shows that biomarkers that improve blood vessel function and artery inflammation account for 33% of heart health improvement, lowered blood pressure accounts for 27%, fat loss accounts for 15%, reduced BMI 10%, and reduced diabetes 9%.
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Diet and exercise improves motor skills in obese children
Due to the many serious health risks associated with childhood obesity, weight loss is a must for obese children. A reduction in weight alone reduces these health risks, however new research from a German university shows that children who lose weight with a combination of diet and exercise also see a significant improvement in motor skills.
For the study, a group of 49 obese children ages 8 to 12 participated in a program of diet education and physical activity. The children attended a one-hour class three times a week, which focused on playing games that involved physical activity, swimming, as well as strength, flexibility and endurance building exercises. In the end, in addition to their weight loss all of the children saw significant improvements in endurance, strength, balance and coordination.
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Sources
1Racunica TL, et al. (2007). Effect of physical activity on articular knee joint structures in community-based adults. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 57, 1261-8.
2Ng V, Millard W, Lebrun C, Howard J. (2007). Low-intensity exercise improves quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17, 384-8.
3Dunstan DW, et al. (2007). Association of television viewing with fasting and 2-h postchallenge plasma glucose levels in adults without diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes Care, 30, 516-22.
4Mora S, Cook N, Buring JE, Ridker PM, Lee IM. (2007). Physical Activity and Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Events: Potential Mediating Mechanisms. Circulation, 116, 2110-2118.
5Korsten-Reck U, et al. (2007). Motor abilities and aerobic fitness of obese children. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 28, 762-7.
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