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Volume 4, Issue 10
Regular exercise helps maintain seniorsŐ health
As the American population ages, disability is a major concern as it relates to the loss of quality of life. Aging populations become less able to perform simple, every day tasks such as such as cooking, climbing stairs and dressing. This is caused by a decrease in muscle mass and a loss of balance that often accompanies aging. However, a study recently conducted at the Stanford University Department of Medicine suggests that seniors who are physically active for over 60 minutes per week decreases their likelihood of becoming disabled as they age.
The study followed 805 adults between the ages 50 and 72 for them for 13 years. Each participant answered survey questions about their exercise routine, body weight, and ability to perform every day tasks. Results indicated that subjects who were physically active for over 60 minutes per week were more likely to perform their daily tasks with less difficulty, regardless of their body weight.
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Women who gain extra weight during pregnancy are more likely to have overweight babies
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, children who have obese or overweight parents are more likely to be overweight themselves. Now a new study shows that this may not be due solely to lifestyle factors. Children of mothers who gain more weight during pregnancy are more likely to be overweight at age seven, conclude researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
The researchers reviewed data from a group of 10,226 participants enrolled between 1959 and 1965 in the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. Questionnaires were administered to women enrolled in the study that included questions on maternal pre-pregnancy weight, age and race. Additionally, weight and height were measured at the time of delivery to determine maternal weight gain during pregnancy as well as the childŐs growth during pregnancy, at birth and at age 7. Children born to mothers who gained more than the recommended amount of weight were 48 percent more likely to be overweight by age 7.
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Walking helps reduce fatigue symptoms in leukemia patients
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and the most common form of adult leukemia, affecting nearly 12,000 new patients each year. Patients with AML can undergo a variety of treatments including chemotherapy, drug therapy, bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants. Many of these treatments can result in severe fatigue, which at times can be more debilitating than the disease itself. This said, a new study by researchers at National Taiwan University indicates that exercise can help to reduce fatigue symptoms.
Researchers studied a group of 22 hospitalized AML patients who were undergoing chemotherapy treatment, assigning patients to either a walking group or a control group. The walking group exercised for 12 minutes a day, 5 days a week for a period of 3 weeks. At the end of the 3 weeks the walking group reported lower levels of fatigue as compared with the control group. They also reported lower levels of anxiety, depression and distress.
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Having trouble sleeping? Give aerobics a try!
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 64 million Americans suffer from insomnia. While there are varying types of insomnia and a myriad of causes, all insomniacs suffer from the same persistent inability to fall asleep. Treatment of this condition can include medication, therapy, relaxation exercises, and, according to a new study, aerobic exercise.
Researchers in Brazil recently studied a group of 28 women and 8 men suffering from chronic insomnia. Participants were divided into four groups: moderate aerobic exercise, heavy aerobic exercise, strength training, and a control group. The results indicated that the moderate aerobic exercise group saw the greatest improvement, with a 54 percent decrease in sleep onset latency, 36 percent decrease in awake time, an increase in total sleep time and sleep efficiency by 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively and a 7 percent decrease in anxiety.
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Despite shorter lifespan, obese have larger medical bills than healthy weight individuals
As waistlines of Americans continue to grow, so do medical costs associated with overweight and obesity. These costs are an ever-growing concern which threatens to have a huge impact on the economy. A new study conducted by researchers at RTI International, a non-profit research organization, recently studied the impact added weight has on medical bills. In studying these costs researchers took into account the fact that overweight individuals have shorter life spans, and found that despite this fact, lifetime medical costs are significantly higher for obese individuals.
Researchers found that obese young adults who are thirty pounds overweight or more incur lifetime medical costs that are $5,000 to $21,000 higher than healthy weight individuals. Those who are overweight by 70 pounds or more have lifetime medical costs that are $15,000 to $29,000 more that those who are of a healthy weight. These numbers threaten to have huge economic implications given that one third of the US population is currently obese.
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Sources
1Bruce B, Fries JF, Hubert H. (2008). Regular vigorous physical activity and disability development in healthy overweight and normal-weight seniors: A 13-year study. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1294-9.
2Wrotniak BH, et al. (2008). Gestational weight gain and risk of overweight in the offspring at age 7 y in a multicenter, multiethnic cohort study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 87, 1818-24.
3Pi-Hua Chang, at al. (2008). Effects of a walking intervention on fatigue-related experiences of hospitalized acute myelogenous leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 35, 524-534.
4Annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, 2008.
5Finkelstein EA, at al. (2008). The lifetime medical cost burden of overweight and obesity: Implications for obesity prevention. Obesity, epub.
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