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Volume 5, Issue 1
Tai chi improves sleep quality in older Americans
According to the National Institutes of Health, insomnia affects more than 70 million Americans. Direct costs of insomnia include treatments, healthcare services, hospital and nursing home care and are estimated to reach nearly $14 billion annually. However a recent study conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles found that tai chi actually improves sleep patterns in older Americans.
Researchers chose 112 adults ages 59 to 86 who were experiencing moderate sleep disturbances and divided them into two groups, one receiving tai chi instruction and the other group taking general health education classes that included advice on stress management, nutrition and improving sleep patterns. The study results revealed that the participants taking tai chi classes showed significant improvement in sleep quality and overall concentration as well as a reduction in drowsiness during the day, as compared with those receiving health education classes.
1
Exercise leads to altered gene expression in men with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths after lung cancer, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. While many studies have linked a healthy lifestyle to a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer and a decrease in cancer progression, the mechanism has never been well understood. However, a recent study conducted at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California has shown that lifestyle improvements, including healthier nutrition and increased exercise, led to genetic changes that altered prostate cancer expression in study participants.
The researchers followed 30 participants with prostate cancer for 3 months while they participated in an intensive lifestyle intervention, which included nutrition guidance and increased physical activity. After three months, new genetic profiles and a biopsy of the cancer cells were taken and compared to pre-intervention data. Significant changes in many areas were identified, including increased activity in 48 disease-preventing genes as well as decreased activity in 453 disease-promoting genes, including those known to be involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer. These results lead researchers to conclude that intensive lifestyle interventions may alter gene expression in the prostate gland.
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Living environment and neighborhood impact residents' weight
It's no secret that nutrition and physical activity greatly affect a person's weight and overall health. According to a new study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health, these factors are related to the physical environment of the neighborhood one lives in, and a person's neighborhood can strongly affect his or her BMI.
Researchers surveyed 2,865 people ages 45 to 84 living in Maryland, New York and North Carolina. They gave each study participant's neighborhoods a physical score based upon its walking environment (which includes neighborhood safety and sidewalks) and the availability and proximity of healthy foods. A higher score was indicative of a healthier neighborhood. The results of the study clearly indicate that people who lived in neighborhoods with a higher score had lower BMIs, leading the researchers to conclude that neighborhood and physical environment should be taken into consideration when creating interventions to reduce obesity.
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Walking interventions may be more effective than others
Walking is an easy way for most people to become more physically active, fight obesity and prevent the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. Walking is simple because it requires no equipment and can be performed during both work and leisure times, thus making it a prime target for health promotion interventions. A new review study from the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, shows that interventions to motivate people to walk are highly effective.
The authors assessed 14 separate studies, all randomized controlled trials, which tested interventions targeting walking behavior. These interventions included telephone counseling, mass media campaigns and other initiatives. Results of the analysis show that these intensive interventions were successful at increasing walking behavior relative to controls. Interventions that focus on increasing walking may be more effective than interventions aimed at increasing other forms of physical activity.
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Strength training is critical for fibromyalgia patients
An estimated five million people in the United States suffer from fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread muscle pain, fatigue and difficulty sleeping. Although people of all ages and both genders are affected, the condition disproportionately affects postmenopausal women. A recent study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine was conducted to determine how physical ability in women with the condition differs from that of healthy women.
The researchers compared a group of 23 women with fibromyalgia with a group of 11 healthy women, both groups with a mean age of 58. The study participants performed a series of exercises, including walking, stair climbing and weight-bearing exercises. The results indicated no difference between groups in upper body, core strength, and maximal oxygen uptake; however lower body strength, quality of life and overall functional performance were lower in women with fibromyalgia. The results suggest that the fibromyalgia sufferersÕ lower scores were related to fatigue rather than pain or inability to perform the exercises. The authors stressed the importance of strength training and rehabilitation to increase physical fitness in fibromyalgia patients.
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Sources
1Irwin MR, Olmstead R, Motivala SJ. (2008). Improving sleep quality in older adults with moderate sleep complaints: A randomized controlled trial of tai chi chih. Sleep, 31(7), 1001-1008.
2Ornish D et al. (2008). Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 8369-8374.
3Mujahid MS et al. (2008). Relation between neighborhood environments and obesity in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 167(11), 1349-1357.
4Williams DM et al. (2008). Correlates and Intervention of Walking Behavior. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40(7), 567-573.
5Valkeinen, H et al. (2008). Physical fitness in postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia. International Journal of Sports Medicine 29(5), 408-413.
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