August 18, 2018 — Ask any school teacher. Children have a tough time sitting still. But maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe we should not be taming that impulse to wiggle and squirm and get up and move. In fact, a careful new study suggests that kids with excess weight might be healthier if they get up and move […]
August 8, 2018 — At the National Academy of Sciences yesterday, the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions got a bit of a jolt. It came in the form of an afternoon spent reflecting on the counterintuitive physiology of obesity. One roundtable member summed it up nicely. “This way of thinking about obesity just smashes our old models for solving the […]
July 11, 2018 — New data on almost 13 million people, from 200 countries around the world, points to a tenfold increase in rates of obesity among children and adolescents over the last four decades. This is the largest study of its kind and it paints a startling and depressing picture of a world with soaring childhood obesity. The […]
July 2, 2018 — How can this be? Reporters tell us that Americans are exercising more while obesity rates are increasing. It was the latest National Health Interview Survey data that prompted reporters to write such headlines. Between 2006 and 2017, the percentage of adults who say they meet aerobic exercise guidelines went from 41% to 53%. The numbers […]
June 30, 2018 — New research in Lancet Planetary Health finds that air pollution is adding to the global burden of diabetes. In fact, researchers estimate that it contributed to 3.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes in 2016 alone. Published yesterday, the study suggest that cuts in air pollution might help reverse global trends toward a crushing […]
May 16, 2018 — Scientists and health reporters love a paradox. It earns clicks and ad dollars. It garners citations and visibility. So Pieter Coenen and colleagues are getting attention this week with a claim that they’ve found a physical activity paradox. In their analysis, they find that hard labor – high levels of physical activity at work – correlates with 18% […]
May 7, 2018 — This is a tricky subject. That’s because ConscienHealth most definitely supports puppies. And owning a puppy can have benefits for health and well being. It encourages people to get out and get moving. But as a cure for obesity and heart disease, they come up short. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop news sites from publishing clickbait […]
May 6, 2018 — The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) held its annual summit – Innovating a Healthier Future – last week in Washington, DC. PHA came to life in 2010 as an offshoot of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign. The mission is to “leverage the power of the private sector to bring lasting systemic changes that improve the […]
May 4, 2018 — This isn’t too mysterious. A number of recent studies are making it ever more clear that even small bits of exercise can give you a boost – in health and happiness. It doesn’t take long bouts of intense activity. From the Journal of Happiness Studies You gotta love this journal. Peer-reviewed and devoted to the scientific […]
April 16, 2018 — Athleisure has taken over popular culture. It seems like everyone is working out. Runners are everywhere we turn. People move through their their days ready for yoga with their mats and togs. And yet, we’re also more sedentary than ever. How can this be? Could it be that our appetite for exercise plays a role? […]
