November 24, 2023 — What is the difference between exercise and physical activity? Does it really matter? A recent review in Current Nutrition Reports suggests that this is a distinction that makes a difference. Oxford tells us that exercise is “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.” But physical activity is “any form […]
November 28, 2022 — How important is the social dimension of physical activity? Recent modeling research published in PLOS One suggests that it’s critical. Ensela Mema and colleagues developed a mathematical model to estimate both social and non-social influences on physical activity across the population. They found that social influences were critical for maintaining physical activity or reducing sedentary […]
May 26, 2021 — It’s pretty clear that spending a lot of time sitting isn’t helpful. Heart and metabolic health takes a hit. Weight tends to accumulate. Also clear is the fact that people who succeed in losing and keeping weight off tend to spend less time sitting and watching TV. Now data from 4,305 individuals in WW tells […]
July 10, 2020 — The common wisdom and scientific evidence holds that physical activity helps your brain function better. Too much sitting time supposedly gets in the way of good cognitive function But now, a new observational study suggests that sedentary desk jobs might be good for your brain. What gives? A Counter-Intuitive Observational Study The first thing to […]
August 1, 2019 — How much are physical activity guidelines helping? If you judge by recent trends in NHANES data, not too much. In addition, two recent papers give us reason to think this shouldn’t be surprising. That’s because fitting physical activity into lives already consumed with work can be quite a challenge. So patterns of work, leisure, and […]
May 7, 2019 — In case you missed it, the World Health Organization just came out with a bold new recommendation. Kids should sit less and play more. Glowing rectangles? Before they’re two, kids simply don’t need them. Over two, more than an hour per day is too much and less is best. Kids need plenty of time for […]
January 3, 2019 — January has arrived and thus, so has the annual ratings of “The Best Diets” by U.S. News & World Report, guided by a distinguished panel of experts. However, here’s the thing. There is not just one best diet. In fact, the top two “diets” on this list – the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet – […]
December 26, 2018 — Sitting for Too Long Could Increase Your Risk of Dying – Even If You Exercise Are you sitting down? Then you may want to stand up to read this, as research from the U.S. has found that sitting for too long could increase your risk of dying – even if you exercise. The study found […]
November 25, 2017 — Jean Twenge and her colleagues have a pretty dire story to tell you. It’s all about the toxic effects of screen time on our youth: In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large […]
March 2, 2017 — The idea that sitting is the new smoking has taken off. This compelling narrative – that your desk chair is killing you – is so titillating that you’ll find 33 million results on Google. We have an ample supply of infographics, books, TED Talks, and more. Just one tiny problem is cropping up: hyperbole. Reviewing the Evidence […]
