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UW study: Prescribe more physical activity, shrink health care costs
Widespread medical efforts to prescribe more physical activity or more regularly check in on patients’ activity levels could significantly reduce the nation’s health care costs, according to a new study from the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. The findings, published this month in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, show that “sufficiently active” UW Medicine clinic patients who were surveyed between January 2018 and December 2020 were much less likely than inactive patients to visit a primary care doctor, go to an emergency room or be admitted to the hospital. Researchers went a step further in their analysis: If more adults in the United States were more physically…
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Adults could achieve physical activity targets by walking “Teabag style” for a few minutes each day
Adults could achieve global physical activity targets by walking inefficiently for just a few minutes each day, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. Global rates of physical inactivity have not budged in the past 20 years, despite campaigns to increase physical activity and boost cardiovascular fitness in adults. The inefficient walking styles of Mr Teabag and Mr Putey, acted by John Cleese and Michael Palin in the 1971 Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks sketch, have been shown to be more variable than usual walking, but their energy expenditure has never been measured. To fill this vital research gap, a team of US researchers set out…
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Short Bursts of Physical Activity Could Prolong Your Life: Study
Dec. 9, 2022 – People who exert themselves for 1 or 2 minutes a few times daily while climbing stairs, walking to work, or doing routine tasks around the house can greatly reduce their risk of heart disease and cancer, says a new study published Thursday in Nature Medicine. University of Sydney researchers looked at data collected over 7 years from fitness trackers worn by about 25,000 people in the United Kingdom who did not exercise regularly. People who recorded three or so daily bouts of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity, or VILPA, had about a 50% reduced risk of death because of cardiovascular problems and about a 40% reduced risk of…
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1-minute bursts of activity during daily tasks could promote longevity
Share on PinterestResearchers say that just a few minutes of energetic everyday movements may reduce the risk of early death. Keith Brofsky/Getty Images A new study offers an alternative for older adults who are unable to commit to a regular exercise regimen. According to the international research team, a few minutes of energetic everyday movements may reduce the risk of early death. The research, which uses wearable technology, is the first of its kind to assess the health benefits of “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” (VILPA). The researchers hope that global physical activity guidelines could become updated to promote VILPA. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that at least 1…
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Sleep may be just as important to heart health as diet and physical activity, research finds
Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep. CNN — If you want to keep your heart healthy, add a good night’s rest to your to-do list, a new study says. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the country, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Someone in the US dies from cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds. In June, the American Heart Association added sleep duration to its cardiovascular health checklist, now called “Life’s Essential 8.” These science-based guidelines were created to help all Americans improve their heart health. The eight items: Quit tobacco,…
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iOS 16 Health and Fitness Updates: Medication Tracking, Sleep Stages, iPhone Activity Tracking and More
Apple with iOS 16 added a new medication management feature to the Health app, which is designed to allow users to keep track of their medications to make sure a dose isn’t missed. The feature works alongside a new Medications app on the Apple Watch, and it’s useful for everything from prescriptions to vitamins. This guide covers everything that you need to know about the medication tracking feature along with other new iOS 16 Health app features. Medication Tracking “Medications” is a new section available in the Health app, accessible by going to the Browse section and scrolling down to Medications, or typing it into the Health app search bar.…
