40 stories tagged ‘Exercise’
Lest you think you’re at the top of the evolutionary heap, looking down your highly evolved nose at the earth’s lesser creatures, Marlene Zuk has a message for you: When it comes to evolution, there is no high or low, no better or worse.
TV viewing, exercise habits may significantly affect sperm count
Men’s sperm quality may be significantly affected by their levels of physical activity, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). They found that healthy young men who were sedentary, as measured by hours of TV viewing, had lower sperm counts than those who were the most physically [...]
“We found that adding low amounts of physical activity to one’s daily routine, such as 75 minutes of brisk walking per week, was associated with increased longevity: a gain of 1.8 years of life expectancy after age 40, compared with doing no such activity,” explained Harvard Medical School Professor of Medicine I-Min Lee.
In obesity battle, beige is the new brown
Scientists at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans, which they say may have therapeutic potential for treating obesity.
Exercise reduces psoriasis risk
A study by researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital adds to the list of medical problems that exercise eases, showing that vigorous activity reduces a woman’s risk of developing the skin condition psoriasis by 25 to 30 percent over the study subject who exercised the least.
Lowell House residents like to de-stress in their free time by doing yoga.
Close to 300 members of the Harvard community participated in Team Fitness Challenge, logging nearly 200,000 minutes of running, aerobics, yoga, Zumba, and weight training.
Obesity? Diabetes? We’ve been set up
The twin epidemics of obesity and its cousin, diabetes, have been the target of numerous studies at Harvard and its affiliated hospitals and institutions. Harvard researchers have produced a dizzying array of findings on the often related problems.
Decoding keys to a healthy life
Now 74 years young, the Harvard Study of Adult Development continues to yield a treasure trove of data about how people behave, and change — including predictions of strong indicators to a happy life.
Reaping benefits of exercise minus the sweat
A team led by researchers at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has isolated a natural hormone from muscle cells that triggers some of the key health benefits of exercise.
Running and walking can do wonders for our physical, mental, and emotional health. At the launch of Harvard on the Move, President Drew Faust and a panel of University experts made the case that it should also be fun — even in winter. The first community walk is noon Feb. 1.
A Harvard School of Public Health associate professor examines the link between health and neighborhoods to see whether people’s residential landscapes matter.
New research from Harvard scientists shows that exercise and caloric restriction rejuvenate synapses in laboratory mice, illuminating a reason for the beneficial effects of these regimens on aging.
Detailed metabolic profile gives “chemical snapshot” of the effects of exercise
Using a system that analyzes blood samples with unprecedented detail, a team led by Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed the first “chemical snapshot” of the metabolic effects of exercise. Their findings, reported today’s edition of Science Translational Medicine, may improve understanding of the physiologic effects of exercise and [...]
60 minutes of exercise per day needed for middle-aged women to maintain weight
If a middle-aged or older woman with a normal body mass index wants to maintain her weight over an extended period, she must engage in the equivalent of 60 minutes per day of physical activity at a moderate intensity, according to new findings by Harvard researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). “There is plenty [...]
Kris Locke: The woman who works to keep Harvard’s commuters out of traffic jams and in the green zone.
Phys Ed: Is Running Barefoot Better for You?
Daniel Lieberman, PhD, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, studies and periodically practices barefoot running. His academic work focuses in part on how early man survived by evolving the ability to lope for long distances after prey, well before the advent of Nike shoes. There “is good evidence that humans have been running long distances for millions of years,” he says, “and most of that was probably done barefoot.” For his own part, “I run a lot,” he says, “and at least once a week, I run about three to five miles on the streets of Cambridge, completely barefoot. I can attest to the fact that it’s a lot of fun.
D. Mark Hegsted, national force in science of human nutrition, dies
D. Mark Hegsted, who was instrumental in the development of the federal “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” died Tuesday, June 16, 2009, at the age of 95 at a nursing center in Westwood, Mass. Hegsted was a founding member of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), among the first such [...]
Shining light on leptin’s role in brain
In investigating the complex neurocircuitry behind weight gain and glucose control, scientists have known that the hormone leptin plays a key role in the process. But within the myriad twists and turns of the brain’s intricate landscape, the exact pathways that the hormone travels to exert its influence have remained a mystery. Now, a study [...]
Waist size predictor of heart failure in men and women
Adding to the growing evidence that a person’s waist size is an important indicator of heart health, a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that larger waist circumference is associated with increased risk of heart failure in middle-aged and older populations of men and women.
Feb. 28, 1902 — The Athletic Committee approves the formation of a swimming club.
Changes in diet and lifestyle may help prevent infertility
Women who followed a combination of five or more lifestyle factors, including changing specific aspects of their diets, experienced more than 80 percent less relative risk of infertility due to ovulatory disorders compared to women who engaged in none of the factors.
Road racers, walkers welcome for 4.2-mile outing Anti-corruption activist Macovei to speak at KSG
Humans hot, sweaty, natural-born runners
Hairless, clawless, and largely weaponless, ancient humans used the unlikely combination of sweatiness and relentlessness to gain the upper hand over their faster, stronger, generally more dangerous animal prey, Harvard Anthropology Professor Daniel Lieberman said Thursday (April 12).
Harvard athletes grow bigger, better hearts
Strenuous exercise can cause a heart to grow as much as 10 percent and its chambers to enlarge, Harvard researchers have discovered after testing the University's athletes. What they are learning from these studies could someday be applied to advising nonathletes about caring for their hearts.
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