Featured series 
Tag: Exercise
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Health
Exercise shown to promote breast cancer survival
Exercise plays a role in preventing breast cancer, and research strongly suggests that breast cancer patients who are more physically active improve their self-esteem and body image. Now, a landmark study from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) finds that exercise after diagnosis may help breast cancer patients live longer.
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Study finds that both weight and exercise are key to longevity
Over 115,000 participants who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer, who were between the ages of 30 and 55 and had filled out biennial health and lifestyle questionnaires between 1976 and 2000, were chosen for the study from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital-based Nurses’ Health Study. The women answered questionnaires that asked on average…
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Sudden death among military personnel often caused by exercise and an identifiable cardiac abnormality
According to the study’s lead author BWH’s Robert E. Eckart, D.O., they had expected that most of the sudden deaths would stem from structural heart abnormalities, but that in actuality, a large number of the deaths defied this theory and could not be identified by today’s screening methods. “The findings suggest genetic abnormalities that affect…
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Health
Walking improves cognitive functions in older women
In a study, elderly women who engaged in the most activity — for example, walking at least 6 hours per week — had a 20 percent decrease in risk of cognitive impairment compared to those who were inactive. they also demonstrated the cognitive functioning of someone three-years younger than their actual age. The findings were…
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Study finds leptin plays a key role in women’s health
Senior author Christos Mantzoros, M.D., director of the Human Nutrition Research Unit and clinical research overseer of the Department of Endocrinology at BIDMC and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School explains that the three groups of women who can most benefit from this study are very thin women who are infertile, serious athletes…
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Dramatic gains shown with moderate weight loss, exercise
A study of 35 obese people included three groups of volunteers; all were obese and had a body mass index above 30 kg/m2 and had insulin resistance. The first group in the study did not have diabetes; the second group had a condition known as impaired glucose tolerance and was at high risk for developing…
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Generous portions of TV make women fat
The first study to compare the effects of inactivity on obesity and diabetes concludes that being a couch potato significantly raises the risk of both diseases. “Our data provide strong evidence that sedentary behaviors, especially prolonged TV watching, are directly related to the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes,” reports Frank Hu, leader of…
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Specific types of exercise can significantly reduce risk of heart disease among men
A pool of 44,452 men from the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study were monitored via questionnaire every two years from 1986 to 1998 to determine potential coronary heart disease risk factors and type and intensity of leisure time activity. While studies have been conducted on the beneficial relationship of exercise and risk of CHD, there is…
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Cardiovascular risks seen from marathon running
Researchers analyzed the blood of marathon runners less than 24 hours after they had finished a race. They found abnormally high levels of inflammatory and clotting factors of the kind that are known to set the stage for heart attacks. “My concern is for people who exercise thinking ‘more is better,’ and that marathon running…
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Determining colon cancer risk is becoming easier
More than 50 percent of colon cancers can be prevented through lifestyle changes and regular screening tests. The lifestyle changes are the same ones that reduce your risk of heart disease and other cancers. Be more physically active by getting at least three hours a week of physical exercise. Eat less red meat and more…
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Health
Physically active women reduce risk of stroke
A Harvard study followed 72,488 nurses for eight years and concluded that the more a woman exercises, the lower the odds she will suffer a stroke. Two large Harvard studies of men also show that exercise reduces their chances of getting strokes. However, the more-is-better association has not yet been proven for men as it…