One of the most peculiar findings in obesity research is that exercise — even if vigorous and regular — doesn’t reliably lead to weight loss. The reason, as I wrote last year, has to do less with physiology than psychology: …
fitness
If You Can Balance On One Leg, You Might Live Longer
We’ve all known that physical fitness and dexterity are related, and that fitness and longevity are related. But who knew that dexterity and long life had a correlation all their own?
Do “toning” sneakers actually build firmer muscles?
In the quest for a fitness regime that can just fold into your regular routine, “toning” sneakers may seem like an excellent fit — just don a pair of the curved-sole shoes and while “you go about your busy day” you can “burn more calories, tone muscles and more.” In fact, some of the manufacturers of such fitness footwear even point to
…
How exercise works at the cellular level
We all know that exercise is good for us, but do we know why? How do those hours of sweating it out on a treadmill or pushing yourself in a weight training regimen actually help your cells and tissues to get healthier?
Two papers by separate groups may provide some intriguing answers. One team, led by researchers at the …
School lunch helping make Americans too fat to enlist?
More than a quarter of all Americans between the ages of 17 to 24 are too overweight to join the military, according to a new report highlighted by the Associated Press. That many Americans are too tubby to meet the basic entry requirements for military service isn’t new—in 2008 roughly 12,000 would-be soldiers failed the initial
…
Fitness fades with age, more so after 45
Watch out for that mid-life speed bump—turns out age 45 is a doozy. A report published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine upends conventional wisdom about fitness and aging.
Until now, most experts thought people’s fitness levels declined in a linear fashion as they aged. But the new report suggests the downward march …