Posts Tagged ‘physical activity’

Researchers from Toronto, Ontario, Canada identify a child’s neighborhood as one of the modifiable risk factors that can affect their likelihood of becoming obese. The study is part of a research collaboration called TARGetKids! (The Applied Research Group for Kids), which looks into the factors children have early in life that could later lead to health problems. Lead author Julia B. Morinis, MD, MSc, a pediatrician at Hospital for Sick Children, and colleagues enrolled about 4,000 healthy children ages 0-5 years and collected data on their physical measurements, nutrition, and physical activity. Details about area of residency, their neighborhood, population, […]

Posted in: News Briefs, Obesity, Obesity in Children, Obesity Risk

Tags: factors that lead to obesity, obesity and neighborhoods, physical activity

Previous studies suggest that children who engage in more physical activity not only have more optimal physical health but they also exhibit better mental health. Researchers from the University of Helsinki, Finland, however, wanted to find out what pathways are involved in the link between physical activity and mental well being. Lead author, Silja Martikainen, MA, report in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism that exercise may play a vital role in helping children cope with stressful situations. Daily stressors could induce surges in cortisol, a hormone released by the body in response to stress. They found […]

Posted in: Emotional Health, Exercise, Kid's Health, News Briefs

Tags: better mental health, cortisol, physical activity, stress hormones, stressors

A long-term study shows that people who live in new housing developments that provide access to public transportation, parks and nearby shops are more likely to walk regularly and improve their over-all health. Lead researcher Professor Billie Giles-Corti, Director of the McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne reports that walking increased among residents of new housing developments in Perth,Western Australia. His team surveyed more than 1,400 participants building homes before relocation in new housing developments and about 12 months later. The investigators found that the residents’ physical activity increased by an extra five to six […]

Posted in: Exercise, News Briefs

Tags: parks and shops, physical activity, public transportation access, walking

Obesity increases a person’s risk for a certain type of colorectal cancer, while exercise lowers the risk, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data of men and women from Health Professionals Study and U.S. Nurses’ Health Study. The aim of the study was to find out if there was a link between the weight or BMI (body mass index), exercise or physical activity and the risk for CTNNB1 (a molecule implicated in cancer and obesity)-positive or CTNNB1-negative colorectal cancer. According to findings published in the journal Cancer Research, BMI and physical activity have no impact on the risk for […]

Posted in: Cancer, Colon Cancer, Exercise, News Briefs, Obesity

Tags: colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer treatment, obesity, physical activity, prevention of colorectal cancer

Soccer, being a vigorous sport has been found by researchers from California to raise the levels of physical activity of children who are overweight and obese, according to a study that was recently posted online in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study involved more than 150 students from six schools. Researchers implemented the soccer program of America SCORES (an urban youth development program) in three of the schools. The aim of the study was to find out the effect the program would have on the physical activity, weight and fitness of students in a large, urban school district. A significant […]

Posted in: Exercise, Kid's Health, News Briefs, Obesity, Overweight, Parenting

Tags: physical activity, vigorous exercise