According to researchers from Harvard University, an increase in physical activity is linked to an improvement in diet quality.

“Understanding the interaction between exercise and a healthy diet could improve preventative and therapeutic measures against obesity by strengthening current approaches and treatments,” Miguel Alonso Alonso, a researcher at Harvard University, said.

The researchers also found that exercise also brings benefits such as an increase in sensitivity to physiological signs of fullness. This not only means that appetite can be controlled better but it also modifies hedonic responses to food stimuli.

“Physical exercise seems to encourage a healthy diet. In fact, when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run,” Alonso Alonso said. The Times of India

Clyde Yancy, a Canadian cardiologist, says changes to lifestyle such as keeping a healthy weight, not smoking and controlling your cholesterol levels are an easy way to add an extra decade or more to your life span, the Daily Mail reported.

Yancy says 90 percent of people can live to the age of 90 and even reach 100 by following his advice. The other steps include regulating blood pressure, managing diabetes, eating a healthy diet and being active.

”Achieving these seven simple lifestyle factors gives people a 90 percent chance of living to the age of 90 or 100, free of not only heart disease and stroke but from a number of other chronic illnesses including cancer,” Yancy is all set to tell experts from around the world at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress Sunday.

”By following these steps, we can compress life-threatening disease into the final stages of life and maintain quality of life for the longest possible time,” he says.

There are nearly 2.7m people living with heart disease in the UK. It kills one in five men and one in seven women – equivalent to 250 deaths everyday.

Around 200,000 people die each year from conditions related to circulation, including strokes, heart attacks and heart disease, costing the NHS 30 billion pounds a year.

The risks of all these could be reduced by controlling high blood pressure, which is known as the ‘silent killer’ because it has no symptoms. Khaleej Times

Racek spearheads GOPLAYPROJECT, an organization that creates safe and enjoyable play spaces for children in underprivileged communities. In Asia alone, Racek and his group have built 45 playgrounds.

Racek visited the country recently and conducted workshops with the finalists of the “Make Space for Play”, a playground design competition organized by Play Universal.

“There’s a danger of sedimentary lifestyle of the 21st century generation. They spend most of the time on television and computer screens and they lose the inherent nature of desire to play,” says Racek, noting playful and experimentation are the hallmarks of successful people.

Racek is also the managing director of Playground Ideas, a non-profit organization that designs and builds play spaces as holistic means of improving education, health and well being of children in developing world.

Staying in the country for only a few days, Racek said he noticed that some playgrounds in Metro Manila are safe and well maintained while others need regular maintenance that, he says, takes local leaders, communities and other stake holders to accomplish.

Before building a playground, Racek says it is important to consider if it the community is willing to take part in looking after it.

“Unmaintained playgrounds will deteriorate and become unsafe for children, which is why it is important that the community has a degree of ownership of the play space. You should let them share ideas and their desires so that they too can take care of it after putting it up,” he says.

For designers, he recommends they first acknowledge the “power of play” before directly drawing their ideas on paper. “Designers must also acknowledge that play is important to kids as it helps develop their social skills, creativity and innovation,” says Racek.

The winners of the playground design competition will be selected by Play Universal on October 21 at the Play Pilipinas conference to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Racek shares some pointers on how existing playgrounds in the country can be maintained or made more pleasing and safe for the kids. The first step is to repaint to encourage parents and kids alike to spend more time in the area.

Racek recommends using locally available materials to enhance an existing playground, even used tires, for example.  “Not only that it is safe and free, but reusing such materials is good for the environment.” By Marjorie Gorospe, Yahoo News

“Exercise allows the brain to rapidly produce chemicals that prevent damaging inflammation”, said Professor Jean Harry, who led the study at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the United States.

“This could help us develop a therapeutic approach for early intervention in preventing damage to the brain,” added Harry.

Previous research has already demonstrated that exercise after brain injury can help the repair mechanisms.

This new study showed that exercise before the onset of damage modifies the brain environment in such a way that the neurons are protected from severe insults.

The study used an experimental model of brain damage, in which mice are exposed to a chemical that destroys the hippocampus, an area of the brain, which controls learning and memory.

Mice that were exercised regularly prior to exposure produced an immune messenger called interleukin-6 in the brain, which dampens the harmful inflammatory response to this damage, and prevents the loss of function that is usually observed.

This research helped understand how exercise could be used to affect the path of many human conditions, such as neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

In addition, as a chemical model of neuronal damage was used, it also raises the possibility that exercise could offer protection against the potentially harmful effects of environmental toxins.

“This elegant series of experiments reveals an alternative pathway by which voluntary physical exercise may protect hippocampal neurons,” said Dr. Ruth Barrientos from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado. Indian Express

Macmillan Cancer Support has suggested that cancer patients who exercise after treatment have higher survival rates.

Rather than patients being told to rest as in the past, doctors should prescribe exercise as part of cancer care, it said.

A review of more than 60 studies for the charity found that being active during treatment does not worsen fatigue and has positive effects on mood and well-being.

Once treatment has finished, exercise can reduce the impact of side effects, such as swelling, anxiety, depression, fatigue, impaired mobility and changes to weight.

The charity found that women with breast cancer who exercise for 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity have more than a 40 per cent lower risk of dying and recurrence of disease compared to women who are active for less than one hour a week.

Macmillan Cancer Support found that more than half of GPs, practice nurses, oncologists and cancer nurses did not speak to their patients about the possible benefits of exercise, or only spoke to a few of them.

“If physical exercise was a drug, it would be hitting the headlines,” the Daily Mail quoted the charity’s chief medical officer Jane Maher as saying.

“There really needs to be a cultural change so that health professionals see physical activity as an integral part of cancer aftercare, not just an optional add-on,” she added. The Hindu

Owned by Natalie Carvalho, the second-floor space adjacent to the Walkerville Yoga Loft on Chilver Road has become a gathering spot for yoga and fitness enthusiasts.

“When people come in here, they tend to stay and chat and most visits last for 30 minutes or more,” said Carvalho, a new mom who stepped away from a career in social work to open the store.

“People have been wonderfully supportive and I’ve been blessed by people who have already become regular customers.”

After graduating from the University of Windsor with a degree in social work three years ago, Carvalho returned to Kitchener to begin a career in her hometown.

But when she and husband Shan Hasan, who owns Windsor Social magazine, became parents, they decided to move back to Windsor because Hasan’s business is located here.

“When I had our baby, I decided a fulltime job in social work no longer fit and since I’ve been practicing yoga for 10 years, this seems to be a better fit,” said Carvalho.

In addition to operating the store, Carvalho also works 15 hours a week at a local bank branch as well as raising her daughter.

“It’s busy but I’ve been able to find a balance between work and home that suits me,” said Carvalho.

“I’m not an entrepreneur by nature so this has been new, exciting, scary and challenging all at once.”

P .R.A.Y., which stands for Pilates, running and yoga, sells fitness wear, yoga supplies, jewelry and other products from such companies as Love Quotes, Iloveyoga.com, Matt & Nat, Satya Jewelry, Toesox, Yogitoes, Be Present, Dogeared, Manduka, Prana, Alo and Humanity.

“We’re the only store locally which sells this range of products,” said Carvalho.

“I’ve found that many people want to see, feel and touch products before they buy and you can’t do that with Internet sites.”

When Carvalho is working at her other job or home with her daughter, Erica Iannicello operates the store, which is open six days a week.

It’s open Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 12 noon to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Colin Campbell, senior vice-president of hockey operations for the National Hockey League, is scheduled to be guest speaker March 31 at a Breakfast of Champions event organized by the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor.

Campbell is expected to speak on building, leading and motivating teams to become winners.

Seating is limited and registrations can be made by March 28 by contacting Barbara Barone at 519-971-3678 or by email to bbarone@uwindsor.ca.

The event begins with breakfast at 7: 30 a.m. with the speaker to follow at 8 a.m. at the Caboto Club.

WOMEN’S FORUM HOLDS NETWORKING WORKSHOP

The Women’s Economic Forum is staging a business networking and marketing workshop April 9 at Centro Restaurant, Caffe & Bar at 770 Erie St. E.

Topics include the power of networking, utilizing a brainstorming group, marketing through social media, growing your business with e-commerce and how to ask for the sale.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. with lunch served at 12 noon. Cost is $20 for WEF members and $25 for non-members.

Reservations can be made before April 2 by email to vicepresident@womenseconomicforum.com.

EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION INFO FAIR

The South Essex Community Council is hosting a free employment and education information fair March 25 at the Leamington Recreation Complex from 10 a.m. to 3: 30 p.m.

Workshop topics include maintaining a healthy lifestyle while unemployed, improving interview skills, increasing employability by volunteering, labour market trends for employment and steps to financial fitness.

Among the participants will be Great Lakes Technical Training, Academy of Learning, Canadian Mental Health Association, Financial Fitness, Everest College, Marvel Beauty Schools, Trios College, New Canadians Centre of Excellence, Kiwanis, Opportunity Diploma, Windsor Welding Institute and Canadian College of Health Sciences and Technology.

FASTSIGNS NAMES MARKETING COORDINATOR

Joe Iera has joined the Windsor office of Fastsigns as the company’s marketing co-ordinator.

Iera previously worked with BBDO advertising agency handling accounts for Chrysler Corp. and Lowe’s. He also worked closely with the National Football League in co-ordinating a project for Super Bowl XL in Detroit in 2006.

Fastsigns, now celebrating its 10th anniversary under the ownership of Jackie Raymond and Donna Bilodeau, helps businesses and organizations solve their visual communications and marketing challenges. By Windsor Star, Canada.com

Grant Schofield, professor of Public Health at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), has named it his ‘Goya’ policy a.k.a. ‘Get Off Your Arse’.

A review of research looking into sedentary behaviour, co-authored by Schofield, was released in Feb and revealed workers who moved as they worked could not only shed up to 2kg a year but would also have better posture.

“Weight goes on under the radar, so it is a way to keep the weight off under the radar.”

Schofield conducted a preliminary study of four workers using a commercially available height-adjustable desk and measured the amount of energy used standing, sitting and lying down while working.

His study found that a worker standing and typing used 84 calories an hour, 13 per cent more than someone sitting and typing (73 calories/hour), and 16 per cent more than a person who is lying down (71 calories/hour), reports Stuff.co.nz . The extra calories burnt, combined with the increase in movement for standing workers, meant their weight would drop rather than increase during the year.

According to Schofield, standing for long periods can even avert the production of the enzymes that trigger type 2 diabetes. Zeenews

In a study of 50 premenopausal women of various sizes, Harvard researchers found that women who had more fat around the abdomen were more likely to have lower bone mineral density, which can eventually lead to osteoporosis.

“All fat isn’t the same. Tummy fat has a damaging effect on bone health,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Miriam Bredella, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Bredella was slated to present the findings Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

As many as 10 million Americans, most of them women, have osteoporosis, according to the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). Another 34 million Americans have low bone mass, putting them at risk of developing osteoporosis, reports NIAMS.

Risk factors for osteoporosis include a deficiency in estrogen, a diet lacking in calcium and vitamin D, eating disorders, certain medications, a sedentary lifestyle, drinking too much alcohol and smoking, according to NIAMS.

But extra weight was previously believed to somewhat protect against bone loss, said Bredella.

The average body mass index (BMI) of the women recruited for the study was about 30, with scores ranging from 19 to 46. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, while a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All of the women underwent a special imaging technique called MRI spectroscopy that allowed the researchers to accurately measure fat deposits, including fat found in the bone marrow.

Women, who had more visceral fat, meaning fat around the mid-section, were more likely to have a lower bone mineral density. In addition, an association between visceral fat and the levels of bone marrow fat was noted.

“Visceral fat is deep belly fat, and it’s been found to be bad for heart disease and diabetes. This type of fat releases fatty acids into the liver, and it also releases other substances and hormones that have an effect on the heart and the pancreas, and also probably on bones,” said Bredella. “But, we don’t know exactly what it is in visceral fat that causes problems.”

As for the increase in bone marrow fat, “a lot of bone marrow fat makes the bone weak,” Bredella said.

“This study is more bad news for obesity. The one good thing we thought obesity might do — protect the bones — isn’t true,” she added.

“This is a fascinating study that raises interesting and important questions,” said Dr. Judi Chervenak, an associate clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

“Being a healthy weight and trying to control visceral obesity is becoming important from so many different angles,” she stated. “You need to make lifestyle changes that focus on overall health and wellness, and exercise is very important for helping prevent osteoporosis and other illnesses. If you haven’t been moving, just try to get out and go for a walk. Ideally, you’ll work up to regular exercise, but get out and get some exercise,” she advised.

Bredella said the researchers are currently studying fat distribution and bone mineral density in men to see if the patterns hold true for both sexes. Joy Online