Here’s to keeping your health on a tight leash: New research suggests that having a dog might boost a single person’s life span. The study tracked more than 3.4 million Swedes, middle-aged and older, for 12 years. All were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study. The researchers reported that dog owners… read on >
People with desk jobs want to move more, a new study suggests. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate how long desk-based workers actually want to sit, stand, walk and be physically active,” said study lead author Birgit Sperlich. She’s a postdoctoral researcher at German Sport University Cologne. Sperlich and her colleagues… read on >
Simple steps can help keep you from being sidelined by a sports injury. First, make it a rule to bookend every workout with a warm-up and a cool-down. The warm-up is meant to increase your heart rate and blood flow to muscles. Start with some light cardio, like brisk walking, for your warm-up. After 3… read on >
You’ve probably heard of “distracted driving,” but what about “distracted walking?” Largely due to the immense popularity of cell phones, pedestrian deaths reached nearly 6,000 in the United States last year, a 9 percent jump over 2015, the National Safety Council says. Walking remains a great way to get healthy exercise, but you should keep… read on >
If you love to while away a weekend watching a season’s worth of episodes from a favorite TV series, you may inadvertently put yourself at risk for developing a dangerous blood clot. When researchers compared people who reported watching TV more often to those who seldom or never watched TV, the risk of a venous… read on >
Your comfortable recliner and state-of-the-art office chair may be increasing your risk for heart disease. A sedentary lifestyle can raise cholesterol and threaten heart health. If you have a desk job, it’s especially important to counter long bouts of sitting with an hourly 5-minute exercise break, even if you stay within your office. If you… read on >
Cats with diabetes, dogs with cancer, birds with high cholesterol or even rabbits who cannot turn around to clean themselves — what do these animals all have in common? They are either overweight or obese, and it’s serious. “We have a problem — almost all of American pets are overweight or obese,” explained veterinarian Dr.… read on >
Health literacy refers to how well people get access to the health information and services they need, and their ability to make informed decisions based on this access. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, more than 90 million adults have poor health literacy. This can lead to poor management of chronic diseases, and… read on >
Despite a significant risk of head injuries in baseball and softball, helmet use in those sports is low, a new review says. “Our review demonstrates that traumatic brain injury in baseball and softball affects players of all levels and all positions,” said study lead author Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in… read on >
Did you spend the hot, sweltering days of summer sitting in front of an air conditioner? Then fall is a probably a good time for you to get up and get moving, medical experts say. Why is now a good time? If you start now, you’ll be well into your exercise program, which will help… read on >
