http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Middle aged and out of shape? It's not too late to get fit—and reduce your risk for heart failure, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-middle-age-heart-failure.html Cardiology Wed, 15 May 2013 16:43:26 EST news287854969 Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol. However, University of Missouri researchers found that simvastatin, a generic type of statin previously sold under the brand name "Zocor," hindered the positive effects of exercise for obese and overweight adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cholesterol-lowering-drug-benefits-obese-adults.html Cardiology Wed, 15 May 2013 15:42:27 EST news287851338 A regular walking routine significantly reduces the risk of Metabolic Syndrome, a condition which affects one in four people in the UK and can cause heart disease, strokes and cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-regular-major-illness.html Health Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:20:34 EST news279361221 (HealthDay)—Individuals with higher midlife cardiorespiratory fitness levels are significantly less likely to develop all-cause dementia later in life, according to research published in the Feb. 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-higher-midlife-linked-all-cause-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:20:01 EST news279282748 (HealthDay)—People who exercise along with taking statins to lower their high cholesterol levels can dramatically reduce their risk of dying, a large new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-statins-lowering-cholesterol.html Cardiology Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:00:25 EST news273339182 Using peer mentors to enhance school-day physical activity in elementary aged students has been given an A+ from Nova Scotia researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-team-peer-pressure-good.html Health Mon, 29 Oct 2012 03:30:01 EST news270697803 The team behind the recent "Get Fit in 60 Seconds" headlines have taken their research out of the lab and put it into a user-friendly, how-to guide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-latest-trend-seconds-publish-user-friendly.html Health Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:47:26 EST news269675223 One of life's certainties is that everyone ages. However, it's also certain that not everyone ages at the same rate. According to recent research being presented this week, the cardiovascular system of people with type 2 diabetes shows signs of aging significantly earlier than those without the disease. However, exercise can help to slow down this premature aging, bringing the aging of type 2 diabetes patients' cardiovascular systems closer to that of people without the disease, says researcher Amy Huebschmann of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She will be presenting these findings she developed with colleagues Wendy Kohrt and Judith Regensteiner, both from the same institution. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-incorporating-regular-physical-diabetic-adults.html Diabetes Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:10:01 EST news269160908 (Medical Xpress)—A new paper published this month by researchers at the University of Abertay Dundee suggests that anyone inspired to get fit by the Olympics and Paralympics can do so in just 60 seconds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-post-olympics-seconds.html Health Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:14:58 EST news267174887 American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown issued the following comments on a unified fitness assessment program announced today by The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; the American Alliance for Health, Recreation, Physical Education and Dance; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the Cooper Institute: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-aha-school-aid-childhood-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:15:56 EST news266562891 Obesity rates in North America are a growing concern for legislators. Expanded waistlines mean rising health-care costs for maladies such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. One University of Alberta researcher says that if people do not take measures to get healthy, they may find that governments will throw their weight into administrative measures designed to help us trim the fat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-legislated-health.html Health Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:22:02 EST news265533695 Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, free from chronic illness, investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and The Cooper Institute have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-midlife-staves-chronic-disease-life.html Health Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:00:04 EST news265291813 Sweat drips down the face of a plump woman as she shuffles between exercise machines and pauses to greet passersby in Soweto's first outdoor gym, a new trend in South Africa, one of the world's fattest nations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-outdoor-gyms-fat-south-africa.html Health Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:21:53 EST news252818500 Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children reach a healthy weight, reports a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Researchers analyzed four years of data from in-school fitness tests and body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in grades 1-7 in the city of Cambridge, Mass. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-in-school-overweight-boys-girls-benefit.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:35:47 EST news252754267 Cardiac rehabilitation boosts longevity, especially in patients with the lowest fitness levels, Dr. Billie-Jean Martin today told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2011, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-rehab-heart-patients-longer-.html Cardiology Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:32:27 EST news238570076 We're not saying they're not out there, somewhere, blithely crushing pre-pubescent souls with their whistles and clipboards and flexed-arm-hang timers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-tweaked.html Health Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:20:03 EST news235387561 In 2005, Jeffrey Martin, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies in Wayne State University's College of Education, found that children living in underserved communities are less physically active than their higher-income counterparts. Now, in a follow-up study, Martin has found environmental factors that may affect underserved children's physical activity and fitness levels: classmate support, gender and confidence. The study was published in the June 2011 issue of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-environmental-factors-underserved-children-physical.html Health Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:12:22 EST news229864324 According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11.4 million Americans are currently living with cancer. While cancer treatments are plentiful, many have negative side effects. Previous studies have indicated that a significant number of patients who receive chemotherapy also experience cognitive declines, including decreases in verbal fluency and memory. Now, one University of Missouri health psychologist has found evidence that indicates Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, might help overcome some of those problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-tai-chi-key-cognitive-effects.html Health Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:47:01 EST news226593999 An Indiana University study examining disparities in physical fitness levels between older adults who are patients of safety net community health centers (CHC) and those who are members of a medically affiliated fitness center is producing stunning results. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-health-disparities-physical.html Health Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:38:26 EST news226402685 The prevalence of frailty, which is linked to earlier death, increases throughout adulthood as people age and not just after age 65, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Relatively good fitness levels at all ages were predictive of lower mortality and less reliance on health care services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-frailty-adults-linked-health-outcomes.html Health Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:37:05 EST news223043792