https://medicalxpress.com/fitness-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Fitness & Physical Activity Around 40% of adults worldwide are affected by osteopenia: a loss of bone mineral density. This condition is extremely common, particularly in postmenopausal women and elderly adults. It's estimated that more than 500,000 fractures occur annually in the UK due to low bone density. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-osteopenia-loss-bone-mineral-density.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:30:01 EDT news695564792 It's an athlete's worst fear. Hearing a loud "pop" and feeling severe pain are usually the first signs you've torn your anterior cruciate ligament, also known as the ACL. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-acl-knee-injury.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:20:03 EDT news695472661 A recent move from a leading insurance provider has made it more difficult for AFL and AFLW players to access brain injury insurance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-concussion-athletes.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:00:04 EDT news695472541 Timing exercise to match body clock chronotype—the natural predisposition to morning or evening alertness—may lower cardiovascular disease risk among those who are already vulnerable, suggests research published in the open access journal Open Heart. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-body-clock-chronotype-cardiovascular-disease.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:30:03 EDT news695294521 Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and other partner institutions of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) have now identified a previously unknown function of the PICALM protein in skeletal muscle: The protein responds sensitively to physical activity and intermittent fasting. It also plays a decisive role in the formation of new muscle fibers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-picalm-links-intermittent-fasting-muscle.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:00:07 EDT news695309161 Osteoarthritis affects around 600 million people globally. It causes pain, stiffness, and reduced joint function—most commonly in the knees, hands, and hips. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-steroid-joint-pain.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:40:03 EDT news695293982 A research team including scientists and engineers from University of Colorado Boulder, CU Anschutz and Colorado State University has developed a suite of new therapies that prompt aging or damaged joints to repair themselves within weeks, according to animal studies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-simple-shot-reverse-osteoarthritis-weeks.html Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:30:07 EDT news694772759 A rise of high-tech recovery culture is underway. As sports science becomes increasingly accessible, we're seeing a trickle-down effect from elite athletes to weekend warriors, and even recreational exercisers, who are exploring ways to biohack better health and speed up recovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-biohacks-basics-recovery.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:20:04 EDT news695019481 Suburban areas often struggle with a first- and last-mile mobility problem, where residents have difficulty reaching the nearest public transport hub from their homes. Demand-responsive transport (DRT) has emerged as a flexible solution, yet the potential health benefits of combining DRT with existing public transport networks have yet to be assessed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pair-combining-demand-buses-boosts.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:50:01 EDT news695047550 Adding as little as 1,700 to 5,500 steps per day can offset the risk of a list of chronic diseases—including obesity, diabetes and sleep apnea—according to a new study from a corresponding author with Vanderbilt Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-adding-day-offsets-chronic-disease.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news695045821 The numbers are sobering: nearly 80% of the world's teenagers don't get enough physical activity, according to the World Health Organization. But a new longitudinal study from Université de Montréal suggests the seeds of that sedentary lifestyle—or an active one—may be sown much earlier than anyone realized. Like when a child is 2.5 years of age. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-play-age-decade-motion.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:00:06 EDT news695033641 Knee osteoarthritis is a complex disease that affects the whole joint, including bone, cartilage, ligaments and muscles. Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and movement difficulty, affecting 8.3% of people in Australia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-knee-osteoarthritis-evidence.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:20:03 EDT news695031122 Motor skills are foundational for a lifetime of movement. For children, they play a vital role not only in facilitating physical activity levels but also for cognitive and socio-emotional development and school readiness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-motor-skills-evidencebased-ways-children.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:00:02 EDT news694958166 Artificial intelligence can write text messages encouraging physical activity that most older adults consider appropriate and good quality, but their feelings about AI—and whether they know AI wrote the message—impact their response, suggests a new study in the Journals of Gerontology. The research is an important first step in helping health programs use AI to support large-scale behavior change, said lead author Allyson Tabaczynski, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pocket-sized-personal-trainer-ai.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:40:05 EDT news694965722 A recent study from UBC Okanagan suggests that results depend less on how you exercise and more on how long you keep moving—especially for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-minutes-blood-sugar.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news694887541 An estimated 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and both its prevalence and cost are expected to increase, with global costs projected to reach $2 trillion dollars by 2030. Current treatments for preventing or treating dementia have limited efficacy; therefore, public health efforts have also aimed at healthy lifestyle factors to reduce the risk of dementia before symptoms occur. Healthy behaviors such as regular physical activity and good sleep hygiene are known to support cognitive health. However, there remains a need to better understand their relationship to dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physical-linked-subsequent-dementia.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694795416 Being physically fit improves our health and keeps illness at bay. This relationship has long been assumed for numerous disorders, but until now there has been no scientific evidence demonstrating a causal link between the beneficial effects of physical exercise and a reduced risk of becoming ill. A new study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, has now confirmed this. The research was led by a team from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Universitat Ramon Llull and has established a relationship between genetics associated with good cardiorespiratory fitness and around thirty diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physically-diseases-causal-link.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:40:01 EDT news694867622 While sports news headlines may focus on injuries affecting professional golfers, including Achilles tendon problems, back and ankle issues, most golf injuries are not sudden. They develop over time and are often preventable with proper warm-up, strength, and mechanics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-teeing-good-health-golf-injuries.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:40:01 EDT news694794901 Cognitive and physical training can help older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) maintain or improve their ability to move and think simultaneously, but hearing ability and sex influence outcomes, according to a new Concordia-led study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. The researchers used data from the SYNERGIC clinical trial, a multi-institutional study of how exercise and brain training can improve cognition, mobility and falls in older adults. Their study followed 75 adults between the ages of 60 and 85 with mild cognitive impairment before and after a 20-week intervention involving physical training and cognitive exercises. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-loss-linked-slower-stable-dual.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:10:07 EDT news694788238 Push-ups can be a challenge for the best of us. But many women struggle to do them, even after months of training in the gym. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-woman-pushup-hack-trending-social.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:30:01 EDT news694782722 As we move into spring, it's common for people to increase their daily movement with activities like outdoor walks, yard work, pickleball and race training. Soreness is a normal result, but sometimes lingering pain can be a sign something else is going on. It's important to be able to identify what is a normal ache and what could need further medical attention. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-doctor-joint-pain.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news694084165 Growing older has plenty of upsides—but achy joints is not one of them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-aging-joints-healthy.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:00:03 EDT news694174930 South Africa is facing an alarming increase in non-communicable diseases and related mortality. According to Statistics South Africa, deaths due to non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension increased by over 58% between 1997 and 2018. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-gym-small-movements-health-benefits.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news694101935 The health benefits of cold-water immersion have been closely studied in recent years, thanks to the growing popularity of cold-water swimming. Now new research from the University of Chichester has found that as little as five minutes immersed in cold water can have almost the same benefits as much longer stints, helping provide a quick mood-boosting solution for physically fit people with low mood. The resulting paper is published in the journal Lifestyle Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-minutes-cold-boost-mood.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news694362923 Lifestyle-behavioral factors and socioeconomic status play an important role in shaping healthy aging, but their effects may differ depending on the individual's DNA, according to a new international study led by Adelaide University researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-genes-dictate-lifestyle-choices-impact.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news694250165 In a recent study of U.S. adults, walking was—by far—the most popular leisure-time physical activity, while rural residents also enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing, and urban residents more commonly reported running, weightlifting and dancing. Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to meet physical activity guidelines. Christiaan Abildso of West Virginia University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in PLOS One. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-urban-rural-habits-dominates.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694191121 New research published today shows that regional residents living in walkable towns and centers walk 75 minutes more each week, prompting calls for Governments to invest more in well-connected, safe footpaths to boost community health. The new paper, led by the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, was published today in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. It's the first of its kind to show walkability has a bigger impact on the amount of time spent walking in regional communities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-regional-residents-minutes-weekly-highly.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:00:01 EDT news694183127 A new research study provides real-world evidence that deprescribing glucose-lowering medications is both feasible and safe when patients with type 2 diabetes receive lifestyle-informed care in primary care settings. The retrospective chart review, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, examined electronic health records from 650 adults with type 2 diabetes receiving care at two primary care practices that integrate lifestyle medicine principles into routine visits. Using a structured deprescribing framework, researchers identified 41 confirmed cases—approximately 6.3% of patients—in which diabetes medications were safely reduced or discontinued following documented improvements in weight and blood glucose. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-deprescribing-diabetes-medications-feasible-safe.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:00:06 EDT news694168569 According to a recent review by researchers at Semmelweis University, published in the journal Nutrients, lifestyle and dietary changes may help people living with endometriosis. The study analyzed more than 100 international papers and found that factors such as a healthy diet, regular physical activity, stress management, good sleep and adequate micronutrient intake can help reduce pain and improve quality of life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-lifestyle-severity-endometriosis-symptoms.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:50:07 EDT news694192561 Peptides are widely marketed as a kind of "holy grail" for workout recovery and physical performance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-peptides-workout-nutrition-expert-science.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:40:01 EDT news694174903