The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
- Brisk walking found to be just as good as running
- WHO urges more effort to beat high blood pressure
- A good reason to skip your pre-workout stretch
| Brisk walking found to be just as good as running Posted: 05 Apr 2013 04:47 AM PDT A new study finds that brisk walking can lower your risk of heart-related conditions even more than running. Research from the American Heart Association says that walking briskly can lower your risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Researchers analysed data from 33,060 runners and 15,045 walkers over six years and found that moderate intensity walking and vigorous intensity running had similar results. "The more the runners ran and the walkers walked, the better off they were in health benefits," said Paul T. Williams, the study's principal author and staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Science Division in Berkeley, California. "If the amount of energy expended was the same between the two groups, then the health benefits were comparable." That means it's not a matter of how far you walk or run, but for how long, he explained. And he isn't talking about strolling, but walking for exercise. The advantage with running, Williams pointed out to WebMD, is that you can cover twice as much ground in the same amount of time as you would walking. But still, the new study gives you a good choice. If you find running convenient, continue to do so, but others can opt for brisk walking. According to the study, running and walking reduced the risk for first-time hypertension (4.2% and 7.2% respectively), first-time high cholesterol (4.3% and 7% respectively), first-time diabetes (12.1% and 12.3% respectively) and coronary heart disease (4.5% and 9.3% respectively). "People are always looking for an excuse not to exercise, but now they have a straightforward choice to run or to walk and invest in their future health," Williams said. The research is published online in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. -- AFPRelaxnews |
| WHO urges more effort to beat high blood pressure Posted: 05 Apr 2013 12:31 AM PDT Individuals and governments need to step up their efforts to battle high blood pressure, which is estimated to affect more than one in three adults aged over 25, the World Health Organisation said Wednesday. Around a billion people around the globe suffer from the condition, also known as hypertension, the United Nations health agency said. The condition is one of the most important contributors to heart disease and stroke, which together make up the world's number one cause of premature death and disability. Researchers estimate that high blood pressure contributes to nearly 9.4 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year, the WHO said. It also increases the risk of conditions such as kidney failure and blindness. "Our aim today is to make people aware of the need to know their blood pressure, to take high blood pressure seriously, and then to take control," the WHO's director general, Margaret Chan, said in a statement. Detecting high blood pressure is the first step in preventing and controlling it, the agency underlined. People can cut the risks by consuming less salt, eating a balanced diet, engaging in regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco use and cutting down on drinking, it said. According to WHO data, the prevalence of hypertension is highest in Africa, where it affects 46 percent of adults, while the lowest prevalence is in the Americas, where 35 percent have it. High-income countries overall have a lower prevalence of hypertension, 35 percent of adults, than their low- and middle-income counterparts, where 40 percent are affected. That difference is thanks to targeted health policies and better access to care, the WHO said. -- AFPRelaxnews |
| A good reason to skip your pre-workout stretch Posted: 05 Apr 2013 12:14 AM PDT Is the pre-workout stretch becoming a thing of the past? Two new studies give us good reason to skip it. A new study published this month in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research finds that if you stretch before you lift weights, you may feel weaker and less stable during your workout, reports The New York Times. In that study, Austin State University researchers tested stretching's impact on a series of strength workouts performed by 17 healthy young men. In a second study from Croatia, University of Zagreb researchers analysed 104 studies on stretching and its effect on strength, power and "explosive muscular performance." That study, published last month in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, concluded that stretching, or at least static stretching, as a warm-up routine "should generally be avoided." Their findings essentially boil down to the conclusion that "stretched muscles are, in general, substantially less strong," writes The New York Times. Prior research by Maryland-based orthopedic surgeon Dan Pereles, MD, from 2011, also shows that runners who stretched before their workouts saw no more protection from injuries than runners who didn't stretch. Still, rather than abandon stretching altogether, recent trends suggest that a technique called "active isolated stretching" might protect athletes from injuries better than traditional bend-and-hold techniques. Developed by trainer Aaron Mattes and used by massage therapists, physical therapists, and coaches, the technique emphasises gentle, fluid repetitions of two- to three-second holds with more repetitions. Aaron Mattes discusses and demonstrates his stretching technique here: -- AFPRelaxnews |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan