Physical Activity

New study examines cardiovascular impact of higher levels of exercise.

New research suggests that a healthy lifestyle is better than any medicine out there.

Last week, our Featured Writer Dr. Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., FACSM invited reader questions on her most recent article. See her responses to your questions here.

While interval training is routinely used by sports teams and athletes, is this type of training beneficial for most individuals with diabetes? It certainly saves time—who can’t fit in 10 minutes of exercise three days per week?—but would it benefit weight control in the average person?

As we all know, it is easy to start out with good intentions to be more active or manage diabetes better, but it’s much more difficult to follow through and stick with such changes so that they become sustainable. While some studies have recently shown that newer devices like the Fitbit can increase physical activity adherence, the real question is, will using the latest health information technologies be motivating enough for most people to continue doing it long-term?

Positive effects can be seen decades later.

Having recently just tried a Fitbit physical activity tracking device (the Charge HR model) for the first time, I have noticed that in this post-Thanksgiving holiday sales time, everyone is selling them! But they are far from inexpensive. The American Diabetes Association also recently was involved in a FitForGood promotion that Fitbit ran that allowed them and two other nonprofit organizations to earn some extra money. Racking up extra steps for the ADA certainly motivated me and my family members to be more active—for a few days at least!

HbA1c and lipids show improved with high-intensity physical activity.

Normal weight, physically active children thought to have higher executive function.

It has long been known that regular physical activity is essential for good health. Even well over 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates (460-370 BC) noted, “Eating alone will not keep man well; he must also take exercise. For food and exercise work together to produce health.” Why, then, is it so hard for us to embrace this concept of being active now?