Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to improve your health and fitness? If so, take note; a new study suggests regular group walking may reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease and depression, among other potentially life-threatening conditions. These findings – published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a journal of The BMJ…
Research shows that exercising outdoors, especially in nature, can improve our health and concentration and might expedite our natural healing processes. A diverse coalition that links fields as varied as business, education, health care, transportation, recreation, social justice, community revitalization and grassroots organizing, the walking movement is advancing on many fronts to encourage Americans to…
As February dawns, you’re seeing a lot more red and more hearts. While that is partly due to Valentine’s Day, it also is because — for the 51st straight year — the White House has designated February as American Heart Month. The federal declaration is a powerful way of reminding Americans that heart disease is…
Maybe those of us who sit for long hours in meetings, on phone calls, and tapping away at keyboards should be getting hazard pay. New research that distills the findings of 47 studies concludes that those of us who sit for long hours raise our average risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and…
To combat afternoon slumps in enthusiasm and focus, take a walk during the lunch hour. A new study finds that even gentle lunchtime strolls can perceptibly — and immediately — buoy people’s moods and ability to handle stress at work. It is not news, of course, that walking is healthy and that people who walk…
The chubby, inert pet dog has become a familiar household sight in richer countries. And yet there lies a possible boon to the out-of-shape among us. A recent study suggests that being told one’s pet is dangerously overweight might provide the impetus that gets an owner moving. It might seem that having a pet dog…
Sitting in a meeting or in front of a screen does not get your creative juices flowing, according to research out of Stanford University. If you’re hoping for inspiration to strike, you may want to try walking away. The study was conducted by Marily Oppezzo and Daniel L. Schwartz and published in the Journal of…
As cities become more dense, finding new open space is proving a difficult task. Urban planners in several areas around Southern California believe we don’t need to look any farther than our local freeways. The idea is to “cap” the freeway by building a park above it. Q: This sounds pretty speculative. Has it been…
Amanda Miller, 27, has never had a car or driver’s license. “If I had the money to drive I probably would, but at this point I get pretty much everywhere I need to be,” she says. “I can only imagine how much it would cost. I just don’t see the need for a car.” But…
Even a small amount of exercise, such as brisk daily 20 minute walk, reduces the risk of premature death. Lack of exercise is twice as deadly as obesity, but a brisk 20-minute walk each day is all it takes to avoid an early death, Cambridge University has said. A study of more than 334,000 people…