Teenagers trying to lose weight should engage in an exercise program that includes both aerobic and resistance training, a randomized trial has found. It also found that diet without exercise accomplishes little. Canadian researchers put 304 obese teenagers on a diet with a daily energy deficit of 250 calories (measured from their resting energy expenditure)….
Why people walk is a hard question that looks easy. Upright bipedalism seems such an obvious advantage from the viewpoint of those already upright that we rarely see its difficulty. In the famous diagram, Darwinian man unfolds himself from frightened crouch to strong surveyor of the ages, and it looks like a natural ascension: you…
One day this summer, Rep. Fred Upton was walking down Pennsylvania Avenue when he happened upon White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. They are political foes. Upton, a Republican from Michigan, chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. McDonough is the right hand of Democratic presidential power. Upton went for the jugular: He asked McDonough how many steps he…
If people need motivation to get up from their office chairs or couches and become less sedentary, two useful new studies could provide the impetus. One found that sitting less can slow the aging process within cells, and the other helpfully underscores that standing up — even if you are standing still — can be…
For Boston and beyond, three engineers seek the most beautiful distance between two points When you’re walking in a city, a detour of a single block can change your experience completely: One minute you’re walking along a crowded artery, the next you’re on a quiet residential street. If you walk a lot, you probably develop favorite…
As dawn began its daily blanching of the bright lights in Times Square one morning, a cluster of early birds cheerfully dragged one another in wheelbarrow formations, pair by pair, up the steps of the TKTS booth. Yawning workers in suits hustled past, while police officers looked on ambivalently. A couple of tourists raised their…
Something happened recently that made me see how estranged I am from my city’s parks. At best, I have become a distant admirer. The orbit of my life has shrunk and is now proscribed by a desk downtown and a commute on the freeway. My last intimate experience with a park came a few years…
Trading the gas pedal for foot power or bike power to get to your job can also improve your mental health, British researchers report. Daily commuters who stopping driving to work and started walking or riding a bike were under less stress and were able to concentrate better, the study showed. And the authors noted that using…
“The possibility of not working is part of the experiment,” said the jovial person in charge, the Brazilian artist Michel Groisman. This was one of several focused, simple and pleasantly aimless activities designed by Mr. Groisman as part of the first Elastic City Walks Festival, a 12-day series of artist-led “participatory walks” throughout Manhattan and…
When you’re feeling a deluge of negative emotions, you know that it can be helpful to “walk it off.” And according to a new study, there’s evidence to back up the stress-releasing strategy. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that taking group nature walks is associated with a whole host…