ADHD and Active Kids

Although experts find it hard to agree on specific diagnosis criteria for attention defecit hyperactivity disorder, a recently published study has claimed that about one in twenty children suffer from some form of this difficult condition. Treatments vary, but more and more children in North America and beyond are being prescribed prescription drugs for “developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that cause significant impairment in daily functioning.”

In response to the growing  apprehension surrounding children on psychiatric medications, the Journal of Physical and Active Health published a study this year examining the connection between rates of physical activity among children and symptoms of ADHD, and the results are certain to please parents, children and physical education advocates alike.

To cut straight to the chase, the “Conclusions” section of the study states: “Using a community-based, nationally representative sample of children aged 5 to 7 years old from the United States, the results of the current study suggest that physical education, as a structured form of physical activity, may be considered as associated with lower levels of symptoms of ADHD across time.”

According to the authors of the study, physical exercise bolsters the brain’s ability to generate brain tissue and can also work therapeutically to reduce the “mental fatigue” associated with ADHD. Noting that children afflicted with ADHD tend to have impaired social skills, the study’s authors suggest that structured, group-based physical activity - in addition to providing benefits “similar… to those of pharmacological interventions,” - can help children improve their social skills while alleviating their symptoms and receiving the physical benefits of exercise.

The element of structure seems key here – while afflicted students showed markedly reduced tendencies toward disruptive behaviors in the classroom on days when a ten-minute recess was provided, the study notes that unstructured physical activity increase the likelihood of aggressive and violent behaviors on the part of children with ADHD, meaning more structured forms such as physical education would likely be of the most benefit, with the additional advantage of being curriculum-based and therefore more “school-friendly.”

This is all great news, but it bears mentioning that the mechanism by which this principle operates is still unclear. The study notes that physical activity is known to stimulate activity in the cathecholamine system (a collection of brain cells associated with dopamine and norepinephrine), the dysfunction of which has been connected to symptoms of ADHD, which is about as user-friendly an explanation as it looks. It’s also suggested that physical activity has a calming effect on children with ADHD simply because being tired mellows them out, an explanation that seems rather elegant in its simplicity. Either way, while acknowledging that the discontinuation of routine physical activity can lead to a persistent reemergence of symptoms, the study points out that there are few if any negative consequences to pursuing this course of treatment, and the potential benefits to children are impressive, including addressing the childhood obesity epidemic.

Click here to see the study, which is refreshingly brief and readable.

 

2011 Winner Announced!

We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year's Bloomberg Manulife Prize is Dr. Steven Blair, a leading exercise scientist who has proven that all it takes to live longer and healthier is 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.

Widely regarded as the creator of a new area of epidemiological research linking physical activity, decreased mortality, and health benefits, Dr. Blair is a professor of exercise science at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. Seen as an academic leader in his field, he has advised governments and health organisations, has published over 500 scientific papers and book chapters, and is one of a handful of people outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General’s Medallion.

The work that won him the inaugural Bloomberg Manulife Prize is based partly on a 40-year study involving more than 80,000 individuals. His research has some fascinating conclusions, most notably, that overweight individuals who are nevertheless fit have a much lower mortality rate than slimmer individuals who are inactive.

Today, he devotes much of his time to public health issues, promoting the importance of physical activity to lay and scientific audiences around the world. He has also been influential in helping policy makers craft physical activity guidelines that promote the conclusions of his research.

To read more about Dr. Blair and the prize, check out our website: http://www.mcgill.ca/bloomberg-manulife/

Stand up for health and fitness

Just when you thought that if there was one place in this world you were safe it would be your favorite easy chair, a growing body of research has emerged suggesting that too much time spent sitting could be putting you at greater risk of developing cancer.

Findings presented  last month at the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. say that simple routine exercise does not negate the risk of cancer in people who live otherwise sedentary lifestyles, to the tune of nearly 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer that could have been prevented by just spending less time sitting.

Dr. Neville Owen, with the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, attributes the risk to the physiological effects of inactivity on a sedentary body. According to Dr. Owen, long periods of muscle inactivity produce biological signals known as “biomarkers” that have been linked to cancer: “It's been surprisingly consistent with what strong relationships there are between physical inactivity and these biomarkers of cancer risk.”

Other research published in 2002 found that the levels of biologically available sex hormones, the excess of which could lead to hormone-related cancers such as those of the breast, ovaries or prostate, could be reduced through physical activity. The established advice from cancer researchers has long been that we should be getting a certain amount of exercise per week (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week), and no one is trying to invalidate that advice. However, there may be much more to staying active to curtail cancer than regular exercise.

Alpa Patel, strategic director for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-3, says that “there’s benefit in just moving around.” This “moving around” can be anything from taking the stairs to your office to getting up for a cup of water every once in a while, and every effort you take throughout the day to make your body move and respond works to reduce the risk of cancer. While it may raise alarms in the many workers who spend up to an estimated fifteen and a half hours a day sitting, Joan Vernikos, former director of life sciences at NASA, says that just standing up every thirty minutes or so can be helpful.

And think about it: now instead of sending droll e-mail to colleagues around the office, why not amble on over to their desks and give them the benefit of your charm in person, while reducing your risk of cancer at the same time? Your body will thank you for it.

Read the AICR release on this research:http://www.aicr.org/press/press-releases/getting-up-from-your-desk.html

'Fat gene' is no excuse

The study of human genomics has, aside from providing comfortable careers for writers of dystopian science fiction, led to the isolation and identification of many genes that play a part in determining the physical characteristics of the bodies in which they reside.

Among these, around thirty-two have been discovered that predispose people to being obese, which  have unfortunately been blamed for the rapidly rising rates of obesity around the globe.

But a recent study by researchers in the UK aims to put these “fat gene” myths to rest, demonstrating that regardless of whether someone carries one or more of these genes, they are entirely capable of maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy diet and regular exercise.

By analyzing more than fifty studies of over 200,000 worldwide carriers of a particular obesity gene, the results of the study show that even those who carry the gene but live active and healthy lifestyles have a reduced risk of becoming obese compared to those who do not.

These findings are in line with a number of other recent studies which suggest that our genes are not necessarily the immutable and deterministic blueprints that the Orwells and Huxleys of this world would have us believe.

“Physical activity gives [carriers of the gene] the opportunity to lose weight,” says Cambridge University medical researcher Dr. Ruth Loos. “So it goes against the often held view that if it’s in your genes, it’s out of your control. We show that even though it’s in your genes, you still have control.”

The study strikes a blow against the usefulness of genetic screenings for genes identified as being related to obesity, which are currently commercially available and rising in popularity despite some scientists’ reservations regarding their validity and usefulness. Lennert Veerman with the University of Queensland has published a paper attacking the credibility of such screenings, citing their lack of predictive power, irrelevance to treatment options, and the way they encourage patients to focus on the genetic aspects of their condition when a focus on improving their actual lifestyle is both more tangible and more effective.

The new research demonstrates that whether you have the gene or not, the only way to effectively fight obesity is through proper diet and exercise. But the publication of the research will hopefully encourage more people to take more responsibility for their own bodies by focusing on increasing their activity levels rather than any extrinsic factors.

Is your morning commute making you sick?

A study conducted by Swedish researchers recently published in BMC Public Health suggests that those who commute to work by car or public transportation are more likely to have problems with both their physical and mental health than active commuters who walk or ride their bicycles to work.

The results are based on the findings of two public health surveys conducted in 2004 and 2008 by a team of Swedish researchers that culled data from around 21,000 people between the ages of 18 and 65 who work in Scania, Sweden. The study has found that those who commute to work by car or train are more likely to report stress, exhaustion, and generally poor health in addition to a greater number of missed work days compared to active commuters. The study also points out that the longer the commute, the worse the health complaints were reported, especially for those who rely on long commuter train rides to work every day. 

Dr. Redford Williams, professor of medicine and Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University in North Carolina, says of the results, “We know that people who have a lot of demands and very little control over how they meet those demands are at a higher risk for negative health effects. And when you're relying on a train to get to work, it's totally out of your control most of the time."

An article by ABC News on the findings points out that while the research has not identified whether or not such a long commute to work is directly responsible for health problems, the present difficulties with finding work often do not allow job-seekers a lot of flexibility in choosing jobs that are far from where they live, suggesting that the problem is likely to persist for a while coming. 

Williams opines that, in light of these findings, those with a choice should probably choose a job requiring the shortest commute. Since the active commuters reported less stress and fewer health worries than those relying on cars or public transportation, the study’s findings seem to confirm that a good way to decrease stress and improve your overall health is to oil up that bicycle and counteract the stress of the workplace with a good blast of wind in the face on the way to work. 

The full text of the study’s findings can be found here.

Nature and the Outdoors Vital for Kids

Time spent outdoors is now being considered as one of the main markers for Canadian kids' health and activity levels. Exposure to fresh air and nature has been shown not only to raise overall health, but also to alleviate anxiety, and improve concentration and feelings of wellbeing. 

Since 2005, Active Healthy Kids Canada has been issuing “report cards” with the objective of assessing Canada’s commitment to active, healthy children at all levels: at  schools, in the community, and  as it is regulated at the municipal, provincial and national levels. The Active Kids Canada Report Card for 2011 has just been released, with a new twist:  the report card now includes an indicator for “Nature and the Outdoors.” 

The analysis of outdoor activity alongside other indicators such as playground equipment, community programming and educational policy, is based on the idea that even spending a little more time outside offers major potential benefits to kids for becoming active and healthy. And while a conclusive “Nature and the Outdoors” grade for the 2011 Report Card has not been decided (in light of the difficulty in achieving comprehensive data on the subject), the research has led to new findings which will hopefully lead to increased outdoor activity in Canadian children.

For instance, it’s been discovered that as they progress from elementary school to high school, kids spend much less time exercising outdoors, even though spending time outside can help alleviate anxiety and similar conditions in children while improving their concentration and mood. The trend away from outdoor exercise in children has been called “nature deficit disorder,” by American researcher Richard Louv – a trend this new addition to Active Healthy Kids Canada’s yearly Report Card hopes to counteract.

Stressing that “being out in nature” can be as simple as spending an afternoon sitting under a tree, researchers like Louv and Leanne Clare of the David Suzuki Foundation insist that the first step toward healthier children is getting them to spend more time in the outdoors. 

Those who have directed their efforts toward research on the relationship between nature and healthy children hope to use the knowledge they are gaining to encourage educators and communities to implement nature in their programming, a tactic they believe can be applied to anything from working with troubled children to practicing math. While this year’s results were inconclusive, researchers hope to draw attention to this relationship in the interest of advising schools, communities and policy makers on how to improve the health of Canadian children with nature.

Links to this and previous years’ Report Cards, as well as explanations of Healthy Active Kids Canada’s mission statement and methodology can be found here: www.activehealthykids.ca/ReportCard/2011ReportCardOverview.aspx

Working out when under the weather

With cold and flu season fast approaching, the active lifestyle many of us enjoyed during the summer may be waning. When the inevitable winter sniffles arrive, many of us naturally prefer to hide under the duvet than dedicate ourselves to exercise, but staying active can often help shorten the duration of common colds and in the long run, findings show that exercise helps your immune system fight simple infections.

How do you decide whether you should be getting physical when feeling under the weather? Here's what Dr. Edward R. Laskowski at the Mayo Clinic advises:

• Mild to moderate physical activity is usually ok if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
• Exercise is usually OK if your signs and symptoms are all "above the neck" — symptoms you may have with a common cold, such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing or minor sore throat. Consider reducing the intensity and length of your workout, though, or you may feel worse. Instead of going for a run, take a walk, for example.
• Don't exercise if your signs and symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion, hacking cough or upset stomach.
• Don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches.
• Let your body be your guide. If you have a cold and feel miserable, take a break. Scaling back or taking a few days off from exercise when you're sick shouldn't affect your performance. Remember if you do choose to exercise when you're sick, reduce the intensity and length of your workout. If you attempt to exercise at your normal intensity when you have more than a simple cold, you could risk more serious injury or illness.

And when you feel better? Keep exercising in the winter months to avoid illness. Some findings report that moderate intensity exercise - daily 20 to 30 minute walks, going to the gym every other day, or biking with kids a few times a week - may reduce the number of colds you get. In one study reported in the American Journal of Medicine, women who walked for a half-hour every day for one year had half the number of colds as women who did not exercise. In this study, researchers associated regular walking with increasing levels of infection-fighting white blood cells. In another study, researchers found that the number of T-cells - a specific type of white blood cell - in 65-year-olds who exercised regularly was as high as those of people in their 30s.

Walking and life expectancy

Walking is one of the simplest, least expensive, and most effective things you can do for your health. It strengthens bones, tunes up the cardiovascular system, and, psychologically, can clear a cluttered mind. Hundreds of studies have documented its benefits, and now, researchers say that later in life, walking becomes as much an indicator of health as a promoter of it.

As we get older, the stroll that was once a walk in the park may get difficult for any number of reasons: angina, arthritis, bad balance, failing vision. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have shown that after about age 65, how fast we walk may predict how long we have to live.

Walking, or gait, speed has long been recognized as a proxy for overall health and vitality and has been measured in many research projects. The University of Pittsburgh researchers didn't conduct a new study, but used some sophisticated statistical techniques to pool the results of nine that had already been done. They standardized the disparate ways gait speed had been measured in those studies — no small feat — and then did some further analysis to see how gait speed correlated with how long people lived.

What they found was a remarkably consistent association between faster gait speed and longer life that was true for both men and women ages 65 and older. More precisely, each increase of 0.1 meter per second in gait speed was associated with a 12% reduction in the risk of dying during a study's follow-up period. They also calculated that people with gait speeds of 1 meter per second or faster lived longer than would be expected given their age or gender. (One meter per second is equivalent to 2.2 miles per hour and just a bit slower than the speed needed to cross the street at most timed traffic lights.)

When the researchers factored in body mass index, blood pressure, prior hospitalization, and several other factors, the relationship between gait speed and longevity didn't change much. In other words, walking speed seemed to be independently associated with life expectancy, not just a marker for other conditions that would affect it.

More number crunching produced interesting correlations between gait speed and five- and 10-year survival rates that make some easy comparisons possible. For example, just 15% of the men ages 75 to 84 with a very slow gait speed of less than 0.4 meters per second (imagine someone shuffling) lived for another 10 years. In contrast, half of those with a speedier gait of 1.2 meters per second or faster lived at least 10 years. Women live longer than men, so the survival rates were longer at both slow and fast speeds for them, but the pattern was the same: faster walkers had much better five- and 10-year survival rates than slower ones.

So does this mean that if you're older and you work on improving your walking speed, you'll live longer? No, you can't draw that kind of a cause-and-effect conclusion from this study, which is based on statistical associations in observational studies. On the other hand, countless other studies have shown associations between physical activity and better health and longer life. For the vast majority of people at any age, regular walking improves health.

The University of Pittsburgh re searchers envision a day when standardized measures of gait speed, along with other information, might be a low-tech way for doctors and other clinicians to assess the overall health and life expectancy of their patients. In fact, you could do it yourself at home. All that's needed is a reliable watch that keeps track of seconds and some tape to mark off four meters in a hallway or large room. A slow gait could trigger action to improve modifiable risk factors or, in a very old person, to avoid certain interventions — say, certain types of surgery — because life expectancy is too short. Clinicians would also be a position to give their fast-walking patients the good news about their health and life expectancy prospects.

Exercise: The male-female divide

While we know exercise is good for us, many researchers continue to investigate exactly how it affects our nervous system. One of the moest interesting studies conducted recently includes a look at the patterns between the sexes, which is revealing how differences affect blood flow and oxygen delivery to skeletal muscles.

Led by Emma Hart, Ph.D., a research fellow under Dr. Michael Joyner at the Mayo clinic, the research team’s study reveals a difference in how nerve traffic (nerve pulses per minute) influences the way men and women regulate blood pressureT

The findings may have important implications for understanding how hypertension and other disorders of blood pressure regulation occur in men and women. “We took some young men with variable nerve traffic and showed that people with very high nerve traffic had constricted blood vessels but a lower cardiac output, and that was one of the factors that kept them from having high blood pressure,” says Dr. Joyner. In young women this relationship was absent. “It’s an indication that the women’s blood vessels and cardiovascular systems responded to nerve impulses differently.”

In young women, the team suspects that reproductive hormones, known to be protective against cardiovascular disease, may prevent the blood vessels from becoming constricted when nerve traffic is high.

“We've known for many years that men and women are different in terms of blood pressure regulation,” says Dr. Charkoudian, who is working on the project. “We know that young women have a lower risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure) compared to young men. In this study, we focused on the importance of the sympathetic nervous system and its control of blood vessels as determinants of long-term blood pressure. Our data suggest that one of the ways women are ‘protected’ is by an influence of female hormones to alter this nerve-blood vessel interaction.”

The Joyner lab recruits a wide range of people for their studies including the occasional elite or master athlete, active and sedentary people, and those with medical conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, diseases of the autonomic nervous system and, especially people who have problems with blood pressure regulation.

Apple-picking your way to active health!

It's apple-picking season, and if you're lucky enough to live in a region with orchards, then there are so many good reasons to get out amongst the trees. Aside from the exercise and fresh air, experts now agree on the wide-ranging health benefits of this unassuming fruit.

With more than 7,500 varieties worldwide, apples pack a powerful nutritional punch, containing vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber. Apples are free of saturated and trans fats, and a medium-to-large-sized portion has only about 100 calories.

Research also suggests that apples may reduce the risk of certain cancers, specifically colon and prostate. Apples may protect the lungs of adults by reducing the risk of asthma and lung cancer. The fiber content is helpful for optimal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

And don't forget to eat the peel: it's ripe with pectin, a type of fiber, and polyphenols, powerful antioxidants, which can reduce cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. A study at Florida State University in Tallahassee published last spring confirmed these heart-healthy findings. There is also some evidence that eating apples helps regulate blood sugar and helps control your appetite.

Last year, the Iowa Women's Health Study reported that, among the 34,000-plus women it's been tracking for nearly 20 years, apples were associated with a lower risk of death from both coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Some years earlier, Finnish researchers studying dietary data collected over 28 years from 9,208 men and women found that frequent apple eaters had the lowest risk of suffering strokes compared with non-apple eaters.

Experts attribute the heart-healthy benefits to antioxidant compounds found in apples, which help prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and inhibit inflammation. Plus, the soluble fiber in apples has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels. On top of that, Eating an apple before you work out may boost your exercise endurance. Apples deliver an antioxidant called quercetin, which aids endurance by making oxygen more available to the lungs. One study showed that quercetin - when taken in supplement form - helped people bike longer

Apples are considered a "slow food" because you must take the time to chew them, giving your body time to feel full before you eat too much. The natural sweeteners in apples enter the bloodstream more slowly, keeping your blood sugar and insulin levels steady so that you feel full longer.  Another study found that apples might enhance your memory and keep your brain healthy as you age.

So make the most of the next few weeks - it's peak apple-picking time and this is a great way to sneak a little extra activity into your weekend!

Better food choices start at home

Can a cozy dining table and nice music prompt people to reach for the greens and go light on dessert? 

So suggests a new study probing why people tend to eat more-nutritious meals at home than away from home. The findings, based on data from 160 women who reported their emotional states before and after meals, add to mounting evidence that psychological factors may help override humans’ wired-in preference for high-fat, sugary foods.

“Over the course of evolution in a world of food scarcity, humans and animals alike have been biologically programmed to elicit more powerful food reward responses to high-caloric foods” than to less-fattening fare, the study notes. Given those hard-wired urges, it may not be enough to understand that broccoli is better for the waistline than French fries. Home is known to be where people feel most content, and the positive emotions often associated with home-cooked meals may be part of the recipe for a healthy diet, the researchers indicate.

The findings, published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that people who are in a good mood at home tend to prepare healthier meals – and feel more emotionally rewarded after eating them. That cycle of positive reinforcement was more pronounced at home than elsewhere.

  

The report, by Prof. Ji Lu of Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Catherine Huet, and Prof.. Laurette Dubé of McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, concludes that “the home is a privileged environment that nurtures healthy eating and in which healthier food choices trigger and are triggered by more positive emotions.”

This pattern may help explain why people make better choices at home than when eating out, says Prof. Dubé, senior author of the study and scientific director of the McGill World Platform for Health and Economic Convergence.

One limitation of the study is that all 160 participants were non-obese, white English-speaking women. Samples that vary in sex and culture, as well as samples that include children and obese populations, will be needed to demonstrate the extent to which the results can be generalized, the authors caution.

Even so, the findings provide insights that point toward novel strategies to encourage healthy eating, they conclude. Such strategies could rely on factors such as “interpersonal communications, home design and atmospheric cues” including “music, dining landscape, and kitchen equipment, which have all been found to induce positive emotions in both everyday and laboratory contexts.”

Top five (scientifically proven) reasons to get active

We're committed to keeping you up-to-date on the latest research in the field of active health, weight-loss strategies, nutrition and well-being - but let's take a minute this week to get back to basics. There are many, many reasons it's important to get active, but these five should be enough to convince you it's time to get moving:

1. Weight Control: This one is obvious. Even moderate exercise burns calories, calories which, unused, will turn into fat. There's no way around it, our body stores fat until it is needed as extra energy. When we get active, these fat stores are burned by the body. To maintain a healthy weight, American government guidelines advise 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week

2. Brain Power: It is now a generally accepted fact that exercise can improve cognitive function, including memory, attention, and thinking. Even gentle activities such as Tai Chi, which can be performed at any age, have been found to keep the mind sharp and protect against decline in brain function as we age. One study at the the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at the University of Pittsburgh found that older adults using relatively high amounts of energy in their daily activities have a significantly lower risk of becoming cognitively impaired compared to those who spend less energy. Similar studies in Toronto and Paris confirmed these findings.

3. Avoiding Ill-Health: Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce instances of many chronic diseases. Obesity is only the tip of the iceberg; physical activity has now been shown to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and high blood pressure. Regular exercise has also been shown to ease the pain of arthritis and aid those suffering from high stress levels and associated ill-health. A study published this month by leading medical journal The Lancet concluded that 15 minutes of physical activity per day reduces risk of death by 14% - that's almost one in six deaths postponed thanks to the minimum requirement for physical activity.

4. Emotional Well-being: Exercise is a key contributor when it comes to mental heath, offering not only the benefits of higher self esteem and body-image, but reducing risk of depression and anxiety. The feelings of achievement and success often felt after exercising are extremely positive, bolstered by the release of endorphins - the 'feel good hormones'. Regular exercise has also been found to improve sleep quality, which has a direct impact on mental and emotional clarity.

5. Speedy Recovery: Regular exercise and healthy living makes it much easier for your body to repair itself in the event of  injury or surgery. Physical activity increases muscle tissue and white blood cells, which help the body to reduce inflammation.

Active lifestyle important for cancer recovery

Patients receiving or recovering from cancer treatment often believe it's best to take it easy, but new research shows that being active is key in returning to full health.

According to a recent report by Macmillan Cancer Support, being advised to rest during treatment is an outdated view, and patients should be aiming to get at least two and a half hours of exercise per week. The UK report estimates that the vast majority of cancer patients are not active enough, and says that moderate exercise can combat common side-effects of treatment, including weight-gain and fatigue.

Exercise can also have a great impact on long-term health for cancer survivors, and previous research has shown that it could reduce the risk of recurrence (up to 40% for breast cancer).

The American Cancer Society concurs with these findings, and for many years have recommended exercise as a vital tool to keeping health on track during grueling cancer treatments, which can go on for months, even years. Moderate activity is what's being recommended - things like walking, gardening and swimming.

Huge study shows seniors lead in healthy behaviour

Most of us, when we think of health in old age, imagine the aches and pains or arthritis, hearing or vision loss, and a general slowing down. But the recent results of a massive, ongoing American poll show that these perceptions couldn't be further from the truth.

The group behind the Gallup-Healthways Index began its work in 2008, tracking American attitudes, health, and behaviors, and has found that people over age 65 consistently have a higher degree of well-being than any other age group.

Mental well-being was also studied, and the researchers discovered that even when health begins to decline, the older group is also less sad and depressed than any other group. Healthways polls at least 1,000 American adults per day for insights needed to improve health, increase productivity, and lower health care costs, and these recent findings are based on more than 1 million surveys completed since 2008.

The 'wellness' factors the poll tracks include multiple behaviors from smiling and laughing to having access to learn new things, and — no surprise here — eating well and getting plenty of exercise. Shockingly,  older groups outscored all groups in healthy behaviors, including not smoking.

The oldest group far outscored the other three age groups in emotions, which was one of six categories measured. Out of a possible score of 100, the 65-and-older age group scored 83. Those 45-64 had the lowest score, at 76.

According to the research, middle-aged Americans suffer the lowest well-being due in part to higher obesity rates, higher levels of chronic disease — including depression — and more reports of smoking.

The challenge for the future will be to change behaviour in younger generations before its too late: by 2050, North America will have a population where one in five people will be 65 or older.

Are we being fooled by food labels?

Although nutrition and ingredient labels on food are certainly a step in the right direction, we still need to be careful about the information they present (or omit). A recent New York Times article discussed the current project undertaken by the at the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, aimed at designing a better food label, but until their suggestions become regulation, we have to make do with what we've got.

To help you make better food choices, here's a list of the top five things you need to be aware of when reading food labels:

1. The sugar family: Not all sweet things are bad for us. Fruits and juices, for example, contain natural sugars which (in moderation) are beneficial because they give us energy. The problem is processed white sugar and artificial sweetener. These compounds are foreign to the body and seem to play a large part in the development of obesity, kidney and liver disease, and high blood pressure. Avoid fructose, the primary sweetener used in processed foods, especially its derivative,  glucose-fructose syrup.  Also watch out for aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, often used in 'diet' or 'light' products.

2. Injected salt and water: This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture finally decided that food labels should alert consumers to added salt-water solutions. This is a common practice in the meat and poultry industries, with some products now composed of almost 40% "added solution." The USDA estimates that 30% of poultry, 15% of beef and 90% of pork contain added solution, in some cases containing up to five times as much sodium as occurs naturally in that food. Proposed rules will not likely go into effect until 2014. In the meantime, look closely at labels and go for products that assure "no added salt", or ask your butcher for un"enhanced" meat.

3. Good and bad fats: "No Trans Fats" is a label we see on many products now, but be careful of "fat free" products - many fat-free foods are high in sugar, salt, refined carbohydrates, and calories. What you want to avoid are the saturated fats in things like red meat, dairy, and egg yolks, and trans fats in baked and fried snack foods. "Good fats" include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, plus omega-3s, which can actually lower cholesterol and risk of heart disease. You can find these in avocados, fish, nuts and olives.

4. Serving sizes: Beware of serving sizes on food labels. Many can be unrealistically small and as much as we might study a label to see how many calories, how much fat, and how much sugar is inside, we often gloss over the amount of food these numbers refer to. A single serving of ice-cream is often just 1/2 cup, nutritional information for cereal is usually based on a 3/4-cup bowlful, and one serving of nachos can be as little as 15 chips!

5. Processed v natural ingredients: Most of Americans’ household food budget is spent on processed foods, the majority of which are filled with additives and stripped of nutrients. Choosing refined grains such as white bread, rolls, sugary low-fiber cereal, white rice, or white pasta over whole grains can boost your heart attack risk by up to 30 percent, and raises risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and diabetes. Processed meat, such as common hot-dog sausages, usually contain harmful chemical preservatives linked to increased cancer risk. Stick as much as possible to foods that have not been altered from their natural state.

Avoiding baby couch potatoes

In a bid to prevent problems of obesity and low levels of fitness from an early age, Britain's health department has now released new activity guidelines - for babies and toddlers.

While it may seem that very young children are adequately active in learning to crawl and walk, it has been determined that in reality, too many youngsters are spending the majority of their time in baby carriers and seats, often in front of a television screen. 

"Physical activity should be encouraged from birth, particularly through floor-based play and water-based activities in safe environments," the guidelines read. New parents are being advised that children under five who can walk should get around three hours of physical activity per day.

Infants who can't walk aren't exempt from the guidelines. It's recommended they do physical activity through "tummy time" - time spent on their stomach, engaging in such activities as rolling and playing on the floor - reaching for and grasping objects, pulling, pushing, playing with other people and parent-and-baby swim sessions.

It also recommended that parents in the U.K. limit babies' sedentary time in terms of watching television, sitting in seats or carriers, and even in walking aids or bouncers that constrain movement.
 

For the time being, children under five are excluded from Canada's physical activity guidelines, which call for children ages five to 11 and teens 12 to 17 to do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. Mark Tremblay, chairman of the CSEP's physical activity guidelines committee said similar recommendations should be in place in Canada within a year.

Active Health - Every Little Bit Helps!

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It's official - researchers at Queens University in Ontario have essentially said that as far as getting active is concerned, we really have no excuse.

Their new study, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise says that everyday chores count as exercise, and can contribute to overall fitness and heart health. Incidental tasks like carrying groceries, cleaning the house, gardening, and walking around the office at work all boost our cardiorespiratory fitness and burn calories.

The study was conducted by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies, and included 135 obese men and women. Participants used accelerometers to measure the number of minutes per day they spent doing these everyday physical activities, as well as the intensity at which they did the activities. The researchers found that intensity was actually more important than the amount of time spent on these tasks - so next time you're washing your car, cooking, or vacuuming, put a little extra effort into it - your heart will thank you!

Obesity numbers still creeping up

It's something that we have been aware of for many, many years now, and yet obesity levels in every age range and social class are rising. An article published in The Globe and Mail today reports that this is not only a severe health problem, but an economic one too. The latest math shows that obesity in Canada is costing the government up to $7 billion per year, both from direct healthcare costs and and indirect costs such as lost productivity of people unable to work either because of disability or because they are unable to find employment due to discrimination.

The study quoted in the article, published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Public Health Agency of Canada, has now reported that 1 in 4 Canadians are obese (that is, with a BMI of over 30), while a staggering 62% of the population - that's almost 13 million people -  classified as overweight. In Canada, the percentage of obese adults has doubled in the past 30 years, while the number for children and youth has tripled.

The study also says that physical inactivity – meaning a person is active less than 15 minutes a day – is the greatest predictor of obesity. It warns that obesity significantly increases the risk of 18 chronic illnesses, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer.

Other developments in the news includes the emergence of new 'obesity drugs' for which a number of pharmaceutical companies are currently trying to get FDA approval.

Many worry about the consequences of releasing a potent weight-loss drug on a population which seems unwilling to make simple dietary or lifestyle changes.

Men officially more vulnerable than women

Yesterday saw the beginning of International Men's Health Week, which exists to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.

It has now been established that men really do have greater demands on their health than women, and a recent study in Europe found that premature death rates are much higher in men than in the fairer sex across all age ranges (630,000 men die every year aged between 15 and 64 compared with 300,000 women). In general, young men are four times more likely to die than women, and men die sooner from cancers that should affect men and women equally.

So why the discrepancy? One of the main reasons often cited for the gender imbalance is men's reluctance to talk about health and personal issues. The theory goes that men don’t seek help early enough, engage in risky “macho” behaviours, and are irresponsible about their health, as well as being less well informed about and less interested in health issues.

But the reality is a little more complex - an important factor in mens poor health is the stereotypical role they have thrust upon them by society. Men are still seen as primary breadwinners in many cases, and so work longer hours, sleep less, and are more prone to be stressed and obese.

The theme for this year's Men's Health Week is "Let's Talk" - in the hope that men and boys of all ages will become more comfortable discussing health worries, and that the male population will be encouraged to think about regular health checkups. Keep an eye out for events, talks, and health screenings in your area all week.

For more on IMHW see the  www.menshealthmonth.org/week/index.html, or check out this great Canadian resource www.aboutmen.ca