Tuesday 24 April 2012

Olympic Athlete Series coming soon!

Although the driving force behind the Bloomberg Manulife Prize is rewarding talented researchers, we're also dedicated to inspiring and motivating Canadians all year round: we want you to get active, and we're on hand with tips, articles, and motivational tools to help.

We're incredibly lucky that some of the country's top athletes are excited about our project, and have agreed to exclusive interviews. They'll talk about how they get motivated on the off-days, what healthy snacks they love, and what drives them to sporting greatness.

We'll have runners, swimmers, kayakers, fencers and more every week in the run up to this summer's Olympic Games in London - and we're hoping these sporting heroes will inspire you to lace up those running shoes or take a dive in the pool.

Watch this space!

Monday 9 April 2012

Stand up for a longer life

Are you sitting down right now? You might want to stand up.

According to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, sitting for long periods increases your risk of all-cause early death.

In the study, researchers followed 222,497 Australian adults for several years. Over the course of the study, participants who sat for more than 11 hours a day had the highest risk for all-cause mortality, followed by those who sat between 8 and 11 hours daily. Those who sat for less than four hours a day had the lowest risk of all-cause mortality.

The revelation that sitting can kill isn’t necessarily new. In the past several years, study after study has confirmed that living a sedentary life — going from your bed to your desk to the couch and back to bed every day — can damage our health in a variety of ways. In fact, it has been shown to increase risk for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia, and some cancers.

Another recent study actually found that sitting is so detrimental, its effects are almost impossible to exercise away. The study followed 27 Finnish men and women over two days. On the first day, they exercised; on the second day, they did not. When researchers measured the muscle activity and heart rate of the participants, they found that though they burned calories through exercise, it did not increase their overall muscle activity. Researchers also found that desk workers’ muscles are inactive for about 70 percent of the day — regardless of whether the day includes any fitness training.

The takeaway: Reduce the amount of time you spend sitting however possible. Try these tips to up your daily activity:
  • Walk more. One of the simplest ways to offset the effects of sitting is to walk. If you can, walk or bike to work instead of driving. If you take public transportation, get off a few stops earlier to squeeze in more steps — experts recommend buying a pedometer and aiming for 10,000 daily steps.
  • Stand up at work. Experts estimate that standing burns 50 percent more calories than sitting, so whenever possible, think on your feet on the job. Stand during meetings, while you’re on the phone, and depending on the type of work you do, consider adding a standing desk to your office.
  • Fidget while you work. According to researchers at the Minnesota Obesity Center, fidgeting might be what separates thin people from overweight people. To increase your daily activity, make a point to get up and walk around your office every half an hour, if possible.
  • Make TV time active. Instead of vegging out on the couch when you get home, add activity to your evenings by doing jumping jacks, pushups, crunches, and other fat-blasting moves during commercial breaks of your favorite shows.

Monday 2 April 2012

The Bloomberg Manulife Prize is on TV!

The Bloomberg Manulfie Prize makes its small-screen debut today, with a TV spot which will be running for three weeks on Global TV and Shaw Media's other specialty channels. Check it out below!