Compared with inactivity, a weekend warrior pattern of exercise (concentrating most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in one to two days during the week) or a more evenly distributed physical activity pattern were associated with similarly lower risks of diseases across 16 categories — from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and neurological illnesses. The findings indicate that concentrated physical activity patterns may be just as effective for disease prevention as patterns where exercise is spread out throughout the week. Compared with inactivity, a weekend warrior pattern of exercise (concentrating most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in one to two days during the week) or a more evenly distributed physical activity pattern were associated with similarly lower risks of diseases across 16 categories — from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and neurological illnesses. The findings indicate that concentrated physical activity patterns may be just as effective for disease prevention as patterns where exercise is spread out throughout the week. READ MORE

Study indicates that a fitness tracker can detect mood episodes in bipolar disorder to help drive treatment.Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, evaluated whether data collected from a fitness tracker could be used to accurately detect mood episodes in people with bipolar disorder. Their findings, published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, indicate that it is possible to detect time intervals when patients with bipolar disorder are experiencing depression or mania with high accuracy using data from fitness tracking devices. READ MORE

New research suggests that adding a small amount of physical activity — such as uphill walking or stair-climbing — into your day may help to lower blood pressure. The study, published in Circulation, was carried out by experts from the ProPASS (Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep) Consortium, an international academic collaboration led by the University of Sydney and University College London (UCL). Just five minutes of activity a day was estimated to potentially reduce blood pressure, while replacing sedentary behaviours with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day, including uphill walking, stair-climbing, running and cycling, was also estimated to lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in blood pressure. READ MORE

More time spent sitting, reclining or lying down during the day may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, according to a study in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, and presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2024. More than roughly 10-and-a-half hours of sedentary behavior per day was significantly linked with future heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular (CV) death, even among people meeting recommended levels of exercise. “Our findings support cutting back on sedentary time to reduce cardiovascular risk, with 10.6 hours a day marking a potentially key threshold tied to higher heart failure and cardiovascular mortality,” said Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, a cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and co-senior author of the study. “Too much sitting or lying down can be harmful for heart health, even for those who are active.” READ MORE

A diet high in ultra-processed foods is associated with higher amounts of fat stored inside thigh muscles, regardless of the amount of calories consumed or level of physical activity, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Higher amounts of intramuscular fat in the thigh could also increase the risk for knee osteoarthritis. The use of natural and minimally processed ingredients in many modern diets has decreased, more often being replaced with ingredients that have been industrially processed, artificially flavored, colored or chemically altered. READ MORE

ELECTRIFYING YOUR WORKOUT CAN BOOST MUSCLE MASS STRENGTH A team of researchers discovered that combining neuromuscular electrical stimulation with resistance training results in greater muscle mass and strength compared to resistance training alone.If building strength and muscle mass is part of your New Year’s Resolution, you may want to add a new routine to your workout. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), or electrical muscle stimulation for short, uses electrical currents to contract muscles. The stimulation devices are easy to use and widely available on the market, according to Sudip Bajpeyi, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at The University of Texas at El Paso, but he has often wondered, “Can these stimulators offer any benefits when used during resistance training? What does the research say?” READ MORE