Physical Activity

Physical inactivity was associated with an excess risk for atherosclerotic CVD similar to smoking and poor cholesterol levels, according to a research letter published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The Daily Mile, a school-based physical activity program in addition to physical education, may be considered a favorable and cost-effective approach to childhood obesity prevention when compared to the usual health and wellbeing activities in schools, according to findings from a recent study.

Physically active adults, particularly women, have lower risk for atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmia compared with inactive adults, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.

As 2019 draws to a close, Healio Psychiatry has compiled a list of the top stories of the year for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.

Strategies with enhanced motivational interviewing did not improve physical activity or weight loss in patients at high CVD risk compared with standard community-based programs, nor were they cost-effective, according to results from the MOVE IT trial.

The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. is rising at an alarming rate, as are its CV consequences, a result of greater consumption of high-calorie foods, decreases in regular physical activity and increases in psychosocial stresses, especially in disadvantaged populations. In an analysis of 10 large prospective cohorts with long-term follow-up published recently in JAMA Cardiology, researchers found that adults with obesity had significantly increased lifetime risk for CV morbidity and mortality and typically had a shorter life span compared with those with a normal BMI. In addition, elevated BMI conferred the greatest risk for incident HF among CVD subtypes.

Patients with a history of depression and at risk for CVD who wore an activity tracker for 8 weeks had improvements in life functioning and depression, according to preliminary data from the Healthy Hearts Healthy Minds study presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 53rd Annual Convention.

An intervention promoting an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet and physical activity was linked with better adherence to the Mediterranean diet at 1 year compared with the traditional Mediterranean diet in individuals with metabolic syndrome, according to interim results from the PREDIMED-Plus study.

Weight loss interventions with game elements, especially competition, result in significantly greater increases in physical activity among overweight and obese adults compared with those that do not have game elements, according to study results published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The benefits of owning a dog go beyond celebrating National Dog Day on Aug. 26: Patients who owned a dog were more likely to achieve recommended levels of behavioral CV metrics including diet and physical activity compared with those who did not own dogs, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality and Outcomes.