An editorial that was recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that people who sit for extended periods of time, either at work or in front of the TV/computer, have a higher risk of disease than those who move around more. They defined “sedentary” behavior as a lack of whole-body muscle movement as opposed to a lifestyle without exercise.

Recent research has indicated that sitting in front of the TV for hours at a time increases risk of premature death from heart disease. Women’s risk for the metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, increases 26% for every extra hour of sitting in front of the TV. Whole-body muscle inactivity is also associated with obesity and possibly some types of cancer.

So it is true that taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car further away and walking the extra steps is actually beneficial. Next time you need to talk to a co-worker, take a walk to his/her desk instead of sending an email or walk into the bank or restaurant instead of using the drive-thru. All extra activity counts and may actually help you live a healthier life!!

For more healthy tips visit www.heart-strong.com.

In a recent study published in Circulation January 2010, Australia researchers reported that people who watched more than 4 hours of television daily had a 46% higher all cause mortality rate and an 80% higher risk of cardiovascular death during the study period.

The study followed 3,846 men and 4,954 women for 6 years. The average age of study participants was 50 years of age. Every hour of sitting in front of the TV raised a person’s risk of cardiovascular death by 18% and cancer death by 9%. Although they studied people sitting in front of a television, it is suggested that this risk can be associated with any long periods of sitting.

The heavy TV watchers had the most negative health effects regardless of other cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lack of exercise.
Time spent watching TV can be spent on physical activity and healthy lifestyles to improve health and prevent disease.

So, the skinny TV’s may be making us fat!!!! Time to get up and get moving!!!

For exercise tips and healthy lifestyle information visit us at www.heart-strong.com.

Last time we reviewed some heart healthy eating and drinking tips for the holiday season. This week, we would like to share some more tips from healthy traveling practices, physical activity and stress management tips.

Having a heart healthy holiday may be easier than you think!

Heart Healthy Travel Tips:
1) If you are delayed in the airport or train station don’t just sit there and complain, get up and walk around!! All extra steps count!
2) If you will be eating on the go, try to pack a few healthy items in your carry on bag-like an apple, orange, banana or granola bar.
3) If you buy something at the newspaper stand/candy shop opt for the nuts over the candy bar. They are high in fiber and heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
4) If you will be eating at one of the airport restaurants, opt for the salads minus the creamy dressings, bacon bits, and cheese. Instead, go heavy on the veggies and light/fat free dressings or vinaigrettes. If you want to “sink you teeth” into a sandwich opt for the grilled chicken or turkey club type sandwich and ask for dressings or sauces on the side. Avoid the fried, fatty foods.

Heart Healthy Activity Tips:
1) Participate in outings that involve physical activity like skiing, sleigh riding, ice skating and walking.
2) At the shopping malls park in the furthest spot from the store to increase your walking.
3) Go window shopping and enjoy the holiday decorations. Take your pedometer with you and count your steps. Aim for 10,000 steps per day!
4) Dance at holiday parties.
5) Schedule exercise/physical activity into you routine. Exercise increases your energy level.
6) Take the dog for a walk and enjoy the holiday decorations in the neighborhood.
7) Go Christmas caroling.
Cut down your own Christmas tree.
9) Take the stairs whenever possible instead of elevators and escalators.

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress:
1) Schedule some down time for yourself to relax and de-stress
2) Learn some relaxation techniques and use them throughout your stressful days. Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises can be very relaxing.
3) Include a chair massage for yourself during holiday shopping trips.
4) Remember to have fun each and every day. Find some humor in every day life. Laughter is a great way to relieve stress.
5) Try to always keep a positive attitude and surround yourself with happy people.
6) Try not to focus on money issues every day. If you have made financial mistakes in the past, use it as a learning experience and avoid similar mistakes in the future.

For additional heart healthy information visit us at www.heart-strong.com.

HAVE A HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON and a Wonderful 2010!!!!!

Approximately 24 million people have diabetes mellitus (DM) and 57 million are at risk of developing it.  The increased risk is due to the fact that more and more people are overweight/obese and thus have impaired blood sugar control.

A recent study published in The Lancet followed 3,000 high-risk patients for 10 years.  The focus of this study was on preventing DM.  One third of the participants were told to eat a low fat diet and exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 days/week.  The goal was a 7% weight reduction in one year.  The second 1/3 were given Metformin, a diabetes medication to control blood sugars.  The remaining 1/3 received no intervention.

 Many people in the lifestyle group met the weight reduction goal.  However, many also gained some of the weight back over time.  The good news was that their risk of developing DM was still the lowest of the 3 groups although there was some weight regained. 

 After 3 years, the incidence of DM was decreased by 58% in the lifestyle group and 31% in the Metformin group as compared to the group with no intervention.  After 10 years, the lifestyle group and the Metformin group had a decreased incidence of DM by 34% and 18% respectively.

 Lifestyle interventions delayed the onset of DM by 4 years and the Metformin delayed onset by 2 years.  The greatest benefit of lifestyle changes was seen in the 60 year old and above group.  The diet and exercise lowered their risk of developing DM by 50%!

These results emphasize the significant benefit of healthy lifestyle changes in preventing DM.  These simple measures should be incorporated into everyone’s daily life.

 Remember….SMALL LIFESTYLE CHANGES YIELD GREAT HEALTH BENEFITS!!!

This is exactly what Heartstrong is trying to teach. For more info please visit www.heart-strong.com