Ω
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. MCI is the stage between normal memory loss that comes with aging and early Alzheimer's disease.
"We observed a dose-response pattern which simply means; the higher the amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of MCI," said study author Yonas E. Geda, MD, MSc, with the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study involved 1,233 people between the ages of 70 and 89 and free of dementia residing in Olmsted County, Minn. Of those, 163 had MCI. Participants reported the amount of calories they ate or drank in a food questionnaire and were divided into three equal groups based on their daily caloric consumption. One-third of the participants consumed between 600 and 1,526 calories per day, one-third between 1,526 and 2,143 and one-third consumed between 2,143 and 6,000 calories per day.
The odds of having MCI more than doubled for those in the highest calorie-consuming group compared to those in the lowest calorie-consuming group. The results were the same after adjusting for history of stroke, diabetes, amount of education, and other factors that can affect risk of memory loss. There was no significant difference in risk for the middle group.
"Cutting calories and eating foods that make up a healthy diet may be a simpler way to prevent memory loss as we age," said Geda.
Ω
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tell me how you are -- and I know how long you will live
Ω
How would you rate your health? This is a question that often appears on questionnaires. The answer is linked to the respondent's probability of survival or death. Needless to say, a pessimistic assessment goes hand in hand with an increased risk of illness or death. It can be assumed that on average people who rate their health as poor have an unhealthier lifestyle, are often in a fragile state of health or are already sick. However, earlier studies that only monitored the participants for a few years after the survey reveal that the correlation persists even if these factors are taken into account.
Self-rating more permanent …
Now, researchers from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Zurich demonstrate that self-rated health is also linked to the probability of survival or death over a long period of more than thirty years. In the study, which was conducted in Switzerland, men who rated their health as "very poor" were 3.3 times more likely to die than men of the same age who rated their health as "excellent", and the risk of death was 1.9 times higher in women who rated their health as "very poor" than for those who rated it as "excellent". Here, the risk increased steadily from an optimistic to a pessimistic rating: people in "excellent" health had better chances of survival than those in "good" health, the latter better chances than those in a "fair" state of health, and so on. "The steady increase in risk and the long time of over thirty years between the self-rating and the end of the observation period render it practically impossible for medical history or a dark foreboding to be main causes of the correlation observed," explains head of the study Matthias Bopp.
... risk factors taken into consideration
Even taking education levels, marital status, tobacco-related strains, medical history, the use of medication, blood pressure and blood glucose into account, the correlation between self-rated health and mortality only weakened marginally. The difference in the risk of death between the best and the worst rating was still 1:2.9 in men and 1:1.5 in women. "Our results indicate that people who rate their state of health as excellent have attributes that improve and sustain their health," concludes specialist in preventive medicine David Fäh. "These might include a positive attitude, an optimistic outlook and a fundamental level of satisfaction with one's own life."
Doctors called for
The results of the study support the broad concept of health advocated by the World Health Organization not as the absence of disease, but rather as complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. "Good doctors should therefore not just look for the presence of risk factors or diseases, but also check which health resources their patients have and boost and consolidate them if need be," says David Fäh.
How would you rate your health? This is a question that often appears on questionnaires. The answer is linked to the respondent's probability of survival or death. Needless to say, a pessimistic assessment goes hand in hand with an increased risk of illness or death. It can be assumed that on average people who rate their health as poor have an unhealthier lifestyle, are often in a fragile state of health or are already sick. However, earlier studies that only monitored the participants for a few years after the survey reveal that the correlation persists even if these factors are taken into account.
Self-rating more permanent …
Now, researchers from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Zurich demonstrate that self-rated health is also linked to the probability of survival or death over a long period of more than thirty years. In the study, which was conducted in Switzerland, men who rated their health as "very poor" were 3.3 times more likely to die than men of the same age who rated their health as "excellent", and the risk of death was 1.9 times higher in women who rated their health as "very poor" than for those who rated it as "excellent". Here, the risk increased steadily from an optimistic to a pessimistic rating: people in "excellent" health had better chances of survival than those in "good" health, the latter better chances than those in a "fair" state of health, and so on. "The steady increase in risk and the long time of over thirty years between the self-rating and the end of the observation period render it practically impossible for medical history or a dark foreboding to be main causes of the correlation observed," explains head of the study Matthias Bopp.
... risk factors taken into consideration
Even taking education levels, marital status, tobacco-related strains, medical history, the use of medication, blood pressure and blood glucose into account, the correlation between self-rated health and mortality only weakened marginally. The difference in the risk of death between the best and the worst rating was still 1:2.9 in men and 1:1.5 in women. "Our results indicate that people who rate their state of health as excellent have attributes that improve and sustain their health," concludes specialist in preventive medicine David Fäh. "These might include a positive attitude, an optimistic outlook and a fundamental level of satisfaction with one's own life."
Doctors called for
The results of the study support the broad concept of health advocated by the World Health Organization not as the absence of disease, but rather as complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. "Good doctors should therefore not just look for the presence of risk factors or diseases, but also check which health resources their patients have and boost and consolidate them if need be," says David Fäh.
Anti-aging effects of resveratrol
Ω
A well-conducted experimental study in mice has provided potentially important new insights into the association of the intake of resveratrol and like compounds with health benefits. Resveratrol is a constituent of red wine and other vegetable products, and is being evaluated in high-doses as a pharmaceutical. The biologic mechanisms demonstrated in this study could provide key new approaches for the prevention or treatment of a number of chronic diseases in humans, especially those related to vascular and metabolic diseases and to the risk of mortality.
More than two decades ago, particularly through publicity related to the so-called "French Paradox," the public became aware of the potential reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease from the moderate consumption of red wine, and the media focused on a single constituent in red wine, resveratrol, as being the "key" factor. We now know that resveratrol is only one of hundreds of phenolic compounds in wine, many of which have been shown to have beneficial effects on vascular function, and that alcohol itself (present in wine, beer or spirits) also provides considerable protection against heart disease. Still, there has remained considerable attention paid to resveratrol, and extensive scientific research on resveratrol and related substances have shown that, in high doses, they may increase longevity of life and reduce metabolic diseases of aging.
In general, Forum reviewers thought that this was a very well-done study. Their concerns related to the dose used in these experiments; while the levels of resveratrol and like compounds might be accessible with pharmaceutical doses, the suggestion that similar levels could be connected with wine consumption is misleading. Further, in humans, resveratrol in the diet will interact with many other chemicals to achieve an effect, as whole plant extracts consist of many active and inactive micronutrients that may play a role in health and disease. To ascribe a specific effect on health from one chemical found in wine or other plant products could be misleading.
Still, the reviewers believed that this paper was an important contribution to our knowledge about the mechanisms by which resveratrol and other chemicals may play a role in cardiovascular and other diseases. Such knowledge could help develop approaches for the prevention and treatment of human disease and for increasing the longevity of a healthy life.
###
Reference: Park S-J, Ahmad F, Philp A, Baar K, Williams T, Luo H, Ke H, Rehmann H, Taussig R, Brown AL, Kim MK, Beaven MA, Burgin AB, Manganiello V, Chung JH. Resveratrol ameliorates aging-related metabolic phenotypes by inhibiting cAMP phosphodiesterases. Cell 2012;148:421-433. DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.017.
Comments on this critique by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research were provided by the following members:
Fulvio Ursini, MD, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
Andrew L. Waterhouse, PhD, Marvin Sands Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis; Davis, CA, USA
R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
Federico Leighton, MD, Laboratorio de Nutricion Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Francesco Orlandi, MD, Dept. of Gastroenterology, Università degli Studi di Ancona, Italy
David Vauzour, PhD, Senior Research Associate, Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
David Van Velden, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Creina Stockley, clinical pharmacology, Health and Regulatory Information Manager, Australian Wine Research Institute, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia
Ulrich Keil, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and click on Recent Reviews or this link: http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-070-potentially-important-new-mechanisms-found-for-the-anti-aging-effects-of-resveratrol-a-phenolic-compound-found-in-red-wine-9-february-2012/
The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject
Helena Conibear co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
helena@alcoholforum4profs.org
Professor R Curtis Ellison co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
ellison@bu.edu
www.alcoholforum4profs.org
www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum
Tel UK: + 44 1300 320869
A well-conducted experimental study in mice has provided potentially important new insights into the association of the intake of resveratrol and like compounds with health benefits. Resveratrol is a constituent of red wine and other vegetable products, and is being evaluated in high-doses as a pharmaceutical. The biologic mechanisms demonstrated in this study could provide key new approaches for the prevention or treatment of a number of chronic diseases in humans, especially those related to vascular and metabolic diseases and to the risk of mortality.
More than two decades ago, particularly through publicity related to the so-called "French Paradox," the public became aware of the potential reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease from the moderate consumption of red wine, and the media focused on a single constituent in red wine, resveratrol, as being the "key" factor. We now know that resveratrol is only one of hundreds of phenolic compounds in wine, many of which have been shown to have beneficial effects on vascular function, and that alcohol itself (present in wine, beer or spirits) also provides considerable protection against heart disease. Still, there has remained considerable attention paid to resveratrol, and extensive scientific research on resveratrol and related substances have shown that, in high doses, they may increase longevity of life and reduce metabolic diseases of aging.
In general, Forum reviewers thought that this was a very well-done study. Their concerns related to the dose used in these experiments; while the levels of resveratrol and like compounds might be accessible with pharmaceutical doses, the suggestion that similar levels could be connected with wine consumption is misleading. Further, in humans, resveratrol in the diet will interact with many other chemicals to achieve an effect, as whole plant extracts consist of many active and inactive micronutrients that may play a role in health and disease. To ascribe a specific effect on health from one chemical found in wine or other plant products could be misleading.
Still, the reviewers believed that this paper was an important contribution to our knowledge about the mechanisms by which resveratrol and other chemicals may play a role in cardiovascular and other diseases. Such knowledge could help develop approaches for the prevention and treatment of human disease and for increasing the longevity of a healthy life.
###
Reference: Park S-J, Ahmad F, Philp A, Baar K, Williams T, Luo H, Ke H, Rehmann H, Taussig R, Brown AL, Kim MK, Beaven MA, Burgin AB, Manganiello V, Chung JH. Resveratrol ameliorates aging-related metabolic phenotypes by inhibiting cAMP phosphodiesterases. Cell 2012;148:421-433. DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.017.
Comments on this critique by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research were provided by the following members:
Fulvio Ursini, MD, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
Andrew L. Waterhouse, PhD, Marvin Sands Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis; Davis, CA, USA
R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
Federico Leighton, MD, Laboratorio de Nutricion Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Francesco Orlandi, MD, Dept. of Gastroenterology, Università degli Studi di Ancona, Italy
David Vauzour, PhD, Senior Research Associate, Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
David Van Velden, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Creina Stockley, clinical pharmacology, Health and Regulatory Information Manager, Australian Wine Research Institute, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia
Ulrich Keil, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and click on Recent Reviews or this link: http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-070-potentially-important-new-mechanisms-found-for-the-anti-aging-effects-of-resveratrol-a-phenolic-compound-found-in-red-wine-9-february-2012/
The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject
Helena Conibear co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
helena@alcoholforum4profs.org
Professor R Curtis Ellison co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
ellison@bu.edu
www.alcoholforum4profs.org
www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum
Tel UK: + 44 1300 320869
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Exercising and getting fit may protect your heart, even if you have a few extra pounds
Ω
Good news for active adults fighting the battle of the bulge.
Exercising and getting fit may protect your heart, even if you have a few extra pounds, according to a study published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
The study, which was led by Duck-chul Lee of the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, is one of the first to examine how a change in fitness or fatness (or both) affects development of hypertension, high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome, defined by a large waistline, high triglycerides, high blood sugar while fasting and high blood pressure.
“Although improving fitness and losing fatness is ideally the best combination, our study also shows that as long as individuals maintain their fitness and fatness levels, which is less challenging, they are not likely to be at high risk of developing CVD risk factors,” Lee said.
In an effort to determine how changes in fitness and fatness affect heart health, a U.S. research team studied 3,148 healthy adults in Dallas over a six-year period.
The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) enrolled healthy men and women between 1979 and 2006, analyzing how their fitness and fatness levels changed over time and how that related to the development of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia. Cardiovascular fitness was measured through a treadmill test, and body fatness was calculated through a skinfold test and body mass index. Fatness and fitness were measured independently and then together to get a complete understanding.
At the end of the study, the researchers found:
• 752 participants had developed hypertension, 426 had developed metabolic syndrome, and 597 participants had developed high cholesterol.
•Participants who maintained or improved their fitness level had a significantly lower risk of developing any of the three risk factors, compared with those whose fitness level had dropped. (24 percent and 23 percent for hypertension, 38 and 41 percent for metabolic syndrome and 25 percent and 26 percent for high cholesterol)
• Individuals who had gained fat had a significantly higher risk for developing any of the three risk factors (24 percent for hypertension, 52 percent for metabolic syndrome and 41 percent for higher cholesterol.)
• The researchers found that maintaining or improving fitness lessened —although not completely eliminated —the increased risk caused by gaining fat. Similarly, reducing body fat appeared to counteract part of the increased risk associated with losing fitness. In addition, those who maintained their fitness and fatness did not have higher risks of developing the three risk factors compared to those who gained fitness and lost fatness.
“This study has clinical and public health significance because the finding that improved fitness can reduce some or all of these risk factors associated with increased fatness may help the two-thirds of the U.S. adult population who are overweight or obese,” Lee said.
“These days, extensive attention has been given to obesity and weight loss. However, maintaining or improving fitness, primarily by engaging in regular physical activity, is also at least as important as weight loss for reducing cardiovascular disease in healthy adults.”
The study is the first of its kind to analyze fitness and fatness independently and also adjust for each other and to measure fatness and fitness over time.
Ω
Good news for active adults fighting the battle of the bulge.
Exercising and getting fit may protect your heart, even if you have a few extra pounds, according to a study published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
The study, which was led by Duck-chul Lee of the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, is one of the first to examine how a change in fitness or fatness (or both) affects development of hypertension, high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome, defined by a large waistline, high triglycerides, high blood sugar while fasting and high blood pressure.
“Although improving fitness and losing fatness is ideally the best combination, our study also shows that as long as individuals maintain their fitness and fatness levels, which is less challenging, they are not likely to be at high risk of developing CVD risk factors,” Lee said.
In an effort to determine how changes in fitness and fatness affect heart health, a U.S. research team studied 3,148 healthy adults in Dallas over a six-year period.
The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) enrolled healthy men and women between 1979 and 2006, analyzing how their fitness and fatness levels changed over time and how that related to the development of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia. Cardiovascular fitness was measured through a treadmill test, and body fatness was calculated through a skinfold test and body mass index. Fatness and fitness were measured independently and then together to get a complete understanding.
At the end of the study, the researchers found:
• 752 participants had developed hypertension, 426 had developed metabolic syndrome, and 597 participants had developed high cholesterol.
•Participants who maintained or improved their fitness level had a significantly lower risk of developing any of the three risk factors, compared with those whose fitness level had dropped. (24 percent and 23 percent for hypertension, 38 and 41 percent for metabolic syndrome and 25 percent and 26 percent for high cholesterol)
• Individuals who had gained fat had a significantly higher risk for developing any of the three risk factors (24 percent for hypertension, 52 percent for metabolic syndrome and 41 percent for higher cholesterol.)
• The researchers found that maintaining or improving fitness lessened —although not completely eliminated —the increased risk caused by gaining fat. Similarly, reducing body fat appeared to counteract part of the increased risk associated with losing fitness. In addition, those who maintained their fitness and fatness did not have higher risks of developing the three risk factors compared to those who gained fitness and lost fatness.
“This study has clinical and public health significance because the finding that improved fitness can reduce some or all of these risk factors associated with increased fatness may help the two-thirds of the U.S. adult population who are overweight or obese,” Lee said.
“These days, extensive attention has been given to obesity and weight loss. However, maintaining or improving fitness, primarily by engaging in regular physical activity, is also at least as important as weight loss for reducing cardiovascular disease in healthy adults.”
The study is the first of its kind to analyze fitness and fatness independently and also adjust for each other and to measure fatness and fitness over time.
Ω
Women Who Eat Fish Have Lower Colon Polyp Risk
Ω
Women who eat at least three servings of fish per week have a reduced risk of developing some types of colon polyps according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.
The research, led by first author Harvey Murff, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Medicine, was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The VICC researchers believe that omega-3 fats in fish may reduce inflammation in the body and help protect against the development of colon polyps. Polyps are small growths on the lining of the intestinal tract that may develop into cancer.
Earlier research in animals has suggested a link between inflammation and colon polyp formation but studies in humans have not been conclusive.
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.
More than 5,300 participants were enrolled in the Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study and received colonoscopies at Vanderbilt or the Veterans’ Affairs Tennessee Valley Health System in Nashville. Study participants completed food frequency questionnaires to determine how often they ate fish and investigators obtained urine samples from some of the patients to measure biomarkers for a hormone related to inflammation.
Women who ate the equivalent of three servings of fish per week had about a 33 percent reduction in the risk for colon polyps. They also had a lower level of a hormone called prostaglandin E2 which is linked to inflammation.
“That was the aspect of the study we were particularly excited about because prostaglandin E2 is known to be associated with adenomas or polyps in colorectal cancers,” said Murff.
Murff said fish oil appears to have the same beneficial effect as aspirin in reducing inflammation and this may protect against the formation of polyps.
“Women who ate more fish had lower numbers of polyps and they had lower levels of prostaglandin E2 which reassured us that these results may be real findings and not just a statistical fluke,” Murff explained.
While women who ate the most fish saw some protective effect, men who ate more fish did not have a reduced risk of developing colon polyps.
The VICC investigators were surprised by this difference.
“The difference between men and women may be linked to their background diet. Even though men are eating more omega-3 fatty acids they may also be eating more omega-6 fatty acids and that may be blunting the effect,” said Murff.
Omega-6 fatty acids which are found in meats, grains and seed oils, including corn, safflower and sunflower oil, may counteract the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids.
While eating more fish appeared to be beneficial, not all types of fish contain high levels of the protective omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna, salmon and sardines are high in omega-3 acids, while tilapia and catfish have low levels.
Ω
Women who eat at least three servings of fish per week have a reduced risk of developing some types of colon polyps according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.
The research, led by first author Harvey Murff, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Medicine, was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The VICC researchers believe that omega-3 fats in fish may reduce inflammation in the body and help protect against the development of colon polyps. Polyps are small growths on the lining of the intestinal tract that may develop into cancer.
Earlier research in animals has suggested a link between inflammation and colon polyp formation but studies in humans have not been conclusive.
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.
More than 5,300 participants were enrolled in the Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study and received colonoscopies at Vanderbilt or the Veterans’ Affairs Tennessee Valley Health System in Nashville. Study participants completed food frequency questionnaires to determine how often they ate fish and investigators obtained urine samples from some of the patients to measure biomarkers for a hormone related to inflammation.
Women who ate the equivalent of three servings of fish per week had about a 33 percent reduction in the risk for colon polyps. They also had a lower level of a hormone called prostaglandin E2 which is linked to inflammation.
“That was the aspect of the study we were particularly excited about because prostaglandin E2 is known to be associated with adenomas or polyps in colorectal cancers,” said Murff.
Murff said fish oil appears to have the same beneficial effect as aspirin in reducing inflammation and this may protect against the formation of polyps.
“Women who ate more fish had lower numbers of polyps and they had lower levels of prostaglandin E2 which reassured us that these results may be real findings and not just a statistical fluke,” Murff explained.
While women who ate the most fish saw some protective effect, men who ate more fish did not have a reduced risk of developing colon polyps.
The VICC investigators were surprised by this difference.
“The difference between men and women may be linked to their background diet. Even though men are eating more omega-3 fatty acids they may also be eating more omega-6 fatty acids and that may be blunting the effect,” said Murff.
Omega-6 fatty acids which are found in meats, grains and seed oils, including corn, safflower and sunflower oil, may counteract the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids.
While eating more fish appeared to be beneficial, not all types of fish contain high levels of the protective omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna, salmon and sardines are high in omega-3 acids, while tilapia and catfish have low levels.
Ω
Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm
Ω
People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to Penn State researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual.
"You don't have to be the fittest person who is exercising every day to receive the feel-good benefits of exercise," said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. "It's a matter of taking it one day at a time, of trying to get your activity in, and then there's this feel-good reward afterwards."
Conroy added that it often is hard for people to commit to an exercise program because they tend to set long-term rather than short-term goals.
"When people set New Year's resolutions, they set them up to include the entire upcoming year, but that can be really overwhelming," he said. "Taking it one day at a time and savoring that feel-good effect at the end of the day might be one step to break it down and get those daily rewards for activity. Doing this could help people be a little more encouraged to stay active and keep up the program they started."
The researchers asked 190 university students to keep daily diaries of their lived experiences, including free-time physical activity and sleep quantity and quality, as well as their mental states, including perceived stress and feeling states. Participants were instructed to record only those episodes of physical activity that occurred for at least 15 minutes and to note whether the physical activity was mild, moderate or vigorous. Participants returned their diaries to the researchers at the end of each day for a total of eight days. The researchers published their results in the current issue of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.
According to Amanda Hyde, kinesiology graduate student, the team separated the participants' feeling states into four categories: pleasant-activated feelings exemplified by excitement and enthusiasm, pleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by satisfaction and relaxation, unpleasant-activated feelings exemplified by anxiety and anger, and unpleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by depression and sadness.
"We found that people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active, and we also found that people have more pleasant-activated feelings on days when they are more physically active than usual," said Hyde, who noted that the team was able to rule out alternative explanations for the pleasant-activated feelings, such as quality of sleep.
"Our results suggest that not only are there chronic benefits of physical activity, but there are discrete benefits as well. Doing more exercise than you typically do can give you a burst of pleasant-activated feelings. So today, if you want a boost, go do some moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise."
Conroy added that most previous studies have looked only at pleasant or unpleasant feelings and paid less attention to the notion of activation.
"Knowing that moderate and vigorous physical activity generates a pleasant-activated feeling, rather than just a pleasant feeling, might help to explain why physical activity is so much more effective for treating depression rather than anxiety," he said. "People dealing with anxious symptoms don't need an increase in activation. If anything, they might want to bring it down some. In the future, we plan to look more closely at the effects of physical activity on mental health symptoms."
Ω
People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to Penn State researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual.
"You don't have to be the fittest person who is exercising every day to receive the feel-good benefits of exercise," said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. "It's a matter of taking it one day at a time, of trying to get your activity in, and then there's this feel-good reward afterwards."
Conroy added that it often is hard for people to commit to an exercise program because they tend to set long-term rather than short-term goals.
"When people set New Year's resolutions, they set them up to include the entire upcoming year, but that can be really overwhelming," he said. "Taking it one day at a time and savoring that feel-good effect at the end of the day might be one step to break it down and get those daily rewards for activity. Doing this could help people be a little more encouraged to stay active and keep up the program they started."
The researchers asked 190 university students to keep daily diaries of their lived experiences, including free-time physical activity and sleep quantity and quality, as well as their mental states, including perceived stress and feeling states. Participants were instructed to record only those episodes of physical activity that occurred for at least 15 minutes and to note whether the physical activity was mild, moderate or vigorous. Participants returned their diaries to the researchers at the end of each day for a total of eight days. The researchers published their results in the current issue of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.
According to Amanda Hyde, kinesiology graduate student, the team separated the participants' feeling states into four categories: pleasant-activated feelings exemplified by excitement and enthusiasm, pleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by satisfaction and relaxation, unpleasant-activated feelings exemplified by anxiety and anger, and unpleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by depression and sadness.
"We found that people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active, and we also found that people have more pleasant-activated feelings on days when they are more physically active than usual," said Hyde, who noted that the team was able to rule out alternative explanations for the pleasant-activated feelings, such as quality of sleep.
"Our results suggest that not only are there chronic benefits of physical activity, but there are discrete benefits as well. Doing more exercise than you typically do can give you a burst of pleasant-activated feelings. So today, if you want a boost, go do some moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise."
Conroy added that most previous studies have looked only at pleasant or unpleasant feelings and paid less attention to the notion of activation.
"Knowing that moderate and vigorous physical activity generates a pleasant-activated feeling, rather than just a pleasant feeling, might help to explain why physical activity is so much more effective for treating depression rather than anxiety," he said. "People dealing with anxious symptoms don't need an increase in activation. If anything, they might want to bring it down some. In the future, we plan to look more closely at the effects of physical activity on mental health symptoms."
Ω
Fish oil can help prevent psychiatric disorders
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Researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital's Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program who have worked with teenagers at risk for serious mental illness for the past decade are now studying the effectiveness of Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) for treating psychiatric symptoms. This new study is a National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized double-blind trial that was designed to test whether Omega-3 fatty acids improve clinical symptoms, and help adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are at elevated risk for severe psychiatric disorders function better in school, work and other social environments.
"Of the 300 adolescents who have participated in the RAP Program, most have shown substantial improvement," noted Barbara Cornblatt, Ph.D., director of the Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program and investigator at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. "If this study continues to show success, Omega 3 could offer a natural alternative to the range of medications and therapies now offered to RAP participants. Ultimately, the goal of the RAP Program is to intervene and prevent illness before symptoms get worse."
Omega 3 fatty acids are critical for normal brain function and they have been increasingly studied as potential treatments for medical and psychiatric disorders. The RAP Program study will randomly assign participants to either Omega 3 supplementation or to a placebo, and will compare the groups on key measures of symptoms and functioning after six months. Participants in both groups will be monitored closely on a monthly basis and compensation will be provided. All supplements are offered free of charge.
Researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital's Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program who have worked with teenagers at risk for serious mental illness for the past decade are now studying the effectiveness of Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) for treating psychiatric symptoms. This new study is a National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized double-blind trial that was designed to test whether Omega-3 fatty acids improve clinical symptoms, and help adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are at elevated risk for severe psychiatric disorders function better in school, work and other social environments.
"Of the 300 adolescents who have participated in the RAP Program, most have shown substantial improvement," noted Barbara Cornblatt, Ph.D., director of the Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program and investigator at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. "If this study continues to show success, Omega 3 could offer a natural alternative to the range of medications and therapies now offered to RAP participants. Ultimately, the goal of the RAP Program is to intervene and prevent illness before symptoms get worse."
Omega 3 fatty acids are critical for normal brain function and they have been increasingly studied as potential treatments for medical and psychiatric disorders. The RAP Program study will randomly assign participants to either Omega 3 supplementation or to a placebo, and will compare the groups on key measures of symptoms and functioning after six months. Participants in both groups will be monitored closely on a monthly basis and compensation will be provided. All supplements are offered free of charge.
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