activity Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Young Adults More Active After Starting Work, but Sleep Less – Unless Working from Home

The AHA! Team — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 05:31:59 +0000

University of Cambridge via EurekAlert! – Research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reveals drug could potentially help repair vision in those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions. When young adults start working, the amount of daily physical activity they do increases sharply, only to fall away again over the new few years, while the amount of sleep they get falls slightly, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Cambridge. The increase in physical activity was mainly seen in those doing semi-routine occupations such as bus driving or hairdressing, and routine occupations such as cleaning or waiting, or technical jobs. There was little change seen among people entering managerial or professional occupations. The largest drop in levels of physical activity was seen among people who work from home – though their sleep levels did not change when they started work. Young adulthood – ages 16 to 30 years – is an important time in terms of health. Although we are typically at our peak physical health, it is also a time when many risk factors for long term diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer begin to develop. Health guidelines recommend young adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, engage in 150 minutes or more of moderate physical activity per week, and consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Health guidelines recommend young adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night Young adulthood is also the time when most people start work, which changes their daily routines and activities, resources such as time and money, and social and physical environments – all of which affect health behaviours and health in later life. All the participants were aged 16–30 years and started work for the first time between 2015 and 2023. To quantify the impact that starting work has on health-related behaviours, a team led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge examined repeated data taken over time from more than 3,000 participants in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. The results are published today in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Dr Eleanor Winpenny, who was based at the University of Cambridge when she carried out the work, but is now at Imperial College London, said: “We know about physical activity and sleep patterns among young people while they’re at school, but very little about what happens when they start work. Given the impact that work can have on our lives – and the lasting impacts this can have on our health – it’s important to try and understand what happens at this transition.” The analysis showed that when people started work, their physical activity increased by an amount equivalent to around 28 min of moderate activity (such as cycling) per day on average – but then decreased each year after starting work by around 7 min per day. The biggest increase was among males – up by an equivalent of around 45 min of moderate activity per day compared to an increase of around 16 min for females. People who did not have a university degree also showed a greater increase in physical activity compared to those with a university degree – equivalent to around a 42 min increase of moderate physical activity per day compared to 15 min per day. Working from home, however, appeared to be associated with an initial decrease in physical activity, equivalent to around 32 min of moderate activity per day. When young adults started work, the amount of time they slept per night dropped immediately by almost 10 minutes and remained stable at this level over time; however, people without a degree showed a continuing decrease of about 3 minutes of sleep per night each year after starting work, while those with a degree slowly increased back to their pre-work sleep levels. There was little change in the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed after starting work. Alena Oxenham, from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, said: “Beginning work can have a profound impact on our lifestyles and on behaviours that might make a difference to our health, if not immediately then later in life. “Although we found that people tend to do more physical activity when they begin work, which is good news, these are averages, and some people – particularly those who work from home and, to a lesser degree, those with office-based jobs – may do less. “If we want to stay healthy throughout our lives, we need to remember that keeping active is an important way of helping us achieve this goal. Those working at home might want to consider incorporating physical activity into their day, for example by going for a walk before or after work, or during a lunch break.” Those working at home might want to consider incorporating physical activity into their day Dr Winpenny added: “Workplaces provide an opportunity to create environments and cultures that support healthier diets, more physical activity and better sleep for young adults. This could result in healthier employees and fewer sick days in the immediate term, but also have long term benefits, helping prevent health issues in later life.” Reference Oxenham, AF, et al. New job, new habits? A multilevel interrupted time series analysis of changes in diet, physical activity and sleep among young adults starting work for the first time. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity; 28 Jan 2025; DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01682-8 Journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity DOI 10.1186/s12966-024-01682-8 To read the original article click here.

The post Young Adults More Active After Starting Work, but Sleep Less – Unless Working from Home appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

3 Thanksgiving Health Tips to Prevent Weight Gain

AHA Publisher — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 08:00:28 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS – Today, I want to share with you my Thanksgiving health tips, specifically on how to not gain 10 pounds on Thanksgiving! Now, has anyone ever really gained 10 pounds on Thanksgiving day? I doubt it, but you know what, there have been quite a few people who have been close, so I want to share with you my secret today on how to not gain a lot of weight on this festive Thursday. While I haven’t seen anyone actually gain 10 pounds on Thanksgiving day specifically, I have seen people gain 10 pounds over a 30-day period between Thanksgiving and Christmas! You don’t want to be that person, so let me share with you my top secrets and tips for not gaining holiday weight. 3 Important Thanksgiving Health Tips 1. Get Active The No. 1 Thanksgiving health tip I would recommend you do, first thing Thanksgiving morning, is get outside and get active. Even if it’s snowing in your area, getting outside for 20 minutes is a great thing to do — or if you can’t do that, do a 20-minute burst training workout. If you don’t have 20 minutes, even five minutes can help you keep that weight off. So make sure on Thanksgiving morning to wake up and get active, whether that’s taking a walk outside or a 20-minute BurstFit routine. That’s going to help you keep weight off Thanksgiving morning. In addition to your morning workout, get outside and do something active during the day. One of the things we’ve done in my family for years is we get out and we play a little bit of 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 football for an hour or so, both men and women. We love doing it. Getting outside and creating a fun family tradition like that — maybe some backyard football — is a great way to have a lot of fun, follow some great tradition and, at the same time, work to not pack on the pounds from some of those extra calories you’re probably consuming Thanksgiving day. 2. Focus on Protein Another one of my Thanksgiving health tips when you’re trying to lose weight or just keep the weight off these holidays is to focus on more good, quality protein foods. Turkey is amazing. It’s full of tryptophan, protein and other amino acids that can really support your immune system, which can help improve your mood. There are a lot healthy benefits of turkey so when you’re loading up that plate Thanksgiving Day, pack on the turkey. For instance, in addition to providing protein with fewer calories and less fat than beef and the tryptophan that helps the body make niacin and serotonin — which helps your mood — turkey contains selenium, phosphorus and B vitamins. Selenium benefits include its role as a powerful antioxidant that regulatesthyroid hormone metabolism and reproduction. With almost half of the daily recommended value of selenium in a serving, turkey is an excellent selenium source. As a food high in phosphorus, turkey also helps the body make protein and use carbs and fats, thus helping prevent weight gain. Throw in the beneficial B vitamin content — namely niacin, vitamin B6 and riboflavin — and turkey also benefits digestion, brain development, immunity, metabolism and red blood cell production. So have the turkey piled high, go easy on the gravy, go easy on the stuffing, and add lots of turkey and then lots of good vegetables to your Thanksgiving plate. If you can get some good protein in there — even things like deviled eggs that you can make as healthier options — that’s one of the best Thanksgiving health tips I can offer. So again, I highly recommend loading up on the turkey if you want to keep the weight off here Thanksgiving day. Plus, as an added benefit, you can make so many healthy, delicious leftover turkey recipes that help limit weight gain and keep those pants from getting too tight! 3. Monitor Your Meals Last but not least on the Thanksgiving health tips list, if you want to really keep weight off on Thanksgiving Day, monitor your meals. Pumpkin pie is fine as is a little bit of cranberry sauce — like my Cranberry Sauce with Pecans recipe — but really try and stick to one piece during the day. Also, on Thanksgiving morning, wake up and consume a superfood shake. You’re probably going to overeat at that big Thanksgiving meal — and maybe even with the leftovers that night — but if you can still wake up and get a good, healthy, quality breakfast, that’s going to help you keep the weight off. Don’t eat a lot of carbs in the morning — you’re probably going to get more carbs in the afternoon. Instead, I recommend a healthy smoothie recipe with a good, quality protein powder, some coconut milk and maybe like half a cup of berries — but really limit your carbohydrates in the morning. That’s going to allow your body to burn more carbs later on in the day. If you do those three things, you’re not going to pack on the weight. If you overeat a little bit, that’s fine — just get back on your horse on Friday or Monday. Have a blessed Thanksgiving. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

The post 3 Thanksgiving Health Tips to Prevent Weight Gain appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Shining a Light on How Exercise Reduces Cataract Risk

AHA Publisher — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 07:00:20 +0000

University of South Australia via Newswise– Chinese and Australian researchers have combined studies of more than 170,000 people and found conclusive evidence that regular physical exercise reduces the risk of age-related cataracts, the cause of blindness in an estimated 13 million people worldwide. In a recent paper published in the International Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of South Australia (UniSA) analysed data from six different studies looking at how exercise reduces oxidative damage in the eye. The researchers found a 10 per cent reduction in age-related cataracts (ARC) among people who engaged in regular physical activity such as walking and cycling. UniSA epidemiologist Dr Ming Li says physical activity reduces oxidative stress in the eye by inhibiting lipid degradation which results in cell damage. “We know that exercise increases antioxidant enzyme activity which has all sorts of benefits, including limiting infections and inflammation in the eye,” Dr Li says. Previous studies have shown that long-term physical activity also elevates HDL (high-density lipoprotein), otherwise known as the ‘good cholesterol’, which may carry more antioxidants from plasma to the lens to prevent oxidative damage. Exercise also improves insulin resistance and lipid profiles, both of which have been associated with an increased risk of ARC. “Age-related cataracts are one of the most common causes of vision impairment and blindness in the world and although surgery is an effective option to recover vision, it is very costly,” Dr Li says. “The lens is highly susceptible to oxidative damage because of its high concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acid and its specific biological function. Although we don’t completely understand the mechanisms underlying ARC, we do know that ageing and oxidative damage play a crucial role in the development of the disease.” The researchers found that the risk of developing cataracts could potentially decrease by two per cent for every hour of cycling or walking per day. “Considering the fact that 24 per cent of adults are inactive, these findings will hopefully encourage older people to start exercising on a regular basis,” Dr Li says. To read the original article click here.

The post Shining a Light on How Exercise Reduces Cataract Risk appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.