–Latest findings from the influential PURE study Observational studies have consistently established a link connecting physical activity and cardiovascular health, but the vast majority of this research has occurred in high-income countries, where physical activity is often recreational. Now the latest report from an enormous worldwide observational study offers powerful evidence that the connection exists…
Coronary Artery Calcium Rises With Intense Exercise
July 13, 2017 by 4 Comments
–But the lesions observed are more likely to appear stable. Exercise is good for you, but is there a point at which more exercise is either no longer beneficial or perhaps even harmful? Two new studies now help clarify — albeit not resolve — the issue. The studies offer evidence that people who exercise for…
What Role Should Coca-Cola Play In Obesity Research?
August 9, 2015 by 1 Comment
The New York Times reports that Coca-Cola gives financial support to scientists and a new foundation to help promote the message that the obesity epidemic is fueled not by too many calories or too much sugar but by not enough physical activity. The Times piece is well worth a read but the issue it takes up is not new. Last year I wrote a…
No, You Probably Won’t Drop Dead While Exercising
April 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Dropping dead while exercising is a common fear, especially among middle-aged men. Unfortunately there have been limited data on the precise rate of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in middle-aged people and little understanding about the medical history of the victims of SCA. Now a new study fills in some important gaps in knowledge and shows that this fear…
No, Too Much Jogging Probably Won’t Kill You
February 3, 2015 by 1 Comment
One again lazy health journalists have fallen down on the job and performed a disservice to the public. The new outrage: a multitude of media reports about a small study on the effect of jogging on mortality. Here are just a few headlines, published minutes after the study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology:…
Intense Exercise Doesn’t Eliminate the Hazard of Intense Sitting
January 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
James Brown had it right. There may be no better medical advice these days than to “Get Up Offa That Thing. A large new analysis published in Annals of Internal Medicine supports earlier observations that the health hazards of sedentary behavior aren’t completely neutralized by exercise. Researchers in Toronto scoured the literature to find studies that assessed…
Running: Any Amount Is Good And More May Not Be Better
July 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Although there is broad agreement that exercise is beneficial there has been substantial uncertainty about how much exercise is good for you. Recently some studies have suggested that too much exercise may actually reduce the benefits of exercise. Now a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that even a small…
Exercise: Can There Be Too Much Of A Good Thing?
May 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
In recent years researchers have developed a more complicated view of the relationship of health and exercise. Although observational studies have consistently shown that some physical activity is better than none, studies that have drilled deeper into the data suggest that these health benefits may be curtailed in people who exercise very frequently or very…
Large NIH Trial Finds No Cardiovascular Benefits For Weight Loss And Exercise In Type 2 Diabetics
June 24, 2013 by 1 Comment
A large NIH-sponsored trial has found that an intensive lifestyle intervention was no better than standard care in reducing cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes. The results of the Look AHEAD trial were presented today at the American Diabetes Association meeting and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. 5,145 people with type 2 diabetes were randomized…
Exercise And The Limitations Of Observational Studies
December 3, 2012 by 10 Comments
Last week I wrote twice about exercise. Strictly speaking, both stories were complete lies. The first story was about a study published in the Lancet which analyzed data from more than 10,000 patients at 2 VA Medical Centers and found that patients with high fitness levels were less likely to die than patients with low fitness levels. The pattern held…
The Dangers Of Going Too Fast
November 30, 2012 by 5 Comments
Updated– According to an editorial published online in the BMJ journal Heart, running too hard, too fast, and for too long can be dangerous. The same holds true in publishing. The editorial was hastily released ahead of its scheduled publication time after portions of it were quoted in a Wall Street Journal article on the dangers of endurance sports….
Statins and Exercise, Independently Beneficial, Even Better In Combination
November 27, 2012 by 2 Comments
It’s no secret that statins and exercise are good for people with cholesterol problems. Now a new study published in the Lancet offers fresh evidence that the two appear to be independently beneficial, and that adding the two together may result in greater benefits than either alone. US researchers analyzed data from 10,043 people with dyslipidemia…
Guest Post: The BMJ’s Amazing Shock and Awe Assault on Sport Drink Science
July 19, 2012 by 4 Comments
Editor’s Note: The following guest post by Yoni Freedhoff is reprinted with permission from his blog Weighty Matters. Dr. Freedhoff is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa the and founder of Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute. The BMJ‘s Amazing Shock and Awe Assault on Sport Drink Science by Yoni Freedhoff wow. Wow, WOw, WOW!…
This Week In Medicine: Stop Exercising and Eat Chocolate!
May 31, 2012 by 5 Comments
It’s been a terrific few days of medical news for lazy people and chocoholics. First, a study in PLoS One provided ammunition to the exercise-averse crowd by claiming that exercise can actually be bad for some healthy people. As an added bonus, a story about the study was carried on the front page of the…
Recent Comments