We lose both muscle mass and strength as we age. In fact, adults begin losing muscle mass in their mid 30s and by the time they reach 75 years of age have lost on average 50% of their total muscle mass.3 This age-related decline in muscle mass is called sarcopenia. As muscle mass decreases, seniors lose strength which affects their ability to perform activities of daily living and increases fall risk.2 Scientists have shown that one of the most effective ways to increase muscle mass and strength is through intense resistance training. However, little is known about how much resistance training is necessary

Educators at Rush University Medical Center1 recently published what they believe to be a more effective way to counsel overweight and obese patients/clients. Typically, we tell people to choose low calorie foods and exercise–"Use your willpower; just say no to those donuts at work!" But, we know that this approach often doesn't work for even motivated people that are ready and wanting to change. For years, The Cooper Institute has researched and promoted the "lifestyle approach" to behavior change–increasing physical activity and improving diet. This approach promotes the use of cognitive and behavioral skills like goal setting, social support, self-monitoring (logging), and avoiding high-risk situations. Similar to this, the educators

You probably have heard that you should strive to take 10,000 steps a day. Does it surprise you to know that this value originated as a marketing tool used to sell pedometers in Japan? Despite this, research has shown that achieving this number of steps does yield significant health benefits. For instance building up to 10,000 steps a day has been shown to lower body fat and improve insulin sensitivity.1 It has also been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.2 Using a pedometer to track steps often motivates individuals to be more active, making it a great tool

School's (almost) back in session and if you have school-aged kids you're likely scrambling to set up the new daily routine. When do we need to wake up? Who will drop off? Who will pick up? And the dreaded question… what will we eat? While lunch and dinner are probably on your mind, breakfast is what you should focus on first. You've heard it and it's true – breakfast is a very important meal. Studies show that breakfast eaters tend to have higher school attendance, less tardiness, and fewer hunger-induced stomach aches in the morning. Their overall test scores are higher, they concentrate

In the quest to best predict individual daily energy expenditures, scientists have come up with two shoe-based monitors: an embedded accelerometer and pressure sensitive insoles. These two devices produce different metrics that are being used in hopes of best calculating the energy expended by any individual throughout the day. Perhaps you have used a hip accelerometer that not only counted how many steps you took that day, but also estimated your calorie expenditure for the entire day. While the hip accelerometers have been useful monitors for the daily steps we take, they still significantly underestimate the energy costs of standing activities

Next time you sit down to enjoy a meal count how many times you chew a bite of food. 40 chews? 15 chews? 5 chews? Chinese researchers recently compared the differences in chewing behaviors between obese and lean young men to find out the effect of chewing on calorie intake and hormones associated with appetite and satiety.1 While it has been shown that eating quickly, gorging, and binge eating may be linked to increased calorie consumption and overweight, the effects of chewing foods before swallowing have not be fully studied. As food is chewed it is broken down and nutrients and other components are released. In

When discussing the topic of falls and older adults, the topic of osteoporosis frequently arises. Osteoporosis is often considered a silent disease until after a fracture, that might be the result of a fall.1 It is defined as a skeletal disorder that is characterized by compromised bone strength (often low bone mass) causing an increased risk of fracture. “Normally, the inside of a bone looks like a honeycomb.”2 Think of a tightly knit honeycomb and how hard it would be to smash it or fracture it. It is very strong. But in situations of osteoporosis, “the spaces in the honeycomb

Over two years ago we blogged about New York City's legislation that requires the listing of calorie information on menus of chain restaurants with 15 or more locations nationally. We argued that in order for calorie information to be helpful people need to know about how many calories they need (total) over the course of the day. So how helpful/effective has calorie labeling in New York City restaurants been? Researchers recently analyzed survey data from over 7,000 adult customers in 2007 (before the legislation was fully implemented) and almost 8,500 customers in 2009. The surveys were conducted during lunchtime hours at 168 randomly selected

Chair Get-Ups – Sitting down in a chair, quickly get up out of the chair as if in a rush, then slowly sit back down and repeat.   All Fours to Standing – With a soft mat on the ground, carefully squat down and then move to the ground onto hands and knees (all fours). Then reverse and get back up off of the ground and repeat.   Walking Stairs – Carefully, but briskly, walk up a set of stairs. Then walk down and repeat 2-4 times in a row.             Standing Wall Push-up to