Weight Debate

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy!!

You don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from regular physical activity. Even modest amounts of physical activity can improve your health. Start with small, specific goals, such as walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week, and build up slowly from there.

What Does Regular Physical Activity Do???

• Increases your chances of living longer!!
• Helps you control your weight.
• Reduces your risks for cardiovascular disease.
• Reduces your risks for type 2 diabetes.
• Reduces your risks for metabolic syndrome – a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity.
• Reduces your risks for some cancers.
• Strengthens your bones and muscles.
• Improves your mental health and mood.
• Improves your ability to do daily activities.
• Prevent falls among older adults.

Try these activities to add more movement to your daily life:

• Take the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Make sure that the stairs are well lit.
• Get off the bus one stop early if you are in an area safe for walking.
• Park your car farther away from the entrances to stores, movie theaters, or your home.
• Take a short walk around the block with your family, friends, or coworkers.
• In bad weather, walk around in a mall.
• Rake the leaves or wash your car.
• Visit museums, the zoo, or an aquarium. You and your family can walk for hours and not realize it.
• Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.

As you become more fit, slowly increase your pace, the length of time you are active, and how often you are active.

Remember to:

Start slowly - Your body needs time to get used to your new activity.

Warm up - Warm-ups get your body ready for action.

• Shrug your shoulders,
• Tap your toes,
• Swing your arms,
  OR
• March in place

You should spend a few minutes warming up for any physical activity, even walking. Walk slowly for the first few minutes.

Cool down - Slow down little by little. If you have been walking fast, walk slowly or stretch for a few minutes to cool down. Cooling down may protect your heart, relax your muscles, and keep you from getting hurt.

Check with your doctor before starting a vigorous physical activity program if you are a man over the age of 40, a woman over the age of 50, or if you have any chronic health problems.

Each week, to enhance awareness of emerging scientific knowledge, selected science clips will be posted here for the public health community. The focus is applied public health research and prevention science that has the capacity to improve health now.

People who exercise regularly enjoy improved sleep quality. There are numerous benefits to strength training regularly, particularly as you grow older. People fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, awaken less often, and sleep longer.

Strength Training
The sleep benefits obtained as a result of strength training are comparable to treatment with medication but without the side effects or the expense of sleeping pills.

Some examples of muscle strengthening activities include:

• Carrying full laundry baskets
• Biceps curls
• Dancing
• Lifting hand-held weights – or soup cans
• Jogging in-place
• Sit-ups
• Rowing a boat
• Push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Strength training in aerobics class

Servings – 4
Serving size – 1 cup

Ingredients
2 bananas, ripe
2 cups pineapple juice
2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons plain yogurt
1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ice cubes
Sprinkle of nutmeg

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients, except nutmeg, in blender.
2. Cover and run on high until smooth and well blended.
3. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (mg = milligrams)
Calories – 177
Total Fat – 5 grams
Calories from Fat – 23%
Cholesterol – 0 mg
Fiber – 2 grams
Sodium – 41 mg