|
| Andhra Pradesh ~ India ~ International ~ City ~ Entertainment ~ Business ~ Bullion ~ Forex ~ Sports ~ Technology ~ Health ~ Features |
| Lung Cancer ~ Lung Cancer ~ Breast Cancer ~ Heart attack ~ All Health Topics |
|
Home
/ Health News / 2008 / January 2008 / January 8, 2008 Physical education, active play at school helps keep teens fit as adults |
How cancer prevention drives aging
For the first time, researchers have found how cellular senescence, the well-known mechanism for preventing cancer, can trigger aging and age-related disease by changing the local tissue environment. ANI
Scientists unveil genes vital to vital to adult heart function
In a study on fruit fly Drosophila, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have found that genes involved in embryonic heart development are vital to adult heart function in both fruit flies and humans. ANI
Psychiatric disorders common among college-aged
A new study has revealed that psychiatric disorders appear to be common among 18- to 24-year-olds, with overall rates similar among those attending or not attending college. ANI
Participating in physical education at school will not only help you keep fit in your youth, but also in adulthood, reveals a new study that states the practice could be a long-lasting solution to adult obesity.
Washington, Jan 8 : Participating in physical education at school will not only help you keep fit in your youth, but also in adulthood, reveals a new study that states the practice could be a long-lasting solution to adult obesity.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted a study, in which they found that for each weekday of physical education at school the odds of being an overweight adult decreased by 5 percent. Participation in all five days of physical education decreased the odds of being an overweight adult by 28 percent.
"These findings underscore the important role that school-based and extracurricular physical activities play in reducing the likelihood of becoming an overweight adult," said Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD, the study's senior author.
"While physical education was not a good weight-loss mechanism over time, it appears to have a positive impact in helping teenagers maintain a healthy weight into young adulthood," he added.
The researchers studied 3,345 teens in grades eight through 12 who took part in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health at which time the teens were surveyed on their participation in physical education and physical activities outside of school.
The team then followed up with the participants five years after leaving school to check their height and weight.
The findings showed that increased participation in physical education and certain extracurricular physical activities decreased the likelihood of being overweight as an adult.
It was also found that the likelihood of being an overweight adult was most reduced among teens who participated in wheel-related extracurricular activities, such as rollerblading, biking or skate-boarding more than 4 times per week.
And these teens were more than twice as likely to maintain a normal weight as adults compared to their less active peers. However, no impact was detected when physical activities were performed fewer than three times per week.
"School-based physical education could be a low-cost strategy and a long-lasting solution to adult obesity," said Blum.
The study is published in the January 2008 edition of the journalrchives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
ANI
