THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2024 (Health Day News) — Schools that want little girls to get plenty of exercise might want to rethink their dress code. A University of Cambridge study of more than 1 million kids in 135 countries found that in countries where most students wear school uniforms, fewer kids get the 60 minutes a day of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).  And regardless of schools’ uniform policies, fewer girls than boys are hitting the benchmark in the early grades, the study found. Researchers noted there was already evidence that little girls aren’t always comfortable participating in active play when they’re wearing skirts or dresses.  While the new study doesn’t prove that uniforms limit kids’ activity, researchers called on schools to consider whether specific uniform designs might encourage or restrict opportunities to be active during the day. “Schools often prefer to use uniforms for various reasons,” said study leader Mairead Ryan, of the University of Cambridge. “We are not trying to suggest a blanket ban on them, but to present new evidence to support decision-making.” Previous, smaller studies have also suggested that uniforms may be a barrier to physical activity. The WHO recommends young people get an average of 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity physical activity. The difference in percentage of boys and girls meeting the guideline across all…  read on >  read on >

Looking for a workout that will chase the blues away? Try walking, jogging, yoga or strength training, which a new study reports are the most effective exercises for easing depression. These activities can be used on their own or combined with medication and psychotherapy, according to an evidence review published Feb. 14 in the BMJ. While low-intensity activities like walking and yoga are OK, the more vigorous the activity, the bigger the benefits, the Australian-led team found. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 300 million people worldwide have depression. While exercise is often recommended, treatment guidelines and previous research differ on the best ways to prescribe it for depression. To learn more, researchers in Australia and Europe looked at 218 randomized trials that compared exercise with other depression treatments. The studies included more than 14,100 participants.  They found meaningful benefits when exercise was combined with SSRI antidepressants or psychotherapy, suggesting that working out could be beneficial alongside these established treatments.  Researchers reported large reductions in depression for dance and moderate reductions for walking or jogging, yoga, strength training, mixed aerobic exercises and tai chi or qigong.  While walking or jogging helped both men and women, women benefited more from strength training and men from yoga or qigong, the study found. Yoga was more effective in older people, while strength training worked best among…  read on >  read on >

Folks who get regular exercise are less likely to become infected with COVID or develop a severe case requiring a hospital stay, a new study finds. Compared to couch potatoes, adults who adhere to U.S. physical activity guidelines have 10% lower odds of COVID infection and 27% lower odds of hospitalization from it, results in JAMA Network Open show. “This large, unique study in older adults as they navigated the onset of the pandemic provides important support for physical activity in preventing COVID-19 infection and hospitalization that may extend more broadly to enhanced immune function and lessening vulnerability to infections,” senior author Howard Sesso, an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Division of Preventive Medicine in Boston, said in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked the health of more than 61,500 older adults involved in three ongoing clinical trials prior to the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The participants all reported on their lifestyles and exercise, including the time they spent on activities like biking, walking, running and climbing stairs. Using those self-reports, researchers categorized the participants as inactive, insufficiently active or sufficiently active, based on U.S. physical activity guidelines. The guidelines say that adults should get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week. Examples of moderate-intensity exercise…  read on >  read on >

Being active may help ease ongoing cancer pain. That’s the key takeaway from a study of more 10,600 people with a history of cancer and over 51,000 without the disease. A team led by Erika Rees-Punia of the American Cancer Society and Christopher Swain of the University of Melbourne in Australia asked participants about their usual physical activity and their pain levels. Among both groups of participants, more physical activity was tied to less intense pain.  The extent of the link between activity and pain was similar among both groups, which researchers said indicates that exercise may reduce cancer-related pain the same way it does for other types of pain. U.S. guidelines recommend between 2.5 and 5 hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or between 1.25 and 2.5 hours of vigorous activity. Among participants who had had cancer, those exceeding the guidelines were 16% less likely to report moderate-to-severe pain compared to those who didn’t meet guidelines, the study found.  Researchers also found that participants who were consistently active or who became active in older adulthood reported less pain than folks who stayed inactive. The findings were published Feb. 12 in the journal Cancer. “It may feel counterintuitive to some, but physical activity is an effective, non-pharmacologic option for reducing many types of pain,” Rees-Punia said in a journal news release. “As our study…  read on >  read on >

Exercise is crucial to recovering from a stroke, helping victims regain lost physical and mental function. And stroke survivors are more likely to remain physically active — or even exercise more than before — if they have access to a neighborhood rec center or gym, a new study finds. The odds of a patient being more active in recovery than before their stroke was 57% higher among participants who lived in areas with more recreational and fitness resources, according to findings to be presented next week at the American Stroke Association’s annual meeting in Phoenix. Similarly, the odds of maintaining the same level of physical activity one year after a stroke were 47% higher in people living near rec centers and gyms. “Our findings suggest that it’s important to have a conversation with stroke patients about physical activity resources available in their area so they are able to continue their recovery after hospital discharge,” said lead researcher Jeffrey Wing, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University. This access to fitness resources is so important that doctors should consider it a factor in a patient’s release, Wing added. “If their neighborhood does not offer fitness resources, neurologists should consider discharging the patient to a rehabilitation facility where they can participate in physical activities,” Wing said in a meeting news release. For the study, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Losing the use of an arm after a stroke can be devastating, but new research could offer survivors fresh hope. The study found that a combination of targeted brain stimulation therapy, along with intense physical rehabilitation, can restore control of an affected arm or hand. “This is the first time that brain stimulation combined with rehabilitation therapy for stroke is available outside of a clinical trial,” noted study lead author Teresa Kimberley. “It could set the stage for even more advancements in recovery from other impairments beyond the arm. This is a watershed moment for rehabilitation science.” Kimberley is a professor of rehabilitation science and physical therapy at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. Her team’s findings will be presented at next week’s International Stroke Conference in Phoenix. As a stroke attacks the brain, vital neural pathways connecting the brain to the limbs can be damaged, triggering a loss of function. Re-establishing those connections can be tough, Kimberley’s team reports. “The recovery of arm and hand function after a stroke often stalls or even declines, leaving many patients with chronic motor deficits that limit their independence and quality of life,” she said in an American Stroke Association news release. “New treatments that can boost the benefits of physical rehabilitation are desperately needed.” The new study involved an implanted device that produces stimulation to…  read on >  read on >