In a sudden about-face, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it won’t slash funding for the Women’s Health Initiative, a major research project focused on preventing disease in older women. The decision follows concerns about a move to end contracts supporting the whole study, which has tracked the health of tens of thousands of women since 1992. “These studies represent critical contributions to our better understanding of women’s health,” HHS said in a statement to CNN. “While NIH initially exceeded its internal targets for contract reductions, we are now working to fully restore funding to these essential research efforts,” the statement continued. “NIH remains deeply committed to advancing public health through rigorous gold standard research.” The Women’s Health Initiative, led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has made major discoveries over the years. For example, it uncovered the risks of certain types of hormone therapy after menopause, helping prevent an estimated 126,000 breast cancer cases. It also found that vitamin D supplements do not help prevent bone loss. Overall, the study has produced more than 2,400 scientific publications that have shaped clinical practices and public health policies. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on social media that “we all recognize that this project is mission critical for women’s health.” “We are not terminating this study,” the post said. Experts…  read on >  read on >

Breast cancer patients fare better if they continue to exercise during their treatment, and a new program can help women get the activity they need to boost their odds, researchers say. The Comprehensive Oncology Rehabilitation and Exercise (CORE) program assesses women’s physical activity needs based on the stage to which their cancer has progressed, researchers reported today in the journal Cancer. More than 3 in 5 patients (62%) completed their referral to an exercise program designed to meet their specific needs, researchers said. “CORE may serve as a model workflow algorithm aimed to integrate both exercise and rehabilitation services from time of diagnosis and beyond,” senior researcher Adriana Coletta, an investigator at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, said in a news release. Exercise following a breast cancer diagnosis can reduce a woman’s risk of dying from cancer by 31%, and her overall risk of death by 41%, researchers said in background notes. Patients also can benefit from rehab services that can help them manage side effects like impaired shoulder range of motion or peripheral nerve injury. For this study, researchers tested the ability of the CORE program to steer breast cancer patients to either self-driven exercise, a hospital-based exercise program, or a rehab service. The team recruited 72 patients and randomly assigned them to either be assessed by CORE or to receive usual…  read on >  read on >

Breast cancer patients fare better if they continue to exercise during their treatment, and a new program can help women get the activity they need to boost their odds, researchers say. The Comprehensive Oncology Rehabilitation and Exercise (CORE) program assesses women’s physical activity needs based on the stage to which their cancer has progressed, researchers reported today in the journal Cancer. More than 3 in 5 patients (62%) completed their referral to an exercise program designed to meet their specific needs, researchers said. “CORE may serve as a model workflow algorithm aimed to integrate both exercise and rehabilitation services from time of diagnosis and beyond,” senior researcher Adriana Coletta, an investigator at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, said in a news release. Exercise following a breast cancer diagnosis can reduce a woman’s risk of dying from cancer by 31%, and her overall risk of death by 41%, researchers said in background notes. Patients also can benefit from rehab services that can help them manage side effects like impaired shoulder range of motion or peripheral nerve injury. For this study, researchers tested the ability of the CORE program to steer breast cancer patients to either self-driven exercise, a hospital-based exercise program, or a rehab service. The team recruited 72 patients and randomly assigned them to either be assessed by CORE or to receive usual…  read on >  read on >

Children who spend more time playing outdoors or participating in different sports tend to develop better motor skills as they advance through elementary school, a new study says. Even a half-hour of independent outdoor play after a day at childcare makes a difference in kids’ motor skill development, researchers reported in the Journal of Sports Sciences. Children also did better if they tried more than one type of sport, researchers noted. “Engaging in two or more sports during early childhood education predicted better motor competence later in school age,” lead investigator Nanne-Mari Luukkainen, a doctoral researcher with the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, said in a news release. “Based on the results, coaches and physical education teachers should consider the importance of both organized and non-organized physical activities in the holistic development of children and encourage children to engage in diverse physical activities,” Luukkainen added. For the study, researchers tracked more than 600 children living in Finland. The kids were ages 3 to 8 at the start of the study, and reached grades 1 through 3 during the three years that researchers followed their motor development. Children who picked up more than one sport were better able to walk and run; had better hand-eye coordination; were better at holding, catching and throwing objects in their hands; and had overall better fundamental movement skills, the study…  read on >  read on >

Children who spend more time playing outdoors or participating in different sports tend to develop better motor skills as they advance through elementary school, a new study says. Even a half-hour of independent outdoor play after a day at childcare makes a difference in kids’ motor skill development, researchers reported in the Journal of Sports Sciences. Children also did better if they tried more than one type of sport, researchers noted. “Engaging in two or more sports during early childhood education predicted better motor competence later in school age,” lead investigator Nanne-Mari Luukkainen, a doctoral researcher with the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, said in a news release. “Based on the results, coaches and physical education teachers should consider the importance of both organized and non-organized physical activities in the holistic development of children and encourage children to engage in diverse physical activities,” Luukkainen added. For the study, researchers tracked more than 600 children living in Finland. The kids were ages 3 to 8 at the start of the study, and reached grades 1 through 3 during the three years that researchers followed their motor development. Children who picked up more than one sport were better able to walk and run; had better hand-eye coordination; were better at holding, catching and throwing objects in their hands; and had overall better fundamental movement skills, the study…  read on >  read on >

Long brisk walks might lower a person’s risk for heart rhythm problems, a new study says. Folks who stride faster than 4 miles per hour have a 43% lower risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, compared with those who amble at a pace of less than 3 miles an hour, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Heart. The time spent walking also influenced risk, with people who spent more time at an average or brisk pace enjoying a 27% lower risk of heart rhythm problems, researchers said. “These new findings reinforce the promotion of faster walking pace in physical activity recommendations,” concluded the research team led by Jill Pell, chair of public health with the University of Glasgow in the U.K. “Walking at a brisk pace may have a role in … prevention of cardiac arrhythmias.” For the study, researchers used data gathered as part of the UK Biobank health study on nearly 421,000 people, including nearly 82,000 who wore an accelerometer to track their walking pace. Overall, about 41% of people had a brisk walking pace, 53% an average walking pace and slightly more than 6% a slow pace. Results show that a brisk or average pace reduced the risk of any heart rhythm problem by 43% and 35%, respectively. People with a brisk or average pace also had a 46% and…  read on >  read on >

Long brisk walks might lower a person’s risk for heart rhythm problems, a new study says. Folks who stride faster than 4 miles per hour have a 43% lower risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, compared with those who amble at a pace of less than 3 miles an hour, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Heart. The time spent walking also influenced risk, with people who spent more time at an average or brisk pace enjoying a 27% lower risk of heart rhythm problems, researchers said. “These new findings reinforce the promotion of faster walking pace in physical activity recommendations,” concluded the research team led by Jill Pell, chair of public health with the University of Glasgow in the U.K. “Walking at a brisk pace may have a role in … prevention of cardiac arrhythmias.” For the study, researchers used data gathered as part of the UK Biobank health study on nearly 421,000 people, including nearly 82,000 who wore an accelerometer to track their walking pace. Overall, about 41% of people had a brisk walking pace, 53% an average walking pace and slightly more than 6% a slow pace. Results show that a brisk or average pace reduced the risk of any heart rhythm problem by 43% and 35%, respectively. People with a brisk or average pace also had a 46% and…  read on >  read on >

Life is busy, and some folks simply don’t have time until the weekend to work out. Turns out, that’s just fine for their health, a new study suggests. “Weekend warriors” who cram their week’s exercise into one or two days appear to gain as much benefit as people who are physically active throughout the week, researchers reported April 2 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “You don’t need to exercise every day to stay healthy,” senior researcher Zhi-Hao Li, an epidemiologist with Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, said in a news release.  “As long as you get 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week — whether packed into one to two days or spread out — you can significantly reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer or other causes,” he said. For this study, researchers analyzed data for more than 93,000 people participating in UK Biobank, a large health research database project. Their physical activity was tracked with wrist devices, and researchers compared that data to participants’ risk of dying from any cause, from heart disease and from cancer. Current guidelines recommend that people get at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. Vigorous exercise might include running, swimming laps, aerobic dance, fast bicycling, jumping rope and heavy yard work that involves…  read on >  read on >