A “weekend warrior” exercise schedule can lower diabetics’ risk of early death, a new study says. People with diabetes who get all their recommended weekly exercise in one or two sessions – the “weekend warrior” approach – were 21% less likely to die early from any cause than their counterparts who don’t work out, researchers report today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. They also were 33% less likely to die from heart disease, results show. “These findings reinforce the importance of flexible physical activity patterns for people with diabetes as they can improve insulin sensitivity and glycemic control — especially for those who face barriers to maintaining regularly routine exercise,” concluded the research team led by Zhiyuan Wu, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Exercise guidelines recommend that people get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week to maintain their health, researchers said in background notes. Moderate activity can include brisk walking, slow bicycling, active yoga, ballroom dancing and general yard work. However, it’s not always easy to find time to work out, researchers said. “Many people struggle to engage in regular physical activity throughout the week due to time constraints,” researchers said. “To overcome this, some condense their recommended (physical activity) into one or two weekly sessions — a pattern known as…  read on >  read on >

A “weekend warrior” exercise schedule can lower diabetics’ risk of early death, a new study says. People with diabetes who get all their recommended weekly exercise in one or two sessions – the “weekend warrior” approach – were 21% less likely to die early from any cause than their counterparts who don’t work out, researchers report today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. They also were 33% less likely to die from heart disease, results show. “These findings reinforce the importance of flexible physical activity patterns for people with diabetes as they can improve insulin sensitivity and glycemic control — especially for those who face barriers to maintaining regularly routine exercise,” concluded the research team led by Zhiyuan Wu, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Exercise guidelines recommend that people get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week to maintain their health, researchers said in background notes. Moderate activity can include brisk walking, slow bicycling, active yoga, ballroom dancing and general yard work. However, it’s not always easy to find time to work out, researchers said. “Many people struggle to engage in regular physical activity throughout the week due to time constraints,” researchers said. “To overcome this, some condense their recommended (physical activity) into one or two weekly sessions — a pattern known as…  read on >  read on >

Apparently healthy endurance athletes could have scar tissue building up in their heart, increasing their risk of dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, a new study says. About half of a large group of middle-aged male cyclists and triathletes showed signs of scarring in their heart’s left ventricle, the lower chamber responsible for pumping oxygenated blood out to the body, researchers found. Further, around 1 in 5 of the longtime competitive athletes were experiencing short bursts of rapid heartbeat that could be linked to heart problems, according to findings published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. Overall, the presence of heart scarring increased the  athletes’ risk of irregular ventricular rhythm by nearly fivefold, researchers concluded. “We did not expect the association between scarring and dangerous rhythms to be this strong,” said senior researcher Dr. Peter Swoboda, an associate professor of cardiology at the University of Leeds in the U.K.  “Similar findings have been reported in patients with heart muscle disease — however, we did not expect this in healthy, performance athletes,” he said in a news release. Irregular heart rhythms emanating from the ventricles are believed to be the main reason for sudden cardiac death among athletes, researchers noted. It’s considered one of the most serious types of heart rhythm disorders. For the study, researchers recruited 106 male cyclists and triathletes older than 50 who’d trained 10…  read on >  read on >

Apparently healthy endurance athletes could have scar tissue building up in their heart, increasing their risk of dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, a new study says. About half of a large group of middle-aged male cyclists and triathletes showed signs of scarring in their heart’s left ventricle, the lower chamber responsible for pumping oxygenated blood out to the body, researchers found. Further, around 1 in 5 of the longtime competitive athletes were experiencing short bursts of rapid heartbeat that could be linked to heart problems, according to findings published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. Overall, the presence of heart scarring increased the  athletes’ risk of irregular ventricular rhythm by nearly fivefold, researchers concluded. “We did not expect the association between scarring and dangerous rhythms to be this strong,” said senior researcher Dr. Peter Swoboda, an associate professor of cardiology at the University of Leeds in the U.K.  “Similar findings have been reported in patients with heart muscle disease — however, we did not expect this in healthy, performance athletes,” he said in a news release. Irregular heart rhythms emanating from the ventricles are believed to be the main reason for sudden cardiac death among athletes, researchers noted. It’s considered one of the most serious types of heart rhythm disorders. For the study, researchers recruited 106 male cyclists and triathletes older than 50 who’d trained 10…  read on >  read on >

Putting a little more pep in the step could help elderly folks improve their health and remain independent, a new study says. Older adults who slightly increased their walking cadence wound up with substantial improvements in physical function, researchers reported July 17 in the journal PLOS One. Just 14 or more extra steps per minute were enough to make a real difference, results show. “Even casual walking had positive effects on our study participants,” lead researcher Dr. Daniel Rubin, an anesthesiologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited 102 older people living in 14 independent living retirement communities in the Chicago metro area. Their average age was 79, and all were considered either frail or prefrail. The team randomly asked 56 of the folks to undertake a regular regimen of walking at casual speeds, and 46 to participate in a high-intensity walking program. Essentially, the high-intensity walkers were encouraged to amble “as fast as safely possible,” Rubin said. Overall, seniors in the high intensity walking program increased their pace to 100 steps per minute, while casual walkers averaged about 77. Results showed seniors did better on a six-minute walk test if they increased their comfortable walking cadence by 14 steps per minute. These sorts of improvements can mean the world to someone struggling with frailty, Rubin…  read on >  read on >

Putting a little more pep in the step could help elderly folks improve their health and remain independent, a new study says. Older adults who slightly increased their walking cadence wound up with substantial improvements in physical function, researchers reported July 17 in the journal PLOS One. Just 14 or more extra steps per minute were enough to make a real difference, results show. “Even casual walking had positive effects on our study participants,” lead researcher Dr. Daniel Rubin, an anesthesiologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited 102 older people living in 14 independent living retirement communities in the Chicago metro area. Their average age was 79, and all were considered either frail or prefrail. The team randomly asked 56 of the folks to undertake a regular regimen of walking at casual speeds, and 46 to participate in a high-intensity walking program. Essentially, the high-intensity walkers were encouraged to amble “as fast as safely possible,” Rubin said. Overall, seniors in the high intensity walking program increased their pace to 100 steps per minute, while casual walkers averaged about 77. Results showed seniors did better on a six-minute walk test if they increased their comfortable walking cadence by 14 steps per minute. These sorts of improvements can mean the world to someone struggling with frailty, Rubin…  read on >  read on >