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Research Update: The Value of Exercise for Women’s Health

Fitness pros have a unique opportunity to take a leadership role by guiding their female clients toward a healthier, movement-oriented lifestyle. This women’s health research update discusses contemporary scientific findings you can use to educate your clients and plan up-to-date programs.

Soccer Is Medicine

Just in time for the World Cup™, researchers have found that football, or soccer as it’s known in the United States, is medicine. So go ahead and encourage clients to play it in their spare time! “Football is broad-spectrum medicine for patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle diseases,” according to Peter Krustrup, PhD, professor and head of the Sports and Health Sciences Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. Practicing soccer includes endurance training, high-intensity interval training and strength training, the scientists noted.

What Fitness Pros Need to Know About New Blood Pressure Guidelines

New guidelines on high blood pressure made headlines late last year because they suggest that nearly half of all Americans have hypertension—up from about one-third under previous guidelines. This is big news for fitness professionals because regular exercise is an excellent tool for regulating blood pressure. In this issue, we’ll review what you need to know about the new blood pressure guidelines.

Pillars of Functional Training for Active Aging

Healthy aging is more than the absence of disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO): “For most older people, the maintenance of functional ability has the highest importance” (WHO 2015). Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging in Vancouver, British Columbia, echoes these comments. “When looking at the healthy aging market today, the focus is all about function,” he says.

130/80 = High Blood Pressure

For the first time since 2003, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have produced a substantial report updating blood pressure recommendations. People with a reading of 130/80 are now classified as having high blood pressure. This is down from 140/90.
According to the ACC, this means 46% of U.S. adults will now be categorized as having hypertension.
Those in the “hypertensive crisis” category require medication intervention and immediate hospitalization if there is organ damage, according to the report.

Meditation: Part of a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle?

The American Heart Association has released a scientific statement noting that meditation has potential to reduce some heart disease risk factors and may be considered an adjunct to a heart-healthy lifestyle of good nutrition, physical activity and smoking cessation, combined with medical treatment for conditions like high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Some Cancers Are a Weighty Issue

About 40% of cancer cases are related to overweight and obesity, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mindful Movement, Meditation and High Blood Pressure

Qigong, yoga and tai chi may all be useful practices for reducing high blood pressure. And qigong, in particular, may have the most significant impact on reducing diastolic blood pressure [DBP], according to a review of studies published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2017; article ID 9784271).

Yoga and Prehypertension

Adding to the growing evidence of yoga’s health benefits, preliminary findings from a recent study show that consistent yoga practice may help to reduce blood pressure among people with prehypertension.

Reducing CVD Risk in Older Adults Who Are Obese

Exercise may protect against cardiovascular disease regardless of body mass index, according to researchers from Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
They examined the health records and activity levels of 5,344 adults aged 55—97. Participants were categorized as normal weight, overweight or obese and were also classified by activity level. The study's purpose was to understand associations among weight, physical activity levels and CVD risk.

Tai Chi and Women’s Heart Health

Tai chi may also be helpful for women with higher-than-average risk of developing heart disease. A study from Virginia Commonwealth University suggests the
practice may reduce fatigue and inflammation, while increasing mindfulness, self–compassion and spirituality, in this population.

Don’t Worry, Be Healthy

New research highlights the power of the mind and the influence of our perceptions on disease chances. Healthy people who worry about having a heart attack have a higher possibility of heart disease, independent of other risk factors, compared with those who don’t worry, according to a study in BMJ Open (2016; doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012914). A preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness is an anxiety disorder.

Heart Disease and Women in Their 50s

For women younger than 65 years old, depression is emerging as a significant risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Researchers from Reading Hospital and Medical Center in West Reading, Pennsylvania, noted the distinction by age in a study presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) in Orlando, in October. The study included 1,084 women with a mean age of 54.8 years at the beginning; for 10 years, investigators collected data on heart disease and established risk factors in these women.

How Your Attitude Affects Heart Disease Risk

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “For myself, I am an optimist—it does not seem to be much use being anything else.” According to new research, his words ring true for heart health. Finnish scientists recently learned that people categorized as pessimistic were more likely to die from cardiovascular heart disease (CHD) than those with a brighter outlook.

Can Fitness Mitigate Work Stress?

Forty percent of workers find their jobs very stressful, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Twenty-six percent report that they are “often burned out or stressed by their work,” and 29% feel “quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.” Changing careers may not be a possibility; however, a new study suggests fitness can help workers protect themselves against the potentially harmful effects of work-related stress.

Walking Is Good for the Heart

Apples may keep the doctor away, but can we say the same for walking? With heart health, the answer could be yes, according to a study conducted by Binghampton University researchers and published in Creative Nursing (2016; 20 [4], 268–75).

Aging and Cardiovascular Disease: Exercise to the Rescue!

Our species is long–lived compared with other primates. Chimpanzees, for instance, have a life expectancy of about 13 years versus 78.5 years for U.S. babies born in 2009 (Pringle 2013). Why such a big gap? Pringle says vaccines, antibiotics, sanitation, and access to nutritious vegetables and fruits year round give us a huge edge over our great–ape cousins, as does our acquired ability to fight off pathogens and irritants in our environments.

Bone Health and Plant-Based Diets

Do you embrace a plant-based diet? If you're avoiding dairy, do you get enough calcium—the best-known nutrient for healthy bones?
To build a sturdy frame, getting enough calcium and vitamin D is key. Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, a James Beard Award-winning journalist, Canada-based dietitian, freelance nutrition writer and recipe developer, gives you the low-down on these nutrients—and the plant foods that can help you get your fill.

Calcium