Exercise may fight off depression and improve self-esteem in overweight children, researchers here said.

But according to one key measure, white children seemed to benefit more from exercise than black youngsters, a difference the scientists found intriguing but not easily accounted for.

In a randomized trial, heavy kids who exercised for 40 minutes a day saw decreases in depressive symptoms and improvements in self-esteem compared with those who remained sedentary, Karen Petty, M.D., of the Medical College of Georgia, and colleagues reported online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

Effects of childhood obesity

Childhood obesity has been associated with many psychological problems, including low self-esteem and depression, but little is known about the effects of physical activity on feelings of self-worth.

So the researchers conducted a study of 207 overweight and sedentary children ages seven to 11 years. They noted that the youngsters in the sample were not clinically depressed, with only 4% scoring above the cutoff for depression.

How much exercise do kids need?

The children were randomized to either 20 or 40 minutes of daily exercise, or told to continue their sedentary lifestyle. The exercises periods, which lasted for 13 weeks, included running, jump rope, basketball, and soccer.

The researchers found that the 40-minute exercise group sustained the greatest psychological benefit, with evidence of a dose-response relationship. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: clinical depression, depression, Georgia, Karen Petty, Medical College of Georgia, obesity

The Center for Disease Control is reporting that Measles Cases are at the highest rate in over 10 years. Most of the reason for the really high rate of Measles outbreaks is because of the fear of Autism from kids getting the

More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Measles Results for 2008

Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC′s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Academy of Pediatrics, Anne Schuchat, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Autism, Belgium, California, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, D.C., director, encephalitis, Europe, Georgia, Germany, hawaii, Illinois, immunization, India, Israel, Italy, Louisiana, measles, Michigan, Missouri, mmr vaccine, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Mumps, National Center for Immunization, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, New Mexico, New York, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, preventing infections, Respiratory Diseases, rubella, Russian Federation, Switzerland, the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, vaccination, vaccination program, vaccination status, vaccines, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

I have often thought that exercise can help get rid of the symptoms and even the effects of Diabetes and today I see that there is yet another study that says that exercise can at the very least stop you from getting type 2 diabetes. It is one thing to say that exercise and good health stops you from getting sick but if you are not sick some will argue that you are just genetically predisposed to not getting sick.

Group-based diet and exercise lifestyle interventions over six years can prevent or delay diabetes for up to 14 years after the intervention period. But whether lifestyle interventions also lead to reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality remains unclear. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article in this week’s Diabetes Special Issue of The Lancet.

While several major clinical trials around the world have shown the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to reduce diabetes incidence in people with impaired glucose tolerance*, questions remain over how long post-intervention these strategies remain effective. Professor Guangwei Li, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China, and Dr Ping Zhang, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and colleagues did the China Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Outcome Study (CDQDPOS), which followed-up patients 20 years after enrollment. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Atlanta, Beijing, cardiovascular disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, CVD, diabetes, diabetes prevention, disease control and prevention, Finland, Georgia, glucose tolerance, Guangwei Li, Helsinki, Jaana Lindström, Matti Uusitupa, National Public Health Institute, Ping Zhang, professor, United States, University of Helsinki, University of Kuopio

Ever noticed that when you are tired and do not feel like exercising that it quickly passes when you just get up and get a bit of movement? Well you are not alone. A recent study from the University of Georgia seems to prove that exercise will over come tiredness. Here is a quote from the author of the study:

“Too often we believe that a quick workout will leave us worn out, especially when we are already feeling fatigued,” Tim Puetz, who helped conduct the study, said in a statement.

“However, we have shown that regular exercise can actually go a long way in increasing feelings of energy, particularly in sedentary individuals.”

So next time that you are tired remember this post. Even better, start to exercise without even thinking about it. If you are even a little tired it is really easy for your mind to convince you not to workout at all.

Tags: Author, energy, exercise, feelings, Georgia, puetz, sedentary individuals, Tim Puetz, tiredness, university of georgia, workout