Eating For Health

Many of us can’t go to the gym or participate in our usual fitness classes right now, but we can still go for a walk.   And walking is good for your health.   A new study by the National Cancer Institute, CDC and the National Institute on Aging finds the more you walk, the longer your lifespan.   The article in JAMA notes:   “Greater number of steps per day were associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality”.  What was the study? Researchers looked at 4840 adults at least 40 years of age who wore a step counter for up to five days over the study period of 2003-2006.   Not just any step counter but an accelerometer that not only measured steps taken but also the intensity of the walking.    How many steps did study participants take? The average number of steps taken a day by this group was 9124.   Those taking 8000 steps a day had significantly lower mortality than those taking 4000 steps a day. Going up to 12,000 st...

America is growing, not just in terms of population but also in size.   The Editorial in our local paper reads:   Obesity rates remain a national concern .   As the editorial notes, too many Americans are getting bigger.   Trust for Americas’ Health released their 2017 Obesity report.   The report found that, “far too many Americans, both adult and children, are significantly overweight to the extent that it jeopardizes their overall health and well-being.”    States vary a lot in the number of adults who are overweight or obese.   West Virginia leads the nation as 37.7% of the adults in West Virginia are obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. The state with the lowest rate of obese adults was Colorado at 22.3%.   If you are interested in your state, visit Adult Obesity Rate by State, 2016 .   Some states and their rankings are noted below: States % Obese Adults (BMI 30+) District of Columbia...