physical activity news stories on Newser

When Shoveling Increases, So Do Heart Attacks

Harry Kimball — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:00 CST

Take it easy, snow shoveler—your activity causes heart attacks. Well, not exactly, Slate reports, but 2 studies show a strong correlation between heavy snowfall and an increase in heart attack deaths. In one, deaths went up 22% in the week of Northeastern blizzards and remained up in the next...

Exercise Curbs Colds, Even Cancer

Harry Kimball — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:10:37 CST

Some benefits of exercise are less visible than weight loss and muscle mass, but no less tangible. In fact, the most awesome effects of physical activity are measured by what doesn’t happen: A brisk walk five times a week has been shown to ward off respiratory infections, and regular exercise...

Hula-Hooping Comes Around as Workout Craze

Nick McMaster — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:55:24 CDT

The hula-hoop is seeing a revival as a fitness tool, with out-of-shape Americans finding twirling a plastic tube a more enjoyable way to burn calories than running or weight-lifting. Companies like HoopGirl and Hoopnotica have seen sales of weighted hula-hoops and enrollment in hoop fitness classes surge. "I finally found...

Ladies, Pick Up Thy Power Tool

Harry Kimball — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:55:23 CDT

Sara Mosle “came of age betwixt and between,” she writes on DoubleX—after feminism had freed women from the need to learn “traditional female skills” but before “they had begun to make real inroads into traditional male pastimes and professions.” So that left her with an English major and a...

Night Owls Outmuscle Early Birds: Study

Harry Kimball — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:59:07 CDT

Night owls may have a tough time conforming to normal work schedules, but they do have one advantage in athletic ability that early birds can’t match, CNN reports. A new study tested leg strength at various times during the day and found that morning people were consistent while late risers...

Poverty, Heat, Infrastructure Make Southerners Fat

Harry Kimball — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:32:59 CDT

The American South is the most obese region in the country because of a “perfect storm” of factors, Claire Suddath writes for Time . Mississippi, whose 33% adult obesity rate makes it the fattest state, is also the poorest, with 21% of people living under the poverty line. That means less...