Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” of the nearly 4,400 healthy U.S. adults in their recent study, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels were twice as likely to die over the next nine years as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (To put it another way, those 20 percent who were nearly at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the time-honored “bad news/good news” outcome. It is undoubtedly bad news if you are a dyed-in-the-wool sofa spud. But, it is genuinely good news for those who haven’t quite hit rock bottom in the sedentary lifestyle department but are not, by definition, energetic. Apparently, those people who remain just moderately fit as they age may have a longer lifespan than those who are completely out-of-shape, the study suggests.

Between 1986 and 2006, researchers determined the fitness levels of 4,384 middle-aged and older adults during exercise treatmill tests. The researchers then observed the study groups progress for close to nine years. The study considered such factors like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This, in and of itself, highlights the importance of physical fitness itself. In an email to Reuters Health, Dr. Sandra Mandic, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and lead researcher of the study stated: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”

Nearly two-thirds of the participants at the least-fit level failed to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five or more days a week, which was the minimum recommended amount of exercise. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”

Dividing the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, the researchers found that 25 percent of the least-fit men and women had died during the study period, as opposed to 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “hit a grand slam”) had died during the follow-up period.

The five fitness-level groups presented little difference, overall, in their reported exercise practices during most of their adult lives, but conspicuously, they contrasted in activity levels only in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”

Since fitness is undeniably associated with longevity (and, in this study, despite weight and health conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol), And, perhaps it goes without saying, imagine the health benefits we could all derive if we worked towards the higher levels of fitness.

SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.

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Even if kids don’t stay as active later in childhood, being active at age five helps them to avoid excess fat as they age. “We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” Janz went on to say.

Using a special scanner that accurately measures bone, fat, and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movment every minute, the UI team tested the body fat and activity level of 333 kis at ages five, eight, and eleven. Rather than relying on kids or parents to track minutes of exercise, the kids wore accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, indicates that kids who are active at age five end up with less fat at age eight and eleven, even when controlling for their accumulated level of activity.  The average five-year-old in the study got thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every ten minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages eight and eleven.

Although further investigation is needed to learn what happens to the bodies of the active kids that keeps them in better shape down the road, Janz said that it may be possible that the active 5-year-olds didn’t develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something happened metabolically that supplied some protection even as they became less active.

Weight moderation, however, isn’t the only benefit of early exercise. As a chiropractor I have noticed in my own practice that active kids have fewer of the usual childhood health problems, such as catching colds and the flu. chiropractic care is, without a doubt, extraordinarily beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that happens during activities, especially those that necessitate “cross pattern” motor movements of the larger muscles, i.e., right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg, such as crawling, running, climbing, and skipping, also boosts the autoimmune system and keeps kids healthier.

Too many children today are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an unhealthy diet, inactivity is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who prefers to watch television or play video games rather than participating in more active play, help your child to get up and get moving into healthier activities. Moderate to vigorous activity will not only benefit your child now, but will help to build a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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Due to the differences between the manner in which boys and girls use the left and right hemispheres of their brain, ADHD seems to afflict more boys than girls and, additionally, is commonly more apparent and easily discernible in the behavior of boys as opposed to of girls. Some of the symptoms that are most pronounced include difficulty concentrating and sitting still, lack of ability to control impulsive thoughts and behaviors, easily distracted by noises and activities, incessant movement of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs.

Many children who display ADHD symptoms are hypersensitive to particular foods, such as dairy or gluten products, and sugars and artificial sweeteners. Furthermore, they commonly have a hypersensitive response to additives in foods, herbicides and pesticides used to grow non-organic fruits and vegetables, and laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, and other chemicals. Frequently, the elimination of these environmental factors can do quite a bit to reduce ADHD symptoms.

Your Mount Laurel Chiropractor will give your child a thorough chiropractic examination, checking for spinal anomalies and checking for particular responses to specific neurological tests.

Natural, safe chiropractic care can help your child to get his or her life back in balance. Before taking drastic pharmaceutical measures, if your child exhibits the symptoms of ADHD, call your chiropractor to make an appointment for a complete evaluation. Call today for the health of your child!

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Many children’s prescription and non-prescription drugs often not only mask a child’s symptoms, but can cause negative side effects. Today, moms and dads are finding health care opportunities for their children that encourage and sustain their child’s inherent ability to be healthy.

chiropractic care is that option because it assists a child’s nervous system in functioning optimally. When the nervous system is fully functioning, the immune system, which is controlled by the nervous system, is able to do what it’s meant to do, which is keep your child healthy.  As the adage goes, “the best offense is a good defense.” Everyday, children are exposed to a huge variety of airborn, food-born, and contact bacteria. So many bacteria, in fact, that it would be unfeasible to immunize them against them all. Your chiropractor is very familiar with colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, pains, falls, stomach-aches, and the hundred and one little (and big) things children go through as they grow up.

The goal of a chiropractor is to help keep your child healthy and strong so that the ailments that appear to be an inevitable part of childhood, either will not affect your child as fiercely or won’t affect them at all. Chiropractic adjustments aids in removing interferences to the inherent healing power that runs through your child’s body. When that power is unleashed, the healing results that take place many times appear to be profound.

Furthermore, a child is lesslikely to be injured at play or in sports when his or her spine is in alignment. In addition, children who receive regular chiropactic care don’t seem to experience as many “growing pains” as other children.

Each day at your chiropractor we are happy to see that more and more parents are bringing their children to our clinic to give attention to the questions and concerns they have about their children’s health. All children are have the right to manifest their entire potentiality. Chiropractic treatment for children at your chiropractor is safe, gentle and effective.

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