PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  FIFTEEN MINUTES THAT CAN BOOST YOUR HEALTH         Corporate Cup, lunchtime yoga, or even 'walk and talks', organizations develop wellness initiatives to encourage people to be more active in the workplace. But before you duck and hide, new research shows that all it takes is 15 minutes and a touch of gamification to put you on the path to success. Assessing results from 11,575 participants across 73 Australian, New Zealand, and UK companies, the University of South Australia researchers found that a gamified workplace wellness program -- the  15 Minute Challenge * --  leads to substantial increases in physical activity levels, with 95% of participants meeting (36%) or exceeding (59%) physical activity guidelines. In addition, participants' average daily physical activity levels increased by 12 minutes per day (85 minutes per week) throughout the six-week challenge, with the median daily exercise duration being 45 minutes. Participants also reported ...

  AGE OF PEAK PERFORMANCE IN OLYMPIC ATHLETES QUANTIFIED New statistics research provides insight into when a track-and-field athlete's performance peaks .         A lot goes into an Olympic athlete's quest for gold -- years of training and rigor -- but also an athlete's age. A team of University of Waterloo students used statistics to figure out when an Olympic track-and-field athlete's peak performance will be. Track-and-field encompasses running, jumping, throwing, and combined event disciplines. Most athletes' career performance progressions can typically be visualized as a bell curve, in which they train over several years to reach their best performance, or "peak," at a certain age and then gradually decline. "Unlike other Olympic sports such as soccer and tennis that have their own high-profile competitions outside of the Games, the Olympics is the largest stage upon which track-and-field athletes compete," said David Awosoga, a master...

  OBESITY GENE IMPACT ON THE BRAIN The discovery could lead to new treatments for metabolic diseases with fewer side effects.         Obesity is a complicated condition caused by a combination of genetics, the food environment, behavior, and other factors . For millennia, getting enough food to survive and thrive was difficult. For most people, it's now as easy as opening a refrigerator. A gene called  SH2B1  has been shown to play an essential role in regulating food intake. SH2B1  mutations in people are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. "This gene controls feeding and energy expenditure. Obesity is caused by two opposing axes: If you eat too much, you gain fat. Spend too little energy and fat accumulates," said Liangyou Rui, Ph.D., Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabete...

  BEETS MAY HELP PREVENT HEART DISEASE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN Beetroot juice promotes healthy circulation in postmenopausal women.         After women go through menopause, their risk of heart disease increases dramatically. To improve and support heart and blood vessel health among postmenopausal women, researchers at Penn State studied whether beetroot juice can improve blood vessel function. Results published today (June 10) in  Frontiers in Nutrition  indicated that postmenopausal women's daily consumption of beetroot juice may improve blood vessel function enough to reduce future heart disease risk. Beetroot juice contains high nitrate levels, which the body converts to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps blood vessels expand, making blood flow through the circulatory system easier. The ability of nitric oxide to widen blood vessels is known to be particularly helpful during periods of limited blood flow and oxygen delivery, such as during a heart a...

  MACULAR DEGENERATION SLOWED WITH SUPPLEMENTS. A new analysis shows the benefits of taking the AREDS2 formula in late AMD .         In a new data analysis, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that taking a daily supplement containing antioxidant vitamins and minerals slows the progression of late-stage dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), potentially helping people with late-stage disease preserve their central vision. Researchers reviewed the original retinal scans of participants in the Age-Related Eye disease studies (AREDS and AREDS2). They found that, for people with late-stage dry AMD, taking the antioxidant supplement slowed the expansion of geographic atrophy regions towards the central foveal region of the retina. The study was published in the journal  Ophthalmology . "We've known for a long time that AREDS2 supplements help slow the progression from intermediate to late AMD. Our analysis shows that taking ARE...

  TIME OUTSIDE HAS MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS Meta-analysis of existing research shows exposure to nature benefits those with diagnosed mental illness.         Spending time in nature -- even as little as 10 minutes -- can yield short-term benefits for adults with mental illness, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal  Ecopsychology . The latest meta-analysis examined 30 years of published research on the social, psychological, and physical health effects of exposure to nature, including urban nature. Numerous studies have shown that spending time in nature reduces stress, improves thinking, and boosts mood. "We know nature plays an important role in human health, but behavioral health and health care providers often neglect to think about it as an intervention," said Joanna Bettmann, a professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work and lead author of the study. "We set out to distill some evidence-based guidance for those p...