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Articles on Physical fitness

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Since the mid-1990s, people have been doing less and less walking or bicycling to work and school and spending a lot more time staring at screens. RainStar/E+ via Getty Images

A boom in fitness trackers isn’t leading to a boom in physical activity – men, women, kids and adults in developed countries are all moving less

Research is revealing that fitness trackers alone can be helpful facilitators toward changing a sedentary lifestyle but don’t motivate people to increase their physical activity.
Climbing in the playground is just one of many activities kids can do to improve muscle fitness. Fran Polito/Moment via Getty Images

Kids’ grip strength is improving, but other measures of muscle fitness are getting worse

Overall muscle fitness among children and teens hasn’t declined over the past several decades, but by some measures it’s not improving, either.
Working out strengthens more than just your muscles – it strengthens your immune system, too. SelectStock/E+ via Getty Images

These at-home exercises can help older people boost their immune system and overall health in the age of COVID-19

Older adults, who are at a higher risk for COVID-19 complications, can strengthen their immune systems by exercising.
The recipe for living well during this period of confinement is simple: move, eat well, sleep, relax, manage your screen time and have fun. (Shutterstock)

How to keep your children active and healthy while in coronavirus isolation

The confinement brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has made many wonder how to keep their kids physically and mentally healthy. Here are some ideas.
Jennifer Lopez performs during the halftime show at the NFL Super Bowl on Feb. 2, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

J.Lo’s body: Distressing or inspiring for mid-life women?

The tip-top physical condition of J.Lo and Shakira shouldn’t cause women to throw up their hands and stop working out any more than Olympic cyclists should inspire us to quit riding our bikes.
Getting older? If you grunt when you bend over, you’re not alone. From shutterstock.com

Why do I grunt when I bend over?

Is grunting a sign that we’re ageing fast? Or is it just one of those things that come with the middle years, like reading glasses, greying hair and ‘dad jokes’?
Getting enough physical activity can be challenging for women and girls, because they have to negotiate complex gender roles, stereotypes and cultural narratives about the body. (Shutterstock)

Girls and women need more time in nature to be healthy

Women and adolescent girls say that being outdoors in nature offers opportunities to gain confidence in physical activity.
Physical activity has long been considered a way to lower risk for breast cancer. vectorfusionart/Shutterstock.com

How inherited fitness may affect breast cancer risk

Physical activity is considered an important way to lower risk for breast cancer. But what if your ability to be fit is influenced by genes you inherit? Would that raise your risk? In rats, it did.

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