News by Subject Social & Behavior

New research coming out of UBC's Okanagan campus demonstrates that upbeat music can make a rigorous workout seem less tough. Even for people who are insufficiently active. Matthew Stork is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences. He recently published a study examining how the right music can help less-active people get more out of their workout--and enjoy it more.

Are children, teenagers and adults who spend a lot of time playing video games really more obese? A meta study conducted with the the University of Würzburg has looked into this question. The cliché is true -- but only for adults.

A James Cook University researcher says a lack of suitable roads is a big reason why cycling participation rates in Australia and Queensland are so low.

A personalized active lifestyle program for employees with metabolic syndrome (who are at high risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes) that uses wearable activity trackers, a smartphone app, and face-to-face sessions with exercise coaches, can reduce disease severity in both men and women in various occupations, according to a randomized trial of over 300 workers published in The Lancet Public Health journal.

A person's body composition could influence the difference between the amount of energy they spend while sitting versus standing, according to new research published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Conducted by Francisco J. Amaro-Gahete of the University of Granada, Spain, and colleagues, this work adds to mounting evidence that more energy is expended while standing than while sitting or lying down.

Physical activity in early childhood may have an impact on cardiovascular health later in life, according to new research from McMaster University, where scientists followed the activity levels of hundreds of preschoolers over a period of years. They found that physical activity in children as young as three years old benefits blood vessel health, cardiovascular fitness and is key to the prevention of early risk indicators that can lead to adult heart disease.

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the VA Boston Healthcare System have uncovered a new vital sign for gauging survival and likelihood of having an unplanned hospitalization in older patients with blood cancers: the speed at which they can walk.

Physical fitness is associated with a number of key health outcomes, including heart disease, cognition, mortality, and an overall feeling of well-being. A new study from Singapore now links physical performance with mental health and emotions, suggesting that weak upper and lower body fitness can cause more serious depression and anxiety in midlife women. Results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).