TheActiveLife || HEALTH & WELLNESS [ research shows ]


Lack of Sleep Burns Muscle


If you’re on a fitness/weight- loss plan but sleeping only about 5.5 hours per night, you may be burning off muscle instead of fat. That’s the conclusion of a study of men and women on the same calorie-restriction diet who slept for 8.5 hours one week, and 5.5 hours the second week. The dieters lost the same amount of pounds in each week, but in the sleep-deprived week, the subjects lost more weight from muscle than fat. THE TAKEAWAY Get at least eight hours of shut-eye a night.


Obesity is Contagious According to Harvard researchers, you’re more likely to become obese if you’re in contact with obese people. The scientists said that your chances of becoming obese increase by 0.5% with each obese family member, friend or co-worker you have in your social network.


exercise can protect millions from cancer


S


imple lifestyle changes, including increased exercise, could potentially prevent a third of all common cancers,


according to the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). “It is distressing that even in 2011, people


are dying unnecessarily from cancers that could be prevented through maintaining a healthy weight, diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors," Martin Wiseman, a WCRF medical and scientific adviser, told Reuters news. In a separate statement, the World Health


Organization (WHO) said that lack of exercise is the main cause of 21%–25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes and 30% of heart disease all over the world. THE TAKEAWAY WHO recommends a mini- mum of 150 minutes of exercise per week. That’s five 30-minute workouts — not really much when you think about it.


35%


That’s the portion of adults in the U.S. who have “prediabetes,” a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, greatly boosting a person’s chance of getting diabetes or heart disease.


10 IHRSA | www.heal thclubs.com


Photos: Thinkstock (2)


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