Miami publicist Robin Diamond is "step-obsessed."

She aims for 10,000-plus steps every day using her Apple watch and even bought a treadmill during the COVID-19 quarantine to make sure she reaches her daily goal. The 43-year-old has lost 15 pounds since April 2019 and feels better than ever before.

"Walking saved my sanity and restored my body," she said.

Now, a new study sugg...

Take a work break: A small, new study suggests that getting out of your chair every half hour may help improve your blood sugar levels and your overall health.

Every hour spent sitting or lying down increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, the study authors said. But moving around during those sedentary hours is an easy way to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce t...

After a stroke, survivors can greatly increase their odds for many more years of life through activities as easy as a half-hour's stroll each day, new research shows.

The nearly five-year-long Canadian study found that stroke survivors who walked or gardened at least three to four hours a week (about 30 minutes a day), cycled at least two to three hours per week, or got an equivalent amou...

Women who try to hold their pee during the day might want to rethink that strategy.

It's time to "get up and go," according to the Urology Care Foundation, which is encouraging women to be proactive about their urological health.

That, of course, means get up and go to the bathroom if you need to. But the foundation also suggests a number of activities a woman can get up and go...

Exercise guards against a host of chronic diseases that can plague people as they age, but can it also protect against severe cases of COVID-19?

New research suggests that's so: Being physically active reduced COVID-19 patients' risk of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death, and even being just somewhat active provided some protection.

"This is a wake-up cal...

Going for a brisk walk after a long day at work may be better for your heart than getting all of your exercise on the job.

New research suggests that while current health guidelines indicate that leisure-time activity and physical activity at work are created equally when it comes to heart health benefits, this may not be the case after all.

Leisure-time exercise -- whether it be ta...

Fast-paced walking is painful for the millions of people with peripheral artery disease (PAD). But new research shows that a slower, pain-free pace won't cut it if improvement in mobility is the goal.

The study included more than 300 of the roughly 8.5 million Americans with PAD. It's a condition in which plaque build-up in arteries slows the flow of blood to the legs.

"People ...

Live well, live longer.

New research offers more evidence that the mantra rings true: People who got regular exercise and ate a healthy diet in middle age had a reduced risk of serious health problems as seniors.

"Health care professionals could use these findings to further promote and emphasize to their patients the benefits of a healthy diet and a regular exercise schedule t...

Regular aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which may help slow mental decline in older adults, a new, small study suggests.

Researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center looked at 70 men and women diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This means there are slight changes to the brain that affect memory, decision-making or reasoning skills. In m...

If you saunter and shuffle instead of scurry when you walk, you are at higher risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, British researchers warn.

For the study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 412,000 middle-aged Britons and found that among those whose weight was normal, slow walkers were more than twice as likely to develop severe COVID-19 and 3.75 times more likely...

Anyone who gets frequent migraine symptoms knows the experience: the throbbing, the pain, the visual disturbances.

Exercise has long been a potential way to reduce migraine triggers, but a new study suggests it could be an especially effective with triggers such stress, depression and trouble sleeping.

"It's a complex relationship, but we know that exercise, generally speaking, help...

An inhaled medication might make every day physical activity a bit easier for patients with serious scarring of the lungs, a new clinical trial finds.

The study, published online Jan. 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved patients with high blood pressure in the lungs caused by interstitial lung disease (ILD).

ILD is a broad term for progressive scarring of th...

People paralyzed with spinal cord injuries can safely and effectively use an exoskeleton to assist them in walking, a new study finds.

"Participants showed improvement regardless of level of injury, completeness or duration of injury," said Gail Forrest, director of the Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation at Kessler Foundation in East Hanover, N.J.

The findings ...

If you have trouble sleeping after heart bypass surgery, regular morning walks may provide relief, a new study suggests.

"Many patients have trouble sleeping after heart bypass surgery," said researcher Dr. Hady Atef, of Cairo University in Egypt.

"When this persists beyond six months, it exacerbates the heart condition and puts patients at risk of having to repeat the surg...

Walking or biking to work may lower your risk of getting sick or dying early, British researchers report.

"As large numbers of people begin to return to work as the COVID-19 lockdown eases, it is a good time for everyone to rethink their transport choices," said lead researcher Richard Patterson, from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. Scientists from Imperial C...

After a broken hip, seniors who have sufficient vitamin D have better odds of walking, a new study finds.

The study suggests that low levels of vitamin D could limit walking, according to researcher Sue Shapses, a professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Nearly 300 patients undergoing hip fracture repair were assessed after surgery in ...

If you have high blood pressure, you can take steps to lower it by walking more every day, new research suggests.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from about 640 adults who participated in the Framingham Heart Study, which focuses on heart disease risk factors and has been ongoing for more than 70 years.

Participants were asked to wear smart watches that tracked the n...

For years, health experts have urged us to get off the couch and get moving. Now a new U.S. government study shows how much we stand to gain.

The study, of more 4,800 Americans age 40 and up, found a clear pattern: The more steps people took each day, the less likely they were to die over the next 10 years.

Those who managed at least 8,000 steps a day -- roughly equivalent t...

You've probably heard the phrase, "Sitting is the new smoking," but what is it about sitting that's so harmful?

New research suggests it's because sitting doesn't require much use of your body's muscles.

The study compared the daily activities of a modern-day African hunter-gatherer community called the Hadza, in Tanzania. It found that while the Hadza spent similar amount...

Just a bit of time spent with nature each day can reduce college students' stress, researchers say.

They reviewed studies on the effects of being in nature on 15- to 30-year-olds to see how much time college students should be spending outdoors and the best ways to reap the benefits.

Ten to 50 minutes of sitting or walking in natural spaces did the most efficient job of impr...

Take a walk, weed your garden, go for a swim or dance -- it could keep your brain from shrinking as you age, a new study suggests.

Being physically active may keep your brain four years younger than the rest of you, which might help prevent or slow the progression of dementias like Alzheimer's disease, researchers say.

"We recently published a paper using information of bo...

Physical activity may help seniors live longer and healthier -- and exercise doesn't have to be intense, two new studies say.

"Finding a way to physically move more in an activity that suits your capabilities and is pleasurable is extremely important for all people, and especially for older people who may have risk factors for cardiovascular diseases," said Barry Franklin, past chair ...

Walking on America's streets is getting ever more dangerous, a new report shows.

Based on data from the first six months of 2019, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) predicts there were 6,590 pedestrian deaths that year, which would be a 5% increase over the 6,227 pedestrian deaths in 2018.

The 2019 figure is the highest number of such deaths in more than 30 ...

Do you ride your bike to work? If you don't, maybe you should.

Why? People who commute by bicycle are at lower risk of dying early, a new study from New Zealand finds.

Researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington, the University of Melbourne and the University of Auckland found that those who cycled to work had a 13% reduction in death during the study period.

Very fit American adults enjoy a wider range of physical activities than those who are less active, a new study finds.

The findings could help point to ways to boost physical activity in adults, according to the researchers.

Data gathered from more than 9,800 adults nationwide between 2003 and 2006 showed that those who were active had done at least two different activities...

Leave your car in the garage if you can: A new study suggests that walking or biking to work could cut your risk of a heart attack.

The researchers analyzed 2011 data from 43 million working adults in England and found that 11.4% were active commuters, with 8.6% walking to work and 2.8% cycling to work.

In areas where walking or cycling to work were more common i...

Talking and texting on your smartphone is a big no-no for drivers, but new research suggests the same should be true for pedestrians.

According to one database, more than 2,500 men and women went to an emergency room for head and neck injuries sustained while using a smartphone between 1998 and 2017. When that number is extrapolated to include the whole country, the total is likely to...

Just 10 minutes of exercise a day appears to sharpen mental prowess, new research suggests.

"Getting off the couch and walking a block can help keep you on the right track," said study author Nicole Spartano, a research assistant professor at Boston University School of Medicine.

Her team looked 2,770 participants in the Framingham Heart Study who were divided into two group...

If you're trick-or-treating through a walkable neighborhood on Halloween, go back and do it again the next day, and the day after that - minus the stops for candy. It's a good heart-healthy habit year-round.

A new study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Heart Association reinforces the concept that living in a walkable neighborhood is a factor in cardiovascular...

Older women who get even light exercise, like a daily walk, may lower their risk of suffering a broken hip, a large study suggests.

A number of studies have linked regular exercise to a lower risk of hip fracture -- a potentially disabling or even fatal injury for older adults. Each year, more than 300,000 people in the United States aged 65 or older are hospitalized for a broken hip,...

Middle-aged folks who worry about healthy aging would do well to keep an eye on their walking speed.

Turns out that the walking speed of 45-year-olds is a pretty solid marker of how their brains and bodies are aging, a new study suggests.

Slow walkers appear to be aging more rapidly, said senior researcher Terrie Moffitt, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke Un...

Walking speed may indicate whether young stroke survivors are ready to return to work, a new study suggests.

And 3 feet per second may be the threshold that predicts whether they can meet a workday's challenges, the researchers found.

One of every four people who has a stroke is younger than 65 years old. As many as 44% may be unable to return to work, largely because of...

A new study proves that the old adage "use it or lose it" is definitely true when it comes to fitness.

After just two weeks of sedentary behavior, formerly fit people had:

• A decline in heart and lung health
• Increased waist circumference
• Greater body fat and liver fat
• Higher levels of insulin resistance

"The study showed th...

If you're a young adult, start thinking about your bone health, an expert advises.

Most people reach peak bone mass -- the strongest bones they'll ever have -- between 25 and 30 years of age, according to Dr. Philip Bosha, a physician with Penn State Sports Medicine in State College, Pa.

"To some extent, genetics determines the peak, but lifestyle influences, such as diet an...

Your dog might be your heart's best friend, if a new study is any indication.

Researchers found that compared with people who had no pets, dog owners tended to have fewer risk factors for heart disease: They got more exercise, and had healthier diets and lower blood sugar levels.

Even compared with other pet owners, they were doing better with diet and exercise.

Th...

Even if you are at high risk for Alzheimer's disease, a little more exercise may buy you time, new research suggests.

Folks with elevated levels of a brain protein called beta amyloid tend to be more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and experience rapid brain decline later in life, previous research has found.

But apparently they can delay the onset of Alzheimer's throu...

Do you pump your arms while walking?

Keeping your arms straight while walking is much more energy-efficient than walking with bent arms, but arm position doesn't make much difference when running, a new, small study finds.

The study included eight university students -- ranging from casual runners to marathoners -- who were filmed while they walked and ran with bent and str...

Just a little exercise may help protect you against a type of deadly bleeding stroke, a new study suggests.

As many as half of people who suffer a subarachnoid hemorrhage die within three months.

While smoking and high blood pressure have been shown to increase the risk of this deadly stroke, there has been little evidence on whether exercise can help reduce it.

F...

Before you take a pumice stone to your foot calluses just because they're unsightly, you might want to consider the idea that they are actually nature's shoes.

That's one of the messages from a new study suggesting that in certain ways, walking on callused feet can be better for you than the modern luxury of cushioned shoes.

Researchers found that calluses offer the foot pro...

Next time you're ready to hit the sofa for an evening of TV, think twice -- it just might kill you.

Though too much sitting has long been linked to health risks, a new study suggests all sitting isn't the same -- and sitting in front of the TV after dinner for long hours at a stretch is especially unhealthy.

In fact, those who did just that increased their risk for heart at...

Could soaking in hot water followed by light exercise work as well on peripheral artery disease (PAD) as a longer bout of exercise does?

The authors of a new study suggest it could, but some PAD experts aren't convinced.

Peripheral artery disease affects about 8.5 million Americans. Only about one in four people in the United States is even aware of the disease, however. <...

Many people with activity trackers strive for 10,000 steps a day. But does it really take nearly five miles daily to make a difference in longevity?

Maybe not, says new research.

The study looked at nearly 17,000 older women -- average age 72. It found that women reduced their risk of dying by 41% when they got just 4,400 steps daily compared to women who only clocked ...

Being obese and commuting by car can be a deadly mix, a new study warns.

Researchers analyzed data on more than 163,000 adults, aged 37 to 73, in the United Kingdom. The participants were followed for an average of five years.

Compared to people of normal weight who walked or cycled to work (active commuters), those who were obese and commuted by car had a 32% higher ris...

You enjoy walking and even have an exercise buddy to keep you on track. But maybe your enthusiasm has started to wane.

The answer? Expand your workout circle and form a walking group in your community. By planning walks and encouraging one another, each member will have an impact on everyone else's health.

Createthegood.org offers simple steps to get started. First, see if ...

Less than 10 minutes a day of brisk walking can help prevent disability in people with arthritis pain in their knee, hip, ankle or foot, researchers report.

Just one hour a week of brisk physical activity "is less than 10 minutes a day for people to maintain their independence. It's very doable," said lead study author Dorothy Dunlop. She's a professor of preventive medicine at Northw...

Want a reason to get out of your comfy armchair? Even low levels of regular physical activity -- brisk walking, dancing or gardening -- can reduce your risk of premature death, a new study finds.

Americans who got in just 10 to 59 minutes of moderate physical activity every week had an 18 percent lower risk of death from any cause, compared with couch potatoes, the researchers found.<...

Walking the dog can be great exercise for seniors, but there could be one downside: bone fractures.

Fractures suffered by elderly Americans while walking their dogs have more than doubled in recent years, new research shows.

Still, taking your dog for a walk can also bring big health rewards, one joint specialist said.

"Pets can provide companionship for older adul...

Sweating it out on a treadmill is great, especially when the weather is bad. You might even be motivated by watching exciting vistas on an interactive panel. But to keep a walking or running routine from becoming stale, kick it up a notch by taking your workout outside.

Running or walking in the great outdoors can burn more calories, because you have to work against the wind and you d...

With more Americans walking and fewer drivers paying attention, pedestrian deaths in the United States reached their highest level in almost 30 years during 2018.

A Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report projects 6,227 pedestrian deaths nationwide last year. The projection is based on state data for the first six months of 2018 and is adjusted based on historical trends.

Walking the golf course instead of riding in a cart offers heart health benefits that may outweigh potential joint harm for golfers with knee osteoarthritis, a new small study reports.

The study included 10 golfers with knee osteoarthritis who played two 18-hole rounds of golf. They walked the course in one round and used a golf cart in the other round.

Walking did increase...