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Researchers from the University of Western Ontario Canada have found that exercise can help people quit smoking.  A combination of nicotine replacement therapy and exercise works best, according to Dr. Harry Prapavssis, director of the Exercise and Health Psychology Laboratory. In a recent study, 70 percent of women had stopped smoking at the end of the 12-week program, but after one year, only 27 percent remained abstinent. "Our physical fitness and weight data supported the abstinence data. This suggests that exercise needs to be maintained for individuals to continue to kick the habit," Prapavessis said. "It is important to determine whether inexpensive home and community-based lifestyle exercise maintenance programs can maintain exercise, fitness and weight after cessation program termination, and hence prevent (reduce) smoking relapse," he added. 

Exercising in your 40's, 50's and 60's is like saving for your retirement, experts say. Starting early is money in the bank, but even late bloomers can reap astonishing benefits. "The game isn't over, even if you haven't been active," said Dr. Angela Smith , past president of the American College of Sports Medicine  . "Aerobic fitness, bone health , agility, you may be able to catch up. It's remarkable to see the things people can actually do." Smith, a physician at Philadelphia Children's Hospital, said studies have shown that even octogenarians can double their strength with weight training. "There's good evidence that among people who have arthritis, the stronger have less pain, and that getting fit decreases the chance of having cancer," she said. But if you're a former high school athlete who became sedentary as your temples grayed, don't expect your history to save you. "Some of the benefits yo

Participants who were recruited in the largest study of the Arthritis Foundation's Tai Chiprogramme, have shown improvement in pain , fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being.  Their ability to reach while maintaining balance also improved, said Leigh Callahan, the study's lead author, associate professor in the   University of North Carolina   at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a member of UNC's Thurston Arthritis Research Center.   "Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi course for individuals with all types of arthritis, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis," Callahan said.   "We found this in both rural and urban settings across a southeastern state and a northeastern state."   In the study, 354 participants were recruited from 20 sites in North Carolina and   New Jersey   . They were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention group received the 8-week, twice-weekly Tai Chi course

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have found that Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet reduces obesity risk in adolescent girls.  DASH diet emphasizes increased intake of low-fat dairy products, fish, chicken, and lean meats, and nuts, fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and legumes. They found girls who followed the DASH diet pattern had a lower incidence of excess weight gain as measured by body mass index (BMI) over the 10-year period of their adolescence.   The researchers, led by Jonathan Berz, an assistant professor of medicine at BUSM, used data from the National Growth and   Health   Study to examine the effects of adherence to a DASH-style eating plan and its components on the change in (BMI) in a racially diverse sample of adolescent girls.  

A sedentary lifestyle, bad posture, stress and overdependence on technology could leave you with a constant backache. But experts say sometimes the problem can be easily sorted out with the right diagnosis and a little care. Experts point out that the problem of lower back pain is fairly common. About 80 per cent experience pain at some point in life. "The major culprits of back pain, especially in young adults, is stressful and long working hours stretching up to 12 hours and more, lack of properphysical activity, bad habits such as reading while lying down, slouching in front of the TV, etc, coupled with weight issues," B.K. Dhaon, head of the department of orthopaedics at Sharda Hospital, said. What comes as a surprise is that fitness-conscious youngsters, who are regulars at gyms, also suffer from it. In such cases, bad sitting posture is often to be blamed, says Amit Kumar Mishra, an orthopaedic surgeon.

A new study has found that consumption of more omega-3 fatty acids, a main compound present in fish oil, reduces both inflammation and anxiety in healthy young people. The findings by a team of researchers at Ohio State University suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have long been considered as positive additives to the diet. Earlier research suggested that the compounds might play a role in reducing the level of cytokines in the body, compounds that promote inflammation, and perhaps even reduce depression.

An international team, led by an Indian-origin scientist, has suggested that vitamin A found in foods such as carrots and broccoli could help combat pancreatic cancer, which has the lowest survival rate of all cancers.  Once diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, most patients do not survive more than 1 year. Dr Hemant Kocher of Barts Cancer Institute inLondon and The London NHS Trust, who led the four-year joint project with Cambridge University and the Hub-recht Institute in Holland, found that raising levels of Vitamin A in healthy cells around the cancerous ones can inhibit cancer growth.