Scientific proof mounts: Be happy and live longer.

That’s what British researchers found when they asked nearly 4,000 people, aged 52 to 79, to spend a typical weekday recording their emotions and then checked back an average of five years later to find how many study participants were still alive. Those who had scored the highest “positive attitude” (PA) had a substantially longer survival rate.

Only 3.6 percent of the high-PA group had died, compared to 4.6 percent of the medium-PA and 7.3 percent of the low-PA.  The group highest on happiness ended up with a 35 percent lower risk of dying.

“We were surprised that measures obtained over one single day might predict so strongly,” said Andrew Steptoe, a University College, London psychology professor who co-authored the study with Jane Wardle, a clinical psychologist who directs UCL’s Health Behavior Unit.

The study, published in November in the Washington, DC-based Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, is significant because emotions were recorded real-time rather than recalled weeks or months later. Life remembered is not always life as lived, Dr. Steptoe explained. Using a simple pen-and-paper diary and a four-point rating scale, participants paused four times during the day to assess how happy excited, content, worried, anxious and fearful they felt.

Findings included:

*The “happiest” people were slightly younger and more likely to be male and married.

*Positive emotions overall were lowest at 7 a.m. and highest at 7 p.m.

*Ethnicity, paid employment, education and presence of serious disease made no significant difference in PA.

*Smoking was less common and physical activity higher among those with higher PAs.

*Happier people had higher opinions of their own health.

The study joins a growing body of research which links being happy with living longer. “Happiness is no magic bullet, but the evidence is clear and compelling that it changes your odds of getting disease or dying young,” reports Ed Diener, University of Illinois psychology professor emeritus and lead author of a recent review of studies related to happiness. “The overwhelming majority of studies support the conclusion that happiness is associated with health and longevity.”

One way researchers account for the link is theorizing that happier people lead healthier lives, but Professors Steptoe and Wardle suspect biological processes are also at work. “In other research, we have found differences in stress hormones and in immunological defenses that may be relevant,” Professor Steptoe explained.

Meanwhile, all signs point to cultivating an upbeat outlook if you want to add more birthdays to your life – and enjoy them.

CONNECT THE DOTS

Track and manage your own emotions with our Moody Me mobile app. Take a short quiz to find out how happy you are. Check out our blog posts to learn how putting a smile on your face may make you happier. You might also like these related Healthy Outlook posts: “Journaling for Health and Peace of Mind,” “Gratitude: What Science Shows,” and “Journal Writing for Breast Cancer Patients.”

“This is the first study that has examined the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and successful aging as a summary outcome,” says Qi Sun, MD, Research Associate with the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study recently published in PLoS MEDICINE.

Researchers evaluated the health status and drinking habits of almost 14,000 middle-aged women, using the Nurses’ Health Study. They compared self-reported data for the women at about 58 years of age on average, with their results at 70 years or older.

To qualify as “aging successfully,” women had to be free from cognitive decline, physical impairment and mental health limitations, as well as 11 chronic diseases including: cancer, diabetes, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery or coronary angioplasty, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Notably, women in the study who drank in moderation on a more frequent basis showed better odds of aging successfully. The odds were 47% better for those enjoying a daily drink 5-7 days per week, 29% better for those drinking over 3-4 days per week, but only 10% improved for those drinking over 1-2 days per week.

A majority of drinkers in the study drank wine, and their odds of aging successfully were 43% better compared to non-drinkers. The association for beer or liquor drinkers was not clear however, as those groups were too small to draw a meaningful conclusion.

The results are compelling, but women shouldn’t rush to start drinking. Dr. Sun says, “Physical activity and maintaining a healthy body weight have a much stronger association with successful aging, and there is a very clear link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, even for moderate quantities. This study suggests that the risk of developing breast cancer may be outweighed by the other overall health benefits, but ultimately, the decision to drink alcohol is a personal choice.”

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Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 recommends that if alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation – up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. Follow breaking public health news on the Harvard School of Public Health iPhone app. You may also enjoy our earlier posts, “Technology Innovations for Independent Aging,” “New Insights into Healthy Aging from the Longevity Project,” and “Telomere Testing: What’s Your Biological Age.”

First day of holiday health: one ounce of dark chocolate

Naturally-occurring antioxidants found in dark chocolate (not milk chocolate) may help improve heart health, says Enas A. Enas, MD, a cardiologist on staff at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and author of How to Beat the Heart Disease Epidemic Among South Asians (2005). For calories sake, limit yourself to an ounce a day.

Second day of holiday health: two warm hugs

Hugs release oxytocin, a brain chemical known as the ‘love hormone,’ says Elizabeth R. Lombardo, PhD, MS, psychologist and author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness, (Morgan-James, 2009). “Hugs also strengthen relationships and, therefore, help combat issues such as depression.”

Third day of holiday health: three ounces of salmon

The omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon act as natural anti-inflammatory agents, decreasing pain while lowering your risk of heart attack and stroke, says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, well-known expert in fibromyalgia. Choose wild salmon over farm raised for the most omega-3′s.

Fourth day of holiday health: four ounces of red wine

Red wine’s flavonoids, antioxidants found in grape skin and other berries raise HDL, the “good” cholesterol, and help prevent heart disease, says Enas. “Use moderation.” Women should limit themselves to one, four-ounce glass a day and men to two, four-ounce servings daily.

Fifth day of holiday health: five golden raisins

Golden raisins mixed with nuts make a quick, portable, healthy snack that includes both carbs and a bit of protein and healthy fat, says Keri Gans, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Go easy: calories in dried fruits add up quickly. Two tablespoons contain 60 calories.

Sixth day of holiday health: six days of activity

It may be unrealistic to try to lose weight over the holidays, so strive for weight maintenance, says Russell Pate, PhD, professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. Set a goal of 30 minutes of activity six days of the week.

Seventh day of holiday health: seven hours of sleep

Most adults need a minimum of seven to seven and a half hours sleep,” says Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep/Wake Disorders Center, New York Montefiore Medical Center. Memory, concentration and coordination become compromised otherwise; lack of sleep may also contribute to cardiovascular risk factors.

Eighth day of holiday health: eight ounces of Greek yogurt

Eight ounces of Greek yogurt contains approximately 300 mgs of calcium, says Jeri Nieves, PhD, associate professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University and an expert with the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF). “People under the age of 50 need 1000 mg of calcium a day; people over 50 need 1200 mg.”

Ninth day of holiday health: nine minutes of mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation involves bringing your attention fully in the present, says Lombardo. “To de-stress from holiday chaos, taking a few moments to relax can ease stress and anxiety tremendously.” Practice sitting focused on a single task or object without allowing your mind to drift.

Tenth day of holiday health: 10 minutes of sunshine

Ten minutes of sunshine provides the equivalent of 5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D during the spring and summer, says Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, director of preventive medicine, University of Michigan. The sun’s lower intensity in the winter drops this number, however. So supplement with 400 IU daily, the amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Eleventh day of holiday health: 11 glasses of water

According to the Institute of Medicine, healthy women require 11 glasses of fluids a day and men need 15. To add flavor to plain water, add a slice or two of lemon, lime or cucumber.

Twelfth day of holiday health: 12 organic fruits

If you’re concerned about excess pesticides, choose organic versions of produce highest in chemicals. According to the Environmental Working Group’s “dirty dozen” list, those highest include: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, collard/kale greens, potatoes and imported grapes. The benefits of non-organic fruits and vegetables still outweigh the risks, however, says Gans. “Most people don’t eat enough. Just wash them before eating.”

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For additional tips on healthy eating check out our post on the USDA’s Choose MyPlate or The American Dietetic Association site. For further information on general health issues go to Medline Plus or the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Lifestyle.

The meta-analysis compared studies involving more than 182,000 children and adolescents that showed the effects of sharing three or more meals per week versus one or none. The focus was on family meals as a protective factor for three major health concerns: obesity, unhealthy eating and disordered eating, which researchers defined as bingeing and purging, taking diet pills, skipping meals and several other types of unhealthy behaviors.

They found that teens who ate at least five meals a week with their families were 35 percent less likely to practice disordered eating than teens who did not. Children who ate at least three meals a week with their families were also 12 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate fewer meals together; 24 percent were more likely to practice healthy eating habits than those who didn’t share at least three meals a week with their families.

Parents may find it difficult to gather family members around the dinner table seven days a week, but even three meals a week can help teens in significant ways, researchers determined. Plus, mealtimes could be any and all. “We didn’t just look at dinnertime,” says Amber Hammons, PhD, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois Family Resiliency Center. “Family meals also include breakfast and lunch—any time family members are all in the same place.”

Researchers believe that families who share meals together may be more connected, which may encourage teens to talk about unhealthy behaviors and problems they may be having. To create the most beneficial meal-time atmosphere, Hammons recommends sticking to topics that do not provoke conflict. This Thanksgiving, consider topics such as favorite family rituals, favorite recipes or the history of the family’s favorite dishes, recommends Hammons. “Talk about topics that everyone can discuss. Catch up on what’s going on with each other and stay on positive topics.”

CONNECT THE DOTS

If family members do not all get along, you may consider reading The Myth of the Perfect Family. For fun Thanksgiving ideas for the whole family, try making pinecone turkeys or other crafts. At the dinner table, start a new tradition and get everyone involved in the discussion by passing around a “talking fork.” For more news about nutrition, also read, “3 Healthy Habits to Prevent Childhood Obesity,” “Free iPhone Apps to Guide Healthy Food Choices,” and “Your Brain on Food.”

Guest blogger Andrea Campbell is the author of Your Corner of the Universe: A Guide to Self-Therapy Through Journal Writing and other books. She is a member of American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Neurologist Richard Restak observed that dealing with the daily raw emotions of patients can be stressful and at times discouraging for him and other doctors involved in similar specialties. He believes that writing things down has helped him to make order out of life’s chaos, and that switching between two very different career activities, physician and author, has given his life stability.

Traumatic experiences such as the death of a loved one, fighting a recurring disease or surviving abuse create anxiety. When people suffer an illness or emotional upheaval they have an inherent need to discuss or confront the experience. Consistent journal writing can serve as stress relief. The act of converting emotions into words changes the way a person thinks—and this personal narrative helps them to summarize, store and cope with their feelings more efficiently. Here’s a look at other potential benefits:

* Better Health – Writing about their chronic conditions can help boost the health of patients who suffer from asthma and arthritis. “We looked at writing about the most stressful experience of one’s life in an emotional way,” says Arthur A. Stone, Ph.D. at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and co-author of this study. Over four months, one group wrote about their plans for the day, while the others wrote out feelings about a stressful event, all the while continuing their regular medical treatment. After being evaluated, researchers found that 47% of the patients who wrote about their feelings showed improvement after 4 months, while only 24% of the other group did. However, the study did not evaluate whether these health improvements would persist beyond 4 months.

* Better Coping Skills – According to a recent Baylor University study, men with testicular cancer demonstrated improved mental health after five weeks of writing positive thoughts. “There’s a lot of research that takes this writing-based approach…but we applied this line of research to the testicular cancer context for the first time that we are aware of,” says Mark T. Morman, Ph.D. and director of graduate studies at Baylor University. “We think writing about the experience could add to the therapy and can help with recovery and quality of life issues after treatment, as the men try to get on with their lives.”

* Handling Grief – After a loved one dies, the emotional devastation for family and friends may be accompanied by an upset stomach, frequent headaches, shortness of breath or a tightening in the throat and many other physical symptoms. Much has been written about the various stages of grief, but an article in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter suggests that keeping a journal and writing a letter to the deceased may help to alleviate feelings of anxiety and the associated discomfort. Writing out words left unsaid, regrets, and thoughts about loss isn’t a cure for grief, but the process can help people cope with feelings that may be too painful to express verbally.

* Making Sense of Emotions – The world may feel unsafe or out of control but venting on paper is not enough. A study of the effects of journaling on students at the University of Iowa showed that if someone only writes about stressful emotions, doing so might actually make things worse. The study found the combination of writing down one’s feelings about traumatic events, and initiating efforts to understand and make sense of them offered greater benefits than simply writing down negative emotions.  In other words, a key to better health is to free-flow write about feelings, then try to make sense of your reactions to life events and learn from them. By journaling, you give yourself permission to be totally honest and review your experiences in a thoughtful manner in order to enhance feelings of control and mastery over the traumatic event.

CONNECT THE DOTS

For additional information on how to write about traumatic experiences download “Emotional Processing of Traumatic Events,” or pick up “Forming a Story: The Health Benefits of Narrative.” For tips on journal writing see “Writing and Health: Some Practical Advice.” For a look at how keeping a food diary may help with weight loss, check out our blog post, “Free Weight App Combines Calorie Counter and Food Diary.”

The message should have registered by now:  too much food and too little exercise are making our kids dangerously fat. The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control are staggering:  almost 1 in 6 children in the U.S. between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese, a level that’s nearly tripled since 1980. What’s more, the trouble begins in babyhood, according to a new report from the U.S. Institute of Medicine, which estimates that 10 percent of infants and toddlers are overweight – and may be heading for an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems in later life.

But while overeating and inactivity have been tagged as the leading causes of childhood obesity, they’re not the only factors to blame for the epidemic. In an effort to battle this spreading health threat on all fronts, scientists are also tracking other contributory causes.

At the University of Illinois, a multidisciplinary team of researchers is studying how various cultural, environmental, and family factors affect the weights of about 400 children aged 3-5 from various socioeconomic backgrounds. “The issue is more complex than just how much you eat and how much you move,” says team member Sharon Donovan, Professor of Nutrition. The Illinois researchers are identifying and investigating influences ranging from genetic changes to family relations to shopping habits – including bulk-buying at discount stores – in their ongoing study. “We believe that effective intervention needs to be at every level,” Donovan says.

Elsewhere, other researchers are looking into a variety of factors that may worsen obesity levels. Among the possibilities they’ve discovered:

*Stressful Surroundings:  Researchers at Stanford University Medical School have found that children who grow up in troubled homes and violent neighborhoods are twice as likely to be obese as those whose childhood is less traumatic. The study of 710 children from a poor, crime-ridden section of San Francisco suggests that kids who experience high levels of adversity suffer a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

*Long-Term Bottle Feeding:  Parents who keep their kids on the bottle past the age of two raise the risk of obesity by about 33 percent, according to a review of data on 6,750 children at Temple University Center for Obesity Research.

*Food Commercials:  Research at the UCLA School of Public Health suggests that overweight kids are harmed by the fusillade of food advertising they see on TV, not the programs they watch in between.  The study of 3,563 kids under the age of 12 found that those with the highest BMI watched the most commercial TV; non-commercial TV and DVDS showed no similar association.

CONNECT THE DOTS

For more information about the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics website and Let’s Move, the White House website to promote children’s health. To learn about what families can do to fight the problem, see our blog entries, “3 Healthy Family Habits to Prevent Childhood Obesity” and “Exergames: Interactive Video Games to Boost Fitness.”

Chronic illnesses, emergency care, disaster preparedness, and health awareness are all important issues in healthcare today. Though most healthcare workers are familiar with these issues, over 56,000 school nurses in the United States confront their reality every day while working with approximately 56 million students. School nurses may still put on bandages and call parents as in the past, but in today’s world their job is so much more.

Nichole Bobo, RN, MSN, Nursing Education Director at the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), explains that the role of school nurses is vital to our national health in many ways, starting with prevention. According to Bobo, immunization rates drop as children get older. “There are school mandates for most of the school-entry elementary vaccines,” she says. “Those rates tend to continue to be high, but it’s the adolescent issue that school nurses focus on, because those [compliance] rates are 30 to 50 percent, depending on the vaccine.”

Low vaccine rates mean children are more vulnerable to becoming ill. When children are ill they miss school and are therefore more likely to fall behind.  The further they fall behind, the lower their chances of graduating or moving on to higher education.

In addition to prevention, school nurses face situations that would not have been experienced in public schools a few decades ago. Children are living with diseases that would have forced their absence from school or, at worst, even been fatal. Now, these children go to schools which accept the responsibility of providing care. “Students are coming in to school with insulin pumps, “ says Bobo. “They are coming in maybe diagnosed on Friday and they show up at school on Monday.”

Martha Dewey Bergren, DNS, RN, Director of Research at the NASN, agrees, “This is one of the major reasons school nursing has changed.” Bergren recalls when she worked in a school in 1999, “Under my care, I had two students who were on ventilators, one of whom came to school almost every day.” This change was due to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, enacted in 1975, requiring public schools to provide education and support for children with disabilities.

On any given day, among their many other duties, a school nurse may also be called upon to:

* administer emergency care

* review or develop a disaster plan

* administer chemotherapy

* determine common factors between illnesses to track potential dangers

* provide counseling

Because of their expanded role, having a school nurse increases the number of days students are in school. “When there is a registered nurse in the building, children are 57 percent less likely to be sent home,” Bergren says. Additionally, if a school nurse is present to deal with health issues, school staff can focus on their own jobs.

“There was a recent study out about the number of hours that school administrators, teachers and secretaries spent on health issues when there was not a school nurse in the building, there was a pretty dramatic number of hours that could be decreased for those folks who have a very focused educational agenda,” says Bobo. “In this day and age where every dollar counts and the quality of education is in the spotlight, having a school nurse on hand may improve the students’ chances at success.”

School nurses not only have to keep up-to-date with medical and health advances, they also need to keep up with the latest in technology.  Aiding students make healthy food choices, for example, could involve helping them download an “app for that.” As mentioned in a 2008 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the need for strong and knowledgeable nurses will therefore continue to grow.

CONNECT THE DOTS

Not sure why back-to-school physical exams are required? The American Academy of Pediatrics reviews this annual requirement and the American Academy of Family Physicians reviews childhood immunizations recommendations. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends a coordinated health strategy (CHS) in order to improve the health of students and their ability to learn in school.  Also, read about the acute shortage of school nurses in the U.S. today, and how this could prevent many children (particularly those lacking healthcare) from access to medical professionals.

Are you sitting down to read this? Perhaps you should be standing up. In a recent study, those who spent almost all of their time sitting had a 54% higher risk of mortality from all causes (except cancer) compared to those who hardly ever sat at all. Even more surprising, the increased risk of mortality was independent of whether they were meeting the recommended guidelines for leisure time physical activity.

Peter Katzmarzyk, PhD, Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and colleague at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, found that the increased risk of mortality associated with sitting was independent of whether people were exercising at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 5 days per week or at a vigorous intensity for 20 minutes, 3 days per week. The study was published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, May 2009. It analyzed sitting activity data for more than 17,000 Canadians ages 18-90, and then compared mortality statistics over 12 years.

“If you look at the overall human pattern of movement throughout the day, it doesn’t make sense to focus on 30 minutes of activity. What about the other 23.5 hours in the day? What you do for the rest of the day is also important. You need to look beyond small bumps of activity,” Katzmarzyk says.

The average American now spends 11 hours a day, 5 days a week, sitting. “When you sit for long periods of time,” Katzmarzyk added, “like working at your desk for 8 hours straight, or watching television for long stretches of time, your body shuts down, your metabolism just drops, the active muscle in your legs just go dormant. It’s hazardous to your health: you need to disrupt that sedentary behavior.”

Katzmarzyk and colleagues found in a recent U.S. study that since 1960, the estimated daily energy expenditure from work-related physical activity has dropped by more than 100 calories per day for both women and men. In the early 1960s, almost 50% of jobs required moderate activity whereas now, five decades later, less than 20% of jobs require moderate activity. That 100 calories per day may not seem like much, but over a year, the lost opportunity to burn 36,500 calories accounts for a significant part of the overall increase in U.S. body weights.

So what can we do to take a stand against so much sitting in our daily lives? James A. Levine, MD, PhD, has some compelling recommendations from his research at the NEAT Center at the Mayo Clinic. He calls our increasingly sedentary lifestyle a “sitting disease” and links it directly with the obesity epidemic. In his book, Move a Little, Lose a Lot, he notes that fifty years ago there were no gyms, people didn’t workout, and yet very few people struggled to maintain a healthy weight. Levine says we are plagued now with an obesity epidemic “because we are desk sentenced.”

NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis, represents the calories you burn doing regular daily activities like taking the stairs, walking to lunch or standing up to answer the phone. Incorporating NEAT activities throughout the day helps burn up to an additional 2,000 calories per day by boosting your metabolic rate. Additional benefits are lower blood pressure and increased mental clarity.

Some ideas to get you up out of your chair at frequent intervals:

* Take more steps in a day – Levine says when you walk, “your metabolism literally blasts off.” Add steps to your workday by taking public transit rather than driving to work, use the stairs, go for a walk at lunch, or try conducting a walking meeting. Get a pedometer and track your progress.

* Standup desks are gaining popularity in many workplaces. Levine’s research found that standing burns 3 times as many calories compared to sitting. There are also desks with integrated treadmills that allow you to walk at a slow but steady pace while working.

CONNECT THE DOTS

Download Morsel, GE healthymagination’s free mobile app to recommend easy, healthy activities to incorporate into your day. Check out Standupdesks.com and Trekdesk.com to learn about non-sitting desk alternatives for your workspace at home or the office. Watch a video featuring James Levine to see a presentation about NEAT science and the obesity epidemic.

You know hiking is good for your health. But do you know just how good it is?

For adults, regular aerobic exercise such as hiking leads to:

* Improved cardiorespiratory fitness (heart, lungs, blood vessels)

* Improved muscular fitness

* Lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke

* Lower risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes

* Lower risk of high cholesterol and triglycerides

* Lower risk of colon and breast cancer, and possibly lung and endometrial cancer

* Increased bone density or a slower loss of density

* Reduced depression and better quality sleep

* Lower risk of early death (If you are physically active for 7 hours a week, your risk of dying early is 40% lower than someone active for less than 30 minutes a week.

* Weight control; hiking burns up 370 calories an hour (154-lb person)

Kids get many of the same benefits, including:

* Improved cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness

* Better bone health

* Less chance of becoming overweight

* Less chance of developing risk factors for heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes

* Possibly reduced risk of depression and feeling less stress, more ready to learn in school

* Sleeping better at night

What’s more, hiking exercises almost every part of your body: legs, knees, ankles, arms, hips and butt, abdominals, shoulders and neck. “Hiking exercises your body and your mind, and nourishes your imagination,” says Ignacio Malpica, a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer in Boulder, Colorado. “It creates awareness in your eyes and ears and the rest of your senses.”

How much activity do you need to reap these incredible health benefits? Experts say getting active for just 150 minutes a week – doing “moderate-intensity” aerobic exercise such as moderate hiking or brisk walking – leads to most of these benefits (reducing risks of colon and breast cancer requires another hour a week). That’s only 2½ hours a week. And you don’t have to do it all at once. Sneaking in a lunchtime hike up the hill near your office counts toward your total, as long as you’re active for at least ten minutes.

If you take part in more vigorous aerobic activities, such as running, dancing, or hiking uphill or with a heavy pack, you need only half that amount of time, or 75 minutes a week, to get health benefits.

What’s moderate exercise? You can talk, but you can’t sing during the activity. Vigorous? You can’t say more than a few words with pausing for breath. “When you are doing moderate exercise, you can continue for a long time, and you are breathing rhythmically,” explains Malpica. “With vigorous exercise, you can’t do it for more than a few minutes at a time.”

And if you rack up even more time, the benefits keep growing too. For even more substantial health benefits, such as an even lower risk of heart disease, aim for 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week.

Of course, there are other kinds of physical activity. It’s also important to do some muscle-strengthening activities, such as lifting weights or doing push-ups. The experts say do those at least twice a week. You also need to get in some bone-strengthening activity, which occurs when force on your bones promotes bone growth and strength. Here again, hiking fits the bill.

Another plus: you don’t have to be in perfect shape to start. Even if you are overweight, getting physical can lead to health benefits. But don’t run out and climb a steep peak if you’ve long been inactive. The experts say if you’re 35 or older and have been inactive for several years, or you already have a condition such as high blood pressure, check with your doctor first. “Hiking is a great way to start exercising,” says Malpica. “Start with easy hikes and work up to steeper hikes that work your legs more.”

Kids (age 6-17) need 60 minutes of physical activity each day, mostly aerobic. They also need regular muscle-strengthening (playing on playground equipment, climbing trees) and bone-strengthening (running, playing basketball, jumping rope) exercise.

Track Your Workouts

Keeping track of your activity can help you rack up the minutes. Note what you did as well as the length of each workout, and tally it up at the end of the week. Watching your progress can be a great motivator.

Use a calendar to track your workouts. Or try one of the many online options, such as MapMyHike.com, where you can map your own hikes and share your routes with others.

CONNECT THE DOTS

For more on the health benefits of exercise and to download an activity tracker, see the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines. To learn more about hiking (including a state-by-state directory of parks), see the American Hiking Society site, and read about some enticing hiking trips on Call of the Wild. Introduce your children to hiking safety and trail manners with GoodHiker’s resources. Track your hiking miles on MapMyHike. Find out more about the exercise for kids on MedlinePlus.

Researchers have long searched for ways to provide a more targeted treatment approach. Now, a team of chemical engineers at MIT may have found the answer: nanoparticles. These tiny polymer objects (about the 1/100^th the thickness of a human hair), which can be constructed in layers, can be injected intravenously into the body and designed to carry virtually any drug, says Paula Hammond, a member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

Once in the bloodstream, the nanoparticles exist for up to 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands of them gather at a tumor site and exploit a trait shared by most cancers: a higher acidity level than healthy tissues. The acidity breaks down the outer layer of the nanoparticle, thus exposing the middle layer. The nanoparticles then penetrate the cancer tumor’s membranes and release the medication. “The fact that layers can be stripped away makes it possible to deliver the treatment to the right place,” she says.

Hammond began exploring the idea of constructing nanoparticles about 18 months ago. The team has already tested the nanoparticles on mice and found “an order of magnitude increase in the accumulation of the nanoparticle in the tumor” as well as the ability to release markers meant to simulate actual drugs. What’s more, the nanoparticle remains in the tumor for an additional few days. “The nanoparticles provide a way to dispense a sustained dose of medication,” Hammond says.

In the future, the nanoparticles might also be used to treat other conditions that require a highly targeted dose of medication at a specific location. This might include a disease such as multiple sclerosis or a common infection. Hammond believes that the nanoparticles are about 5 to 10 years away from human trials and commercial use. “This is a significant breakthrough,” Hammond concludes. If the particles prove effective in human studies, “it could significantly alter the way doctors treat cancer and other diseases.”

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More information about the MIT nanoparticle research is available at the Journal ACS Nano. In addition, Georgia Tech scientists are experimenting with magnetic nanoparticles that attach to cancer cells in order to combat ovarian cancer. Researchers at the University of Hull in the UK have developed a method of loading nanoparticles with numerous light-sensitive molecules that can transport medicine to a cancerous area.