| Walk With the Doc An important finding from a study of sedentary activity four years ago was the message that avoiding exercise can be more harmful than smoking. The finding prompted public health campaigns warning that "Sitting is the New Smoking" and that "Prolonged Sitting is Killing You." The new message is that we can eliminate the health risks from a sedentary occupation if we supplement our day at the office with exercise. Even short periods of activity can be very beneficial. For those of us that work in an office, the importance of exercise is paramount. A walk at lunchtime followed by a walk at home can make a big difference. If your work requires sitting for prolonged periods, try to walk around for 5 minutes every hour. Perhaps you need a change of scenery for your Saturday morning walk? The lakes at Jones Farm Park offer a relaxed setting, an easy to walk paved path, a touch of nature, and with luck a complement of walkers. Pets are always welcome on our walks. Nancy Neighbors, MD Which Diet is Best? As it happens, that’s a difficult question. To prove a diet works requires what scientist call a controlled study involving large numbers of people measuring what they eat over long periods of time. Unfortunately, long term controlled human studies that meet this need are rare. The time required (often decades) and human nature ( sticking to a diet) typically foils most research. As a result, most diet books are more about the author’s enthusiasm and less about scientific certainty. While enthusiasm for a fad diet plan may produce immediate results, long term success is unusual. A recent study summarized in the article “We’ve long blamed carbs for making us fat. What if that's wrong?”, helps explain the difficulty in making sense of claims made by fad diets. In essence there is probably something of value in most diets, the dilemma is determining which aspects of the diet explains why it works. Can brain training reduce the risk of dementia? A new study provides some hope for the power of brain training to reduce the risk of dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s. The study involved healthy older people assigned to take five weeks of classroom-based training that was followed over 10 years. At the end of the study, those assigned to the training showed a 33% reduction in dementia or cognitive impairment after 10 years. While there is reason to be skeptical without follow-up studies validating the results, the accumulating evidence looks promising. To learn more, click here. |