Study: Exercise may prevent addiction Studies in both humans and animals suggest that exercise may help prevent drug or alcohol addiction. The underlying question is whether regular physical activity spurs changes in the brain involving neurochemicals that sense and reinforce pleasure. The US government is pumping more money into research to find out. In a Brown University study, women in a smoking-cessation program were twice as likely to kick the habit if they also exercised three times a week. They also gained only half as much weight. Similar results were found in a study of teens and tweens. Those who said they exercise daily were half as likely to smoke, and 40 percent less likely to experiment with marijuana.

Study: Exercise Can Reverse Aging Effects A new study finds aerobic exercise, including walking, can turn back time by as much as 12 to 15 years as people age. Any workout helps, but the more intense, the better the benefits. The study from Britain found people can give a 60-year-old the body of the 40-something-year-old by getting out and getting some exercise. The research confirms the long held belief that changes associated with aging cannot only be slowed, but reversed if people get moving. The reason: many of the changes that happen in aging come from inactivity.

Children 'taking insufficient exercise' Nearly nine out of ten children fail to engage in the minimum amount of physical activity, 5 hours a week, recommended to avoid long-term health problems, a Scout Association study has found. A number of factors ranging from a lack of outdoor space and excessive school homework to peer pressure and parental fears about safety were cited.

Belief in exercise may make it more effective People who think they're getting a good workout obtain more benefits than those who perform the exact same activities, but don't think what they are doing is exercise, according to the findings of a study by Harvard researchers. While the placebo effect of fake pills is widely accepted, Crum and Langer note, no one has yet studied whether the belief that exercise is maintaining fitness might exert a kind of placebo effect as well. "These results support the hypothesis that exercise affects health in part or in whole via the placebo effect," Crum and Langer write. "Whether the change in physiological health was brought about directly or indirectly, it is clear that health is significantly affected by mind-set."

Aerobic exercise: What 30 minutes a day can do You'll breathe faster and more deeply. This maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood. Your heart will beat faster, which increases blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs. Your small blood vessels (capillaries) will widen to deliver more oxygen to your muscles and carry away waste products, such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Your body will even release endorphins, natural painkillers that promote an increased sense of well-being.

Go for Gifts That Get Kids Hopping Experts are advising that Santa skip the video games and bring kids toys that exercise more than just their thumbs. "With obesity on the rise across the country, toys that get kids moving are some of the best gifts you can give," University of Indianapolis physical therapy professor Anne Mejia Downs said in a prepared statement. "Regular exercise can improve concentration, decrease anxiety, prevent and treat depression, and even help kids sleep better." 

Best Exercising Games The games and toys recommended by Downs include:  * Cranium Hullabaloo. It prompts children to jump, dance, and run around. It also encourages following directions, color and shape recognition, and coordination.
* Twister Moves. Each player gets an individual mat that they use while they follow directions from a CD. This game emphasizes balance, coordination, flexibility, timing, reaction time and motor control.  * Dance Dance Revolution. This item, based on a popular arcade game, gives children directions on how to move their feet while they listen to popular songs. It offers cardio/aerobic exercise and helps hone coordination, balance, rhythm, reaction time and motor control.  *And a pedometer makes a great stocking stuffer for both kids and adults, Downs said.

Burger, Shake, Fries – And A McWorkout? Climbing ropes, stationary bicycles and electronic dancing games could join the menu of play options for kids at McDonald's if they prove a hit in a trial launched in several of its U.S. restaurants. The burger-and-fries company, often accused by critics of contributing to child obesity, is tinkering with the mini-gyms as a possible successor to the popular McDonald's PlayPlace, with its ball pits and crawl tubes. The stationary bikes are attached to video games, and kids shoot hoops on tiny courts that electronically cheer players. Other offerings include air hockey tables.

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New study shows teenage girls' use of diet pills doubles over five-year span A study released today by the University of Minnesota's "Project EAT" (Eating Among Teens)  ...found that high school-aged females' use of diet pills nearly doubled from 7.5 to 14.2 percent. By the ages of 19 and 20, 20 percent of females surveyed used diet pills. more