Simple steps can offer health benefits
Eating at home, light exercise reduces some disease risks, studies find
By Laura Beil
ORLANDO, Fla. — Simple changes like regularly getting up from your chair, eating an extra homemade meal or two, and running errands on foot might substantially reduce your future risk of disease. Several new studies presented at the American Heart Association’s annual scientific sessions suggest that such small lifestyle adjustments can have big health payoffs, even for people with diabetes.
Public health officials recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. Yet only one in three U.S. adults gets that much, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One reason may be that 30 minutes of brisk walking or cycling “sets the bar too high” for some and they get discouraged, said Bronwyn Kingwell of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.