Category Archives: Healthy living

Benefits of Informal Helping

Benefits of Informal Helping
Who benefits from informal helping? Given the rising proportion of older people in the US and the documented health benefits of social support, one might think that providing social support to older people would be a sensible way to extend their life span. But might the benefit of social support arise primarily from giving rather…
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Do You Have Too Much Belly Fat?

Do You Have Too Much Belly Fat?
What body-mass index tell you? Excessive body fat predicts increased risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. But it’s not just the amount of fat that matters—it’s the location that really matters. The common standard for measuring human body fat is called the body-mass index (BMI). It’s calculated as a…
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What Is VILPA?

What Is VILPA?
VILPA = Vigorous Intermittent Physical Activity One of the potentially overlooked changes in the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans concerns the minimum amount of physical activity that improves health. The old minimum of 10 minutes (unsupported by data) went by the wayside but was not replaced with another number. Recent research suggests that even…
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Intrinsic Motivation Can Help You Embrace Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Intrinsic Motivation Can Help You Embrace Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Self-determination theory Beginning in the early 1970s, Edward Deci at the University of Rochester began developing what later became self-determination theory (SDT). Subsequently with Rochester colleague, Richard Ryan and others, SDT blossomed into a well-researched and validated way to understand and predict why we humans behave the way we do. Deci, Ryan, and colleagues conducted…
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