Category Archives: Healthy living

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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Keep Moving and Lower Your Risk of Dementia

Keep Moving and Lower Your Risk of Dementia
Global increase in dementia A recent report that used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study in 2019 estimated that the number of people with dementia would increase globally from 57.4 million in 2019 to 130.8 million in 2050. The estimated increase varied widely among regions with the lowest in…
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