Latest news with #sedentaryLifestyle
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
'Western diet' blamed for growing risk of GI cancers among young adults
The rates of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are rising among young adults, with a new peer-reviewed study pointing to the American diet and lifestyle as the primary culprits. The rising risk in younger generations may be linked more to environmental factors than genetics, stated the report, which was recently published in the British Journal of Surgery. "Some shared risk factors for early-onset (EO) GI cancer include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking," lead researcher Sara Char, M.D., at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told Fox News Digital. The study notes that recent generations are more likely to adopt a "Western-pattern diet" and a "sedentary lifestyle." Colorectal is the most common type of early-onset GI cancer, but pancreatic, esophageal, gastric, biliary, appendiceal and neuroendocrine cancers are also rising in adults under 50, Char noted. Adults born in 1990 have twice the risk of colon cancer and four times the risk of rectal cancer compared to those born in 1950, according to a previous study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Paul Oberstein, M.D., director of the Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Program at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, told Fox News Digital that a person's diet does indeed impact the risk of colon cancer. "It is reported from previous studies that when someone has a higher amount of foods typical of a Western diet, they have a higher risk of colon cancer," said Oberstein, who was not involved in the research. A "Western diet" typically includes a higher intake of red and processed meats, processed and added sugars, and highly processed and refined grains, according to the oncologist. Processed deli meats, sugary drinks and processed grain snacks are also commonly associated with this type of diet. While the incidence of colon cancer in this group overall remains low, Oberstein recommends investing in more research to explore which factors are causing the increase. "We need to conduct more research on whether diet, vitamin supplements, alcohol or other things we ingest or use are contributing to this increase," he said. The expert also emphasized the importance of following the recommended colon cancer screening guidelines, which begin at 45 years old for most people, and seeking medical attention if any symptoms appear. Common warning signs include changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, unexplained back or abdominal pain, or unintentional weight loss, all of which warrant speaking to a doctor for an "urgent evaluation," according to Char. For more Health articles, visit The researcher added that younger individuals can take preventative measures such as not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol, limiting red meat consumption, staying physically active and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Surprising Reason Americans Are Still Struggling to Get Off the Couch
Americans were sitting less—until the pandemic hit. From 2013 to early 2020, the average amount of time spent sedentary was on a steady decline, according to a JAMA research letter. Then came lockdowns, remote work, and closed gyms. Now, five years later, we're still not moving the way we used to. The surprising part? It's not the pandemic itself that's holding us back. It's what we kept from that time: virtual meetings, delivery apps, and digital convenience that eliminate nearly all incidental movement. Between 2017 and 2020, average sedentary time hovered around 5.9 hours per day. Despite reopening efforts and a return to daily routines, Americans today are still logging six hours of sitting time daily, and that number hasn't budged since 2021. Experts believe the technology we adopted during lockdowns plays a bigger role than we realize. Zoom meetings replaced office walks. Grocery delivery replaced cart-pushing. And once-automatic steps, like walking into work or grabbing lunch across the street, have quietly disappeared. The shift wasn't temporary. For many, it became the new baseline. And that matters. Yahoo reported that prolonged sitting is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers. The phrase 'sitting is the new smoking' might sound overused, but it's rooted in the reality that a sedentary lifestyle is still a leading health concern in the U.S. That doesn't mean everyone needs to hit the gym seven days a week. In fact, experts say daily movement—even in small doses—can make a measurable difference. Taking walking breaks, adding 'exercise snacks' throughout the day, or choosing to run errands in person instead of online are all ways to offset the damage of desk-bound days. There's also a growing divide in who's able to get moving again. Gym membership rates hit a record high in 2024, but researchers note that those benefits mostly reach higher-income Americans. For people working multiple jobs or without flexible schedules, building in movement remains a challenge. The solution isn't more pressure. It's more purpose. We don't need to overhaul our lives. We just need to start moving in the right direction, one step at a Reason Americans Are Still Struggling to Get Off the Couch first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 7, 2025
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Revealed How Much Exercise You Need to 'Offset' Sitting All Day
We know that sitting for long periods of time isn't good for us, but just how much exercise is needed to counteract the negative health effects of not escaping our desk all day? Research suggests about 30 to 40 minutes of building up a sweat should do the trick. Committing to a good half our or so of "moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity" at some point each day ought to balance out 10 hours of sitting still, the research says – although any amount of exercise or even just standing up helps to some extent. That's based on a meta-analysis study published in 2020 analyzing nine previous studies, involving a total of 44,370 people in four different countries who were wearing some form of fitness tracker. Watch the video below for a short summary: The analysis found the risk of death among those with a more sedentary lifestyle went up as time spent engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity went down. "In active individuals doing about 30-40 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, the association between high sedentary time and risk of death is not significantly different from those with low amounts of sedentary time," the researchers explained in their paper. Related: Too Much Sitting Can Still Be Harmful Even if You Exercise, Study Warns In other words, putting in some reasonably intensive activities – cycling, brisk walking, gardening – can lower your risk of an earlier death right back down to what it would be if you weren't doing all that sitting around, to the extent that this link can be seen in the amassed data of many thousands of people. While meta-analyses like this one always require some elaborate dot-joining across separate studies with different volunteers, timescales, and conditions, the benefit of this particular piece of research is that it relied on relatively objective data from wearables – not data self-reported by the participants. At the time, the study was published alongside the release of the World Health Organization 2020 Global Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, put together by 40 scientists across six continents. The British Journal of Sports Medicine (BHSM) also put out a special edition to carry both the study and the revised guidelines. "As these guidelines emphasize, all physical activity counts and any amount of it is better than none," said physical activity and population health researcher Emmanuel Stamatakis from the University of Sydney in Australia. "People can still protect their health and offset the harmful effects of physical inactivity." The research based on fitness trackers is broadly in line with the 2020 WHO guidelines, which recommend 150-300 mins of moderate intensity or 75-150 mins of vigorous intensity physical activity every week to counter sedentary behavior. Walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift, playing with children and pets, taking part in yoga or dancing, doing household chores, walking, and cycling are all put forward as ways in which people can be more active – and if you can't manage the 30-40 minutes right away, the researchers say, start off small. Making recommendations across all ages and body types is tricky, though the 40-minute time frame for activity fits in with previous research. As more data gets published, we should learn more about how to stay healthy even if we have to spend extended periods of time at a desk. "Although the new guidelines reflect the best available science, there are still some gaps in our knowledge," said Stamatakis. "We are still not clear, for example, where exactly the bar for 'too much sitting' is. But this is a fast-paced field of research, and we will hopefully have answers in a few years' time." The research was published here, and the 2020 guidelines are available here, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Further information is available here. An earlier version of this article was published in November 2020. Social Media Might Impair Your Recovery From Injury. Here's Why. Cat Parasite Can Seriously Disrupt Brain Function, Study Suggests New Treatment May Cure Severe Type 1 Diabetes, Study Finds
