Innovative 5-minute workout that reduces heart-attack risk

Innovative 5-minute workout that reduces heart-attack risk
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Innovative 5-minute workout that reduces heart-attack risk
Highlights

A healthier diet pattern is associated with 25 per cent lower likelihood of developing physical impairment with aging, finds a new study.

A healthier diet pattern is associated with 25 per cent lower likelihood of developing physical impairment with aging, finds a new study.

A person's ability to maintain independence and to physically care for themselves is an essential part of healthy aging. Few studies have examined how a person's diet may allow some aging people to maintain physical function -- basic everyday tasks like bathing, getting dressed, carrying groceries or walking up a flight of stairs, while others' abilities diminish.

This study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examines the role of a healthy diet and finds that this highly modifiable factor can have a large influence on maintaining physical function.

The results of the study were published in 'Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging'.

"Diet can have specific effects on our health and can also affect our wellbeing and physical independence as we get older," said senior author, Francine Grodstein.

"What excites me about our findings is the notion that we have some influence over our physical independence as we get older. Even if people can't completely change their diet, there are some relatively simple dietary changes people can make that may influence their ability to maintain physical function, such as eating more vegetables and nuts," Grodstein added.

Grodstein and her colleague Kaitlin Hagan examined data from a total of 12,658 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, tracking them from 2008 to 2012.

At the beginning of this period, all men were assessed for their ability to perform such activities as bathing/dressing themselves, walking one block, walking several blocks, walking more than one mile, bending/kneeling, climbing one flight of stairs, climbing several flights of stairs, lifting groceries, moderate activities, and vigorous activities.

The men also filled out a food frequency questionnaire with responses ranging from "never or less than once per month" to "six or more times per day."

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