Workplace Fitness: Climbing the Ladder

If you like your workplace ‘edgy’, the latest trend to hit the east coast of the US is for you. Brooklyn Boulders (BKB) runs shared working spaces combined with gyms: desks are fitted with heave bars and fitness equipment, and there is even an entire rock climbing centre between the rows of workstations. “I’ll be… Read More

Doctors, Exercise & their Miracle Cure

Research Paper Title Exercise: The Miracle Cure and the Role of the Doctor in Promoting It. Abstract The big four “proximate” causes of preventable ill-health are: smoking, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and alcohol excess. Of these, the importance of regular exercise is the least well-known. Relatively low levels of increased activity can make a… Read More

Older People: Osteoporosis, Fractures & Exercise

 A recent British Medical Journal (BMJ) article pointed out that most fractures in people of 70 years or older occur in those without osteoporosis. Therefore, the answer to the problem cannot lie in more bone densitometry and biphosphonate prescribing. A 5-year follow-up report from a Finnish trial suggests that exercise programmes could be far more… Read More

What’s Wrong with Non-regulated Interventions & Trials?

The following article (written by Rafeal Dal-Re, Michael Bracken & John Ioannidis in the BMJ) is a timely reminder to authors, journalists and consumers about the pros and cons of non-regulated interventions and trials. Efforts to promote the availability of data from clinical trials have been led predominantly by regulators (EMA, 2014) or drug companies… Read More

Primary Care & Weight Reduction Interventions: A Happy Marriage?

Research Paper Title Access to Weight Reduction Interventions for Overweight and Obese Patients in UK Primary Care: Population-based Cohort Study. Objectives To investigate access to weight management interventions for overweight and obese patients in primary care. Setting UK primary care electronic health records. Participants A cohort of 91,413 overweight and obese patients aged 30-100 years was sampled from the Clinical… Read More

Exercise is Central to New ‘Five-a-Day’ Style Approach to Mental Health

This is an article written by guest writer Jennifer Timpson which is an astute piece given the increasing emphasis being placed upon mental health issues by political parties, the NHS and (of course) the military in general. When most people hear the expression ‘five a day’ the first thing that springs to mind is the… Read More

What is the Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions to Prevent Sports Injuries?

Research Paper Title The Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions to Prevent Sports Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Background Physical activity is important in both prevention and treatment of many common diseases, but sports injuries can pose serious problems. Objective To determine whether physical activity exercises can reduce sports injuries and perform… Read More