We are all the indoor kids
How did it happen that we—a once proud people, with our hands in the loam and our heads in the clouds—have devolved into a herd of shuffling, hunched wisps of digital consumerism? Why did we cast aside our inheritance—some of the most shockingly beautiful natural landscapes on the planet—to become grotesque, tech-necked screen addicts? Apologies,...
The Fountain of Youth is Real
If you track information on aging and fitness…and if you’re here, you maybe do…you are probably frustrated by the research summaries that begin with: “1,000 volunteers, aged 25-30…” Our wholly unsubstantiated theory holds that fitness research focuses on younger people because much of it is funded—directly or indirectly—by shoe and apparel companies that see free-spending...
Biking might allay Parkinson’s symptoms
Human bodies age like a saddle: they get comfortable and develop character, but they also start to break down. The older they get, the more problems they have, one of which is Parkinson’s disease. An estimated one percent of people over 60 are affected by this degenerative nervous disorder. Those estimates vary because it’s...
Monitoring fitness monitors: the heart of the matter
In exercise, the flesh can be weak and the spirit too willing. You know the stories: someone your age pushed too hard and then keeled over. (In fact, this happens at all ages, but you pay more attention when the deceased is someone your age.) The more often you hear the stories, the more...
Going on a beer run: the debate continues
The debate over the health impact of booze, and beer in particular, flows on. On one hand, as we’ve noted before, there are multiple risks and benefits associated with alcohol. And “a woman might find the risks and benefits shift over time, with the cancer risks of drinking dictating abstinence in a woman’s youth...
After us, no one will ever retire again
If you’ve been paying attention, you know that older Baby Boomers are grossly unprepared for retirement. Theirs would be a riveting and tragic story, except that every other generation looks to be in worse shape. A new report on retirement from the Pew Charitable Trusts points out that Generation-Xers, who are now between 38...
Why does the South hate cyclists?
Walk Score has published its list of the Most Bikeable Large U.S. cities, based on a methodology that includes infrastructure, hills, connectivity and “mode share”—meaning how many fellow bikers are on the road. No surprises here. You know who wins this: Portland, San Francisco, Denver. But dig a little deeper into the site’s...
A third of Minnesota’s lakes have cocaine in them
Minnesota—a relatively unpolluted state if you don’t count the iron mine tailings and farm run-off—today released Pharmaceutical and Endocrine Active Chemicals in Minnesota Lakes. This study of 50 lakes looked at the presence of 125 chemicals, including DEET (found in 76 percent of the lakes, making it the most frequently discovered chemical), bisphenol A (second...
Boomers are all about the couch
A post earlier this week contained a startling public health nugget: most Baby Boomers—52 percent—report zero physical activity. No jogging, no biking, no backpacking. No walking the dog. No wading in shallow water. No golf with a cart. This is head-swiveling because (one) it’s an intellectual challenge to conceive of zero physical activity and...
Failure to crunch
It might not be your fault. If you don’t like to exercise, or if the exercise you do doesn’t seem to count for much, there are reasons that have nothing to do with your discipline, your will, or your moral fiber. You are not a puss. It’s your DNA. The Wall Street Journal recently...
More noise and chatter on retirement
A wintery mix of news about retirement savings over the past few weeks. There’s some variation in the details but a consistent underlying message, which is that you will die poor, Boomer. And your generation will likely impoverish the generations coming after it. (Here’s the upside: we are told by a study of cheery Germans...
Looking for SWF with DRD4 7R allele?
Let’s say you are single. You’re reading over the entries on Match.com and thinking about a partner for life’s Second or Third Act. Are you looking for a profile that says, “Get with me. I’m likely to die quick, but our time together will feel long because I am dull”? No, you are not. You...
