Everyone needs physical activity to stay healthy. If the standard machines at the gym aren't appealing, don't worry -- there's a wide array of other ways to keep in shape. Learn how much exercise is needed and how to get it.
Talbot Kennedy became a quadriplegic on the last day of high school. He's still an athlete.
Halloween is creeping up on us -- and as kids anticipate the occasion with excitement bordering on mania, parents often express concern.
Three runners collapsed and died during the Detroit Marathon on Sunday. Although that news is shocking and frightening for runners and non-runners alike, such deaths are rare, experts say.
When she was about 8, Frida Sepulveda developed dark folds of skin around her neck. It's a well-known warning sign of type 2 diabetes.
When she was about 8, Frida Sepulveda developed dark folds of skin around her neck. It's a well-known warning sign of type 2 diabetes.
A world record was set recently in Houston, Texas. It wasn't the world's fastest quarter-mile run, the world's largest pumpkin or even the world's heaviest man. It was, however, as stunning to witness: the world's largest senior citizen Wii bowling tournament, as confirmed by Guinness World Records.
Parents can check out growth charts -- a nifty graph that tells them where their child falls in relation to peers in terms of height and weight -- just about everywhere, from a child's vaccination records to the doctor's office.
Can't find your keys ... again? Whether your momentary memory loss is linked to doing too many things at once or just a bad case of menopausal brain fog, you don't have to put up with it.
Do you sometimes feel as if going to a doctor's office is like going through a revolving door: in, swoosh-blur, out? You fight traffic to get there, wait a while in the waiting room, wait a while in the exam room, get seen, get dressed and get out. But once you've gone, you realize you're missing something -- maybe a small piece of helpful information. Below, some insider tips from medical specialists who tell you what your doctor doesn't have time to tell you in that all-too-brief appointment.
Matthew Sanchez had rarely seen his father cry. But when Rudjard Hayes looked at the X-rays of his son's spine after a high school football accident, he held his wife close and broke down, not knowing that his son could see him.
Pick a day -- any day -- and you'll probably find Sean Bugg on the courts. A tennis fanatic, he's been playing the sport since he was 9 years old. Now at age 41, Bugg is definitely feeling the pain from his game.
Barbara Simone of Glen Burnie, Maryland, considers herself terribly flawed. She refuses to show her ankles and she'd never allow them to be photographed. She barely wants to talk about them; in fact, when asked about her legs, she mumbles under her breath that she hates them.
Before Friday night lights, there is summer suffering.
Beverly Hunt is a mover and a shaker. A public relations executive who runs her own business in Laurel, Maryland, Hunt believes in looking good. She keeps active and stays in shape.
The thick shoes come with a big promise: to chisel the butt and legs.
Occupational therapist Cathy Kleinman-Barnett works with breast cancer patients, but she has never encouraged women with lymphedema, a breast cancer-related swelling of the arm, to lift weights.
Moderate exercise can help patients with failing hearts feel better -- and it's safe, according to the largest-ever study of exercise in people with chronic heart failure, published as two articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
To look at her, you'd never know Jessica Ordona, 25, has a problem with her jeans. "I don't like the fact that when you sit down, your stomach comes over them," she says.
When it comes to losing weight, the little things add up -- trying just one new thing every day can quickly make a big difference. With that in mind, we've taken science's best weight-loss strategies and created a week's worth of slimming to-do's.
I can still remember it, vivid as yesterday. It was the eve of my 40th birthday, and I walked upstairs to take a shower. And I was winded. I mean very winded. As I was trying to catch my breath, I took off my shirt, looked in the mirror and tried to convince myself that I was still that fit guy I had always thought I was.
Aging athletes don't have the agility they had in their youth. Minor injuries accumulate and become major ones. And by the time they hit their mid-30s and 40s, they're considered geriatric -- that's the conventional wisdom.
Aging athletes don't have the agility they had in their youth. Minor injuries accumulate and become major ones. And by the time they hit their mid-30s and 40s, they're considered geriatric -- that's the conventional wisdom.
After six months, 35 pounds of chicken breast and more than a hundred hours of exercising, Jason Dinant finally sees the fruits of his labor. There are six of them.
Under the California sun in a place known as Muscle Beach, where bronzed bodybuilders pump their cannon-size biceps, an energetic brunette works her arms -- and the weight purrs its approval.
Want to keep your wits sharp as the years go by? You're not alone. Most people are worried about losing their memory as they age, and a new study shows it's a valid concern: In fact, at 53 percent -- more than half of all people -- have at least a minor mental decline in their 70s and 80s, and about 16 percent develop more serious problems with memory and other mental functions as they age.
As the summer months creep ever closer, trying to achieve the perfect set of abs can seem like a lost cause.
When rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings didn't work for Eddie Freas, he sought another way to kick his 20-year drug and alcohol addiction.
The death of boxing champion Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter after a treadmill accident highlights the issue of hidden dangers in the home.
If you're middle-aged or older, a 10-minute walking test can give you and your doctor a pretty clear picture of whether you are at higher risk of dying during the next few years compared with other people your age, according to a large new analysis of data showing that cardiorespiratory fitness is intimately linked with the risk of dying of just about any cause.
Amber Mori drives a forklift in a warehouse in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As a working mom, she's on the go 24/7. But twice a week, Amber transforms into "Cykosis," a fishnet-wearing, skatin' diva, who bumps and jabs her way around a roller rink.
I walk every day, eat a healthful diet, and have no diabetes in my immediate family. I'm not model skinny (truth be told, I've been known to pack on a few extra pounds), but I'm certainly not a couch potato or junk food addict. So, imagine my surprise when a routine blood test showed that my blood sugar was elevated and I was officially prediabetic.
As he strained, crunched and lifted weights, the muscle panels surfaced from Jason Dinant's stomach. Faintly at first, they emerged: one, two, three and four -- not yet a six-pack.
Sports drinks can rehydrate you after a workout, but they also may wreak havoc on your teeth. Prolonged consumption of these types of beverages could lead to erosive tooth wear, according to a study presented at the International Association for Dental Research in Miami on Friday.
Thursday was Giyen Kim's first Korean class. Her plan is to go to Korea to meet some of her father's relatives, as well as find her the siblings of her mother, who died when she was young.
David Laibson knows that when he procrastinates, mere deadlines are not always enough to get him going. So, when this Harvard economics professor collaborates on a major project, he'll sometimes promise to deliver a finished product by a certain date -- or else pay his co-authors $500.
When it comes to educating about cardiovascular health, Rani Whitfield is proving that it's not only what you say but how you say it.
Midway through Jason Dinant's fitness journey to get six-pack abs by June, the 27-year-old had a breakdown.
Jason Dinant has the opposite problem of most Americans -- he has flat abs.
Barbara Rademacher said she had the "best day I can imagine" two weeks ago when two co-workers independently approached her to ask whether she had lost weight. They told her she looked good.
The bad economy and downturn in the housing market aren't the only painful things for Realtor Anne Stephens. Her knees, hips and ankles hurt from arthritis.
Amanda Wagner and Jessica Tuttle turn 50 this year, but they're not letting age hold them back from their favorite exercise: running. They've been lacing up their running shoes since their teens and show few signs of slowing down. Research on older runners suggests they may not have to.
Ask third-graders what cholesterol means and they will probably just shrug their shoulders, but not Maddie Zacks.
Been squinting a lot lately? Have to move your magazine six inches away from your eyes to read it? Vision problems creep up on you as you age. But good habits -- not unlike the ones you've already established to protect your heart, bones, and brain -- can help keep your eyes healthy. Try these simple tips to safeguard your vision now and for years to come.
First lady Michelle Obama has a fashion following, with blogs tracking her daily garment choices.
My habits weren't horrible, but they weren't great, either. No sodas, fast food, or cigarettes, and I ate my share of broccoli...but I also liked heavy cream in my coffee, butter with dinner, and fortifying spoonfuls of ice cream when afternoon hunger hit.
On February 2, 7-year-old Cameron Dunmore crossed a street to get to his elementary school in Lithonia, Georgia. This scenario takes place thousands of times uneventfully each school day in our country. But this time Cameron did not make it to school. A crossing guard was halting traffic at the time, but the busy intersection did not have a traffic light and one vehicle did not see the boy. Cameron was struck by an SUV and died that same day in the hospital.
Exercise can be a sweaty proposition. And with millions of Americans jumping on the exercise bandwagon, all that perspiration can become downright messy.
Football players guzzle protein shakes, down steaks and lift weights. They train and gain weight, hoping to build mass under the careful eye of the team's coaches, nutritionists and gurus.
Barbara Rademacher of Rogers, Arkansas, has found that she loves to document events on camera. Now, she's turning the camera around and focusing on improving herself for 2009.
Oprah's struggle with her weight has become almost mythic--it's not just that she's been so open and honest about it, but that millions of people share her story.
The mirror doesn't lie. Those buttery cookies and slices of ham from the holidays are showing up in the wrong places on your body.
Mike Moriarty has big expectations for the new year. "My goal is to fit into these pants better," he said, patting his stomach.
If losing weight is at the top of your resolution list, you're not alone. An estimated 80 million Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $30 billion annually on programs and products.
Amid pink slips and plummeting stocks, 2009 may not be shaping up to be the year you hoped for. But one thing you do still have some control over is your body. So put your stress on the shelf and resolve to focus on you come January 1. To help you out, here are some experts' tips for turning last year's failed resolution into something stable for the future and who couldn't use a little more stability?
The children in the cafeteria drink low-fat milk, shovel corn kernels on their sporks and munch on tuna sandwiches on wheat.
Regular physical activity may lower a woman's overall risk of cancer, suggests a new government study -- but only if her workouts don't cut into a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of shut-eye appears to cancel out much of exercise's protective benefits.
Being in space is like being Superman every day, says Clay Anderson, a NASA astronaut from Omaha, Nebraska. At the international space station, where he spent five months last year, he flew to breakfast, work and the bathroom.
Everyone knows that being overweight increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer, but new research reveals that even normal-weight people aren't scot-free. A European study suggests that people with belly fat -- even if they're at a healthy weight -- have a higher risk of dying during a 10-year period than their same-weight peers without a spare tire. The report was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Presidents need a break. Really.
Latin music pulses from the stereo as 40 women jump, shimmy and sway to the beat.
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