WIN Notes Update: May

WIN Notes Update*

May 2014

 

Dr. Rodgers delivers keynote at African American Health Program Community Day

Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), gave the keynote at the first annual African American Health Program (AAHP) Community Day. Attended by families and community leaders, this event was held on April 19 at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, MD, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Dr. Rodgers talked about how NIDDK’s research and programs strive to help people better manage and prevent obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease. These “common, costly, and consequential” conditions and diseases, as Dr. Rodgers described them, affect African Americans more than other groups.

Dr. Rodgers talked about the rise in overweight and obesity in the United States in the last 30 years. He explained how obesity raises the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, the leading cause of kidney disease. In the United States, two out of three adults are overweight or obese. Half of all African American adults are obese.

Getting more physical activity and consuming healthier foods and beverages may help control weight and reduce chances of disease, Dr. Rodgers noted. He encouraged attendees to look to NIDDK for information about diabetes, kidney disease, weight control and nutrition, and digestive diseases.

Sisters Together exhibit table

Visit the NIDDK website to find out more about these programs:



Lifestyle changes may help older adults lose weight, keep lean body mass

Changes may also improve heart health


senior couple walking outside

Combining low-calorie eating with regular physical activity may help older adults lose weight while maintaining lean body mass, suggest findings from a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. These lifestyle changes may also improve heart health in older adults.

The 18-month study included 288 adults in North Carolina, ages 60 to 79 years. All had heart disease or were likely to develop heart disease.

The study tested two programs. One provided counseling and support for walking 30 minutes per day. The other did the same, but also provided advice on healthy eating and cutting calories to lose weight. A control group attended educational sessions on healthy aging.

Those in the program focused on both walking and cutting calories lost almost 8 percent of their starting weight. They also had

  • reduced body fat
  • increased lean body mass
  • improved mobility
  • healthier blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol

Those who focused only on walking did not lose weight or have the same health benefits.

For more on this study, go to http://bit.ly/1iyuuDP.


Watch for the next issue of the WIN Notes Update for

ideas for celebrating Men’s Health Month in June.

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Connect with WIN

Visit WIN’s Facebook page this month for tips to help you and your family get physical activity outdoors.

http://on.fb.me/1h8DElB

 

Learn more about helping people meet federal physical activity guidelines

Do you help people meet Government physical activity guidelines—or simply encourage them to move more? If so, you may want to check out the Be Active Your Way blog. The blog is hosted by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It covers ways to build physical activity habits, research news, and links to related resources. You can find the blog at http://bit.ly/1kRS7IS and, free of charge, create a user ID and password to respond to posts.

View WIN’s posts at http://bit.ly/Ozc6OX and http://bit.ly/O3Y9J9.

 

Visit WIN at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2014

WIN will exhibit May 4 through 6 at the DDW 2014 meeting in Chicago, IL. Please visit us at booth 3216 if you are at this event. We hope to see you there!

 

Did you find what you wanted at WIN’s exhibit? Let us know

Thanks to those of you who visited WIN’s booth at the 2014 Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America National Convention and Expo in St. Louis, MO, in early April. Did you find what you wanted at our booth? Please tell us about your experience. Call us at 1–877–946–4627 or email us at win@info.niddk.nih.gov.