New York Times: Runners and Cyclists Use GPS Mapping to Make Art. “Fitness apps and the power of live satellite tracking have allowed runners, cyclists and others to draw hearts, animals, birthday wishes — and even homages to Vermeer — across their local landscapes.”
Cornell Chronicle: App for the pre-K set promotes healthy eating, exercise. “Preschoolers can be notoriously picky eaters – and that’s if you can get one to sit still for a meal. A series of free, evidence-informed apps for preschool-aged children, developed by a Cornell researcher and colleagues, aims to encourage healthy eating behaviors and exercise. A majority of parents said the apps helped their children try new foods and raise their activity level, according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior on date.”
Science Daily: Replacing social media use with physical activity. “If you spend 30 minutes less on social media every day and engage in physical activity instead, you do a lot to improve your mental health, according to a new study. Participants who followed this advice for two weeks felt happier, more satisfied, less stressed by the COVID-19 pandemic and less depressed than a control group. These effects lasted even six months after the study had ended.”
MakeUseOf: How the Wakeout App Can Make Quick Workout Breaks More Fun. “Doing regular activity—even just standing—for a few minutes during extended periods of sitting time can help keep you feeling your best. However, when you’re engrossed in work, study, or a movie, it can be easy to forget to move. Wakeout is designed to get you moving regularly, and here’s how it works.”
MakeUseOf: 5 Apps for Spending Time Outside and Connecting With Nature. “If you want to spend more time in nature but need a little nudge to get out there, then look to your smartphone or tablet for help. Whether you want to spend more time hiking and camping or simply take a lap around the block occasionally, this collection of apps can help you make the most of your time in nature.” I had no idea this category of app existed.
Lifehacker: The Best Free Online Tools to Map Your Own Bike Routes. “Whether you’re in an unfamiliar place or broadening your horizons in your hometown, there are plenty of tools online to customize different walk, run, and bike routes wherever you are. The online tools we’ll highlight here are not all created equal, so let’s take a look at the best free options depending on what you’re looking for in a map.”
Norwegian Institute of Public Health: NOURISHING and MOVING policy databases: full datasets from 14 European countries are now available. “CO-CREATE colleagues at the World Cancer Research Fund International have been hard at work generating evidence and infrastructure to support local and national policy changes to make healthy choices the easiest, most appealing, and preferred choices for adolescents across Europe. The NOURISHING and MOVING databases highlight where governments need to take action to promote healthy diets and decrease physical inactivity. New datasets of diet-related policies and physical activity policies across Europe have been added to both databases.”
Newswise: Exercise Doesn’t Change COVID-19 Booster Immune Response in People with Autoimmune Disease. “A new study suggests that a single bout of exercise does not change the immune response to a coronavirus booster shot in people with rheumatic autoimmune diseases. The article is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology.”
PsyPost: Too much sitting during the pandemic is tied to increased depressive symptoms, study finds. “A study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry has found new evidence that too much sitting can negatively impact mental health. The study found that while mental health tended to improve among US residents in the aftermath of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, those who spent more time sitting showed slower recovery from depressive symptoms.”
Lexington Herald-Leader: Hardly any kids exercised during pandemic — that’s bad for mental health, study finds. “In the U.S., only 8.9% of children ages 10-14 met Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans during the pandemic in May 2020, the time of early pandemic lockdowns and the most restrictions, researchers found. This is slightly over a 7% drop compared to those exercising before COVID-19 when 16.1% of children met the guidelines between 2016 and 2018.”
BBC: Can fitness apps be as effective as a personal trainer?. “As we start 2022, lots of us will be resuming the battle to lose weight and get fit. A wealth of high-tech fitness apps are now available to help, but are they anywhere near as good as hiring a human personal trainer?”
The Verge: FTC opens antitrust probe into Meta’s purchase of VR fitness app Supernatural. “The probe means that antitrust regulators are starting to scrutinize the-company-formally-known-as-Facebook’s interest in scooping up VR startups, not just its traditional social media acquisitions. According to The Information’s Josh Sisco, Meta’s previous five virtual reality acquisitions, including its deal for the studio behind hit game Beat Saber, weren’t probed by the government because the purchase prices were too small. ‘But those regulators are slowing down the $400 million-plus Supernatural deal, according to two people with knowledge of the situation,’ the report notes.”
How-To Geek: No Smartwatch? Google Can Check Your Heart Rate on a Phone. “While not as quick and efficient as using a smartwatch or fitness tracker, Google Fit is an excellent alternative if you’re willing to wait around a bit to get your results. You can check your heart and respiratory rate using your iPhone’s camera and Google Fit.”
Michigan Tech: Guest Blog: Get ‘UP and Moving’ (Exercise as Medicine During the Pandemic). “Importantly, the COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective tool we have to protect against the virus. Breakthrough infections, while rare, can occur — and thus, the vaccine is not perfect. Aside from getting vaccinated, continuing to wash your hands, wearing a mask and social distancing when appropriate, exercising regularly may be the single most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of becoming very sick if infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
New York Times: What I’ve Learned From Running Marathons. ” I’ve never been more uncertain about the future than I am now. But I have learned one thing. Over the past two years, in almost every part of my life, I’ve had no choice but to slow down — and the world didn’t end, as I feared. Like many others, I’m ending this year realizing the life I had before the pandemic isn’t waiting for me on the other side. We all lost a lot. It’s time to figure out what to do with what’s left.”
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