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10 MUSCLE & FITNESS JUNE 2016

ABOUT THAT

FINICKY FAT...

■ Can’t crunch, sprint or cycle

away those last few stubborn

kilos? Your fitness level may be to

blame, says a study published in

Current Biology. Researchers

found that as we increase our

physical activity, our bodies adapt

and don’t burn as many extra

calories. People with moderate

activity levels burned about 200

calories more daily than sedentary

people, but super-active people

saw no additional effect from

more exercise.

MARC ROYCE; IMAGE SOURCE/CORBIS; ARMIN STAUDT/ALAMY

BOOSTER

SHOT

■ A breakthrough

study from Indiana University, US,

found that injections of a myostatin

antibody into patients over the age of

75 who had a history of low muscle

strength and decreasing lean muscle

mass improved their ability to climb

stairs, walk quickly and get up out of

a chair. Myostatin, a natural protein

that inhibits muscle growth, has long

been thought of as key to figuring out

how muscles work.

UP IN VAPOUR

■ A recent meta-analysis from UC San Francisco,

US, discovered that adults who use e-cigs, or

vaporisers, were less likely to quit smoking.

Researchers combed through 58 studies and found

that contrary to how the e-cigs are marketed – as

smoking-cessation devices – the odds of quitting

smoking for those who vaped were 28 percent

lower than those who didn’t resort to e-cigs to quit.

THE AMOUNT YOU CAN

REDUCE YOUR CHANCE

OF DEVELOPING

LOWER BACK PAIN

WITH EXERCISE,

SAYS A REVIEW IN JAMA

INTERNAL MEDICINE.

GET UP,

STAND

UP

■ We hope you’re

sitting down for this.

Actually, no, we don’t.

Sitting too much has

been shown to be bad

news for lots of health

markers. Recent

research published in

the Annals of Internal

Medicine found, after

scouring through 47

studies, that being

sedentary

significantly increases

risk for developing

cardiovascular

disease, diabetes and

cancer. What’s

worse, regular

exercise won’t lower

your risk of getting

these diseases,

though the negative

effects are more

pronounced for

layabouts who don’t

exercise. Your play?

Take a stroll for a

couple of minutes

every hour – it’s an

ideal excuse to strut

by the hottie from

accounting.

NEWS HEALTH & FITNESS