According to the American Heart Association, most 50-year-olds who follow the 7 steps to heart health can live another 40 years without heart disease or stroke. The steps are: not smoking; staying slim; exercising; eating a healthy diet; and keeping cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar in check. A 2009 survey found 39% of Americans thought they had excellent heart health. However, 54% of them had a heart disease risk factor, needed to make a lifestyle change or both. Those Americans who don't think these steps apply to them because they are under age 50 - will grow out of it.
According to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, there's an 8th step to heart health - not sitting for long periods of time. Even with regular exercise, people sitting for long periods of time are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or die. Unfortunately, a 2003-2004 study found Americans spend more than half their time sitting. After 4 hours of sitting the genes regulating the body's amount of glucose and fat start to shut down. Although it's not yet known how much sitting is dangerous, we should stand up for our health now.
Then there's running. According to Harvard University anthropologist Dan Liberman, barefoot runners run better. Runners wearing shoes land on their heels, creating a collisional force of 1.5 to 3 times their body weight. Barefoot runners land closer to the balls of their feet, creating much less collisional force. The body naturally tells barefoot runners how to run so they can avoid pain. Barefoot running also allows the arch of the foot and the calf muscles to act as a better spring, providing more energy for the beginning of the next step. It seems the way our ancestors ran for a millions years was "defeeted" by shoes.
Finally, according to British psychologist Richard Wiseman, 88% of resolutions are defeated. Stanford University Professor Baba Shiv says that's because the prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain largely responsible for willpower - isn't strong enough. Shiv asked one group of volunteers to remember a 2-digit number and another group to remember a 7-digit number. After walking down a hall they were offered chocolate cake or fruit. The 7-digit volunteers were almost twice as likely to choose cake. Supposedly remembering the extra digits overtaxed the prefrontal cortex, taking the power out of willpower.
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