© 2024 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Staying active

Ed Yourdon
/
Flickr

For many of us, the days of mandatory physical activity are long gone. But when gym class and varsity basketball are no longer part of our daily lives, how do we make sure we keep moving? This week on “Take Care,” we talk about how to stay active. But first, how active are we?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes data on whether adults and adolescents meet physical activity guidelines. It shows how our activity level change as we age and gives us an idea of how our collective physical activity has changed over time. Dr. John Omura is with us, from the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the CDC.

Next, we discuss commonplace injuries with Dr. Pablo Costa, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Development at California State University, Fullerton. He’s also chair of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Research Committee. He’ll share ways to exercise well and how to avoid sidelining injuries.

It’s not just physical activity that keeps you healthy, though. Mental activity is necessary to staying healthy as we age. WRVO’s Ellen Abbott brings us a story of how mental exercise can also act as a kind of medicine for the elderly.

Finally, our society seems more focused on health and wellness than ever before and that includes exercise. Are some of the most popular and most recent exercise crazes just fads? How do you know if your form matches that of the YouTube video you’re watching? Dr. Len Kravitz, professor of exercise science and coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico joins us to answer these questions.

Tune in this Sunday, July 28 at 7 p.m. and again Friday, August 2 at 1 p.m. for “Take Care.”