This Week in Research
Category: Tennis
Publish Date: 03-26-2010 02:55 PM -0400
Is it just me, or has the health news this week been pretty wild? From how much women need to work out to maintain their weight to the ballooning portions on the table for the Last Supper, here’s a look at the research that’s come out this week.
Get to Work, Ladies
A new study shows that women need to do moderate exercise for 60 minutes every day to prevent weight gain as they get older. That’s 420 minutes a week of activities like brisk walking, leisurely bicycling and golfing. However, if you do more intense activities, like running or lap swimming, you only need to do 30 minutes a day, or 210 minutes a week. Compared to the current federal guidelines of 150 minutes per week, that’s a lot. I always thought I was pretty health conscious, but I’d say I average only about 180 minutes a week working out. Uh oh. Time to form some new habits.
Supersized Last Supper
Researchers have discovered that over the past millennium the amount of food depicted in paintings of the Last Supper has ballooned.By comparing the ratios of portion sizes relative to the attendees’ headsizesin paintings over the last 1,000 years, they found the meal to be like a story getting exaggerated the more you tell it: First it was just a nice dinner, then it was a feast, now it’s a full-on smorgasbord. The researchers have deduced that “art imitates life,” and think humans have slowly been evolving toward our supersized portions—and bodies—of today.
Keep Smiling
Apparently, people with bigger smiles live longer. How can you tell this? From looking at old photos of baseball players. Does this seem a little crazy to anyone else?
Roddick's Personal Massage Parlor
In tennis health/gossip news, Andy Roddick had to do some heavy lifting in order to set up a physical therapy table in his hotel room in Miami. He asked to have one of the hotel’s tables removed to make space for his PT equipment and the hotel wanted to charge him $150. What did he do? He tweeted about his dilemma and, on the advice of his followers, moved the table into the hall himself. Hey, a pro has to do what he has to do for the sake of his body. Side note: Roddick’s still the No. 1 American in men’s tennis, right? Whatever happened to the star treatment?
