People who are sedentary may have a higher risk of developing frequent headaches, the results of a large study suggest.
The findings, based on surveys of more the 68,000 adults residing in Norway, found that those who never exercised were 14 percent more likely than their more active counterparts to develop non-migraine headaches over an 11-year period.
Conversely, people who were already suffering from any form of frequent headache were at greater risk of being physically inactive.
The findings suggest that a lack of exercise may be a risk factor for developing non-migraine headaches -- and that exercise is a challenge for people already suffering from any form of head pain.
It's not clear why a sedentary lifestyle might contribute to headaches, lead researcher Emma Varkey told Reuters Health.
But the findings suggest that protection from headaches could potentially be another reason for people to stay active, Varkey and her colleagues report.There are still questions about the types of exercise that are best for people with frequent headaches, according to Varkey.
Exercise usually does not worsen common, tension-type headaches, she noted, but for some migraine sufferers, vigorous activity can trigger episodes of head pain.
Varkey added her researcher group will soon publish a study looking at an exercise regimen designed to boost migraine patients' fitness without worsening their condition.
FITNESS IMPACTS DIABETICS MORE THAN FATNESS
People with type 2 diabetes may be able to improve their health-related quality of life by getting fit, new research shows. Cardiovascular fitness was strongly associated with the risk of poor quality of life in diabetic patients. Fatness played less of a role, but it did still have an influence. "Incorporating physical activity into their daily routine improves fitness, allows them to do more, feel better, as well as reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes-related complications," the investigators conclude.
EXERCISE HELPS OVERWEIGHT KIDS WITH ANGER
Sedentary overweight children who start exercising after school become more fit -- and may also be less likely to slam doors, hit other children, and express their anger in other aggressive ways, researchers report. Overweight children who exercise regularly have improved cognitive function, which could translate to better anger control, according to a recent study.
PREGNANCY WATER WORKOUTS MAY EASE DELIVERY
Regular water aerobics workouts during pregnancy make it easier for women to deliver their babies without pain relief, new research suggests. Less than one third of women who took part in three 50-minute aquarobics sessions every week throughout their pregnancy requested analgesia during labor, compared to nearly two thirds of women in a control group that did not exercise, researchers found. "The babies had adequate weight, gestational age and vitality at birth, confirming the trend ... that moderate, regular physical activity has no influence on prematurity or on the weight of the newborn infant."
January 2009
