Fitness

In an analysis of 33 NBA playoff series, teams facing elimination were more likely to lose than expected, suggesting that adding extreme pressure does not improve performance.

Active cyclists over 55 years old were more similar to young adults in many measures of immune system performance than less active people their age.

Declines in physical abilities related to aging were apparent in adults as early as their 50s. This suggests that efforts to maintain basic strength and endurance should not wait until later years.

For teenage boys, active commuting (such as walking or biking to school) was associated with lower levels of central body fat by age 18.

PLOS ONE

A single session of fast-paced dynamic stretching before running was found to increase the amount of time, and thus distance, that a small sample of track athletes were able to run.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

Fitness

Obesity was associated with slightly lower scores in measures of well-being in people who reported having limited self-control, but not in people who reported higher levels of self-control.

Health Economics

Standing instead of sitting was not associated with greater calorie expenditure, suggesting standing desks may not be effective at burning more calories.

In one study, people who wore devices that tracked their physical activity didn't lose as much weight as people who tracked their physical activity themselves.

In a sample of people using an online weight management system, more engagement with the social aspects of the program (e.g. commenting on forums or messaging other users) was associated with greater weight loss.

People in activity-friendly neighborhoods (those with more pedestrian-accessible intersections, public transit stops, and public parks nearby), tend to get more exercise.