In addition, severe obesity is a serious and increasing problem among children, adolescents, and adults (Flegal et al., 2016; Fryar et al., 2012; Ogden et al., 2016; Skinner & Skelton, 2014). Plus, substantial disparities exist based on demographics (e.g., race-ethnicity, gender), geographic region, and socioeconomic status (SES).
Enjoy a yoga routine for 20 minutes. Pop in your favorite yoga DVD and complete a stretching session for at least 20 minutes. Your body could use the extra stretching and deep breathing exercises, and you'll easily burn off 100 calories in the process. The benefits of yoga are far-reaching for all ages -- it reduces stress, increases flexibility and strengthens bones, which is important as we age.
Breathing exercises. Even without formal meditation and controlled breathing, the gentle muscle stretching of yoga can reduce stress. Full service yoga is even better. But if that's not your thing, simple breathing exercises can help by themselves. Rapid, shallow, erratic breathing is a common response to stress. Slow, deep, regular breathing is a sign of relaxation. You can learn to control your respirations so they mimic relaxation; the effect, in fact, will be relaxing.