In Short

Park ‘n’ Run

“Free, for everyone, forever”, parkrun sees participants all over the world take part in weekly, timed 5-km running events in local parks and open spaces. Though a competitive event, it is open to all ages and abilities in the hope of encouraging not just physical activity, but community engagement too. Since its establishment in London’s Bushy Park in 2004, the small running event has blossomed into a global movement with more than 2,500 events in more than 20 countries – including 42 races in Aotearoa – all organised by volunteers. “I have always been passionate about physical activity and community development, and parkrun has given me the opportunity to combine these in an amazing way,” says Dr Andrew Boyd, parkrun’s first volunteer Health and Wellbeing Ambassador in New Zealand. Earlier this year, UK athlete Andy Butchart set a new world record of 13 minutes 45 seconds at Edinburgh’s Silverknowes parkrun – his first attempt at the event. “I’ve never been to a parkrun and so I didn’t know what to expect,” he told Runner’s World. “So, it was a fun morning, that’s for sure!”

Science of Soothing

Egyptian tomb paintings show that massage therapy was in use by the ancient civilisation way back in 2,500 BC, having arrived from the East. The oldest known written text dates from India around 500 years earlier, where massage was adopted into Ayurveda medicine by Hindus, a practice that translates as ‘life science’ still widely used today. Also, still in use by many a massage trainer is The Yellow Emperor’s Classic Book of Internal Medicine, published in 2,700 BC. There’s plenty of modern science to back up a practice promoted by ancient greats such as Hippocrates. Research has shown that the kneading of muscles and soft tissue stimulates the production of mitochondria which are known as the energy-generating powerhouses of the cell. Other studies have shown massage to reduce pain, tension, and even lower blood pressure and heart rates while combating mental issues like stress and anxiety. While massage has been proven to massively aid muscle recovery, the notion that it clears lactic acid build-up is a myth – our bodies do this naturally.

A Labour of Travel

Defined as a commute that takes more than 90 minutes one way, the ‘super-commute’ was once seen as a fast-track way to increasing stress and reducing wellbeing. But with hybrid working models becoming ever more commonplace, it’s being embraced as a positive lifestyle choice that allows people to move away from the seemingly never-ending skyrocketing costs of living in urban centres to lead quieter lives in the countryside while making the mammoth trip into the office just a couple of days per week. Since 2020, nearly five million Americans have moved because working remotely has enabled them to do so, while across the ditch more Aussies left major cities in 2021 than at any time during the previous 20 years. Though it’s a model mainly limited to higher-paid professionals, Robert Pozen, senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, says it’s here to stay. “The super-commuters are mainly knowledge professionals who don’t have to be physically present every day,” he tells the BBC. “That’s about half the workers in the US.”

Packing the Protein

Proteins comprise amino acids that build and repair bone and muscle, as well as making hormones and enzymes and even serving as an energy source. Some amino acids can be recycled from proteins that have been broken down, but the rest of our protein intake comes through diet. Foods high in protein include beef, chicken, salmon, nuts, egg, and beans. Though animal proteins are generally of higher quality, those following a plant-based diet can meet their protein requirements by combining complementary sources of amino acids such as rice and beans. Signs of not getting enough protein include swelling, mood changes, fatigue, and hair, nail, and skin issues. At the very least, 10% of our daily calorie intake should come from protein – a popular calculation is to consume 0.8g of protein for every kilogram of body weight (so a 70kg person requires around 55g of protein). For context, 10g of protein is the equivalent of half-a-cup of Greek yoghurt, one cup of cooked quinoa, or two small eggs. A deck-of-cards-sized piece of meat contains around 30g of protein.

Cancel Cancer

A recently published study in BMJ Oncology of more than a million people around the word found that the number of under-50s diagnosed with cancer has increased by almost 80% in the last 30 years – and is projected to rise by a further 21% by 2030. Some of the most worrying figures came from North America, western Europe, and Oceania. “Encouraging a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, the restriction of tobacco and alcohol consumption and appropriate outdoor activity, could reduce the burden of early onset cancer,” says the study, which also concludes that genetic factors will also have played a role. Dr Christopher Flowers, an oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells CBS that the numbers are “remarkable” and advises that “younger individuals who meet screening criteria to consider and pursue screening at age-appropriate times”. Dr Claire Knight, a senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, tells the Guardian, that though the results are alarming cancer remains “primarily a disease of older age, with the majority of new cancer cases worldwide being diagnosed in those aged 50 and above”.

Buying Youth

Forty-five-year-old multimillionaire tech founder Bryan Johnson made headlines twice recently, first for revealing that he’d been receiving blood transfusions from younger people – including his son – in an attempt to reverse the ageing process, and then for announcing that he’d discontinued the treatment as it hadn’t yielded significant benefits. Though, his doctors did tell Bloomberg that tests had shown he had the heart of a 37-year-old and the lungs of an 18-year-old – but this may be down to his strict daily exercise and wellness routine that includes only eating between 6am and 11am and consuming exactly 1,977 calories. Johnson joins a long line of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs obsessed with immortality, including Peter Theil who has given millions to the Methuselah Foundation in the hope of making “90 the new 50 by 2030” as well as signing up to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation which keeps corpses frozen until a time when scientists have figured out how to bring you back from the dead, because “a fulfilling life doesn’t have to end”.