University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center

06/12/2026

Jump rope isn't just for the playground. Research shows it improves cardiovascular fitness, bone density, agility, and coordination and beginners can see meaningful results in as little as 15 minutes. It's cheap, portable, and backed by solid exercise science. Time to pick one up.

If you're looking for bang for your workout buck, look no further than jumping rope. Here are the impressive benefits of jumping rope to lose weight, improve balance and bone density, and more.

06/11/2026

Moving more and eating better work differently when you do them together. A study in Scientific Reports tracked people over time and found that maintaining both physical activity and diet quality not just one or the other was linked to meaningfully lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Neither alone produced the same effect. Small, consistent habits on both fronts add up more than people expect.

The combined impact of physical activity (PA), diet quality, and their change over time on cardiometabolic disease risk remains uncertain. We aimed to examine the associations between the combined trajectories of these health behaviours and the incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular....

06/10/2026

Heat is making it harder to move, and that has real health consequences. Research in The Lancet Global Health estimates that declining outdoor activity from rising temperatures could contribute to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths annually by 2050. The people with the fewest options to adapt are the ones who will feel it most.

Rising heat is making everyday exercise harder, with modelling studies suggesting long-term impacts on activity levels and population health.

06/05/2026

Did you know that social media can work both for and against healthy behavior? A systematic review of 82 studies published in Healthcare found that the same platforms that spread health misinformation are also being used in interventions that successfully increase physical activity and improve dietary behaviors.

Background: Social media has transformed and influenced how health information is accessed, how people engage in health-promoting behaviors, and how they develop attitudes toward wellness. Methods: This systematic review examines the impact of ...

06/05/2026

What happens to food security when low-income Black households receive guaranteed income? A 2026 study in Health Affairs examined exactly that. Participants in a guaranteed income program in Georgia reported meaningful improvements in food security, with households using the extra cash to buy more nutritious food and reduce meal skipping. The findings raise a straightforward point: when financial barriers are removed, people make healthier choices.

Equitable access to nutritious food is crucial for household health, yet racial disparities in food security persist, often driven by income and wealth inequalities. Guaranteed income programs, which offer regular cash transfers, may help address these disparities, although their impacts are not wel...

06/03/2026

Most people think about exercise in terms of weight, heart health, or energy levels. The gut rarely comes up. But the evidence published in Gastroenterology points to something worth attention. Regular movement is linked to a more diverse gut microbiome, and that diversity plays a real role in immunity, metabolism, and chronic disease prevention. The benefits of staying active go further than what most of us imagine.

The benefits of regular physical activity (PA) on disease prevention and treatment outcomes have been recognized for centuries. However, only recently has interorgan communication triggered by the release of “myokines” from contracting skeletal muscles emerged as a putative mechanism by which ex...

06/02/2026

PRC Director Dr. Sara Wilcox and Co-Investigator Dr. Andrew Kaczynski presented findings from the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition National Implementation Study at the ISBNPA annual conference in Cádiz, Spain -103 churches, 23 states, and growing evidence that faith communities are a powerful setting for public health.

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05/29/2026

Your parents told you to go outside and play. Turns out that advice may never expire. A position statement published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, based on 18 rigorous literature reviews, found that active outdoor play is linked to a broad range of health benefits across all ages, not just kids. Getting outside and moving may still be some of the best health advice around.

In 2015, the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play was released in Canada, emphasizing the critical role of active outdoor play—with its risks—in fostering children’s healthy development. Building on this foundation, a 10-year update of the ...

05/28/2026

Walking is great. But how strong your muscles are may matter just as much. Research published in JAMA Network Open found that muscle strength was linked to lower mortality risk in older women, even among those who were not meeting standard activity guidelines. Being strong enough to get up and move may be one of the most important things we can protect as we age.

This cohort study evaluates associations between muscular strength and mortality in women aged 63 to 99 years accounting for accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior, systemic inflammation, and other markers of aging.

05/27/2026

You have heard it your whole life: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Research suggests there may be something to it. Apples are high in fiber, polyphenols, and bioactive compounds that have been linked to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The old advice still holds up, with evidence to support it.

Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and asthma are increasingly common due to factors like industrialization, urbanization, fast-paced life, stress, sedentary lifestyle, and unbalanced diet in the 21st ...