Two community leaders recently joined the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research Advisory Board to continue their passion for women's health and sex differences research. Betty Arkell and Bill Ernstrom will be great additions to our outstanding board. We look forward to working with them.

Middle age and older Americans spend an average of 9 hours every day sedentary. Adults with type 2 diabetes engage in sedentary behavior approximately three hours more per week. The SitWise study aims to better understand sedentary behavior as it relates to cardiovascular health for older women with type 2 diabetes.

Research continues to show a correlation between stress and physical health. Using functional MRI tests and frozen serum from four decades ago, the research team of one of our scientific council advisors — Dr. Jill Goldstein — has made an important discovery on the influence of stress during pregnancy on the brain development of their babies. Babies whose mothers had biomarkers of higher stress during their pregnancy have disruptions in how their brains process stress that are still apparent in middle age. These disruptions are different in female offspring than in male offspring.

The analysis found that at least 38 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day was associated with the lower risk, which is a little more than the current recommendations of at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.