We've told you before to stay away from so-called toning shoes because of apparent safety risks. Yesterday's settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Skechers over the company's deceptive and unsupported claims gives you another reason to consider other fitness footwear.

Any bike helmet is better than riding with no helmet. But when you're paying $50 or $60 for one, you'd like to think that it's going to protect your head if you crash into a curb, a rock, or the ground, right?

Although it's perhaps a no-brainer that walking is good for you, the American Heart Association has made it official by proclaiming today to be National Walking Day, And it's a good reminder for all of us to grab our walking shoes and go for a stroll.

Like to snack at the movies? That tub of popcorn and large soda can amount to almost a full day’s calories, two days’ worth of fat and a cup of sugars.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that obesity rates in the U.S. have peaked. However, the latest figures released by the federal health agency show the epidemic of overweight Americans is far from over.

Neck pain is one of the most common and disabling symptoms that prompts patients to visit emergency rooms and primary care offices. Treatment options for neck pain include the use medication; spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) applied by chiropractors, physical therapists and osteopaths; and self-mobilization exercises, or what experts call “home exercise with advice.”

Fourteen times last summer and fall, I and nine other Consumer Reports staffers took a mile walk down and back past the cemetery near our headquarters in Yonkers, N.Y. Each time, we wore two pedometers, devices used to count steps and, in some cases, compute distance traveled. Our walks were postponed at times—by freak tropical storms, record floods, and, in my case, an injured knee. But by the end we had logged a total of 140 miles and gathered enough data to come up with Ratings of 13 pedometers, including 10 standard ones and three cell-phone apps.

If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably exercising less now that the days have gotten shorter. A new Gallup poll released earlier this month found that the percentage of U.S. adults who exercise for at least 30 minutes a day three or more days a week reached its low in November, to just under 50 percent. But our recent survey of 42,918 Consumer Reports subscribers found that treadmills and ellipticals were the favorite home exercise machines, in part because they allowed users to keep exercising even when the weather was bad.

Waiting for a high-rise building's elevator is a certain necessity in modern metro areas. But a new study says in many cases, using the stairs will be faster—and a healthier alternative to mechanical lifts.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall alert for elliptical exercise equipment made by Nautilus of Vancouver, Wash. Approximately 10,000 Schwinn 460 models have faulty foot plates which can detach and cause the exerciser to fall off the machine.

.You might think you can’t change your DNA, but a new study suggests that people born with a gene that predisposes them to obesity can reduce the gene’s effect by exercising.

Reebok will pay $25 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that advertising of EasyTone and RunTone Shoes was deceptive and made unsupported claims that the shoes strengthened and toned muscles.

If you’re waiting for the “right time” to start working out more, don’t delay. The earlier you start exercising, the more likely you are to maintain physical performance and strength in older age, suggests a study out this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Are you thinking about buying a pair of “barefoot-running” shoes, like those introduced this week by Adidas, but wonder if they really live up to the hype? We asked our exercise experts what they think of the suddenly popular trend.

Men tend to pack on the pounds after getting divorced, women after getting married. That’s according to research presented this week at the American Sociological Association’s 106th Annual Meeting.