| RECENT
STORIES |
Research Yields Fitness Motivation Tips for a Healthy New Year
As the
weather chills and the economy starts getting back into shape, many
wannabe exercisers hope to invest in themselves by becoming healthier
in 2010.
|
Global Tobacco Report Outlines 21 Challenges for 21st Century
A new
American Cancer Society report outlines 21 challenges and needs for
global tobaccocontrol, covering the wide range of issues to be
addressed and expertise needed to reduce the rising tide of tobacco use
worldwide, particularly in the low- and middle-income nations that are
the target of the multinational tobacco industry.
|
Can Playing Active Video Games Equal Moderate Intensity Exercise?
Active
Wii
sports™ video games and some Wii fit™ activities
may
increase adults' energy expenditure as much as moderately intense
exercise, according to research presented at the American Heart
Association's Scientific Sessions 2009.
|
Obesity Will Snuff out Health Benefits Gained by Smoking Declines
If
obesity
trends continue, the negative effect on the health of the U.S.
population will overtake the benefits gained from declining smoking
rates, according to a study by University of Michigan (U-M) and Harvard
researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
|
ACSM Survey Predicts 2010 Fitness Trends
A
lasting
trend is developing in health and fitness, according to an American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) survey published in the
November/December issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness
Journal®. The importance of experienced and educated fitness
professionals remains the top predicted fitness trend for the third
straight year.
|
Consumers Should Exercise Caution on Fitness Machine Claims, Expert
Says
Many
exercise equipment advertisers make bold claims about their
products’ benefits – claims that should be taken
with a grain of salt, according to an expert in the September/October
issue of a journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
|
Pain In The Neck: Too Much Texting Could Lead To Overuse Injuries
The
world record for fastest text message typing is held by a 21-year old
college student from Utah, but his dexterous digits could mean serious
injury later on. Most adults aged 18-21 prefer texting over e-mail or
phone calls, and ergonomics researchers are starting to wonder whether
it's putting the younger generation at risk for some overuse injuries
– once reserved for older adults who have spent years in
front of a computer.
|
Three Killer Indicators Identified That Are Even Worse Than High
Cholesterol
Researchers
at the University of Warwick have identified a particular combination
of health problems that can double the risk of heart attack and cause a
three-fold increase in the risk of mortality.
|
Heart Attack Myth: Women Do Have Same The Heart Attack Symptoms As Men,
Study Shows
The
gender
difference between men and women is a lot smaller than we've been led
to believe when it comes to heart attack symptoms, according to a new
study presented to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted
by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular
Society.
|
Protect Against Colds with Exercise
As
the
weather turns colder, the noses turn runnier – but incidence
of
colds can be greatly reduced by making exercise a part of daily life,
according to an expert from the American College of Sports Medicine.
|
Majority of Americans not Meeting Recommendations for Fruit and
Vegetable Consumption
No
U.S. state
is meeting national objectives for consumption of fruits and
vegetables, according to the first report to provide state-by-state
data about fruit and vegetable consumption and policies that may help
Americans eat more fruits and vegetables.
|
Friendship Influences Eating Behavior, Particularly When Friends Are
Overweight
A
new study
of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social
factors, such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at
greater risk of overeating.
|
Social Stress Linked To Harmful Fat Deposits, Heart Disease
A
new study done by researchers at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine shows that social stress could be an important precursor to
heart disease by causing the body to deposit more fat in the abdominal
cavity, speeding the harmful buildup of plaque in blood vessels, a
stepping stone to the number one cause of death in the world.
|
Sedentary Lives Can Be Deadly: Physical Inactivity Poses Greatest
Health Risk To Americans, Expert Says
As
many as 50
million Americans are living sedentary lives, putting them at increased
risk of health problems and even early death, a leading expert in
exercise science told the American Psychological Association.
|
Meal Replacements Aid Weight Loss, Study Finds
Meal
replacements in a medically supervised weight loss program are
successful in facilitating weight loss, according to a new study
conducted at the University of Kentucky. The study appears in the
August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
|
Healthy Lifestyle Habits May Be Associated With Reduced Risk Of Chronic
Disease
Four
healthy lifestyle factors—never smoking, maintaining a
healthy weight, exercising regularly and following a healthy
diet—together appear to be associated with as much as an 80
percent reduction in the risk of developing the most common and deadly
chronic diseases, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of
Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
|
Regular Yoga Practice Is Associated With Mindful Eating
Regular
yoga
practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat
mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by
researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
|
Links Between Video-game Playing And Health Risks In Adults Found
Your
home
harbors a surprising number of sneaky allergy-causing culprits. Here's
where they're hiding, and how to send them packing.
|
10 Tips To Allergy-Proof Your Home For Fall
Your
home
harbors a surprising number of sneaky allergy-causing culprits. Here's
where they're hiding, and how to send them packing.
|
FDA Panel Moves to Decrease Painkiller Dosage
Government
experts say the maximum dose listed for Tylenol and dozens of other
painkillers should be reduced to help curb deadly overdoses.
|
The Office Can Help Make You Fat
Unhealthy
snacks lingering around the company office are derailing employees'
efforts to stay healthy, a U.S. study finds.
|
Coffee Can Lessen the Pain of Exercise
Caffeine
eases after effects of athletic exertion, new study suggests.
|
Interactive Video Games Help Meet Exercise Recommendations
Interactive
video games – such those played on the Nintendo Wii
– may
raise heart rate and provide exercise intensity levels high enough to
meet federal physical activity guidelines, according to a pair studies
presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM)
Annual Meeting.
|
How To Text Message And Avoid Sore Thumbs, Neck And Hands
While
it is
well known that excessive text messaging can result in sore thumbs,
less is known about its possible effects on the neck, arms and hands.
Young adults with symptoms in these parts of the body use a different
technique when texting, according to a study at the Sahlgrenska
Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
|
Cancer Screening Fear Is Fueled By Lack Of Information, Major Study Of
Women's Attitudes Finds
Fear
plays a
major role in whether women decide to go for cancer screening or not,
but healthcare providers underestimate how much women need to know and
wrongly assume that they will ask for information if they want it.
|
Summer Safety Tips
Take
extra
care at your Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations this year, to
ensure that accidents do not interfere with summer fun. Dr. Roger Yurt,
director of the Hearst Burn Center of NewYork-Presbyterian
Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, recommends the following safety
tips to avoid burns from barbecues, fireworks, and other routine
activities that can pose a hazard this season.
|
Routine Diabetes Screenings Could Cut Healthcare Costs
Screening
adults for diabetes could result in significant cost-savings for health
care systems compared to the costs of not screening individuals at all.
|
Computer-Based Smoking Cessation Programs Work
Trying
to
quit cigarettes but don't know how? A new analysis led by researchers
at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health,
suggests that Web- and computer-based smoking cessation programs are
worth a try, and fortunately during these tough economic times, many of
them are free.
|
In U.S., Nearly Half Exercise Less Than Three Days a Week
Americans
who are exercising experience more happiness and less stress
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index finds that only about one in
four Americans (27%) are getting 30 minutes of exercise five or more
days per week. Another 24% report exercising for at least 30 minutes on
three or four of the last seven days, while nearly half (49%) report
exercising for at least 30 minutes less than three days per week.
|
Sleep May Be Factor In Weight Control
Could
sleep
be a critical component to maintaining a healthy body weight? According
to new research to be presented on at the American Thoracic Society's
105th International Conference, body mass index (BMI) is linked to
length and quality of sleep in a surprisingly consistent fashion.
|
Stay in the Game This Summer with R.I.C.E.
The
summer is
fast approaching and sports players will soon fill the courts, fields,
greens and trails looking to get back in shape and practice their game.
However, this also means there are plenty of opportunities for cuts and
bruises, ankle sprains, muscle strains, and knee injuries, to name a
few.
|
Smoking And High Blood Pressure Each Account For One In Five Deaths In
US Adults
Smoking,
high
blood pressure and being overweight are the leading preventable risk
factors for premature mortality in the United States, according to a
new study led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health
(HSPH), with collaborators from the University of Toronto and the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of
Washington.
|
Health Tools to Guide You Through Your Vacation
There
are
millions of vacation destinations to visit this summer and thousands of
sights to see, but there is one surefire way to ruin your trip
—
getting sick. Although you may not be thinking about viruses and
bacterial infections when you plan your trip, there are a few nasty
bugs you should be aware of as you pack your bags.
|
'Good' Energy Burning Fat In Lean Adults
Researchers
at the Joslin Diabetes Center have demonstrated that adult humans still
have a type of "good" fat previously believed to be present only in
babies and children. Unlike white fat, which stores energy and
comprises most body fat, this good fat, called brown fat, is active in
burning calories and using energy. The finding, reported in the April
9th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, could pave the way
for new treatments both for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
|
Consuming A Little Less Salt Could Mean Fewer Deaths
For
every
gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a
million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths
would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart
Association’s 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular
Disease
Epidemiology and Prevention.
|
Healthy Food Availability Could Depend On Where You Live, As Does The
Quality Of Your Diet
The
availability of healthy food choices and your quality of diet is
associated with where you live, according to two studies conducted by
researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Researchers examined healthy food availability and diet quality among
Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Md., residents and found that
availability of healthy foods was associated with quality of diet and
46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods had a low availability of
healthy foods.
|
U.S. Cancer Screening Trial Shows No Early Mortality Benefit from
Annual Prostate Cancer Screening
Six
annual
screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease,
but no fewer prostate cancer deaths, according to a major new report
from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer
Screening Trial, a 17-year project of the National Cancer Institute
(NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The PLCO was designed
to provide answers about the effectiveness of prostate cancer
screening.
|
Moderate Intensity Walking Means 100 Steps Per Minute
The
benefits
of moderate physical activity to general health and well-being are well
known. It is recommended that people engage in 150 minutes per week of
moderate intensity physical activity, equivalent to 30 minutes each day
5 times a week. Although pedometers are widely used as a physical
activity monitoring tool, they are unable to measure activity
intensity.
|
An Angry Heart Can Lead To Sudden Death
Before
flying
off the handle the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, consider
the latest research that links changes brought on by anger or other
strong emotions to future arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrests, which
are blamed for 400,000 deaths annually.
|
Unhealthy Lifestyle More Than Doubles Stroke Risk
People
who
lead unhealthy lifestyles are more than twice as likely to suffer a
stroke than thosewho eat and drink sensibly, don't smoke, and take
regular exercise, finds a study published on the British Medical
Journal website.
|
Heart-healthy, Low-cal Diets Promote Weight Loss Regardless Of Fat,
Protein And Carb Content
Heart-healthy
diets that reduce calorie intake—regardless of differing
proportions of fat, protein, or carbohydrate—can help
overweight
and obese adults achieve and maintain weight loss, according to a study
funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the
National Institutes of Health.
|
Unexplained Chest Pain Can Be Due To Stress
Each
year,
many people seek emergency treatment for unexplained chest pains. A
thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden,
indicates several common factors among those affected, including stress
at work, anxiety, depression and a sedentary lifestyle.
|
Physical Activity Levels Change with the Seasons
Study
shows
women work out more in summer, less in winter. Adverse weather and
seasonal changes can be significant roadblocks on the path to a healthy
lifestyle, suggests a study published in the February 2009 issue
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
|
February is American Heart Month: Heart Disease is the Number One Cause
of Death
Heart
disease
is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause
of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is
coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2009,
an estimated 785,000 Americans will have a new coronary attack, and
about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an
American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will
die from one.
|
ACSM Position Stand on Physical Activity and Weight Loss Now Available
The
American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has published its Position Stand
"Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss
and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults," updating its previous
guidelines, particularly as it relates to the increased levels of
physical activity that may be necessary for prevention of weight gain,
for weight loss and for prevention of weight regain.
|
Try Potassium Reduce Blood Pressure
Most
people
know that too much sodium from foods can increase blood pressure. A new
study suggests that people trying to lower their blood pressure should
also boost their intake of potassium, which has the opposite effect to
sodium.
|
Americans Owe Five Months Of Their Lives To Cleaner Air
A
new study by researchers at Brigham Young University and Harvard School
of Public Health shows that average life expectancy in 51 U.S. cities
increased nearly three years over recent decades, and approximately
five months of that increase came thanks to cleaner air.
|
Women Cannot Control Their Hunger As Well As Men, Study Shows
A
brain-imaging study at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory shows that men, but not women, are able
to control their brain's response to their own favorite
foods. The study, which will be published online by the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences the week of Jan 19, may help explain
why rates of obesity and eating disorders are higher among women than
men, and why women typically have more difficulty losing weight.
|
Physical Activity May Not Be Key To Obesity Epidemic
A
recent
international study fails to support the common belief that the number
of calories burned in physical activity is a key factor in rising rates
of obesity.
|
Nicotine Gum Effective For Gradual Smoking Reduction And Cessation
Nicotine
gum has been in use for over 20 years to help smokers quit abruptly yet
close to two-thirds of smokers report that they would prefer to quit
gradually. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare have now found that smokers who are
trying to quit gradually can also be helped by nicotine gum.
|
Skipping Sleep May Signal Problems For Coronary Arteries
A
new study
from the psychology department at Tufts University found that when
dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more
poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but
maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition
skills returned to normal.
|