No End To Obesity Epidemic, 20-Year Forecast Shows

May 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

More bad news about Americans’ waistlines. The obesity epidemic may be slowing, but the number of obese adults is likely to keep going up.

Today, just over a third of U.S. adults are obese. By 2030, 42 percent will be, says a forecast released Monday.

That’s not nearly as many as experts had predicted before the once-rapid rises in obesity rates began levelling off. But the new forecast suggests even small continuing increases will add up.

“We still have a very serious problem,” said obesity specialist Dr. William Dietz of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. [Read more...]

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Decoding The Diabetic Diet

May 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

A crucial tool in controlling diabetes is being vigilant about what you put in your mouth. But, some experts say, you don’t have to be a slave to the glycemic index or banish cake and ice cream forever.

The primary goal for diabetics is to regulate their blood glucose (sugar) levels because they can’t rely on their bodies to naturally produce enough insulin, the hormone that shuttles glucose from the bloodstream into cells. With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops making insulin, while with Type 2, the pancreas progressively makes less and less insulin or the body has difficulty using it (known as insulin resistance).

Left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to long-term organ damage, resulting sometimes in heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney failure, foot amputation or death, studies show. [Read more...]

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Dental Care Essential To Maintaining Health

May 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

At every age, a trip to the dentist is important. Having all your teeth pulled and wearing dentures and plates is no fun and most importantly, readily preventable

Thanks to improved dental care, fluoride in water, and more healthful lifestyles, dental cavities are less common and many more Americans are able to keep their natural teeth throughout their lives.

Sadly, 108 million Americans do not have dental insurance, and those covered by public programs rarely get the care they need. Federal law requires that every person eligible for Medicaid receive adequate dental care. [Read more...]

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New Study: Health Effects of Sleep Apnea Evident After One Month

May 7, 2012 by ·

It’s an interesting time in the world of sleep apnea research, a disorder in which a person has periods of slow or paused breathing during sleep. It seems that every month there is a new study showing yet another link between sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, paused breathing, etc.), and its negative effects on health.

Recent studies have linked obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to depression, silent strokes and small brain lesions, abnormalities in the blood vessels, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes, even sudden hearing loss. And women take note: Sleep apnea has been linked to dementia in older women, and another observational study found that women with untreated severe OSA are 3.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women without OSA! [Read more...]

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Beach Body Basics: Slim Down For Memorial Day With These Fat-burning Moves

May 6, 2012 by ·

Does the thought of baring it all at the beach in just three weeks make you break out in a cold sweat?

Don’t throw in the towel just yet, ladies. There’s still time to get your body swimsuit-ready so that you can hit the surf with confidence on Memorial Day.

Celebrity trainer Jeff Halevy, founder of Halevy Life fitness center, specializes in rapid fat burn.

“Crash diets and crash exercise routines are terrible,” he says, reminding readers to consult their doctors before starting any diet or exercise program. “But if your goal is fat loss and trying to do it in a way that is healthy, these guidelines will be very helpful.” [Read more...]

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Less Sleep May Lead To Weight Gain

May 5, 2012 by ·

People who don’t get enough sleep may also eat too much and thus be more likely to become obese, a new study reveals.

This study also found that those who slept less didn’t burn additional calories.

“We tested whether lack of sleep altered the levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, increased the amount of food people ate, and affected energy burned through activity,” said Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., study author and professor of medicine and cardiovascular disease at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.. Leptin and ghrelin are associated with appetite. [Read more...]

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Overdue Babies ‘Twice As Likely To Develop ADHD In Early Childhood’

May 4, 2012 by ·

Babies who spend too long in the womb are twice as likely to suffer behavioural problems in early childhood, researchers have warned.

The added risk is similar to that of being born prematurely, which is known to cause health and emotional problems.

The first study of its kind found that babies born after a pregnancy of 42 weeks were twice as likely to have long-term problems compared with those born after about 40 weeks – the normal length of a pregnancy.

The findings will increase calls for women to be offered induction methods or a caesarean if their pregnancy becomes prolonged.

The researchers, from the Netherlands, say the results may be due to the placenta failing to provide sufficient nutrients and oxygen after 40 weeks. [Read more...]

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