Health
and Fitness Tips*
Provided periodically ... check back for new information
October 1, 2011
1. U.S. adults consume an average of 22.2 teaspoons of sugar daily, equivalent to 355 calories, which is more than double the approximately 9.4 teaspoons recommended for men and 6.25 teaspoons for women, according to data from a food industry analyst. The American Heart Association says a high-sugar diet is linked to obesity, elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
2. Even normal-weight people with belly fat and heart disease have an increased risk of death compared to folks whose fat is concentrated elsewhere, a large, new study reports. A "beer belly" or "muffin top" is as significant a risk factor as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having very high blood cholesterol, the study said. And the risk is greater for men. That spare tire is even more significant than your overall body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) in predicting risk of death.
3. A new U.S. survey finds that nine out of 10 college-age adults think they're living a healthy lifestyle, even as experts warn that that's not the case and current lifestyles will have consequences for health down the road. In fact, too much fast food, too much alcohol and too many sugary drinks are putting people aged 18 to 24 at increased risk for heart disease and stroke, say experts at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
4. Treating patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) costs the United States an estimated $26 billion more per year than treating patients without AF, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.
5. A new study has found a direct association between using cotton swabs to clean the ears and ruptured eardrums. The good news is that almost all of the cases of ruptured eardrums healed without surgery, the researchers pointed out.
6. The number of heart patients getting bypass surgery fell by nearly 40 percent between 2001 and 2008, new U.S. research finds. The drop likely reflects several factors, including a decline in smoking rates, which has led to less coronary artery disease. Also, better and more aggressive treatment of coronary artery disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, means fewer patients progress to needing surgery. Another factor is that many patients with blocked arteries instead undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also called balloon angioplasty, in which a doctor threads a catheter into the artery and inflates a balloon at the tip.
7. Nearly 15 percent of people who have a stroke are not eligible for clot-busting treatment because the stroke happened while they slept, a new study reports. Clot-busting drugs can prevent permanent disability after a stroke - but the treatment must be given within a four-and-a-half-hour window after the stroke symptoms begin. Since people who have a stroke while asleep can't know when it occurred, they can't get the treatment if they slept for more than four and a half hours.
8. Seniors can undergo weight-loss surgery without any worse side effects than younger people experience, new research shows. "Age did not seem to be a significant predictor for mortality or major adverse events, but it did predict a longer period of hospital stay," researchers said.
9. Experts found that aerobic exercise, alone or with resistance training, improved glycemic control and triglyceride and blood pressure levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The meta-analysis in Diabetes Care suggests that aerobic exercise could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes.
10, A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that women were more than three times as likely to be obese if their close friends were obese, even when they had differing views about body size. The findings suggest that shared social behaviors, environments and activities may influence obesity in social networks more than shared social norms.
Provided periodically ... check back for new information
October 1, 2011
1. U.S. adults consume an average of 22.2 teaspoons of sugar daily, equivalent to 355 calories, which is more than double the approximately 9.4 teaspoons recommended for men and 6.25 teaspoons for women, according to data from a food industry analyst. The American Heart Association says a high-sugar diet is linked to obesity, elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
2. Even normal-weight people with belly fat and heart disease have an increased risk of death compared to folks whose fat is concentrated elsewhere, a large, new study reports. A "beer belly" or "muffin top" is as significant a risk factor as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having very high blood cholesterol, the study said. And the risk is greater for men. That spare tire is even more significant than your overall body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) in predicting risk of death.
3. A new U.S. survey finds that nine out of 10 college-age adults think they're living a healthy lifestyle, even as experts warn that that's not the case and current lifestyles will have consequences for health down the road. In fact, too much fast food, too much alcohol and too many sugary drinks are putting people aged 18 to 24 at increased risk for heart disease and stroke, say experts at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
4. Treating patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) costs the United States an estimated $26 billion more per year than treating patients without AF, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.
5. A new study has found a direct association between using cotton swabs to clean the ears and ruptured eardrums. The good news is that almost all of the cases of ruptured eardrums healed without surgery, the researchers pointed out.
6. The number of heart patients getting bypass surgery fell by nearly 40 percent between 2001 and 2008, new U.S. research finds. The drop likely reflects several factors, including a decline in smoking rates, which has led to less coronary artery disease. Also, better and more aggressive treatment of coronary artery disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, means fewer patients progress to needing surgery. Another factor is that many patients with blocked arteries instead undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also called balloon angioplasty, in which a doctor threads a catheter into the artery and inflates a balloon at the tip.
7. Nearly 15 percent of people who have a stroke are not eligible for clot-busting treatment because the stroke happened while they slept, a new study reports. Clot-busting drugs can prevent permanent disability after a stroke - but the treatment must be given within a four-and-a-half-hour window after the stroke symptoms begin. Since people who have a stroke while asleep can't know when it occurred, they can't get the treatment if they slept for more than four and a half hours.
8. Seniors can undergo weight-loss surgery without any worse side effects than younger people experience, new research shows. "Age did not seem to be a significant predictor for mortality or major adverse events, but it did predict a longer period of hospital stay," researchers said.
9. Experts found that aerobic exercise, alone or with resistance training, improved glycemic control and triglyceride and blood pressure levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The meta-analysis in Diabetes Care suggests that aerobic exercise could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes.
10, A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that women were more than three times as likely to be obese if their close friends were obese, even when they had differing views about body size. The findings suggest that shared social behaviors, environments and activities may influence obesity in social networks more than shared social norms.
*These tips, although from reliable sources, are not meant as a substitute for professional medical advice.