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A Healthier Alternative For Kids? Water

April 8, 2011 by ·

Childhood obesity is on the rise and along with it a host of health consequences previously unheard of in children, including Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Though laudable policies and regulations for school meals are springing into place to counteract this alarming trend, they may be overlooking the most obvious solution — water.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated that almost one in five children is obese. A study by Connecticut’s Department of Public Health found that over one-quarter of the state’s high school students are overweight or obese. And it isn’t that these children are oblivious to their plight; around a third of Connecticut’s high school students consider themselves to be overweight and nearly half expressed a desire to lose weight.

The consequences are troubling: the state health department says that 60 percent of overweight children have at least one risk factor for heart disease. Furthermore, Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, the director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, expressed concern about the increasing prevalence of Type II diabetes in children that was “formerly considered a disease in adults.” Almost half of the newly diagnosed pediatric cases of diabetes are now Type II, a significant increase from 4 percent in 1997. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health & Fitness, Research & Study ·

Obesity Kills More People Than AIDS

March 20, 2011 by ·

Obesity kills more people than AIDS and is emerging as a serious threat, health experts said.

Shashank Joshi, president of the governing council of the All India Association of Advanced Research in Obesity (AIAARO), said obesity was not a new problem in India.

Speaking on Obesity in 2011, on the first day of the two-day national conference, the expert said that obesity was described in the ancient Indian texts such as the ‘Charak Samhita’. The health condition was emerging as a serious threat with 24 million people in India being obese.

”The Indian population is at a special risk because of the tendency to develop central obesity. The ‘thin fat Asian Indian phenotype’ is now well established,” said Joshi adding that Indians had a higher proportion of fat in their body composition and more so in the abdominal area.

”Obesity kills more people than AIDS and often underlines problems such as diabetes and heart diseases. It is also associated with accelerated ageing,” he added. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care, Lifestyle ·

Turn Veggie, Prevent Chronic Diseases

March 19, 2011 by ·

Well planned vegetarian diets are healthy and nutritious for all age groups and help prevent heart diseases, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

Winston Craig, professor of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University, and Reed Mangels, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group , Baltimore, conducted the study on behalf of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

“Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fibre, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids,” the study said.

These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet, said an ADA release. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Food, Health, Research & Study ·

Shobha Shukla: Thin Is Not Healthy And Neither Is Fat

March 14, 2011 by ·

Close on the heels of International Women’s Day 2011, comes the news of a path breaking research which puts the onus of a healthy generation on women. The research, by scientists from the University of Cambridge, provides important insight into why children born to mothers who consumed an unhealthy diet during pregnancy have an increased risk of health problems later in life. According to this research, poor diet can lead to abnormal development of the pancreatic beta cells which make insulin, the hormone vital for regulating blood sugar levels. This can trigger diabetes in adulthood as the cells “wear out” sooner than usual, said Susan Ozanne of the University of Cambridge, co-leader of the team.

“Having a healthy well-balanced diet any time in your life is important for your health,” she said, “but a healthy well-balanced diet during pregnancy is particularly important because of the impact on the baby long-term and potentially even on the grandchildren as well.”

The warning comes after research found that rats that had poor nutrition during pregnancy gave birth to young with a high risk of type 2 diabetes, an illness that typically strikes in middle age. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health & Fitness ·

Lymph Node Study Shakes Pillar of Breast Cancer Care

February 9, 2011 by ·

A new study finds that many women with early breast cancer do not need a painful procedure that has long been routine: removal of cancerous lymph nodes from the armpit.

The discovery turns standard medical practice on its head. Surgeons have been removing lymph nodes from under the arms of breast cancer patients for 100 years, believing it would prolong women’s lives by keeping the cancer from spreading or coming back.

Now, researchers report that for women who meet certain criteria — about 20 percent of patients, or 40,000 women a year in the United States — taking out cancerous nodes has no advantage. It does not change the treatment plan, improve survival or make the cancer less likely to recur. And it can cause complications like infection and lymphedema, a chronic swelling in the arm that ranges from mild to disabling. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care, Humanities ·

Humans Beware: Dog kisses Can Lead To Diseases

February 8, 2011 by ·

They give you joy. They give you loyalty. They give you sloppy kisses.

But before you allow Fido or Fluffy to climb into bed with you at night, as an increasing number of Americans are doing, know that they can also give you something else: zoonoses.

A University of California-Davis veterinary professor has penned an article for a scientific journal showing that people who allow their pets to lick them, give them “kisses” or sleep with them are at risk for a variety of diseases known as zoonoses. The conditions can range from the mundane to the life-threatening.

Bruno Chomel and his co-author, Ben Sun, emphasize that pets provide many health benefits, including stress relief, and they stop short of recommending that people abstain from smooching their pooches. But in reviewing reports from several countries, they argue that such interactions carry some risk, particularly among infants and people whose immune systems have been weakened by disease, chemotherapy or other medicines. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health, Pets ·

Cut Way Back On Salt, U.S. Urges

February 1, 2011 by ·

For the millions of Americans who love their salt-laden potato chips, french fries and fast food, the news might be hard to digest.

The federal government on Monday unveiled its new dietary guidelines, including among its recommendations that people who are age 51 or older, are African American or who have hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease limit their daily sodium The rest of the population should consume less than 2,300 milligrams daily — just two-thirds of what the average American currently consumes.

“We know if we want to become a healthier, stronger, more competitive country, we need to give Americans the tools they need to make healthier choices,” said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, in announcing the guidelines in Washington, D.C.

The guidelines are a joint effort from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, updated every five years to promote healthy nutrition choices and disease prevention nationwide. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care ·