Women Health

Prohibiting runway models from participating in fashion shows or photo shoots if they are dangerously thin would go a long way toward preventing serious health problems among young women--including anorexia nervosa and death from starvation--according to experts from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In an editorial that will be published online December 21, 2015 in … [Read more...]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a ban on tanning bed use by those under 18. In 2013, a law was enacted in New Jersey banning those under the age of 17 from using tanning beds. Jerod L. Stapleton, PhD, is a behavioral scientist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, … [Read more...]

Poor diuretic response is associated with worse in-hospital and post-discharge clinical outcomes, results of the RELAX-AHF trial reveal. The study also found that serelaxin has a neutral effect on diuretic response. These novel data from the RELAX-AHF trial were presented by lead author Professor Adriaan A. Voors at the Heart Failure Congress 2014, held 17-20 May in Athens, … [Read more...]

Perhaps one of the keys to good health isn't just what you eat but how you taste it. Taste buds -- yes, the same ones you may blame for that sweet tooth or French fry craving -- may in fact have a powerful role in a long and healthy life -- at least for fruit flies, say two new studies that appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of … [Read more...]

The Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children Study, PANIC, carried out by the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland shows that low levels of physical activity combined with heavy use of electronic media and sedentary behavior are linked to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and vascular diseases already in 6-8 year-old children. The study was … [Read more...]

Women who use postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be at increased risk of acute pancreatitis, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Acute pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas, has symptoms that range from mild discomfort to severe, debilitating pain and may, in some cases, even lead to death. Although several … [Read more...]

Zinc supplements reduce diarrhea and other infections in malnourished children, and may prevent death, according to a new study published in The Cochrane Library. The study is the first Cochrane systematic review to focus on zinc as a means to prevent childhood death, including deaths caused by diarrhea, one of the biggest killers of under-fives. Zinc is a micronutrient with … [Read more...]

Weight loss due to dietary changes can improve sleepiness at any weight, says a study published by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania this month in the journal Sleep. The findings offer new insights into how weight fluctuations impact numerous aspects of sleep independent of body weight. Previous studies have linked obesity … [Read more...]

A new study in mice shows that exercise causes muscle to release a peptide that builds the muscle's capacity for energy production and increases physical endurance, allowing for longer and more intense exercise. The findings establish that the peptide, called musclin, is an "exercise factor" -- a hormone-like substance made by skeletal muscle in response to exercise and … [Read more...]

Centenarians show successful aging as they remain active and alert at very old ages. Scientists at Stanford University and the University of Bologna have begun to unravel the basis for longevity by finding genetic loci associated with extreme longevity. Previous work indicated that centenarians have health and diet habits similar to the average person, suggesting that … [Read more...]

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in ensuring appropriate bone density. Active individuals who enjoy participating in higher impact activities may need to maintain higher vitamin D levels to reduce their risk of stress fractures, report investigators in The Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery. The role of vitamin D in the body has recently become a subject of increasing … [Read more...]

A childhood family breakup can have long-term negative consequences for the children. Recent University of Illinois research looks at overall health, depression, and smoking as a health-related behavior and finds that, for girls, all three are worse. "Girls' health is more sensitive to family structure," says Andrea Beller, a U of I economist who studies educational … [Read more...]

The amygdala, a small structure at the front end of the brain's temporal lobe, has long been associated with negative behaviors generally, and specifically with fear. But new research from Michael Platt, the James S. Riepe University Professor in the psychology, neuroscience and marketing departments at the University of Pennsylvania, along with Steve Chang from Yale University … [Read more...]

Carbohydrates are the body's main energy source during high-intensity, prolonged running, a new study published in Journal of Applied Physiology reports. Muscles use carbohydrate and fat stored in the body as fuel during exercise, but the fuel sources differ in availability. Carbohydrates can be used immediately but have limited stores. Fats require additional processing … [Read more...]

The obese are advised to do physical exercise. But this can increase their physiological stress responses, and thereby make it more difficult to slim, according to a new Norwegian study. This research may provide an explanation for the difficulties which many people encounter in losing weight despite energetic keep-fit efforts. "It's often said obese people should change … [Read more...]

Pink Himalayan, Breton Gray and Hawaiian Alea – the newer offerings of salt may be exotic, cost more and frequent the shelves of high-end stores, but they are just as bad for you as common table salt. “Typically people opt for natural vs. processed to avoid preservatives such as sodium, but in this case, all salt is sodium,” says Ashley Barrient, clinical dietitian, Loyola … [Read more...]

Getting enough sleep is an essential part of any athlete's training programme, but a study in the Journal of Sports Sciences reveals intensive bouts of exercise can make it hard to get 40 winks.Suspecting that intense exercise can lead to sleep disturbance, scientists from Loughborough University studied the effects of two nine day periods of heavy training on 13 highly trained … [Read more...]

A recent cross-sectional study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham explored a new pathway between short sleep -- less than seven hours -- and obesity. Gabriel S. Tajeu, DrPH, a postdoctoral fellow in UAB's Department of Epidemiology, in collaboration with Bisakha Sen, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, … [Read more...]

A comparison of the genomes of polar bears and brown bears reveals that the polar bear is a much younger species than previously believed, having diverged from brown bears less than 500,000 years ago. The analysis also uncovered several genes that may be involved in the polar bears' extreme adaptations to life in the high Arctic. The species lives much of its life on sea … [Read more...]

A new study from the University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) finds childhood poverty reaches into the lives of white, Hispanic and African-American young adult women, contributing to their propensity to be overweight and obese. "We know that having a low socioeconomic status during childhood contributes to children being overweight or obese," … [Read more...]

Dieters are more likely to read and understand food labels than people who aren't dieting. This is the finding of a study by Audrey Spencer from Lancaster University to be presented today, Thursday 8 May 2014, at the British Psychological Society annual conference hosted at the Birmingham International Convention Centre. Some 255 participants completed questionnaires on … [Read more...]

Ensuring teenagers know exactly how overweight they are encourages them to adopt a healthier lifestyle, but in practice many fail to follow this through. These are the findings of a study by PhD psychology student Julia Fredrickson, Dr Peter Kremer and Professor Marita McCabe from Deakin University, Australia that will be presented today, Thursday 8 May, at the British … [Read more...]

The anti-hormone therapy tamoxifen can reduce breast cancer recurrence by about half in women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. But it works better in some women than others. Researchers are not sure why. "We do know that some tumors are inherently resistant to tamoxifen because of tumor genetic changes," says Daniel L. Hertz, Pharm.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in … [Read more...]

Adjusting a specific deep-brain circuit's firing frequency immediately and dramatically alters rats' forebrain activity and alertness levels, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have shown. The findings, to be published online Dec. 10 in eLife, hold direct implications for an increasingly widespread therapeutic approach called deep-brain stimulation. They … [Read more...]

Researchers at the University of Warwick have worked with Coventry-based Medherant, a Warwick spinout company, to produce and patent the World's first ever ibuprofen patch delivering the drug directly through skin to exactly where it is needed at a consistent dose rate. They have invented a transparent adhesive patch that can consistently deliver a prolonged high dose of the … [Read more...]

Change your attitude. Change your behavior. Change your brain. Discussing the costs of pursuing the unrealistic thin beauty ideal reduces valuation of this idea. Scientists at Oregon Research Institute (ORI) have published unique research results indicating that a brief dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program (Body Project) alters how young women's brains respond … [Read more...]

People who are exposed to higher levels of cadmium have an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Cadmium also affects the kidneys. A doctoral thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy explored this issue in a study of over 900 older men. We are exposed to low levels of the heavy metal cadmium, daily. This occurs primarily through food, but smokers are also exposed from cigarette … [Read more...]

Researchers are only beginning to understand the implications of disrupted sleep in people with epilepsy. Recent findings suggest that seizure-interrupted sleep could impede memory formation, impair cognitive performance and influence a myriad of other aspects of daily life. Four studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 69th Annual Meeting unveil previously … [Read more...]