Health Initiatives Blog

Obesity Linked to Heart Failure Risk

2009-04-13T16:16:00.000-04:00

Swedish studies add heart failure to the list of cardiac problems linked to overweight and obesity. That report gave results of two studies, one of 36,873 Swedish women and one of 43,487 Swedish men, who were followed for six years and tracked for body-mass index (BMI) and the incidence of heart failure. Overweight is defined as a BMI between 25 and 30, and obesity as a BMI of 30 or higher. By that definition, 34 percent of the women in the study were overweight and 11 percent were obese, while 46 percent of the men were overweight and 10 percent were obese. More...

Study: Nearly 20% of American children are obese

2009-04-13T16:13:00.000-04:00

Almost one in five of all American 4-year-olds are obese, and some 31% of American Indian children and more than 20% of black and Hispanic children are obese, a study found. Researchers said the high rate of obesity was a concern for such a young population. More...

Obesity Boosts Gum Disease Risk

2009-04-13T16:10:00.002-04:00

Data from a study that followed some 37,000 men for 16 years showed obese adults had a 29% higher risk of periodontal disease than those at normal weight. The researchers also said men with a waist of 40 inches or more had a 19% higher risk of gum disease. A second study by the team found men and women with an elevated waist-to-hip ratio were almost six more likely to have gum disease than those without an elevated waist-to-hip ratio. More....

Multivitamin tests show varying levels of ingredients

2009-04-13T16:06:00.000-04:00

A report from ConsumerLab.com found that more than 30% of multivitamins tested had significantly more or less of an ingredient than claimed. Some had ingredient levels that exceeded tolerable upper limits for health safety, the report found. The tests also found that some of the multivitamins were contaminated with lead. More...

Study: Children get too few fruits, veggies

2009-04-06T10:56:00.000-04:00

Researchers found that children consume an average of two cups of fruits, vegetables or juices per day, which is at the bottom of the recommended range. French fries account for about 25% of vegetable consumption, while juices make up 40% of fruit intake. More...

Study: Obesity can take 10 years off a person's life

2009-04-06T10:54:00.000-04:00

British researchers analyzed 57 studies that followed almost 1 million people for an average of 10 to 15 years and found death rates were lowest for those with a body-mass index of 23 to 24. Those with a BMI of 30 to 35 lost about three years of life, and people with a BMI above 40 lost about 10 years from their expected life spans. More...

Studies question risks, benefits of PSA screening

2009-04-06T10:42:00.000-04:00

A 10-year U.S. study of 77,000 men found a higher number of deaths among men assigned to annual prostate-specific antigen screening compared to controls, though researchers said more work was needed to determine if the difference was due to chance. A second study in Europe of 182,000 men found PSA screening reduced the risk of death by 20%. One U.S. researcher said the aggressive treatment of prostate tumors that often grow very slowly can be of little benefit but could harm men by causing impotence, incontinence and even death. More...

Red meat consumption tied to shorter life span

2009-04-06T10:39:00.000-04:00

A U.S. National Cancer Institute study found men and women who ate the highest amount of red meat had an increased risk of dying from any cause -- 31% and 36%, respectively -- compared with people who ate the least amount of red meat. Researchers also found that 11% of men's lives and 16% of women's lives could be saved by reducing meat consumption to the amount eaten by the bottom 20% in the study. More...

Study: Americans fear diabetes, but don't fight it

2009-04-06T10:38:00.000-04:00

The majority of Americans fear developing diabetes, a survey found. But many don't talk to their doctors or change unhealthy behaviors that could lead to the disease. More...

CDC: American salt consumption dangerously high

2009-04-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

Americans are at greater risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes because they consume twice the recommended amount of salt, according to CDC researchers. The study found that almost 70% of adults are in high-risk groups that would benefit from reduced salt intake. More...

Physicians see major rise in kidney stones in children

2009-04-03T15:42:00.000-04:00

U.S. physicians are seeing more pediatric patients with painful kidney stones, usually an adult problem. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is seeing almost five children a week with kidney stones, up from about 10 a year in 2005. Doctors say the increase may be linked to children's love of salty foods. More...

Task force calls for teens to be screened for depression

2009-04-03T15:41:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is recommending routine screening of all American teenagers for depression. The panel says nearly 2 million teens suffer from depression and most are undiagnosed and untreated. More...

Study finds one-third of EMS stethoscopes infected with MRSA

2009-04-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

A new study found that 16 of the 50 stethoscopes used by emergency medical service providers who visited a New Jersey hospital over a 24-hour period were contaminated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The finding shows that MRSA can be acquired even before patients reach the hospital, the study author said. More....

Sweetened beverages linked to increased heart risks in women

2009-04-03T15:37:00.001-04:00

Data on 88,520 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study showed those who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day increased their heart disease risk by about 35%. Artificially sweetened drinks did not appear to increase heart disease risk, the study found. More....

Survey finds preventive health care for teens lacking

2009-04-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

A U.S. survey that included almost 8,500 youngsters ages 10 to 17 found only 38% had seen a health care provider for a preventive health visit in the past year. The data also showed only 10% of youngsters were counseled by health care professionals on all six preventive health issues included in the survey: dental care, healthy eating, regular exercise, wearing a seat belt, wearing a bicycle helmet and exposure to secondhand smoke. More...

Screening often fails to find early ovarian cancer

2009-04-03T15:15:00.001-04:00

Yearly ultrasound and CA 125 blood tests fail to diagnose most early cases of ovarian cancer, researchers reported. Their study of nearly 35,000 women found the screening identified 60 of 89 diagnosed cancers but 72% of those detected were already at an advanced stage. The data, which is consistent with other study results, showed the screenings also led to unnecessary biopsies and other surgical procedures. More...

NIH study: Calories, not content, determine weight loss

2009-02-27T10:19:00.000-05:00

A two-year NIH study found that cutting calories, through diet and exercise, is the key to achieving weight loss, rather than any particular diet approach, such as low-fat or low-carb. The lead researcher said restricting calories can allow for more food choices and less monotony in a diet, but the trick is finding a healthy balance of foods and sticking with the plan. More...

Study: Early menopause doubles risk of stroke

2009-02-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

Women who go through menopause before age 42 have a doubled risk of ischemic stroke, researchers reported. They said between 4% and 5% of all strokes in women could be attributed to early menopause. The link between early menopause and stroke is not clear but may be due to lower estrogen levels associated with menopause, the lead researcher said. More...

About 25% of Americans get food poisoning every year

2009-02-24T09:45:00.000-05:00

Up to 1 in 4 people in the U.S. suffer from food poisoning each year, although few of these cases are linked to major outbreaks such as the recent salmonella-peanut scare, according to the CDC. More...

"Silent strokes" more common than thought in middle-age adults

2009-02-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

A five-year study found so-called silent strokes, which often have no symptoms, may be at least five times more common than regular strokes for people under age 65. The research, part of the Framingham Heart Study, also showed silent strokes were not uncommon in people younger than 50. More...

Young adults not getting healthier, federal report shows

2009-02-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

By most measures, young adults are no healthier than they were 15 years ago, and in the case of obesity, they are less healthy. A National Center for Health Statistics report shows that about one-third of adults 18 to 29 are obese, one-third are overweight, 30% don't have health insurance, and among men almost one-third smoke and a quarter binge-drink. More...

Newborn screening now mandated across the U.S.

2009-02-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

A March of Dimes report said all 50 states and the District of Columbia now have laws or regulations requiring newborns be screened for at least 21 disorders. That is an improvement over just four years ago, the report said, when only one in three U.S. infants were born in states that mandated testing. More...

Majority of patients hospitalized with CAD at guideline-recommended LDL targets

2009-02-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

"There have been modest improvements in LDL-cholesterol levels over time," lead investigator Dr Gregg Fonarow (University of California Los Angeles Medical Center) told heartwire. "One of the major findings of this study that should serve as a wake-up call for anyone interested in reducing death and disability due to cardiovascular disease is that nearly 75% of patients having first ACS events had LDL levels below 130 mg/dL, and nearly 50% had LDL levels below 100 mg/dL." More...

2 cans of soda daily raise kidney disease risk in women

2009-02-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

A study of more than 9,000 U.S. adults found women who drank two or more cans of soda per day were 1.86 times more likely to have excess levels of the protein albumin in their urine, indicating early kidney damage. The study found no increased risk for men or for anyone who opted for diet soda. Researchers said they were not sure why women had a higher risk of albuminuria. More...

Physicians worry free antibiotics will boost demand

2009-02-04T09:31:00.001-05:00

Physicians worry that supermarket pharmacy programs offering free antibiotics could result in more pressure from patients to prescribe the medications even if they are not necessary. Store executives say it is a way to entice customers in a down economy. Overuse of antibiotics is believed to result in more cases of resistant bacteria. More...