Maintaining Weight Loss

One of the challenges in weight loss is weight regain during the next 1-2 years. Research has found that regular physical activity is one good way to maintain weight loss over time but the question remains, how much activity is needed? Current exercise recommendations encourage about 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity or 150 minutes per week. But it this adequate for maintaining weight loss? More...

Exercise Helps Resolve Depression Long Term

Depression is a very common and serious health problem in the United States. This is verified by the fact that the medication that is most prescribed in the U.S. is an anti-depressant. The National Institutes of Health sponsored a study by Duke University to study the effects of regular exercise on depression. Their first study was on a group of people with clinical depression. Half were randomly assigned to normal medical therapy and medication for depression. The other half were assigned to a regular physical activity program. After 16 weeks, both groups were evaluated. The exercisers improved just as much as those receiving medication. In addition, the exercisers saw improvements in mental function that those on medication didn’t experience. More...

Fruits and Vegetables Decrease the Risk of Getting Diabetes

Would you like to decrease your risk of getting type 2 diabetes? A new study from Europe (EPIC-Norfolk Study) looked at eating habits in a large group of people (21,831 healthy men and women with no diabetes). Researchers found that those who ate the most fruits and vegetables had a 74% decreased risk of getting diabetes during the 12-year study compared to those eating the least. That is a remarkable difference and gives good evidence of the value of healthy eating in preventing one or our nation’s most serious and costly health problems. More...

What Should Your Blood Sugar Level Be?

Are you at risk for diabetes? Even if your doctor told you your blood glucose is “normal” you may still be at risk. New research indicates that the upper limit of “normal” blood sugar has a greater influence on risk of developing diabetes than realized before. A few years ago, the blood sugar level for pre-diabetes was lowered to 100 mg/dL. This gives the impression that blood sugar levels less than 100 are “normal” with little risk. More...

Western diet increases heart attack risk

Researchers looked at dietary habits in 52 countries and found that people who ate a typically Western diet of meats, fried foods and salty snacks were 35% more likely to have heart attacks compared with people who ate little meat or fried foods. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables was tied to a 30% lower risk of heart attacks, and an Oriental diet -- rich in tofu, soy and other sauces -- neither increased or decreased risk, the study found. More...

Online tools help patients manage health

New Web-connected tools are in development that patients will use as reminders to take pills, to keep track of disease information, and to chart data from heart rate and glucose tests. Many applications allow patients to share health data with physicians and nurses through programs like HealthVault, which uploads information from a variety of devices to an online account. More...

More Americans have high blood pressure

The number of Americans with hypertension and prehypertension has increased significantly in recent years, mainly due to the rise in obesity, researchers from the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute said. They urged a focus on preventing obesity and improving diagnosis and treatment for patients who have hypertension. More...

Obesity tied to early heart attack

Obesity raises the risk of having a heart attack at a younger age -- up to 12 years before a normal-weight person, according to Michigan researchers who reviewed records of more than 111,000 patients who had experienced a heart attack. They found the leanest patients had a first heart attack at the average age of 74.6 years, compared to 58.7 years for the most obese. Women were at the greatest risk at both weight endpoints...more