Chemicals May Play Role in Rise in Obesity

Too many calories and too little exercise are undeniably the major factors contributing to the obesity epidemic, but several recent animal studies suggest that environmental exposure to widely used chemicals may also help make people fat.
The evidence is preliminary, but a number of researchers are pursuing indications that the chemicals, which have been shown to cause abnormal changes in animals' sexual development, can also trigger fat-cell activity -- a process scientists call adipogenesis.
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Study: Quick Walks May Help Smokers Quit

LONDON -- As little as five minutes of exercise could help smokers quit, says a new study. Research published in the international medical journal Addiction showed that moderate exercise, such as walking, significantly reduced the intensity of smokers' nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
"If we found the same effects in a drug, it would immediately be sold as an aid to help people quit smoking," said Dr. Adrian Taylor, the study's lead author and professor of exercise and health psychology at the University of Exeter.
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Beta Carotene Pills May Not Save Eyesight

Carrots, rich in beta carotene, long have been thought to sharpen eyesight, but a new study suggests that beta carotene pills are powerless against a common type of vision loss among older people.
Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people 65 and older. The condition blurs the center of the field of vision, making it difficult to read, drive, thread a needle and even recognize faces. It affects more than 10 million Americans and there is no cure.
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'Driven' Personalities May Encourage Irritable Bowel

Anxiety, restlessness could exacerbate the disease, experts say
-- Robert Preidt

FRIDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- People who are overly anxious or "driven" are more susceptible to tough-to-treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a British study suggests.

The study, published in the current issue of the journal Gut, looked at 620 people who had gastroenteritis triggered by a bacterial infection.

Before their bout of gastroenteritis, none of the participants had IBS or any other serious bowel disorder. When they were checked three and six months after their gastroenteritis, 49 of the participants had experienced IBS at both time points.

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Does OJ Cause Heartburn?

A simple way to test which foods trigger your heartburn.
By Amy Gorin, Prevention magazine

Q. Does OJ cause heartburn?

A. Fiction. After reviewing 100 studies, Stanford University scientists concluded that most foods thought to trigger heartburn—orange juice, chocolate cake, and chicken curry—probably don't. ...more