Obese now outnumber hungry, says Red Cross(BLOG)

Obese people now outnumber the hungry globally, but hardship for the undernourished is increasing amid a growing food crisis, the International Federation of the Red Cross warned Thursday.

The Geneva-based humanitarian group focused on nutrition in its annual World Disasters Report, released in New Delhi, seeking to highlight the disparity between rich and poor, as well problems caused by a recent spike in prices.

In statistics used to underline the unequal access to food, the IFRC stressed there were 1.5 billion people suffering obesity worldwide last year, while 925 million were undernourished.

"If the free interplay of market forces has produced an outcome where 15 percent of humanity are hungry while 20 percent are overweight, something has gone wrong somewhere," secretary general Bekele Geleta said in a statement.

Asia-Pacific director Jagan Chapagain called it a "double-edged scandal" at a press conference in the Indian capital, adding that "excess nutrition now kills more than hunger."

The problem of hunger existed not because there was a lack of food globally, he stressed, but because of poor distribution, wastage and rising prices that made food unaffordable.

Food prices have spiked globally in 2011, raising fears of a re-run of the crisis seen in 2008 which led to riots and political instability in many countries.

The rise in food prices, which the IFRC blamed on speculative commodity trading and climate change, among other factors, is seen as having contributed to the unrest witnessed in north Africa and the Middle East this year.

"A new round of food inflation... is plunging many of the world's poorest people into deeper poverty and situations of severe hunger and malnourishment," the organisation said.

The World Disasters Report is an annual publication by the group seeking to highlight an area of global concern. Last year's study focused on urbanisation, while 2009's was on HIV and health.

12 Ways to Get Your Daily Vitamin D (BLOG)

The sun is less likely to provide your daily needs at higher latitudes, in the winter, or if you're older or dark skinned (skin pigment blocks light and the process is less efficient with age). And FYI: Light through a window won't work.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish can be a good source of vitamin D. Common options include salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna, and eel.

A 3-ounce sockeye salmon fillet contains about 450 international units (IUs) of vitamin D—a good portion of the 600 IUs that is the Institute of Medicine's recommended dietary allowance (800 IUs if you're over 70).

And you get a bonus—heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids!

Canned tuna fish

Fresh fish aren't the only way to boost your vitamin D intake; you can get vitamin D from a can, too.

Canned tuna fish and canned sardines both contain vitamin D, and are usually less expensive than fresh fish.

Plus, a longer shelf life makes the canned products easy to stock up on and use at your leisure. Canned light tuna has the most vitamin D—about 150 IUs per 4 ounces—while canned albacore tuna has about 50 IUs per 4 ounces, and canned sardines have a little more than 40 IUs per two sardines.

Certain mushrooms

Just like humans, mushrooms have the capacity to produce vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Mushrooms, however, are usually grown in the dark and don't contain the vitamin. Specific brands, however, are grown in ultraviolet light to spur vitamin D production.

Check to see if vitamin D–rich 'shrooms, like Dole's Portobello Mushrooms, are available at a store near you. They're perfect for vegetarians looking for plant-based foods that contain the vitamin. Dole's portobellos will give you 400 IUs of vitamin D per 3-ounce serving (about 1 cup of diced mushrooms).

Fortified milk

Almost all types of cow's milk in the U.S. are fortified with vitamin D, but ice cream and cheese are not.

In general, an 8-ounce glass of milk contains at least 100 IUs of vitamin D, and a 6-ounce serving of yogurt contains 80 IUs, but the amount can be higher (or lower) depending on how much is added.

Some soy and rice milks are fortified with about the same amount, but check the label since not all contain vitamin D.

Some types of orange juice

Not a dairy fan? No problem. You can get vitamin D from fortified orange juice.

One 8-ounce glass of fortified juice usually has around 100 IUs of vitamin D, but the amount varies from brand to brand. Not all brands are fortified, so check the label.

Two fortified brands, Florida Natural Orange Juice and Minute Maid Kids+ Orange Juice, contain 100 IUs per 8-ounce serving.

Supplements

Vitamin D supplements can help you get your proper daily dose, and as Dr. Honig points out, you don't run into the issue of skin cancer as you might with UV rays. "And it's not like calcium," he says. "You don't have to split up your vitamin D dose; you can take it all at one time."

Too much vitamin D can be toxic, however. The IOM sets the upper limit at 4,000 IUs for people aged 9 and older. That includes all sources—food, sun, and supplements.

Talk to your doctor before choosing a dosage.

Egg yolks

Eggs are a convenient way to get vitamin D. They're popular in many breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes.

Since the vitamin D in an egg comes from its yolk, it's important to use the whole egg—not just the whites. One yolk will give you about 40 IUs, but don't try to get your daily vitamin D just from eggs.

One egg contains about 200 milligrams of cholesterol, and the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 300 milligrams a day for heart health.

Fortified cereal

If you're a vitamin D seeker looking for a crunch, look no further than fortified cereals. Choose a low-calorie fortified cereal like Multi Grain Cheerios to get part of your daily fill of vitamin D. You can pair it with fortified milk and a glass of fortified OJ too.

A 1-cup (29 gram) serving of Multi Grain Cheerios with one-half cup of fortified milk is 90 IUs; add in an 8-ounce glass of fortified orange juice, and your total is close to 200 IUs.

Beef liver

Although it might not be the most appealing source, a 3.5-ounce serving of cooked beef liver contains about 50 IUs of vitamin D—and several other nutrients. You'll also be getting vitamin A, iron, and protein.

However, beef liver is also high in cholesterol, so you might want to choose an oily fish instead.

Cod liver oil

While its name might suggest a less-than-savory flavor, cod liver oil is often flavored with mint or citrus, or comes in capsule form.

One tablespoon contains about 1,300 IUs of vitamin D, which is more than twice the recommended dietary allowance of 600 IUs per day.

That amount doesn't exceed the maximum upper-level intake of 4,000 IUs for people over 8 years old, but it exceeds the daily maximum for infants (1,000 IUs).

Ultraviolet lamps and bulbs

People at high risk of vitamin D deficiency may resort to UV-emitting lamps and bulbs. This includes people unable to absorb the vitamin (malabsorption) or those who can't get enough in winter months, says Michael F. Holick, MD, a professor of medicine, sociology, and biophysics at Boston University Medical Center.

These are similar to tanning beds, but smaller. "The lamp is only about 24 inches by about 16 inches," says Dr. Holick.

These lamps carry the same skin-cancer risks and need for protective eyewear, so they're best for those with a doctor's recommendation.



msn

Kids' Soup Cans Contain BPA Toxins (BLOG)

It doesn't matter how many smiling cartoon characters decorate a package. If food comes in a can, it's likely to contain the worrisome chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, according to a new study.

The study, which looked at six popular name-brand products, adds to accumulating evidence that the hormone-interfering chemical is widespread in our food supply and in the bodies of most Americans, including children.

Advocacy groups have successfully managed to get companies to remove BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers and other products made for small children. The new findings suggest that food cans might need to be their next major target.

"Every single can we tested had BPA, and they could potentially expose people at levels of concern," said Connie Engel, science education coordinator for the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, which released the new study. "We know that consumer pressure on the market can lead to changes. If enough of us talk about this, the market will respond and we'll have BPA-free foods."

Among its many other qualities, BPA is extremely useful as an ingredient in the epoxy-resin lining of food cans. With its flexibility and resistance to both corrosion and the high heats used during sterilization, BPA is extraordinarily effective at preventing spoilage of food with pathogenic bacteria.

But BPA may bring dangers of its own, according to accumulating evidence. In cell and rodent studies, the chemical has been linked to all sorts of reproductive and developmental problems, including cancers, diabetes, early puberty and attention deficit disorders. And because of their small body sizes and the developing nature of their organ systems, children are most sensitive to the chemical's effects.A slew of recent studies have shown that BPA can seep into food that is packaged in all kinds of materials, particularly in the linings of cans. Other research has found that nearly all preschoolers harbor BPA in their bodies, primarily as a result of the food they eat. And when people stop eating canned and plastic-packaged foods, the level of BPA in their bodies goes down.

To zero in on the main sources of exposure for kids, Engel and colleagues gathered six types of popular canned products that are marketed directly to children. Some showed cartoon characters or kids on their labels. Other labels claimed things like, "Taste kids love!"

The researchers sent two of each product -- one from a grocery store in the Bay Area and one from a market in Wisconsin –- to an independent testing lab. On average, soups contained about 77 parts per billion of BPA, and prepared meals contained 21 ppb. Those levels were on par with what other studies have found in canned foods made for adults. It didn't matter whether products were organic or conventional.

The highest levels of BPA, ranging from 71 ppb to 148 ppb, appeared in cans of Disney Princess Cool Shapes Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth and cans of Toy Story Fun Shapes Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth, both made by Campbell's. Earth's Best Organic Elmo Noodlemania Soup and Annie's Homegrown Organic Cheesy Ravioli fell in the middle. At the bottom, with levels ranging from 10 to 21 ppb, were Chef Boyardee's Whole Grain Pasta Mini ABC's & 123's with Meatballs and Campbell's Spaghettios with Meatballs.

Scientists don't yet know how much BPA a product needs to contain before it starts causing health issues. Some experts and industry groups argue that our bodies metabolize BPA too quickly to make these kinds of levels problematic. And there are also no studies that definitively demonstrate harm in humans.

But other scientists think that any amount of BPA is too much, especially considering that so many everyday products contain the chemical, including cash register receipts, measuring cups and CDs


Animal studies show that tiny amounts of BPA can cause breast cancer and other problems, said William Goodson, a breast surgeon at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco. In a lab study published last week in the journal Carcinogenesis, he and colleagues also found that BPA causes two changes in cells that make them more vulnerable to cancer. Controlled studies can't be done on people, he added, because 95 percent of us already harbor detectable levels of BPA in our bodies.

The new study "is additional evidence that this sort of stuff is being dumped on all of us all the time," Goodson said. "The bottom line is that the food that kids get and are encouraged to eat by manufacturers have a lot of BPA in it."

Parents may want to consider avoiding liquid foods that have prolonged contact with cans or plastic containers, Goodson said, especially when they are particularly acidic or sour. Instead, the report recommends other types of inexpensive convenience foods, such as frozen meals, soups in Tetra Paks, dried fruits and boxed macaroni and cheese.

foxnews

Eat, drink and be sleepy with these surprising natural remedies (BLOG)

Sleep restores us. And not getting enough of it can put us at greater risk of heart disease and cancer. Sleep even makes us smarter. Yet researchers are finding that more than 10 percent of the population is chronically sleep deprived.

If you're having trouble slipping into—and remaining in—Dreamland, don't dart straight to prescription sleep drugs, which can be habit-forming, harmful if you live with certain conditions, and even downright bizarre! (Some people develop sleep-eating and sleep-driving habits when using prescription sleeping pills.)

The good news is, science has found that many foods, drinks, herbs, and other natural sleep aids can help put you to sleep … naturally. In fact, just this summer, researchers made the connection between tart cherry juice and getting adequate shut-eye. Here are some natural food- and drink-based sleep aids.

Cherries

In the small study, participants drank eight ounces of the tart cherry (also known as sour cherry) juice in the morning, and another eight ounces in the evening, for two weeks and reported better sleeping habits. Since all cherries are naturally high in melatonin, a compound that makes us sleepy, you can try eating a cup as a snack before it's time for shut-eye if you'd rather not drink the juice.

Fish

Certain fish and sea creatures contain sleep-inducing tryptophan, including shrimp, cod, tuna, and halibut. But since not all seafood choices are healthy for us (some are high in contaminants) or for the planet (many are overfished, or methods for catching them kill other species), stick to catches like Pacific cod from Alaska or pole-caught Albacore tuna from the U.S. or British Columbia.

Carb/protein combo

If keeping track of the latest safe seafood guidelines is too complicated, you can get your tryptophan fix from other things. You've probably heard that warm milk can help you sleep, since milk contains tryptophan. But the key is to combine carbs with a protein containing tryptophan to help your body better utilize the sleep inducer. Try pairing a cup of whole grain cereal with organic milk before bedtime.

Lemon balm

This lemon-scented member of the mint family has been a sleep-inducing superstar for ages. Other benefits include better digestion and decreased agitation. Try making lemon balm tea by steeping 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb in 1 cup of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. (If you take thyroid meds, talk to you doctor…drinking the tea could mean you'll have to adjust your dosage.)

Other herbs

If lemon balm's not your thing, another herb, sage, also works as a natural sleep aid. Just steep four tablespoons in a cup of hot water, steep for four hours, strain, and reheat to drink. Chamomile tea and valerian teas, other sleep inducers, are also more widely available pre-bagged in natural food stores, if you don't want to fuss with the aforementioned straining herbs.




rodale

Keep your friends close: BFF calms kids' stress (BLOG)

Parents are always obsessing about peer pressure. And why not? It seems that everywhere we look, there are warnings that kids’ friends can lead them into mischief.

But a new study suggests that the opposite may also be true. Researchers have found that a child's BFF can provide such a strong calming influence that there is actually a measurable effect on stress hormones during tense times.

And that, some experts say, might just lead to cooler heads and better decision making for tweens and teens — a very good thing from the perspective of nervous parents.

“One of the interesting things about these findings is that it’s not just any friend,” said the study’s lead author Ryan Adams, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “It’s the best friend.”

What that might mean, Adams said, is that the intimacy between best friends is what is buffering them from the stress of upsetting events and experiences. “So with a best friend you might be more inclined to talk about issues that you’d be too embarrassed to talk about with someone who is just a friend,” he explained.

To look at the impact of friendship, Adams and his colleagues rounded up 103 fifth and sixth graders who had a best buddy to hang out with. For each of four school days, the kids were asked to fill out a diary five times. The mission: rate how they felt about what they’d experienced in the previous 20 minutes on a scale that ranged from 1 (very positive) to 7 (very negative).
They were also asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to give researchers a sense of how good the kids felt about themselves at that moment and if they'd been alone or with parents, siblings, a best friend, a boy or girl friend, classmates, strangers, teachers or some other person.

Along with the diary entries, the children were asked to spit into a vial. The resulting sample was then analyzed for the level of cortisol, a potent stress hormone.

While it might not surprise anyone to find that kids were happier in the company of a BFF, it was remarkable to see how the presence of a friend could buffer the physical effects of a negative experience: kids didn’t produce as much cortisol in response to an unpleasant experience when in the company of a best friend. And, they tended to feel better about themselves overall.

When no friend was around during stressful times, cortisol shot up and self-worth plummeted.

The new findings may prompt parents to look at their children’s chums in a different way, said Patrick Tolan, director of Youth-Nex: The University of Virginia Center to Promote Effective Youth Development.
“This may be showing us that we could look at friends as a positive peer pressure,” Tolan said. “The presence of a friend might help children negotiate stressful situations better.”

The whole idea that peer pressure could be a positive force is a new one, Tolan said.

“This is not recognized,” he added. “Right now the focus is on how peer pressure from other kids might get you to take risks or to engage in impulses that might with more maturity be seen as unwise.”

If you’ve got a best friend when things seem dark in your life, you’ve got someone to talk to, Tolan said. And that friend might be a good sounding board with some sensible advice.

“So you might have a kid who feels his parents are hassling him so much that he’s ready to take off. Or one who doesn’t think it’s worth trying any more at school. Or a kid who thinks, ‘I’m going to tell my dad what I really think of him and have it out.’”

In cases like these, a friend in a cooler state of mind might provide a calming influence and sensible suggestions for how to proceed.

“There might be ways to promote that pro-social influence between peers,” Tolan said. “You might suggest that kids ask a friend before they act, for example.”

In other words, there might be an upside to peer pressure.


msnbc

Myths, Misconceptions, and Stigma Tied to ADHD (BLOG)

ADHD is a true medical disability:

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) requires a clinical diagnosis: A doctor makes the call based on your self-reported symptoms and medical history. Because there is no blood test or X-ray that gives solid proof of its existence, some people may have a hard time believing that ADHD is a real disorder, or that there is a medical cause for many of the disorder's symptoms.

Children with ADHD have been called troublemakers and spoiled brats, and undiagnosed adults may go through life labeled lazy or dumb. Skeptics may think, "Doesn't everyone lacks focus sometimes? You just have to push through it." But in reality, it's not that easy for ADHD patients, says Adelaide Robb, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

"People who really have this condition don't just hate doing their paperwork. They consistently get in trouble at work because they don't do it; they just can't do it," she says. "It's very frustrating to them because they know exactly what they want to do but they can't convey that information, no matter how hard they try."


The chart below, can help you sort the truth from fiction. And if you feel that negative stereotypes about ADHD are affecting your self-esteem or relationships with other people, talk to your doctor about ways to manage these feelings.



healthcom

Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle (BLOG)

Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.

The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where -- exceptionally in scientific publishing -- both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors.

Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV.

Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them.

But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists, though, need a 3-D picture that "unfolds" the molecule and rotates it in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.

This is where Foldit comes in.

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.

To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.

Cracking the enzyme "provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs," says the study, referring to the lifeline medication against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

It is believed to be the first time that gamers have resolved a long-standing scientific problem.

"We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed," Firas Khatib of the university's biochemistry lab said in a press release.

"The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems."

One of Foldit's creators, Seth Cooper, explained why gamers had succeeded where computers had failed.

"People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at," he said.

"Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."

Qualitest recalls birth control pills: FDA(BLOG)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Qualitest Pharmaceuticals is voluntarily recalling several lots of birth control pills because of a packaging error that could leave women at risk for unplanned pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

Select blisters were rotated 180 degrees within the card, reversing the weekly tablet orientation and making the lot number and expiration date no longer visible, the FDA said in a statement on its website.

The error means the daily regimen for the oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women at risk of an unplanned pregnancy, it said. The defects do not pose any immediate health risks.

"This packaging error and the potential for this error to have affected other oral contraceptive products resulted in the company issuing the recall of multiple lots," the agency said.

The recall takes effect immediately. It includes Cyclafem 7/7/7, Cyclafem 1/35, Emoquette, Gildess FE 1.5/30, Gildess FE 1/20, Orsythia, Previfem and Tri-Previfem.

The affected lot numbers can be found at http://www.qualitestrx.com/pdf/OCRecall.pdf.

Qualitest is a unit of Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc.

(This story corrects the link to affected lot numbers)

Heavy Drinking May Leave You Tipsy For Years (BLOG)

Wobbly walking and clumsy moves are classic signs that someone's been drinking, and a new study suggests balance problems can afflict heavy drinkers for years after they sober up.

Researchers at Neurobehavioral Research Inc., in Honolulu, compared the balance abilities and gaits of diagnosed alcoholics who had been sober for several weeks, those who had been sober for an average of seven years, and people with no history of alcohol dependence.

Each participant was put through a three-part test "similar to the things that might be done in field sobriety tests," said Dr. George Fein, principal investigator for the study published today (Sept. 15) in the journal in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

The volunteers were first screened for recent drug and alcohol use, then asked to perform a series of balance tests such as standing heel-to-toe with their arms folded across the chest for 60 seconds, standing on one leg, or walking along a line. Each test was repeated with the volunteers' eyes closed.

Of the more than 200 volunteers, the 70 recently sober ones — who had not had alcohol for six to 15 weeks — performed the worst. But in tasks with their eyes closed, the 82 long-sober volunteers also performed noticeably worse than the 52 people who had never been alcoholics. (The researchers controlled for the effect of age on balance.)

"There's an 80 to 90 percent recovery, but there's still some residual effects," said Fein, the senior scientist and lab director at the company.

Alcohol's effects on the brain

Balance problems are commonly seen among the recently sober in detoxification centers.

"In the first year of recovery, generally, more minor accidents occur than in the year preceding," said Dr. Ken Thompson, medical director at Caron Treatment Centers.

Addiction experts attribute this "temporary ataxia," or lack of muscle coordination, to damage to the cerebellum in the brain, said Dr. Kevin P. Hill, psychiatrist-in-charge at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.

Until now, balance problems that continue for years after sobriety have usually been noted only in extreme cases, such as in people whose alcohol abuse led to a form of psychosis, said Fein.

"What we have shown is that these [coordination] effects are present in alcoholics in the general population," Fein said.

Treating addictions

While the study implies there is "a point of no return where the brain cannot recover," Hill said the findings underline the importance of viewing alcohol addiction as a disease.

"A lot of people don't think about addictions as chronic medical illnesses, but they are in every way," Hill said, explaining that alcohol addiction has a genetic link and long-term health effects.

"Just as a person with diabetes might ultimately develop loss of sensation and feeling in extremities, people with alcohol addiction might permanently lose balance and coordination," Hill said.

Thompson said improvement in many measures of coordination and brain function will show up years after the start of sobriety. "The findings of balance problems in long-term recovering alcoholics might not be clinically significant in the majority of clients," he said.

Fein said researchers would have to keep track individuals through their sobriety years to show a stronger link between drinking and balance problems after their recovery.

From a safety viewpoint, Fein said his team would like to study the elderly, who are at most risk for health consequences after a fall.

Pass it on: Years after sobering up, heavy drinkers may still suffer balance problems.

10 fun secrets to long-term relationship bliss (BLOG)

Strange but true ways you can keep the flame burning strong.

1-Pretend You Just Met

Whether you've been together for six months or six years, spend some time each day acting as if you just started dating. Ask him what he thought of that TV episode or share what you'd do if you won the lottery. "Over time, couples stop asking those exploratory, get-to-know-you questions because they think they already understand each other," says Terri Orbuch, Ph.D., author of 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great. But because we all continue to change and develop, little daily check-ins like this are what keep the connection growing, according to Orbuch's research of 373 pairs. Chat about something besides the daily grind--at least for a bit.

2-Limit the Chick Flicks
If Jennifer Aniston and Ashton Kutcher regularly appear in your living room, your union could be in the danger zone.

"Romantic comedies can set up unreasonable expectations, which may lead to unnecessary suffering," says Sean Patrick Hatt, Ph.D., a psychologist in Seattle. "Comparing yourselves with idealized others is a recipe for misery." Sure, rom-coms can be feel-good escapes, but they may also promote magical thinking about relationships. For example, as partnerships mature and the initial intensity tends to fade, many couples try to recapture the euphoria they had in the beginning, says Hatt. "And that sort of thinking is only reinforced by Hollywood endings," he adds. Stocking your Netflix queue? Treat the rom-coms as, well, treats.

3-Be the Beauty to His Beast
Coupling up with an average Joe (with a beer belly) may be the key to long-term love. According to a study in the Journal of Family Psychology, when men were married to more attractive women, they seemed more likely to step up to the plate, says study author Benjamin R. Karney, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles. "But when husbands were better-looking, they didn't seem as engaged in helping their wives achieve their goals." (Size matters too: When women had a lower BMI than their guy, both partners tended to be more satisfied, according to other research.) The real secret to success? Support. Whether you're motivated by a gorgeous face or some other quality, couples are more likely to enjoy long-run happiness when they're invested in each other's welfare.

4-Control the Boozing
Any relationship will be shaken and stirred by too much alcohol, but research suggests that young adults who drink heavily (meaning four or more drinks on one occasion for women; five or more for guys) are less likely to wed in the first place and may be at greater risk for early separation if they do. Partyers may be more likely to have commitment issues to begin with, and once they couple up their bonds may be unstable. "If you're going to be in a solid intimate partnership, you're going to need all the good judgment and compassion you can muster," says Hatt. Which means keeping the drinking in check.

5-Hold a Grudge (as long as he doesn't)
Provided that your partner is able to bounce back from spats, you'll experience greater satisfaction, even if you tend to stay P.O.'d, according to recent research. The mark of a good recovery: You don't allow conflicts about one issue--say, money--to spill over into other areas of your relationship, such as how you help each other after a tough day, says study author Jessica E. Salvatore, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota. A yang to your yin yields harmony.

6-Tweet Responsibly
According to a survey of 100,000 people from OkCupid .com, avid tweeters tend to have shorter relationships--10 percent shorter, on average--than those who don't microblog. "Having your eyes glued to a smartphone screen isn't exactly conducive to romance," says Hatt. Be sure your tendency toward technology (tweets, texts, and otherwise) doesn't take up time better spent engaging in heart-to-heart communication with your guy.

7-Don't win an Oscar.
That is unless you'd like to thank the academy for ruining your relationship. A Best Actress winner is 63 percent more likely to have her marriage end before her category mates do, say researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Toronto. (And it's not an honor just to be nominated either: Sixty percent of all nominees, male or female, experience at least one divorce after getting a nod.) While the breakup rate might seem like celebrity hogwash, the findings may speak to an underlying social norm: Sudden one-sided success can put a strain on a romantic partnership. "The increased rate of divorce may be due to a husband's discomfort with his wife's success," says study author Colleen Stuart, Ph.D. "On the other hand, the wife may grow dissatisfied with her current marital arrangement because she now has the confidence and opportunity to move away from a bad relationship." Try to remain a power couple: Encourage and celebrate each other's successes, big and small.

8-Burn Bras (together)
Forget flowers--feminism is the new romance, say experts at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Women whose male partner is a feminist report better relationship quality, while men with feminist partners experience more sexual satisfaction and relationship stability. "A male feminist partner may increase a woman's ability to realize her own goals and career ambitions," says study author Laurie Rudman, Ph.D.

"And male feminists are probably not threatened by their partner's strivings." Plus, these women may be more likely to initiate sex, and no guy will complain about that.

9-Nurture Your Friends' Relationships
You might divorce-proof your own. According to researchers, the breakup of a close pal's marriage increases your odds of splitting by as much as 75 percent. "Some people may see another's divorce as permission to change their own life," says study coauthor Rose McDermott, Ph.D. But when you encourage friends to stay together (happily), you may generate reasons that also apply to your bond.

10-Twist the Sheets At Least Once a Week
The average American gets busy about two or three times a month, but increasing your romps to once a week generates as much bliss as scoring an extra $50,000 in income, according to researchers from Dartmouth College and the University of Warwick in England. It's not so much the sex itself that leads to happiness; the frequency is a better marker for a successful relationship. "Couples who like each other end up in bed more often," says study author Andrew J. Oswald, Ph.D. "And it's the liking-each-other part that increases joy." But seriously, who needs a reason? Bank on more booty.



womenshealth

Hospital celebrates after conjoined twins separated (BLOG)

NASHVILLE, Tenn — Joshua and Jacob Spates, who spent their first seven months outside the womb as conjoined twins, are recovering in the pediatric intensive care unit of a Memphis hospital after a successful 13-hour surgery to separate them.

Dr. Max Langham, team leader for the separation, said on Wednesday that all involved are enjoying a "celebratory mood of how well Joshua and Jacob are doing."

The twins, who were joined at the spine, were separated August 29. Two weeks later, not only are the boys healthy, "both of them are using their legs and getting ready to try to crawl out of bed," Langham said.

"Most conjoined twins don't ever get a chance to get to separation because they die from complications at delivery," said Langham, chief of pediatric surgery at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital.

Conjoined twins occur in one out of 100,000 births. These boys were born pygopagus twins, joined back-to-back at the pelvis and lower spine, but with separate hearts, heads and limbs.

This condition occurs in just 15 percent of the cases of conjoined twins, according to Le Bonheur.

It took a 34-member pediatric surgical team 13 hours to separate the Memphis brothers' spinal column bone, nerves and muscles and to complete gastrointestinal repairs.

An ultrasounds last November confirmed that the two boys were conjoined. After being monitored for eight weeks, the babies -- who had a shared rectum, muscles and nerves -- were delivered via Caesarean on January 24.

Two days later, surgeons performed a colostomy and inserted a gastrostomy tube to assist with nutrition and waste elimination, according to the hospital press office.

Doctors had to deal with a number of other conditions in the following months. Joshua had a single kidney, a heart defect and calcifications in the spleen and Jacob had a two-vessel umbilical cord and a heart defect.

Langham said members of the medical team "spent over a month" planning and rehearsing the operation.

The doctor said the trickiest part of the surgery involved dealing with the part of the spine shared by the boys



reuters

Easy Tips to Calculate Your Ideal Weight (BLOG)

Do you need to lose weight? Our information & simple tools can help you figure out where you should be, then keep you on track as you slim down.

Unless you drop serious cash on futuristic weight loss equipment, don’t expect your bathroom scale to give you anything besides a daunting or delightful number. Interpretation is up to you. Luckily, body weight and calorie calculators can add context to those digits, taking into account factors like your age, gender, height, body fat positioning, and activity level to help you determine if your weight is a risk to your overall health.

While crunching numbers at your desk doesn’t replace a visit to the doctor, it can help you determine if a slim-down strategy is in order, and help you chart your progress along the way. (Search: Why do I need to track my weight and body fat percentage?) “Although they aren’t always perfect, weight loss calculators can be fun tools to engage people who are interested in changing their weight,” says Alice Burron, exercise physiologist and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. “They can be useful for tracking over time, and they are slightly more interactive than the bathroom scale.”

Still, with similar-sounding names—BMI, BMR, BAI—it’s tough to decide which at-home test you can trust to tell you if you’re fit—or not as fit as you had hoped. Here, we deliver the lowdown on the most popular weight calculators to determine what’s in, what’s out, and what can actually help you lose weight.

To determine if your weight is “normal”
The body mass index (BMI) is a tried-and-true weight metric. Invented in the late 1800s, the formula uses weight and height to calculate a number that indicates if a person is underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. While this formula is a fairly reliable indicator of obesity and health risks, it doesn’t measure your percentage of body fat.

Going one step further, an “ideal weight” or “healthy weight” calculator, many of which can be found online, can tell you what a healthy weight range is for your height.

How it works: Plug your weight and height into an online calculator (like this one) and you’ll get a number indicating whether you’re underweight (below 18.5), normal (18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9), or obese (30 and above). These standards were set in 1985 by the National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel, which concluded that the BMI was an appropriate measurement of obesity. For all you math geeks, the formula is Weight (in pounds) / [Height (in inches)]2 x 703.

How it can help you manage your weight: “For average to overweight individuals who want to lose weight, BMI can be used as a motivation tracking tool to see changes over time,” says Burron. For example, BMI can be used to set a weight loss goal like, “My goal is to be in the ‘normal’ weight category by [a certain date].” (Related: Learn how you can lose up to 15 pounds in 32 days while cracking down on stubborn belly fat)

How accurate is it? “Since BMI uses total body weight, rather than estimates of fat and lean body mass separately, it does not discriminate between the overweight and the athletic or more muscular body type,” says Burron. “It also does not take into account age, gender, or muscle mass. It would not be a useful tool for heavy-muscled athletes, the elderly, pregnant women, or teenagers.” According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers found that BMI also fails to predict health risks for individuals who fall in the “skinny fat” category—those who have a normal, healthy BMI and likely appear thin but have a high percentage of body fat.

To determine if your weight is a health risk
The waist-to-hip ratio measures where your body stores fat. The ratio compares the circumference of your waist with that of your hips. (Related: 20 Tips for a Smaller Waistline)

How it works: You can calculate at home by measuring your waist and hip circumferences and dividing the numbers. Wrap a tape measure around the smallest section of your natural waist, usually just above the belly button, and record the number. Then measure your hips around the widest part of your bottom. Finally, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. For example, if your waist is 30 inches and your hips are 29, the ratio is 1.03. According to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, women with waist-to-hip ratios of more than 0.8 are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers because of their fat distribution. And men with waist-to-hip ratios of more than 1.0 are at increased health risk for the same reason.

How it can help you manage your weight: This test can help you determine if you’re an apple or a pear shape. A ratio of 0.8 or above indicates that you are an apple shape. A ratio of under 0.8 means you are a pear shape. Previous research suggested that those with central obesity (apple shape) were 3 times more likely to suffer from heart disease than those with more generally distributed fat.

How accurate is it? Current research suggests that you’re better off sticking with BMI. A new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet studied 220,000 people over almost 10 years and found that your risk for cardiovascular disease is not increased by carrying fat around your waist as opposed to on your hips and thighs. Carrying excess weight—anywhere—puts you at greater risk for heart disease, the researchers concluded.

To calculate your body fat percentage
The body adiposity index (BAI) is a new test proposed as an alternative to calculating your BMI. The BAI can be used to find your percentage of body fat.

How it works: To calculate it yourself, first convert your measurements into metric numbers. Here’s how: Hip circumference (in inches) x 2.5 = hip circumference in centimeters. Height (in inches) x 0.025 = height in meters. Then plug your metric measurements into the BAI formula: [(Hip circumference in centimeters) / (Height in meters x square root of height in meters)] - 18.

For example, if you’re a 150-pound woman with 30-inch hips and you’re 5'5", the math would look like this:

Hips: 30 x 2.5 = 75 cm
Height: 65 x 0.025 = 1.625 m
[75 / (1.625 x 1.275)] - 18 = approximately18% body fat

American Council on Exercise says an “acceptable” range for body fat for women is 25 to 31%, and for men 18 to 25%. You’re considered obese if your body fat is 32% or greater for women, and 26% or greater for men.

If you don’t want to pick up a calculator, let online tools take care of the math. Enter your height, weight, hip measurement (taken at the level of maximum extension around the bottom area), gender, and age in an online calculator, like this one.

You can also try a new feature included on many bathroom scales, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) technology. BIA is a common way to estimate your percentage of body fat. The device, which starts at around $100, sends a mild electric current up through one foot to the waist, then down the other leg to measure your percentage of body fat.

How it can help you manage your weight: Researches say the BAI is more accurate than the BMI because it takes into account body fat without factoring in weight. “This method has promise as it takes into account many factors: gender, age, height, weight, and hip circumference,” says Burron.

How accurate is it? This new test has been checked against a Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) machine, which is regarded as one of the most accurate ways to calculate body fat, and the BAI numbers were proven to be accurate, at least in Hispanic and African American populations. More research needs to be done with other ethnicities before it’s widely considered a valid measure of body fat. “Until this method has been scientifically determined by the medical community to be an accurate body composition assessment, I will stick with the more common methods such as BMI, body fat analysis, and waist-to-hip ratio,” says Burron.

And in terms of the BIA scale, the device reportedly is very sensitive to hydration (dehydration can cause it to overestimate the percentage of body fat), which can affect its accuracy.

To determine how many calories you need
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), also known as Resting Metabolic Rate, calculator measures the number of calories your body would burn if you sat still all day and didn’t eat anything.

Once you know how fast or slow your body converts fuel into energy, you can use that information to determine the number of calories you need to consume to lose, gain, or maintain your weight based on your daily activity levels. Don’t worry if your metabolism needs a boost. Cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improve your fitness, and make your body a more efficient calorie burner.

How it works: The formula used to calculate your BMR takes into account your weight, height, age, and gender. The Harris-Benedict equation is the most widely used formula for BMR, though a 2003 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association stated that a newer formula, the Mifflin equation, was 10% more accurate than the Harris-Benedict equation.

To calculate your BMR using the Mifflin formula, follow these equations:

Men: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) + 5
Women: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) – 161

Lazy? Use this online calculator. Or try a more simple formula for quickly determining how many calories to eat on any given day to maintain your current weight: On days when you’re taking it easy and not exercising, multiply your weight (in pounds) by 15 and subtract 500 from that number. And on days that you're active, use the same calculation, but multiply your weight by 18.

How it can help you manage your weight: The number you get from the equation gives you the total number of calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. To lose weight, shave off 500 calories daily to lose 1 pound per week, or 300 calories daily to lose 2 pounds in a month. “Modifying calories according to activity levels is a good health habit. It [helps people realize] that on low-activity days, fewer calories are needed to maintain weight,” says Burron. “It emphasizes the calories in/calories out formula.”

How accurate is it? According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the Mifflin test used in many BMR formulas provided accurate estimates of actual resting metabolic rates in nonobese and obese individuals. However, Burron says to take these equations with a grain of salt. “It’s hard to predict activity levels, and if you’re planning your caloric needs for the day and things go awry, you may be eating too much or too little,” she says.



fitbie

Protecting Heart May Improve Erectile Dysfunction (BLOG)

TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The lifestyle changes and medications used to reduce risk factors for heart disease may also improve sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., analyzed six previous studies from four countries involving 740 men to determine how lifestyle changes and drugs used to treat risk factors for heart disease affected the severity of their erectile dysfunction (ED).

Each study reviewed reported improvements in men's erectile dysfunction as a result of lifestyle changes and better blood lipid levels. Heart disease and ED share certain controllable risk factors, such as high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and lack of physical activity, the researchers explained.

Moreover, erectile dysfunction appears to be an indicator of heart disease, the researchers said. "Men with ED provide an opportunity to identify CV risk factors and initiate lifestyle changes," the authors wrote.

The study, published online Sept. 12 in Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that when cardiac risk factors improved, so did sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction. When either drugs or lifestyle changes to combat heart disease were considered alone, the benefits to the men's sexual function was still significant, the researchers noted in a journal news release.

Musiq Soulchild Named New Ambassador For Susan G. Komen's 'Cure Circle of Promise' (BLOG)

R&B/Soul singer Musiq Soulchild has been announced as the new ambassador for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Circle of Promise, a movement designed to further engage black women around the globe in the fight against breast cancer. In his new role, Musiq will raise awareness about breast cancer so that younger women know the importance of early detection and why it’s important to pay attention to their bodies.

“Early detection is the key to winning the fight against breast cancer,” said Musiq. “Too often, black women are diagnosed in stage three and four when breast cancer is most difficult to treat. Some women are afraid to seek treatment for fear of losing their breasts or their hair. One’s physical appearance is much less important than the will to live. It’s time to remove the stigmas that are attached to this disease.”

Musiq will kick off his duties in his upcoming music video for the single “Yes,” which is lifted from his latest album ‘MUSIQINTHEMAGIQ,’ by featuring a group of breast cancer survivors. In the clip (Collage above), Musiq plays the role of a man who loves and supports his girlfriend through her battle with breast cancer.

There will also be a special scene in the video that will feature a group of breast cancer survivors who show their support by wearing t-shirts, pins, and pink ribbons—items associated with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Along with using his music as an avenue to create awareness, Musiq will also work with Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Circle of Promise to create awareness through social media outreach, television, radio appearances and fundraisers.

“We couldn’t ask for a greater level of commitment from someone who has such a strong connection to the target audience,” said Katrina McGhee, Executive Vice President & CMO. “We are certain Musiq will both transform and save lives through his ambassadorship of this program.”

Musiq adds that this cause is near and dear to him, because his largely female fan base has been so instrumental in his success. “I care because they are at risk. They have always supported me and it’s time that I return the favor and support them. I feel the need to make an impact before breast cancer impacts them and if my music can be the vehicle, then I am happy to serve.”

R&B singer Kelly Price was announced as an official advocate for the Susan G. Komen foundation.


singersroom

'Wi-fi refugees' shelter in West Virginia mountains (BLOG)

Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West Virginia:

There are five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide and advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them physically ill.

Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication.

"It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner," she says. "You become a technological leper because you can't be around people.

"It's not that you would be contagious to them - it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you."

Ms Schou is one of an estimated 5% of Americans who believe they suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), which they say is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields typically created by mobile phones, wi-fi and other electronic equipment.Hiding in a cage

Symptoms range from acute headaches, skin burning, muscle twitching and chronic pain.

"My face turns red, I get a headache, my vision changes, and it hurts to think. Last time [I was exposed] I started getting chest pains - and to me that's becoming life-threatening," Ms Schou says.

To alleviate the pain, her husband built an insulated living space known as a Faraday Cage.

He covered a wooden frame with two layers of wire mesh and a door that could be sealed shut to prevent radio waves from entering.

Diane spent much of her time inside it, sleeping on a twin mattress on a plywood base.

"At least I could see my husband on the outside, I could talk to him," she says.

Diane believes her illness was triggered by emissions from a mobile phone mast.

Her symptoms were so severe that she abandoned her family farm in the state of Iowa and moved to Green Bank, West Virginia - a tiny village of 143 residents in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains.Outlawed wireless technology

Green Bank is part of the US Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless is banned across 13,000 sq miles (33,000 sq km) to prevent transmissions interfering with a number of radio telescopes in the area.

The largest is owned by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and enables scientists to listen to low-level signals from different places in the universe.

Others are operated by the US military and are a critical part of the government's spy network.

As a result of the radio blackout, the Quiet Zone has become a haven for people like Diane, desperate to get away from wireless technology.

"Living here allows me to be more of a normal person. I can be outdoors. I don't have to stay hidden in a Faraday Cage," she says.

"I can see the sunrise, I can see the stars at night, and I can be in the rain.

"Here in Green Bank allows me to be with people. People here do not carry cell phones so I can socialise.

"I can go to church, I can attend some celebrations, I can be with people. I couldn't do that when I had to remain in the Faraday Cage."

But EHS is not medically recognised in the US.Debated 'condition'

The wireless association, CTIA, says that scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that wireless devices, with the limits established by government regulators, do not pose a public health risk or cause any adverse health effects.

And the World Health Organization, while acknowledging that the symptoms are genuine and can be severe, says: "EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem."

However, new research by scientists at Louisiana State University and published by the International Journal of Neuroscience, claims to show that EHS can be caused by low frequency electromagnetic fields found in the environment.

"The study provides direct evidence that linking human symptoms with environmental factors, in this case EMF," says Dr Andrew Marino, a neurology professor who led the study.

"It's a watershed in that regard. There have been no previous studies that scientifically assess whether electromagnetic fields in the environment could produce human symptoms.

"And the symptoms matter because they are the first steps that show how EMFs produce human disease."

Scientists conducted a number of tests on a 35-year-old physician who had diagnosed herself with EHS.

She was seated on a wooden chair while voltage was applied to metal plates for pulses of 90 seconds to create a series of magnetic fields. The woman was asked to describe her symptoms after each exposure and after random sham exposures when, unknown to her, there was no voltage.

She reported headaches, pain and muscle twitching during the genuine exposures and no symptoms for the majority of the sham exposures.

The scientists concluded that such consistency could not be attributed to chance.

But other experts still disagree that a link exists.Technological 'ignorance'

Bob Park is a physics professor at the University of Maryland.

He says that the radiation emitted by wi-fi is simply too weak to cause the type of changes in the body's chemistry that could make people sick.

"The bigger problem that we face is that in our society, driven by technological change, people have very little education," he says.

"There are lots of things people need to learn and they're not learning it. The thing that's going to kill them is ignorance."

Seventy-year-old Nichols Fox says she understands such scepticism - it took several years before she became convinced that her debilitating pain and fatigue were caused by electromagnetic radiation emitted by her computer.

"Towards the end of my normal life when I still could watch television I could actually cut my pain off and on with the remote control device," she says. "It was such an enormously clear association there was just no denying it."

Her symptoms are so severe that she has isolated herself almost entirely, living in a remote house surrounded by fields and woods just outside the Quiet Zone. She says even the low-level electromagnetic fields generated there affect her health.

She uses hardly any electricity - her refrigerator operates on gas, light comes from kerosene lamps and a wood-burning stove provides most of her heat.

A thermostat is set to switch on electric heaters if the temperature drops to a level where she is in danger of hypothermia.

"It's so important that people understand that this is a very serious disability, it's a life-changing disability. It leads to an earlier death - I have absolutely no doubt about that and I think it's just unfortunate that this is not recognised," she says.

But even in this secluded part of America, the incursion of wireless technology is relentless. Planning permission has been granted for a cell tower a few miles from her home, and Nichols says she'll have to move.

"I'm getting older and I really don't know where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do," she says. "It's really quite frightening."

bbc

366 million people now have diabetes (BLOG)

LONDON (AP) — An estimated 366 million people worldwide now suffer from diabetes and the global epidemic is getting worse, health officials said Tuesday.

The International Diabetes Federation described the number of cases as "staggering," with one person dying from diabetes every seven seconds.

The federation called for concrete measures to stop the epidemic, urging officials focusing on chronic diseases at a United Nations meeting next week to commit to specific targets to prevent cases and to invest in more research. Experts also said diabetes care should be integrated into local health clinics.

"The clock is ticking for the world's leaders," Jean Claude Mbanya, the group's president, said in a statement. "We expect action from their meeting next week at the United Nations that will halt diabetes' relentlessly upwards trajectory."

The figures were announced in Lisbon, Portugal, during the European meeting of the group, an umbrella organization that represents associations from more than 160 countries.

It estimated that diabetes causes 4.6 million deaths every year and that health systems spend $465 billion annually fighting the disease. That includes both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes mainly affects children and young adults, who are unable to make insulin. Type 2 diabetes is more common and is often tied to obesity. It develops when the body doesn't produce enough insulin to break down glucose, inflating blood sugar levels.

The disease can be managed with diet, exercise and medication but chronically high blood sugar levels causes nerve damage, which can result in kidney disease, blindness and amputation.

In June, a study published in the medical journal Lancet estimated the global number of diabetes had more than doubled in the last three decades and put the figure at 347 million.

Experts said much of the rise in diabetes cases was due to aging populations — since diabetes typically hits in middle age — and population growth, but that obesity rates had also fueled the disease's spread.

College Students Not Getting Enough Z's (BLOG)

 (HealthDay News) -- Many U.S. college students aren't getting the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night, a problem that could affect their ability to learn, a new survey says.

University of Cincinnati researchers asked nearly 200 undergraduate college students aged 18 to 24 who did not live at home about their sleep habits. Most of them worked full- or part-time, and only 24 percent said they got at least seven to eight hours of sleep. More than half (55 percent) said they slept less than seven hours, and 21 percent slept more than eight hours.

Lack of sleep can impair concentration and memory, the lead researcher said.

"Sleep helps us save energy. It repairs cells in the body. And it's key for memory consolidation," study author Adam Knowlden, a doctoral student in the health promotion and education program, said in a university news release.

"During sleep, the brain acts like a hard drive on a computer. It goes in and cleans up memories and makes connections stronger, and it gets rid of things it doesn't need," he explained.

"So if a student is sleep deprived, it affects the whole process. Students aren't able to learn, they're not able to remember, it's harder to concentrate and it affects mood. They're working their way through college and they're not maximizing their learning potential."

Financial concerns and poor time and stress management were among the factors college students said hindered their ability to get enough sleep.

SpongeBob in hot water from study of 4-year-olds (BLOG)

CHICAGO (AP) — The cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants is in hot water from a study suggesting that watching just nine minutes of that program can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds.

The problems were seen in a study of 60 children randomly assigned to either watch "SpongeBob," or the slower-paced PBS cartoon "Caillou" or assigned to draw pictures. Immediately after these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched "SpongeBob" did measurably worse than the others.

Previous research has linked TV-watching with long-term attention problems in children, but the new study suggests more immediate problems can occur after very little exposure — results that parents of young kids should be alert to, the study authors said.

Kids' cartoon shows typically feature about 22 minutes of action, so watching a full program "could be more detrimental," the researchers speculated, But they said more evidence is needed to confirm that.

The results should be interpreted cautiously because of the study's small size, but the data seem robust and bolster the idea that media exposure is a public health issue, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis. He is a child development specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital who wrote an editorial accompanying the study published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Christakis said parents need to realize that fast-paced programming may not be appropriate for very young children. "What kids watch matters, it's not just how much they watch," he said.

University of Virginia psychology professor Angeline Lillard, the lead author, said Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob" shouldn't be singled out. She found similar problems in kids who watched other fast-paced cartoon programming.

She said parents should realize that young children are compromised in their ability to learn and use self-control immediately after watching such shows. "I wouldn't advise watching such shows on the way to school or any time they're expected to pay attention and learn," she said.

Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler disputed the findings and said "SpongeBob SquarePants" is aimed at kids aged 6-11, not 4-year-olds.

"Having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show's targeted (audience), watch nine minutes of programming is questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust," he said.

Lillard said 4-year-olds were chosen because that age "is the heart of the period during which you see the most development" in certain self-control abilities. Whether children of other ages would be similarly affected can't be determined from this study

Most kids were white and from middle-class or wealthy families. They were given common mental function tests after watching cartoons or drawing. The SpongeBob kids scored on average 12 points lower than the other two groups, whose scores were nearly identical.

In another test, measuring self-control and impulsiveness, kids were rated on how long they could wait before eating snacks presented when the researcher left the room. "SpongeBob" kids waited about 2 1/2 minutes on average, versus at least four minutes for the other two groups.

The study has several limitations. For one thing, the kids weren't tested before they watched TV. But Lillard said none of the children had diagnosed attention problems and all got similar scores on parent evaluations of their behavior.

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Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom Inc.

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

6 doc-tested ways to fight colds (BLOG)

What's the best way not to get sick? Well, you can't keep the cold viruses from being all around you. But you can mount a series of defenses strong enough that they can't get to you.

Here comes fall -- and in the United States, that means most adults can expect to get at least two colds between September and March. Experts aren't certain why, but they believe it's because cold viruses survive best in cold, dry weather.

What's the best way not to get sick? Well, you can't keep the cold viruses from being all around you. But you can mount a series of defenses strong enough that they can't get to you. Here are the six top doctor-tested ways to keep colds away.

1. Embrace your inner germophobe. Doctors and other medical professionals, who are on the front lines in the war against colds, have discovered ingenious ways to avoid touching hard surfaces that many other people have also touched (leaving behind cold viruses that can live for up to 24 hours). They open doors with their forearms, for instance, and push elevator buttons with their knuckles.

Train yourself to think in terms of public surfaces, which means anything other people touch. Yes, the handles of shopping carts are germ breeding grounds. But watch out for your own steering wheel as well, if there are several drivers in your family. Doorknobs and toilet seat lids are obvious concerns; and be alert for anything you touch or pick up, including the backs of chairs, the handles of suitcases, the books you share with friends. Can't remember where your hands have been in the last hour? Solve the problem by washing them frequently, especially after you've been in public locations. Carry disinfectant wipes to wipe down surfaces you have to touch and hand sanitizer for when you can't get to a sink.


2. Make your face off-limits to your hands Of the more than 200 viruses that cause the common cold, the majority are a type called rhinoviruses, the root of which is rhino, which means nose. Virus particles must make it into the mucous membranes lining the nose in order to cause infection; the nasopharynx -- where the nose meets the mouth -- is the "sweet spot" for these viruses. If they can reach this spot, it's very likely you'll get sick; if you prevent them from getting there, you won't. And a virus deposited at the base of the nose can easily be inhaled higher up into the nose. Virus particles can't easily reach the nose on their own, since they aren't airborne; they need your hands to transport them there. Therefore, if your hands don't touch your mouth or nose, the virus has no way to hitchhike a ride.

One more thing most people don't realize: The eyes are connected directly to the nasal passages via the tear ducts. According to one humorous poster displayed in many doctors' offices, we're much more likely to catch a cold from putting an infected person's water glass in the sink and then wiping our eyes than we are from drinking from the glass itself. Keep your hands away from your nose and eyes, and you'll greatly reduce your chances of catching a cold.


3. Beware of the sneeze. It may look funny -- even a tad uncouth -- when you see someone sneeze into the crook of their elbow, but they're doing you an enormous favor. Colds are spread by physical contact with tiny particles of virus, and when you sneeze, you send droplets of virus-filled mucous raining down onto any handy surface, including your hand if you've used it to cover your mouth. So do everyone, including yourself, a favor by training yourself and your family in the art of the elbow sneeze. Both the Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control have introduced campaigns to teach people to sneeze into their elbows to reduce the transmission of both colds and flu.

If that's not an easy habit to get into, sneeze into a tissue, then dispose of it promptly and wash your hands. One study found that cold germs can live for several hours on tissues and other porous surfaces.

4. Get your immune-boosting sleep.
Researchers know something night owls just can't seem to accept: Those who skimp on sleep are more likely to get sick. The reason? While you sleep, your body recharges your immune system, so it's better equipped to fight off a cold. One 2009 study at Carnegie Mellon University found that people who slept fewer than seven hours a night were three times more likely to develop a cold when exposed to a virus than those who slept eight or more hours per night. Experts don't know exactly how sleep protects you from getting a cold, but there's evidence that sleep boosts immune function by increasing the number of "killer cells," which attack viruses.

5. Hydrate to stay healthy.
When the mucous membranes in the nose and throat are moist, they're better equipped to fight germs. The best way to ensure moist nasal tissues? Be vigilant about staying well hydrated by drinking four to eight glasses of water throughout the day. For the same reason, many doctors recommend nasal mists and saline nasal sprays at the first sign of a cold. In some studies, they've been found to be effective in boosting the body's natural system of germ eradication, which works to flush germs from your nose.

Nasal membranes dry out even more easily in dry winter air, making them more susceptible to germs, which is one reason experts say we get most colds and flu during the winter. Drinking herbal tea is one good way to keep your protective mucous membranes working; the heat triggers your nasal passages to release moisture, and inhaling the steam bathes the tissues in moisture.

6. Get enough vitamin D. It's natural at this time of year to want to arm your immune system with some of the many vitamins and supplements that are touted as having immune-boosting properties. Unfortunately, most of them don't work. There is one simple and inexpensive vitamin that's proven to boost immune function, though: vitamin D. Studies show that most adults don't get enough of this nutrient from their diet alone. Experts don't yet know exactly how vitamin D protects against colds and flu, but numerous studies show a direct association between low blood levels of vitamin D and frequency of infection. Other research supports the idea that vitamin D boosts immune function in general.

How to know if you might need extra D? Ask yourself if you drink a lot of vitamin-D-fortified milk, (one of the only food sources of this nutrient), live in the south, and spend at least 15 minutes a day outside in direct sunlight without sunscreen. (Remember, north of the 37th parallel, which runs just south of San Francisco in the west and just south of Richmond, Virginia, in the east, the sunlight simply isn't strong enough to trigger vitamin D production at all during the winter months.)

If not, chances are you're D-deficient. You can have the level of vitamin D in your blood checked by asking your doctor for a blood test. But a safer approach may be to take a vitamin D supplement no matter what, since there aren't any negative side effects to worry about unless you take a huge amount. New recommendations are in the process of being developed, but in the meantime, an informal medical consensus recommends taking 2,000 IUs (International Units) of vitamin D daily in the form of vitamin D-3, which is most easily absorbed.




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Why your weight-loss plan isn't working (BLOG)

If you're not seeing results, these mistakes could be to blame.

You’ve read the books, followed the rules, and made the oh-so painful food sacrifices. But when you step up on that scale, you still aren’t seeing results. What gives?

The basis of a healthy weight loss plan is that you should take in fewer calories than you expend, says Vandana Sheth, RD, CDE, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Identify an appropriate daily calorie level for yourself and make practical expectations so your plan is effective and long-lasting,” she says. While it sounds simple, this formula can quickly backfire if you miscalculate the calories you consume, overestimate the calories you burn, or commit one of these other dieting blunders. Find out what’s stalling your weight loss and what you can do fix it.

You Overestimate the Calories You’re BurningPeople often think that because they’re exercising they can eat more. "Maybe you’re getting hungry now that you’re exercising, but it does not give you an excuse to eat what you want,” says Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet. To lose a pound a week, you should maintain a deficit of about 500 calories per day, which you can achieve with a combination of burning and cutting calories—just make sure you monitor how many you’re really consuming and expending.

Solution: Keep tabs on your actual burn by paying attention to the exercise machine or using a weight calculator. "If you’re exercising, you should refuel before and after workouts with mini meals, not actual meals,” Gans says. Before exercising, eat some cottage cheese with fruit and whole-grain crackers or peanut butter and honey on toast. Afterward, try a smoothie made with frozen berries and yogurt or graham crackers with peanut butter served with low-fat chocolate milk and a banana.

You Walk 30 Minutes a Day for Exercise“I never discourage working out, but if people are really trying to lose weight, they need to realize that on an hour-long walk, you’re burning only 200 to 300 calories,” says Jim White, RD, owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition in Virginia Beach, VA. While shedding a couple hundred calories a day could add up if you’re also cutting calories, doing the same low-intensity workout every day can inhibit results.

Solution: To jump-start the burn, intensify your workout. Strength training can be a big metabolism booster. You’ll burn an extra 30 to 50 calories a day for each pound of muscle you build, according to White. “When you’re doing cardio workouts, you burn calories during the session, but if you lift weights you burn during the session and also throughout the evening and next day while your body repairs.” If you’re unsure about picking up the weights, you can enhance your walking workout by integrating interval training. To burn an extra 100 to 200 calories, White suggests integrating short bursts of jogging into your stroll. You can add intervals instinctively, as you feel ready, or take a watch with you and set up timed intervals. For example, walk 4 minutes and jog for 2.

You Skimp on BreakfastYou know it’s important to eat a morning meal to jump-start metabolism, but if you’re not eating enough you won’t reap this benefit. Women should aim for 300 to 400 calories at breakfast, and men should try to eat around 400 to 500. A breakfast that’s too small could leave you feeling sluggish for the rest of the day and can also make you overeat at the next meal. To stay satisfied, include a mix of whole grains and lean protein in your morning meal—in other words, a packet of oatmeal or a breakfast bar, each coming in at under 200 calories, won’t do the trick.

Solution: “Offset the carbohydrates you eat at breakfast with a protein. Try oatmeal with a side of egg whites, or an English muffin with some almond butter.” White says. Protein rounds out your meal nutritionally, and a study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed that high-protein breakfasts helped control appetite throughout the day. Also, choose whole-grain carbohydrates. Research in the journal Public Health Nutrition indicates that eating whole grains may lower the risk of obesity and weight gain.

You Eat Salad for LunchJust because you’ve selected a salad for your lunch doesn’t mean you’ve made the best choice, warns Gans. “Not all salads are created equal. The dressing alone could add an extra 200 calories, if you choose the wrong one.” By the end of the week, that could really add up.

Solution: To avoid consuming hundreds of additional dressing calories, stick with no more than 2 tablespoons of the stuff, says Gans. If you need something else to moisten your salad, add either lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, she advises. Or add chopped tomatoes—once their juice is distributed throughout the salad, you won’t need to use as much dressing.

You Overdo It on Healthy FoodsTurns out you can get too much of a good thing. Eating any food in excess—even nutrient-rich foods like avocados, nuts or fish—will lead to weight gain. Research shows that over time, Americans have gotten increasingly bad at determining appropriate portions. A 2006 study from the University of Rutgers showed that what college students perceived to be a portion was significantly larger than what participants selected in a similar study conducted 20 years prior.

Solution: For any weight loss plan, portion control is key. If you’re unsure about how much you should eat, do a little research; you might be surprised at what you learn. For example, you might be tempted to wolf down an entire avocado, but a single serving is about only one-fifth of the fruit. A serving of almonds is around 22 (about as many as would fit in a shot glass). Likewise, you’re on the right track if you’re sticking with lean meats, but a portion of chicken or fish should be closer to the size of a deck of cards than the size of a novel, Gans says.

To stay on track, Sheth suggests starting a food diary. “Research has shown that people who monitor food intake are more successful at maintaining their diet long term,” she says. And with smart phone technology, you have a lot of options in terms of apps for tracking what you eat.

You Eliminate a Food Group“People are still eliminating carbs from their diet because they think carbs will make them gain weight, but the truth is it’s not the carbs, it’s how much you’re eating of them,” Gans says. People who consume too few carbs might be consuming more calories than they should from protein—even lean varieties. For example, an 8-ounce serving of chicken with veggies actually has more calories than a 4-ounce piece of chicken served with a half a cup of rice.

Solution: Incorporate appropriate portions of high-fiber carbohydrates. Not only will they prevent you from eating too many calories in your protein, but fiber will help you stay full so you won’t overeat later, Gans says. Try adding high-fiber whole grains like brown rice, wheat couscous, barley or quinoa to your diet.

Your Diet Is Too Strict“If you’re eliminating foods you love, it’s totally going to backfire,” Gans says. “Eating too little during the day will cause you to overeat at night.” People who are on restricted diets tend to not lose weight after a plateau when their starvation instinct kicks in, explains Sheth. “Your body isn’t sure when that next bite is coming, so it converts everything into fat.”

Solution: Make sure you eat every few hours. “Plan several small meals instead of skipping meals, and snack every 3 to 5 hours,” Sheth says. Just make sure you keep portion size in mind so your snack doesn’t turn into a complete meal. Gans also recommends finding healthy ways to continue to eat the food you love. If you love pizza, choose vegetable toppings instead of pepperoni and sausage, she suggests. “Then make sure you have one slice instead of three, add a side salad, and now you’re able to enjoy pizza!”

You Drink Your Calories “I tell people to think before they drink,” Gans says. “Is what you’re having another disguise for sugar?” Even if you’re watching your portions and working out regularly, you’ll rapidly add calories to your daily regimen by indulging in a large sugary coffee beverage, non-diet soda, or fruit juice. Data from the National Cancer Institute indicate that adults consume about 287 liquid calories daily. “Anything greater than an 8-ounce serving is probably over-drinking,” Gans says.

Solution: An 8-ounce glass is much smaller than what you’ll be served in many coffee shops, or even in your own home. If you’re a latte or mocha addict, Gans recommends limiting yourself to no more than one small coffee once a day. Can’t get enough juice? Mix it with seltzer so you get more to drink while consuming fewer calories.



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