U.S. Obesity Leveling Off, Says CDC
Although obesity—having a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher—has been on the rise since the early 80’s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that the rates are leveling off.
Does Biology Affect Breast Cancer Risk? Biological and genetic factors may play as large of a role—or larger—as socioeconomic factors in explaining why black women have lower breast cancer survival rates than white women, or why they suffer from more aggressive forms of the disease, according to new research.
510-Mile Run to Fight AIDS Three men—Mike Sacco, Lejon Boudreaux and ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes—have joined with the Black AIDS Institute to raise awareness for World AIDS Day, December 1, by participating in the Run-in-a-Million Run from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
November 26, 2007
Older Adults Need Sleep Interventions Many older adults suffer from sleeping problems like “sleep fragmentation,” a fancy term for waking up often in the middle of the night.
Kids Won’t Reject Healthy School Lunches A new study has found that children will still buy meals from the school cafeteria when the food is healthier, and that providing healthy lunches isn’t necessarily much costlier than unhealthy lunches.
The Key to Shedding Pregnancy Weight
Mothers who get at least five hours of sleep per day shed more baby weight than those who don’t, according to a new study.
November 21, 2007
Heart Disease Deaths Worsening Among Adults
The good news: for the past 20 years, heart disease deaths have decreased by almost 50 percent in the United States. The bad news: A new report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology states this rate of decrease has dramatically slowed down among middle-aged Americans (35 to 54.)
Injecting Marijuana to Treat Breast Cancer? A compound found in cannabis can inhibit the gene that triggers the spread of breast cancer, which previous studies have found to be more aggressive and harder to treat in black women.
Using Pedometers Increases Weight Loss Pedometers, or step counters, have been found to increase the physical activity of those using them, but only if they kept records of their daily walking routine, says Dr. Dena Bravata of Stanford University.
November 19, 2007
Higher Death Rates for Black Diabetic Children Black children with diabetes are more than two times as likely as white diabetic children to die from the disease, according to new research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Older People with Hypertension Need Better Advice Americans over the age of 60 who have high blood pressure are less likely than younger patients to get proactive, lifestyle-changing advice from their doctors.
Alzheimer’s Survival Rate Disparities
Black and Latino patients who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s tend to live longer after their diagnosis than people of other races and ethnicities, suggests new research.
November 15, 2007
Hourglass Shape = Better Brain?
Are curvy celebrities Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson smarter than the likes of thinner stars like Halle Berry and Kelly Rowlings? Maybe so, suggests a recent study in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
STD Infection Rates Keep on Rising For the second year in a row, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the rates of infection for the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)—chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis—have steadily increased, to an estimated 19 million total cases in 2007.
Extra Weight Increases Risk of Prostate Cancer Deaths
The American Cancer Society announced that overweight men (BMI of 25-29.9) and obese men (BMI of 30 or above) who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are almost twice as likely to die after receiving treatment (removal of prostate gland, radiation and hormone therapy) than those who are of average weight (BMI of 18.5-24.9)
November 12, 2007
Can Spirituality Tackle Hypertension? Spirituality may help older black women with hypertension beat the disease by helping them adhere to their drug regimens, suggests a new study.
Emotional Eaters Have Hard Time Dieting Emotional eaters, or people who tend to eat a lot when they are feeling lonely or depressed, have the hardest time dieting and keeping weight off once they lose it, according to researchers at the Miriam Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Being a Little Overweight Is Not That Bad? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest in a recent study that being 20 pounds overweight (BMI of 25-30) will not raise the risk for dying of cancer or heart disease.
Atkins Diet Can Damage Blood Vessels University of Maryland doctors claim that the highly popular Atkins Diet—a high-fat, low-carb regimen—can harm blood vessels more than other commercial diets such as the South Beach Diet and Ornish Phases, which stress low-fat intake.
Can Gardasil Protect Older Women? Gardasil, Merck and Company’s vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer in girls, may be effective in preventing women up to the age of 45 from contracting the disease, suggests new research.
November 01, 2007
Extra Weight May Lead to Cancer
Red meat and excess body fat are linked to a heightened cancer risk, according to a report released by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research yesterday.
“Silent” Strokes Common Among Seniors
A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that “silent” strokes and other undiagnosed brain abnormalities are more common among older adults.
Good and Bad News About Breast Cancer and Black Women Past studies have shown that breast cancer and tumors in black women are more aggressive and harder to treat, which have led to an increase of early-stage mastectomies among black women to ensure the complete removal of cancerous cells.
