Obesity

Diet and Exercise are a Winning Combination for Health

Worldwide, 1.2 billion people are overweight—and 3 million of them are obese. With these numbers continuing to rise, weight loss programs are more popular than ever. But, what works? Again, diet combined with exercise, appears to be most effective for weight loss. The results of new study published in the journal, Nutrition and Metabolism, have shown that combining a diet that restricts caloric intake with a resistance-based circuit exercise program stimulates the greatest amount of weight loss for women who are sedentary and overweight. They have also shown that when carbohydrates are replaced with protein while keeping fat intake at recommended levels, there were larger decreases in waist circumference, body mass, fat mass and fat-free mass (skeletal muscle, bone and water are all examples of fat-free mass) compared to a diet with a higher proportion of carbohydrates. So, for inactive, overweight women, to improve body composition and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, a higher protein diet and resistance-based exercise program could be the key to a healthier future.

Click here to read the full study: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/709895

Aging

Trying to Catch You Before You Fall

More than one-third of people ages 65 or older fall each year, with 1 in 10 resulting in serious injury. And with a growing aging population—by the year 2020, the Administration on Aging projects that over 20% of the American population will be over 60—preventing falls promises to be big business. According to an article in the New York Times, scientists are utilizing wearable sensors and wireless sensors embedded in carpets to measure a person’s walking speed, stride length, step width, and body sway to assess the risk of falling. After analyzing a person’s gait, doctors can devise more customized exercise programs for specific muscles or changes in medication to eliminate such things as dizziness. By studying activity patterns and detecting risks earlier, scientists are hopeful that this new research could lead to older people being able to live independently in their homes longer.

Click here to read the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/business/08unboxed.html?_r=1&ref=health

Smoking

Could Battling the Butt Get Easier?

Nicotine gum, patches, hypnotism, antidepressants… The list for smoking cessation aids goes on, but quitting smoking is still one of the most difficult things for people to do. Experts say nicotine is a harder habit to kick than heroin. But there may be help on the horizon. Phase III trials have begun on a new drug, NicVAX, that aims to actually prevent nicotine from ever entering the brain, helping smokers quit—permanently. With the nicotine not reaching the brain, smokers no longer get that “smoker’s high.” And without that, why smoke? Clinical trials are still ongoing, but initial results have been promising.

Click here to read the full story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/09/anti.nicotine.vaccine/index.html

Osteoarthritis

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Knee Osteoarthritis

More than 10 million Americans have knee osteoarthritis, according to About.com. It is also the most common cause of disability in the United States. In a recent issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, researchers have shown that among obese women, those with cardiometabolic risk factors are twice as likely to suffer from knee osteoarthritis. Cardiometabolic risk factors include such things as obesity, high LDL (”bad”) cholesterol, high blood fat (triglycerides), low HDL (”good”) cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. Women with “clusters” of these risk factors have shown a higher prevalence of knee osteoarthritis. It is important to note, however, that being obese is not synonymous with the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings are important for determining behavioral and therapeutic treatments of knee osteoarthritis. And they may be an indication of why some treatments are associated with a greater risk of heart disease. Researchers have concluded that treatments for pain that exacerbate those cardiometabolic characteristics should not be used in patients with this pattern of risk factors.

Click here to read more: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711991

Heart Health

Breast Cancer Survivors Should Look to Their Hearts

Most breast cancer survivors tend to focus most on their risk for recurrence of cancer. But new research has shown that they should be just as concerned about their hearts. It has been reported at the ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium that the 10-year risk of a serious cardiovascular event was at least as high as the risk of breast cancer for 78% of women. Researchers suggest that risk reduction strategies common to cardiology and oncology, such as physical activity, may help avoid both dangers. The recommendation is that oncologists and cardiologists build a partnership to help manage these risks and weigh competing health conditions. This is particularly important for women with very early stage breast cancer, to minimize use of agents that are damaging to the heart, and to offer early cardiac prevention strategies. So, while it’s important to focus on preventing a cancer recurrence, we also have to keep an eye on our heart health.

Click here to read more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/ASCOBreast/16362