One germy doorknob can infect half your office within hours

Many people worry about catching a virus from a sick coworker, but perhaps they should also start worrying about other sources of possible infection. New research shows that contamination of just a single doorknob can help spread germsthroughout office buildings, hotels or health care facilities within hours.

Researchers applied samples of a virus to surfaces such as doorknobs and tabletops and found that, within two to four hours, the virus had been picked up by 40 to 60 percent of workers and visitors in the facilities and could be detected on many commonly touched objects.  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-germy-doorknob-can-infect-half-your-office-within-hours/

ER Visits Up for High Blood Pressure

Emergency room visits for high blood pressure jumped 25 percent in the United States in recent years, according to a new study.

The finding -- based on nearly 4 million U.S. emergency room visits from 2006 to 2011 -- points to a need for people to better control their blood pressure by going to their primary care doctor, said Dr. Sourabh Aggarwal, the study's lead researcher.

"That's quite a big increase in the number of visits to the ER," said Aggarwal, chief resident in internal medicine at the Western Michigan University School of Medicine in Kalamazoo.

However, while ER visits jumped, hospital admissions for high blood pressure, or hypertension, fell by 15 percent, the researchers said.

And deaths among those admitted to the hospital because of blood pressure spikes fell 36 percent, the investigators found.  http://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/emergencies-and-first-aid-news-227/er-visits-for-high-blood-pressure-up-in-u-s-study-says-691554.html

‘Fat shaming’ doesn’t work, a new study says

If, somehow, you think shaming overweight or obese people helps them lose weight, here's a news flash: It doesn't.

A new study from University College London evaluated the question: Are people who experience discrimination or negative interactions based on their weight actually encouraged to lose the extra pounds?

The answer, according to their findings, is a clear no.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/09/11/fat-shaming-doesnt-work-a-new-study-says/

Belly Up: American Waistlines Are Still Expanding, Study Finds

American adult waistlines are still spreading, a new study finds. While body mass index, a key measure for obesity, has stabilized, our bellies have increased an inch over the last decade — to a circumference of almost 39 inches. That's bad news, researchers say.  

“[Waist circumference] has kind of been picking up year after year [while] BMI flat-lined a little bit,” says Dr. Earl Ford, a medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control, and an author of the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Tuesday.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/belly-american-waistlines-are-still-expanding-study-finds-n204746

Artificial sweeteners could cause spikes in blood sugar

Artificial sweeteners might be triggering higher blood-sugar levels in some people and contributing to the problems they were designed to combat, such as diabetes and obesity, according to new findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Although the precise reasons behind the blood-sugar changes remain uncertain, researchers suspect that artificial sweeteners could be disrupting the microbiome, a vast and enigmatic ecosystem of bacteria in our guts.

In a series of experiments, researchers found that several of the most widely used types of non-calorie sweeteners in food and drinks — saccharin, sucra­lose and aspartame — caused mice to experience increased risk of glucose intolerance, a condition that can lead to diabetes.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-suggests-sweeteners-could-contribute-to-obesity-and-diabetes/2014/09/17/c3c04ea6-3dc2-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html

Common Painkillers Tied to Blood Clot Risk, Study Suggests

People who use painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- which include aspirin, naproxen (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) -- may be at increased risk for potentially deadly blood clots, a new study suggests.

But the study only showed an association between use of the painkillers and higher clotting risk; it did not prove cause-and-effect.

The researchers analyzed the results of six studies involving more than 21,000 cases of a type of blood clot called a venous thromboembolism (VTE).

These clots include deep vein thrombosis (a clot in the leg) and pulmonary embolism (a clot in the lungs).

Reporting online Sept. 24 in Rheumatology, the analysis found that people who used NSAIDs had an 80 percent higher risk for venous clots.  http://consumer.healthday.com/bone-and-joint-information-4/pain-health-news-520/common-painkillers-tied-to-higher-blood-clot-risk-study-finds-692029.html

Cancer-Screening Program For Women Attempts to Fill Gaps Left by Health Reform

Dr. Milcah Larks is all too familiar with the cost of delaying preventative cancer screenings for women.

As an oncologist in the Immunology Clinic at Ventura County Medical Center, a hospital in Ventura focused on underserved populations, she prescribes treatment for patients with breast and cervical cancer. Often, patients come to her at late stages of the disease, requiring drastic interventions such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. These are treatments that could have been avoided, or at least made more effective, if the patients had been diagnosed sooner through routine mammograms and Pap smears.

“It’s frustrating,” said Dr. Larks, as she relaxed recently in the hospital’s cafeteria after a long workday. “I’m saddened when I have to tell a young person with young children that they may not be there to see their grandkids, to see their kids graduate form high school.”  http://www.healthycal.org/archives/16615

Get a flu shot even if you’re a healthy adult, CDC says

Think the flu’s only a big threat to kids and seniors? Influenza hospitalized a surprisingly high number of young and middle-aged adults last winter — and this time   around the government wants more of them vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says just a third of healthy adults ages 18 to 64 got vaccinated last year. In contrast, 70 percent of children younger than 5 got a flu vaccine, and 65 percent of seniors.

Flu vaccine is recommended for nearly everyone age 6 months or older. There are multiple types to choose from. CDC says the nasal spray is the preferred choice for certain healthy children — those ages 2 to 8 — but if none’s available, they should go ahead and get the regular flu shot.  http://www.dailynews.com/health/20140918/get-a-flu-shot-even-if-youre-a-healthy-adult-cdc-says

San Gabriel becomes first city to approve regional bicycle plan

The City Council Tuesday unanimously approved 32.5 miles of new bikeways in the city and became the first to adopt the San Gabriel Valley Regional Bike Plan proposing 32.5 miles of bikeways in the city.

The plan, prepared by nonprofits Day One and Bike SGV, proposes interconnected bike routes and lanes in the cities of San Gabriel, Monterey Park, South El Monte, El Monte and Baldwin Park. The plan was designed by ALTA Planning, funded through a grant from the Healthy Eating and Active Living initiative at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“It’s going to facilitate connections specifically for alternative modes of transportation,” said Javier Hernandez, program director for Bike SGV. “The other thing is that as residents of the San Gabriel Valley we all know traffic is pretty much a given anywhere you go. We are really hoping to change the landscape so that it is really conducive to bicycling so people .., start swapping out those short distance car trips to either biking or walking.”  http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20140917/san-gabriel-becomes-first-city-to-approve-regional-bicycle-plan

U.S. nutrition program for mothers, infants sees falling demand

A government nutrition program for pregnant mothers and small children has not kept pace with technology and U.S. poverty experts say its paper voucher system is driving low-income women away from the program when they need it most.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, has seen a sharp drop in participation since 2010, unlike food stamps and other anti-poverty programs that ballooned during the 2007-9 recession and the economic recovery that followed, government figures show.

"WIC providers are tearing their hair, beating their chests, 'what are they doing wrong?'" said Laurie True, California WIC Association director.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/19/us-usa-poverty-nutrition-idUSKBN0HE1AF20140919

Seattle to fine residents and businesses for wasting food

The Seattle city council has voted to fine businesses and residents that waste too much food.

Under the new rules, households will be fined $1 (£0.61) if their rubbish bins contain more than 10% food waste, and businesses and apartment buildings $50.

The city already recycles 56% of its waste but is aiming for 60% by 2015.

Seattle, in Washington State, is the second US city after San Francisco to make composting mandatory in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Composting is the processing of breaking down food and lawn refuse into useable soil through decomposition.

Up to 40% of food in the US is wasted, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Only 5% of food scraps are composted, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The city will begin issuing warning tickets on 1 January 2015 and fining customers on 1 July, according to the ordinance, which passed unanimously on Monday.  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29336968

Breath test for TB developed

Researchers have developed the first breath test for TB in the laboratory.

It provides rapid information on drug resistance that takes up to six weeks using standard methods, US scientists report in the journal, Nature Communications.

The bacteria emit a unique gas signature within 10 minutes of exposure to an inhaled antibiotic in rabbits.

TB infects 8.6m people each year worldwide and kills 1.3m, second only to HIV.

Early diagnosis and treatment are a priority in the global fight against TB, according to the World Health Organization.  http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29342006

U.S. diabetes rate levels off, but not for all

Overall adult diabetes rates appear to have leveled off during the past four years in the United States, in stark contrast to the two decades prior, which saw a doubling of the chronic disease, according to a new federal study.

The total number of people living with diabetes increased an average 0.6 percent annually between 2008 and 2012 while the number of new cases actually fell an average 5.4 percent, researchers for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. That compared with an average 4.5 percent annual increase between 1990 and 2008, they said.

Not all groups in the United States have benefited, however. Diabetes rates continue to rise for blacks, Hispanics, the aging and the poorly educated, according to the report published in the Sept. 24 Journal of the American Medical Association.  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-diabetes-rate-levels-off-but-not-for-all/

Report Identifies Game Changers for U.S. Health Care

Imagine if doctors and hospitals got paid for providing better care, not more care, and consumers had better data for making informed health choices.

A new report suggests that's the direction the U.S. health system is headed.

The report, from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics in Parsippany, N.J., identifies 10 "harbingers of change" -- recent events expected to alter the delivery of health care and use of medicines over the next decade.

The authors concede that poor adoption of new technologies, worries about data privacy and other obstacles could slow the pace of change, but their long-term outlook for patient care is hopeful.

"I think there can be optimism about the effectiveness of the care [patients] receive and even the cost of it," said Murray Aitken, executive director of the institute, as well as one of the study's authors.

One indication of what lies ahead: the entry of such technology juggernauts as Apple, Google and Samsung into the health care marketplace, according to the report.  http://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/doctor-news-206/report-identifies-health-care-game-changers-691988.html

Soda giants to cut calories 20% by 2025

Imagine the nation's beverage behemoths essentially asking folks to drink fewer sugary soft drinks — not more.

On Tuesday (9/23), Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group came close to that by announcing a shared goal to reduce the number of beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20% by 2025.

The move, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative, does not reduce the actual calories in a 12-ounce can of conventional soda, which is about 150 calories. Instead, the beverage companies pledged to take specific actions to reduce soft drink calorie consumption — like selling smaller portion sizes and increasing promotion of products such as bottled water.

The companies jointly pledged to provide calorie counts and promote calorie awareness on the vending machines, fountain dispensers and retail coolers that they control nationwide.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/23/soft-drinks-beverages-coca-cola-pepsico-dr-pepper-snapple/16097945/

Activity levels in mums and children 'directly linked'

The more active a mother is, the more physically active her child will be, suggests a UK study of 500 mums and four-year-olds.

But many mothers' exercise levels fell way below recommended levels, it said.

Researchers from Cambridge and Southampton universities used heart-rate monitors to measure activity levels over seven days.

The study, published in Pediatrics, said policies to improve children's health should be aimed at mothers.

Children are not "just naturally active", it concluded, and parents have an important role to play in developing healthy exercise habits early on in life.  http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26679906

In California, chefs fight for bare-hand contact

 As the happy hour crowd poured in on a recent weeknight, the kitchen and bar staff at Hock Farm restaurant scrambled to meet the incoming orders.

One used her hands to toss locally grown Romaine hearts with anchovy dressing in a metal bowl, while another, facing diners from behind a marble countertop, used his fingers to sprinkle cojita cheese and red onion into chicken tacos.

A gloveless bartender wedged an orange slice on the edge of a white wine spritzer.

All of them were breaking a state law that took effect in January, but won't be enforced until July.

California is a straggler in banning bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. A state-by-state review of food codes shows 41 other states have a version of the legislation signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown.

In all these states, chefs and bartenders must keep bare hands off food going straight to the plate or the drink glass, from the rice in a sushi roll to the mint in a mojito. Instead, they must use utensils or gloves. Hock Farm owner Randy Paragary says bringing this rule to California disrupts well-established hand-washing routines, generates unnecessary waste and restricts his employees' in their craft.  http://news.yahoo.com/california-chefs-fight-bare-hand-contact-055624111.html

32 Million Underinsured in U.S., Report Finds

A new report finds that 32 million people were underinsured in the U.S. in 2012, meaning their health insurance didn’t do enough to cover their costs.

That makes for 80 million Americans who either have no health insurance at all, or who don’t have enough, the report finds.

It will be important to watch and see if the provisions of the Affordable Care Act cut into this number, the non-profit Commonwealth Fund said in issuing the report.

Those most likely to miss out will be people living in states that choose not to expand Medicaid, said the group, which advocates for health reform.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/32-million-underinsured-u-s-report-finds-n60851

Overweight Teens Feel Stigmatized, Bullied: Study

A new British study finds that overweight teens are likely to feel stigmatized, isolated and even bullied for their size.

"The perspectives of young people in the U.K., when synthesized across the spectrum of body sizes, paint a picture of a stigmatizing and abusive social world," researchers from the Institute of Education at the University of London wrote.

According to the study, about 20 percent of kids aged 11 to 15 are considered to be obese in the United Kingdom. Researchers found 30 studies that surveyed teens in the United Kingdom (aged 12 to 18) about weight issues. More than 1,400 children -- of all body sizes -- answered the surveys between 1997 and 2010.

Overall, the survey participants felt the social problems caused by excess weight were a bigger deal than health problems. Those surveyed tended to believe that people are responsible for their weight; some respondents linked excess weight to laziness, greed and lack of control, along with a lower level of attractiveness.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145995.html

Ironclad Findings About Red Meat's Harms?

A type of iron found only in red meat is associated with an increase in the risk of heart disease, a new review finds.

Researchers analyzed 21 studies that included more than 292,000 people who were followed for an average of 10 years. They found a link between consuming heme iron -- which is only in red meat -- and a 57 percent increased risk of heart disease.

In contrast, consuming non-heme iron -- found in vegetables, other non-meat sources and iron supplements -- was not associated with the risk of heart disease, according to the researchers at the Indiana University School of Public Health at Bloomington.

"Heme iron is absorbed at a much greater rate in comparison to non-heme iron [37 percent vs. 5 percent]," the researchers said in a university news release. "Once absorbed, it may contribute as a catalyst in the oxidation of [bad cholesterol], causing tissue-damaging inflammation." This inflammation is a potential risk factor for heart disease.

The study was recently published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145945.html

Even Routine Housework May Help Stave Off Disability

Daily physical activity as light as pushing a shopping cart, vacuuming the house or strolling through a museum can dramatically reduce a person's risk of disability, a new study reports.

People who spent more than four hours a day doing light physical activity had more than a 30 percent reduction in their risk for developing a disability, compared to those spending only three hours a day in light activity, researchers found.

"The bottom line is to stay as active as possible. Even spending time in light activity will be beneficial," said lead author Dorothy Dunlop, a professor with the Center for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago.

The federal government recommends that adults get at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise a week. Such exercise is known to reduce a person's risk of disability, Dunlop said.

But some people have health issues that prevent them from pursuing that level of exercise, which includes activities like walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing and bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour, she said.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145970.html

Mother's Pregnancy Weight Gain May Influence Child's Obesity Risk

Children born to mothers who gain either too much or too little weight during their pregnancy are more likely to be overweight or obese, a new study has found.

Putting on too few or too many pounds during a pregnancy "may permanently affect mechanisms that manage energy balance and metabolism in the offspring, such as appetite control and energy expenditure," study author Sneha Sridhar, of Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research, theorized in a Kaiser news release.

"This could potentially have long-term effects on the child's subsequent growth and weight," she said.

In the study, Sridhar's team looked at the medical records of children aged 2 to 5 born to more than 4,100 women in California.

They found that 20.4 percent of those children whose mothers gained more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy were overweight or obese, compared to 14.5 percent of those whose mothers gained weight within recommended guidelines.

Similar numbers arose when the researchers compared overweight rates for children whose mothers gained less than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145685.html

Too Little Vitamin D May Add to Obesity's Burden

Severely obese people with vitamin D deficiency may be less mobile than those with normal levels of the vitamin, a new study says.

Poor physical functioning can reduce quality of life and increase the risk of early death, the researchers noted.

The study included 252 severely obese people who were timed as they walked 1,640 feet and climbed up and down a single step 50 times. The participants also gave blood samples and estimates of their levels of physical activity.

Those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the slowest walking times and the lowest amounts of physical activity, according to the study published April 15 in theJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"People with severe obesity already are eight times more likely to have poor physical function than people with a healthy [body weight]," study co-author Tomas Ahern, of St. Columcille's Hospital and St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, said in a journal news release.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145690.html

Obesity Linked to Increased Odds of Losing Baby, Study Finds

Women who are overweight or obese when they get pregnant may be at increased risk for miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death, researchers say.

The danger is greatest for severely obese women, who appear to have about double or triple the risk of losing their baby, although that risk is still small, the study authors noted.

The findings, based on a review of previously published studies, underscore the need for women who plan pregnancy to try to maintain a healthy weight, the researchers suggested.

"As for women who are already pregnant, they should follow existing guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy," said lead author Dagfinn Aune, from the department of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London in England.

"This analysis gives a better picture of the strength of the risks," said Aune. "Although fetal and infant deaths are relatively rare in high-income countries, affecting about 0.5 percent of pregnancies, they are devastating for the parents that are affected."

Moreover, overwhelming data shows that being overweight or obese increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, high blood pressure and birth defects, Aune said.

"All of these conditions have been linked to increased stillbirth risk. Although we don't know all the details of the molecular mechanisms, I think it's likely that there is a biological effect of excess weight on these outcomes," he said.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145693.html

One in Every 20 Adults Is Misdiagnosed in Outpatient Clinics Every Year

A new study, published in BMJ Quality and Safety, finds that one in every 20 adults in the U.S.—which translates to about 12 million adults—is misdiagnosed in outpatient clinics every year. What's more, many of these misdiagnoses have the potential to cause serious harm.

According to the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, diagnostic error is the leading cause of medical malpractice claims in the U.S., and is estimated to cause 40,000 to 80,000 deaths annually.  http://www.healthline.com/health-news/american-adults-misdiagnosed-outpatient-clinics-041714

Crunchy or Smooth? Food's Texture May Sway Perception of Calories

Creamy butter or ice cream versus a crunchy granola bar: A new study suggests that the texture of foods influences people's dieting choices.

"We studied the link between how a food feels in your mouth and the amount we eat, the types of food we choose, and how many calories we think we are consuming," wrote study authors Dipayan Biswas and Courtney Szocs, both from the University of South Florida, and others.

In one experiment, participants were asked to sample foods that had soft, smooth, hard or rough textures and then estimate their calorie amounts.

In another test, volunteers were asked to watch and rate a number of television ads, thinking that was the test. But they were also given cups with bite-sized brownies as a "thank you" for their time. Half of the participants were also asked about the amount of calories in the brownies.

Some of the participants received softer-textured brownies while the other half got crunchier brownies. People who had been asked about the calories in the brownies which forced them to focus on caloric intake -- ate more of the crunchy brownies than soft.

On the other hand, those whose minds weren't focused on calories tended to eat more of the soft brownies, the investigators found.  http://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/crunchy-or-smooth-food-s-texture-may-sway-perception-of-calories-686894.html

15-Minute Visits Take A Toll On The Doctor-Patient Relationship

Joan Eisenstodt didn’t have a stopwatch when she went to see an ear-nose-and-throat specialist recently, but she is certain the physician was not in the exam room with her for more than three or four minutes.

“He looked up my nose, said it was inflamed, told me to see the nurse for a prescription and was gone,” said the 66-year-old Washington, D.C., consultant, who was suffering from an acute sinus infection.

When she started protesting the doctor’s choice of medication, “He just cut me off totally,” she said. “I’ve never been in and out from a visit faster.”

These days, stories like Eisenstodt’s are increasingly common. Patients – and physicians – say they feel the time crunch as never before as doctors rush through appointments as if on roller skates to see more patients and perform more procedures to make up for flat or declining reimbursements. 

It’s not unusual for primary care doctors’ appointments to be scheduled at 15-minute intervals. Some physicians who work for hospitals say they’ve been asked to see patients every 11 minutes.   http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2014/April/21/15-minute-doctor-visits.aspx

The Public Health Crisis Hiding in Our Food

IF you have high blood pressure, you’re in good company. Hypertension afflicts 67 million Americans, including nearly two-thirds of people over age 60. But it isn’t an inevitable part of the aging process. It’s better to think of it as chronic sodium intoxication. And, as an important new study from Britain shows, there’s a way to prevent the problem — and to save many, many lives.

A lifetime of consuming too much sodium (mostly in the form of sodium chloride, or table salt) raises blood pressure, and high blood pressure kills and disables people by triggering strokes and heart attacks. In the United States, according to best estimates, excess sodium is killing between 40,000 and 90,000 people and running up to $20 billion in medical costs a year.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/opinion/the-public-health-crisis-hiding-in-our-food.html?_r=1

Dirty Money: A Microbial Jungle Thrives In Your Wallet

You may have heard that dollar bills harbor trace amounts of drugs.

But those greenbacks in your wallet are hiding far more than cocaine and the flu. They're teeming with life.

Each dollar bill carries about 3,000 types of bacteria on its surface, scientists have found. Most are harmless. But cash also has DNA from drug-resistant microbes. And your wad of dough may even have a smudge of anthrax and diphtheria.

In other words, your wallet is a portable petri dish.  http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/23/305890574/dirty-money-a-microbial-jungle-thrives-in-your-wallet

iAnd currency may be one way antibiotic-resistant genes move around cities, says biologist Jane Carlton, who's leading the Dirty Money Project at the New York UniversitThe project offers an in-depth look at the living organisms shacking up on our cash. One goal of the work is to provide information that could help health workers catch disease outbreaks in New York City before they spread very far.

Statins May Lead Some Patients to Pig out: Study

Ten years of U.S. data suggest cholesterol-lowering statins are giving patients a license to pig out.

Calorie and fat intake increased among statin users during the decade — an indication that many patients might be abandoning heart-healthy lifestyles and assuming that drugs alone will do the trick, the study authors said.

They said the goals of statin treatment should be to help patients achieve benefits unattainable by other methods, "not to empower them to put butter on their steak."

Statins may keep cholesterol low even if people eat less healthy food and slack off on exercise, but those bad habits can contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other problems that are bad for the heart. The study was published online Thursday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Rita Redberg, the journal's editor, said the study "raises concerns of a potential moral hazard of statin use," in addition to already known potential side effects risks including muscle aches and diabetes.

"Statins provide a false reassurance," she said. "People seem to believe that statins can compensate for poor dietary choices and sedentary life."  http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/statins-lead-patients-pig-study-23463139

Could More Coffee Lower Your Odds for Diabetes?

Drinking more coffee might lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, a new large U.S. study suggests.

People who boosted their daily java intake by more than one cup over four years reduced their diabetes risk, while adults who drank less coffee in that time frame saw their odds for diabetes rise, the study of over 123,000 adults found.

"It looks like there is a dose-response relationship between increasing coffee consumption and a lower risk of diabetes," said lead researcher Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"Basically, the more coffee, the lower the risk of diabetes," Hu said. "People who drink three to five cups of coffee a day enjoyed a significant reduction in type 2 diabetes risk."

However, people can drink too much coffee, particularly those who don't respond well to caffeine, Hu cautioned. Caffeine, a stimulant, keeps some people awake, and can also cause the heart to speed up.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145878.html

Your Digestive Tract's Surface Is the Size of a Studio Apartment

The inner surface of your gastrointestinal tract is as large as a small studio apartment, or between about 100 and 130 square feet, according to a new study.

While that may seem impressive, it's much smaller than previous estimates that put it at between about 600 to 1000 square feet, or as large or larger than a tennis court.

The Swedish researchers used special microscopic techniques to determine the size of the gastrointestinal tract, which is about 16 feet long in a normal adult, but contains many folds and protrusions.

The small intestine accounts for the greatest part of the gastrointestinal tract's surface area, the researchers said. The large intestine accounts for only about 6.5 square feet while the mouth, esophagus and stomach amount to about 3 square feet, according to the researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

"It may appear to be simply a curious fact, but the dimensions of the inner surface of the gastrointestinal tract are important for the uptake of nutrients and drugs, and the new information will help us understand how the mucous membrane protects the body from harmful factors in the intestinal contents," study co-author Lars Fandriks said in a university news release.

Colleague Herbert Helander explained why previous estimates were wrong.

"The gastrointestinal tract is a dynamic system that is difficult to access in the abdominal cavity, and this makes it difficult to measure," he said in the news release. "Since the past measurements were carried out either during post mortems or during abdominal surgery, when the tissue is relaxed, it is easy to obtain misleading measurements."

The researchers noted that their estimate is for healthy average adults, and that the actual surface area of the digestive tract differs from person to person and is affected by factors such as diet and lifestyle.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145876.html

Kids' Genetic Risk for Obesity Rises With Age, Study Finds

As children get older, genes appear to play an increasing role in whether some kids become heavier than their peers, a new study indicates.

Researchers looked at 2,556 pairs of twins in England and Wales when they were aged 4 and 10. The investigators focused on 28 genetic variants known to be associated with obesity risk.

The study also looked at each child's body-mass index (BMI), which is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight, at both ages.

The results indicated that the influence of the genetic variants rose over the years. In other words, genes appear to be responsible for 43 percent of the difference in size among kids at age 4, but 82 percent of the difference in size among kids at age 10, the study authors pointed out.

The findings, published in the current issue of the journal Obesity, confirm results from previous studies, according to the researchers.

"Our results demonstrate that genetic predisposition to obesity is increasingly expressed throughout childhood," study co-leader Dr. Clare Llewellyn, of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, said in a university news release.

"This underlines the importance of intervening at an early age to try to counteract these genetic effects and reduce childhood obesity," she added.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145864.html

Study to test whether nutrients in dark chocolate can prevent heart attack, stroke

It won't be nearly as much fun as eating candy bars, but a big study is being launched to see if pills containing the nutrients in dark chocolate can help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The pills are so packed with nutrients that you'd have to eat a gazillion candy bars to get the amount being tested in this study, which will enroll 18,000 men and women nationwide.

"People eat chocolate because they enjoy it," not because they think it's good for them, and the idea of the study is to see whether there are health benefits from chocolate's ingredients minus the sugar and fat, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, preventive medicine chief at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The study will be the first large test of cocoa flavanols, which in previous smaller studies improved blood pressure, cholesterol, the body's use of insulin, artery health and other heart-related factors.

A second part of the study will test multivitamins to help prevent cancer. Earlier research suggested this benefit but involved just older, unusually healthy men. Researchers want to see if multivitamins lower cancer risk in a broader population.  http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/03/17/study-to-test-whether-nutrients-in-dark-chocolate-can-prevent-heart-attack/

Wider Waistline May Mean Shorter Lifespan: Study

 Having a big belly means big trouble when it comes to your health, researchers warn.

They analyzed data from 11 studies that included more than 600,000 people worldwide and found that people with large waist circumferences were at increased risk of dying younger and dying from conditions such as heart disease, lung problems and cancer.

Men with waists of 43 inches or more had a 50 percent higher risk of death than those with waists less than 35 inches. This equated to a three-year lower life expectancy after age 40, according to the study.

Women with waists of 37 inches or more had an 80 percent higher risk of death than those with waists of 27 inches or less, which equated to a five-year lower life expectancy after age 40.

The larger the waist, the greater the risk, the researchers said. For every 2 inches of increased waist circumference, the risk of death increased 7 percent in men and 9 percent in women, according to the study, which was published in the March issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Although the review found an association between larger waist size and risk of death at a younger age, it didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145119.html

Cholesterol test now recommended for kids 9 to 11

The face of cholesterol testing just got a lot younger.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently revised guidelines for annual well-child visits, adding a recommendation that all children between the ages of 9 and 11 get a dyslipidemiascreen, which calculates total cholesterol, including high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol, aka HDL), low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol, aka LDL or non-HDL) and triglycerides in the blood.

It's the result of a 2012 report from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which urged the universal childhood test based on evidence that elevated triglycerides and LDL raise the risk of later cardiovascular disease, which afflicts at least 40 percent of the U.S. population. It cited evidence that early intervention can substantially reduce that risk.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0312-cholesterol-kids-20140312,0,7375649.story

Health conspiracy theories are widely believed

Nearly half of American adults believe the federal government, corporations or both are involved in at least one conspiracy to cover up health information, a new survey finds.

Conspiracy theories on everything from cancer cures to cellphones to vaccines are well known and accepted by sizable segments of the population, according to a research letter published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The findings reflect "a very low level of trust" in government and business, especially in pharmaceutical companies, says study co-author Eric Oliver, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. They also reflect a human tendency to explain the unknown as the work of "malevolent forces," he says.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/19/health-conspiracy-theories/6602775/

Water Myths Revisited, From Weight Loss to Hydration

Dieters are often told to drink plenty of water, but doing so won't help them shed excess pounds, an expert says.

"There is very little evidence that drinking water promotes weight loss. It is one of those self-perpetuating myths," Beth Kitchin, an assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a university news release.

"I'm not saying drinking water isn't good," she said, adding that she's aware of only one study that showed people who drank more water burned a few extra calories. "And it was only a couple of extra calories a day," she said.

Another popular misconception is that the temperature of drinking water affects weight loss.

"You will hear that ice-cold water helps burn extra calories," Kitchin said. "While there may be a few extra calories lost, it won't be nearly enough to make a dent in your weight-loss endeavors."  http://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/water-myths-revisited-from-weight-loss-to-hydration-685817.html

Fried Food More Dangerous If You Have the Wrong Genes

Fried food is bad for everyone, but it might be especially bad for people with the “wrong” genes, researchers reported Tuesday.

They found people with the worst combination of obesity-linked genes were twice as likely to be overweight or obese if they also ate fried foods frequently than people dealt a better genetic hand.

It’s the latest study to show that we are not all created equal when it comes to the risk of weight gain. Some people may have to watch their diets even more carefully than others, the researchers report in the British Medical Journal.

Lu Qi of the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and colleagues examined data from more than 37,000 people taking part in three big studies looking at health.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fried-food-more-dangerous-if-you-have-wrong-genes-n55881

Exercise data reveal a couch potato nation

Americans are stuck in chairs and on the couch, spending eight hours a day with their metabolic engines barely idling, according to data from sensors that scientists put on nearly 2,600 people to see what they actually did all day.

The results were not encouraging: Obese women averaged about 11 seconds a day at vigorous exercise, while men and women of normal weight exercised vigorously (on the level of a jog or brisk uphill hike) for less than two minutes a day, according to the study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

If you included moderate exercise, such as yoga or golf, folks of normal weight logged about 2.5 to 4 hours weekly, according to the data. In part, that’s good news: federal recommendations for adults include 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity coupled with muscle-strengthening exercise.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-exercise-sedentary-20140221,0,2080046.story

Does This Mean I Can Eat More? New Food Label Questions, Answered

e FDA is proposing the first changes to those little black-and-white food labels in more than 20 years, and they aim to take a more realistic look at what people eat.

A 20-ounce soft drink would now be a single serving under the proposed rules, and so would a whole cup of ice cream. It's sure to be controversial. Here are some of the questions people are already asking:

Doesn’t this new approach encourage people to eat and drink more?

The FDA doesn’t think so — instead they say the new serving sizes will more accurately reflect what people eat anyway, helping people make informed decisions. They cite studies showing that at least some people do look at food labels. Other research disputes this. “People aren’t doing a lot of complicated math when they are making decisions about what to eat,” says Julie Downs of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She’s done research showing most people really don’t change their behavior much even when they do read labels.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/does-mean-i-can-eat-more-new-food-label-questions-n40081

Nutrition labels getting a makeover

Choosing healthier foods at the grocery store may soon be a little easier.

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing several changes to the nutrition labels you see on packaged foods and beverages. If approved, the new labels would place a bigger emphasis on total calories, added sugars and certain nutrients, such as Vitamin D and potassium.

The FDA is also proposing changes to serving size requirements in an effort to more accurately reflect what people usually eat or drink. For example, if you buy a 20-ounce soda, you're probably not going to stop drinking at the 8-ounce mark. The new rules would require that entire soda bottle to be one serving size -- making calorie counting simpler.

This is the first overhaul for nutrition labels since the FDA began requiring them more than 20 years ago. There has been a shift in shoppers' priorities as nutrition is better understood and people learn what they should watch for on a label, administration officials said.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/27/health/nutrition-labels-changes/

U.S. expands healthy food assistance to women, infants and children

 Some 9 million poor women and young children who receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government's so-called WIC program will have greater access to fruits, vegetables and whole grains under an overhaul of the program unveiled on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture hailed the revamping of its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children as the first comprehensive revisions to WIC food voucher allowances since 1980.

The list of foods that recipients could pay for with WIC vouchers was long limited to such basics as milk, infant formula, cheese, eggs, cereals, bread and tuna fish.

But many of the changes finalized by the USDA on Friday were instituted on an interim basis in 2007, including the introduction of fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables to the list of WIC-covered foods.

In its final form, the overhaul will boost by 30 percent, or $2 per month, the allowance for each child's fruit and vegetable purchases, and permit fresh produce in lieu of jarred infant food for babies, if their parents prefer.   

http://news.yahoo.com/u-expands-healthy-food-assistance-women-infants-children-074424454--finance.html

Hundreds of Foods in U.S. Contain Hazardous Chemical: Report

Nearly 500 foods found on grocery store shelves in the United States, including many foods labeled as "healthy," contain a potentially hazardous industrial plastics chemical, according to a report issued Thursday by a health research and advocacy group.

Azodicarbonamide, also known as ADA, was found as an ingredient in breads, bagels, tortillas, hamburger and hot dog buns, pizza, pastries, and other food products, according to a report by the Environmental Working Group, based in Washington.

Some consumer groups have called for the removal of azodicarbonamide from use in foods. Fast food chain Subway said earlier this month that it was removing the chemical from its products, but stated that ADA is a safe and widely used ingredient for many foods.

Azodicarbonamide is fully approved for use in food by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But ADA is banned as an additive in Australia and some European countries.  

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-foods-u-s-contain-hazardous-chemical-report-n39846

Screen all pregnant women for diabetes, task force says

ll pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes, an independent task force advised Monday, endorsing a test that most doctors routinely perform.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found an overall benefit to screening and treatment, including a reduced risk of preeclampsia in pregnant patients and of having an overly large baby and birth-related injuries to the newborn.

The task force’s recommendation, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, noted that 96 percent of obstetricians screen for the condition, and that other medical groups also recommend screening. The group said women with no history of diabetes should be screened after 24 weeks of pregnancy.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/screen-all-pregnant-women-diabetes-task-force-says-2D11918147