Reducing television viewing lowers BMI and obesity

Reducing television viewing and computer use may have an important role in preventing obesity and in lowering BMI in young children, and these changes may be related more to changes in energy intake than to changes in physical activity. – Using a monitoring device to reduce television viewing and computer use time by 50 percent over a two-year period appears to reduce calorie intake, sedentary behavior and body mass index in overweight children age 4 to 7, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Teens who eat breakfast daily eat healthier diets

University of Minnesota School of Public Health researchers find teens who eat breakfast daily eat healthier diets than those who skip breakfast. – University of Minnesota School of Public Health Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researchers have found further evidence to support the importance of encouraging youth to eat breakfast regularly.

Zebrafish offer useful screening tool for genes, drugs that protect against hearing loss

A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it?s not the fish?s ears that are of interest. – A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it’s not the fish’s ears that are of interest. In a study published in the Feb. 29 issue of the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers at the University of Washington have developed a research method that relies on a zebrafish’s lateral line-the faint line running down each side of a fish that enables it to sense its surroundings-to quickly screen for genes and chemical compounds that protect against hearing loss from some medications.

American adults may not get enough rest or sleep

About 10 percent of American adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, according to a new four-state study. – About 10 percent of adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, according to a new four-state study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Antidepressant and psychotherapy work for depressed teens

Antidepressant and psychotherapy work for depressed teens

Teens with treatment-resistant depression more likely to get better with switch to combination therapy – antidepressant and psychotherapy. – Teens with difficult-to-treat depression who do not respond to a first antidepressant medication are more likely to get well if they switch to another antidepressant medication and add psychotherapy rather than just switching to another antidepressant, according to a large, multi-site trial funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Drug resistant tuberculosis growing, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that drug resistant tuberculosis is spreading faster than medical experts have feared. – Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been recorded at the highest rates ever, according to a new report published today. The report presents findings from the largest survey to date on the scale of drug resistance in tuberculosis.

Gastric acid protects against foodborne diseases

Gastric acid protects against foodborne diseases

Low levels of gastric acid in the stomach can increase one?s likelihood of getting a foodborne infection. – A new study suggests that low levels of gastric acid in the stomach can increase one’s likelihood of getting a foodborne infection. The researchers from Australia report their findings in the February 2008 issue of the journal Infection and Immunity.

Daytime dozing increases stroke risk in elderly

Older people who have significant trouble staying awake during the day have more than four times the normal risk of having a stroke, US researchers said. – Regular daytime dozing forewarns of a significantly increased risk of stroke in older Americans, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008.

Hypoglycemia alert dogs for diabetes people

The Armstrong Project, now formally known as Dogs For Diabetics, Inc. began almost seven years ago, when the founder, Mark R., began researching the possibility of training dogs to detect type 1 diabetes related hypoglycemia and physically alert the diabetic to the impending hypoglycemia. – Glucose monitors, test strips, and lancets: people with diabetes are all too familiar with the equipment used to test their blood glucose (sugar) levels. Now some people are adding a different kind of aid to their diabetes management regimen. The March 2008 issue of Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), features an article about assistance dogs that are trained to sense episodes of human hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, and sound a life-saving alert.

Heavy cell phone users subject to cancers

Cell Phone – Cancer Link Found by Tel Aviv University Scientist; A new study finds an association between heavy cell phone use and tumors – An Israeli scientist, Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, has found a link between cell phone usage and the development of tumors. Dr. Sadetzki, a physician, epidemiologist and lecturer at Tel Aviv University, published the results of a study recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology, in which she and her colleagues found that heavy cell phone users were subject to a higher risk of benign and malignant tumors of the salivary gland.

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