Obesity treatment in family members should be contagious
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The Framingham Heart Study is perhaps the most famous long-term medical study. As every medical student learns, starting in 1948, the lifestyle habits of thousands of residents of Framingham, Massachusetts were followed to determine important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
It is because of this study that your physician can, with a few keystrokes, predict with great accuracy your risk of having a heart attack within the next 10 years and what you can do to reduce that risk. I’ve found the “Framingham calculator” to be a terrific educational tool in my practice, especially to illustrate the typically underestimated heart benefits of quitting smoking versus taking costly drugs for high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Obesity and physical inactivity poses arthritis risk, especially for women
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Researchers from the Toronto Western Research Institute noted a higher prevalence of arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitations (AAL) in the U.S. versus the Canadian population. The authors attribute the higher prevalence of arthritis and AAL to a greater level of obesity and physical inactivity in Americans, particularly women. Full findings of this study are published in the March issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.
Arthritis is the leading cause of physical disability, and one of the most frequently reported chronic conditions in the U.S. and Canada. Those in mid to late life are particularly vulnerable to this disabling condition, which is expected to increase in both countries due to the aging baby boomer population. According to a 2005 figure from the National Arthritis Data Workgroup more than 21% of American adults (46 million) have arthritis or another rheumatic condition and over 60% of arthritis patients are women. The 2008 Canadian Community Health Survey reported 15.3% (4.3 million) of Canadians have some form of arthritis, with more women then men affected.
This study is the first to provide a direct comparison of U.S. and Canadian data in search of between-country disparities associated with the prevalence of arthritis and AAL. The authors analyzed results from the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health (JCUSH) conducted in cooperation by Statistics Canada and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics during 2002-2003. Data were obtained for 3,505 Canadians and 5,183 Americans with an overall response rate of 65.5% and 50.2%, respectively.
Pelosi: Lawmaker healthcare concerns can be satisfied
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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she was confident of satisfying Democratic concerns about a Senate-approved healthcare bill and passing the measure.
Pelosi made the comment at her weekly news conference - just hours after one lawmaker said a dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion were willing to kill the legislation unless it satisfies their demand for language barring federal funding of the procedure.
Their threat to kill healthcare reform came a day after President Barack Obama launched a final push to pass the overhaul, a top domestic priority, and urged Democrats in Congress to vote on the bill this month, even without Republican support.
Chinese youth accused of not being fighting fit
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China must urgently address the physical fitness of the nation’s youth or run the risk of raising a generation incapable of fighting the Japanese in a future war, the head of the country’s top sports university said Thursday.
The government must immediately invest some of its new wealth in ensuring that children take regular exercise, Beijing Sports University president Yang Hua told the sports group of the largely ceremonial advisory body to China’s annual parliament.
“It is time for the Chinese nation to improve the physical fitness of our next generation,” said Yang. “If we miss the next three to five years a whole generation will be next to useless.
Europe soccer stadiums unprepared for heart attacks
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Many of Europe’s top soccer stadiums haven’t got the equipment or trained staff to save the lives of spectators who suffer heart attacks, researchers said on Wednesday.
New research published online in the European Heart Journal said that more than a quarter of the 187 top sports arenas that were studied in 10 European countries did not have automated external defibrillators on site, action plans or training in place to help fans who had heart attacks.
Study author Mats Borjesson is chairman of the sports cardiology section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR) and also a club doctor at elite level for both the Swedish premier division football team GAIS and the Swedish national women’s football team.
U.S. fish oil makers sued over supplements
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A group including a California nonprofit organization is suing fish oil manufacturers and pharmacies that sell the popular supplements over their purported toxicity.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Francisco Supreme Court, claims that the makers and sellers of certain supplements found to contain high levels of PCB compounds - man-made industrial chemicals - have failed to alert consumers as required under California’s right-to-know law.
The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, one of three named plaintiffs, tested 10 fish oil supplements out of more than 100 on the market. The other plaintiffs in the case are New Jersey residents.
Obama in great health but struggles with smoking
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U.S. President Barack Obama still struggles with a smoking habit but is in overall excellent health, his doctors said in a report after Obama underwent a routine medical exam on Sunday.
Obama, 48, visited the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for his first checkup since taking office just over a year ago.
A team of doctors led by navy captain Dr. Jeff Kuhlman found Obama to be “fit for duty” and said he was likely to remain so for the rest of his presidency.
US examining possible effects of bisphenol A
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The federal agency that investigates health risks is concerned that the chemical bisphenol A may harm people and is spending $20 million to study the substance, widely used in food containers, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has launched 11 new animal studies to investigate the possible effects of bisphenol A or BPA, NIEHS director Linda Birnbaum told Congress.
“There are concerns about multiple possible health effects of BPA exposure,” Birnbaum told a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Environment Subcommittee.
Striking number of obesity risks hit minority kids
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The odds of obesity appear stacked against black and Hispanic children starting even before birth, provocative new research suggests.
The findings help explain disproportionately high obesity rates in minority children. Family income is often a factor, but so are cultural customs and beliefs, the study authors said.
They examined more than a dozen circumstances that can increase chances of obesity, and almost every one was more common in black and Hispanic children than in whites. Factors included eating and sleeping habits in infancy and early childhood and mothers smoking during pregnancy
Startling obesity risks hit minority kids and troubling inflammation seen in obese 3-year-olds
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The odds of obesity appear stacked against black and Hispanic children starting even before birth, provocative new research suggests.
The findings help explain disproportionately high obesity rates in minority children. Family income is often a factor, but so are cultural customs and beliefs, the study authors said.
They examined more than a dozen circumstances that can increase chances of obesity, and almost every one was more common in black and Hispanic children than in whites. Factors included eating and sleeping habits in infancy and early childhood and mothers smoking during pregnancy.
