Adults who used an electronic lock-out system to reduce their television time by half did not change their calorie intake but did expend more energy over a three-week period, according to a report in the December 14/28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The average adult watches almost five hours of television per day, according to background information in the article. Some efforts to prevent and reduce obesity have focused on modifying diet and physical activity, but newer strategies have involved reducing sedentary behaviors such as TV watching. Not only may reducing TV time allow time for more active endeavors, it may also help alleviate chronic sleep deprivation, potentially linked to obesity.
Jennifer J. Otten, Ph.D., R.D., then of the University of Vermont, Burlington, and now of Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif., and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial of 36 adults who had a body mass index between 25 and 50 and reported watching at least three hours of TV per day. Between January and July 2008, all participants underwent a three-week observation period during which their daily TV time was assessed. A group of 20 individuals was then randomly assigned to receive an electronic device that shut off the TV after they had reached a weekly limit of 50 percent of their previously measured TV viewing time. An additional 16 participants served as a control group.
Health & Wellness
A new paper from MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente strengthens the link between longevity proteins called sirtuins and the lifespan-extending effects of calorie restriction.
For decades, it has been known that cutting normal calorie consumption by 30 to 40 percent can boost lifespan and improve overall health in animals such as worms and mice. Guarente believes that those effects are controlled by sirtuins -- proteins that keep cells alive and healthy in the face of stress by coordinating a variety of hormonal networks, regulatory proteins and other genes.
In his latest work, published Dec. 15 in the journal Genes and Development, Guarente adds to his case by reporting that sirtuins bring about the effects of calorie restriction on a brain system, known as the somatotropic signaling axis, that controls growth and influences lifespan length.
For decades, it has been known that cutting normal calorie consumption by 30 to 40 percent can boost lifespan and improve overall health in animals such as worms and mice. Guarente believes that those effects are controlled by sirtuins -- proteins that keep cells alive and healthy in the face of stress by coordinating a variety of hormonal networks, regulatory proteins and other genes.
In his latest work, published Dec. 15 in the journal Genes and Development, Guarente adds to his case by reporting that sirtuins bring about the effects of calorie restriction on a brain system, known as the somatotropic signaling axis, that controls growth and influences lifespan length.
After 56 days of oral treatment with milk thistle in capsule form, children in a placebo-controlled trial showed significantly lower levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and trends toward lower alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and bilirubin, according to Kara M. Kelly, MD, of Columbia University, and colleagues.
The study "provides preliminary evidence that milk thistle may be a safe, effective, supportive-care agent," the researchers concluded in an online report in Cancer.
© Nora Lawrence
As any weary traveler who has ever longed for a home-cooked meal can attest, food connects us to our families and communities by reminding us where we come from and - just for a moment - transports us back to a place of familiarity, trust, and comfort.
But in many Indigenous communities across North America, this pivotal aspect of both health and culture is slipping away. Knowledge of traditional agricultural techniques, food sources, and preparation has become increasingly scarce as the pressures of urbanization, poverty, and modern lifestyles push many individuals and communities towards processed and artificial foods.
This phenomenon has caused more than the obvious health problems like diabetes and obesity; it has also hindered the ability of many communities to observe their religious and spiritual ceremonies and has driven a generational wedge between those community members who connect to traditional food and those who have never known its importance or pleasure.
© iStockphoto
New research suggests that drinking more coffee (regular or decaffeinated) or tea appears to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
New research suggests that drinking more coffee (regular or decaffeinated) or tea appears to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
By the year 2025, approximately 380 million individuals worldwide will be affected by type 2 diabetes.
Despite considerable research attention, the role of specific dietary and lifestyle factors remains uncertain, although obesity and physical inactivity have consistently been reported to raise the risk of diabetes mellitus. A previously published meta-analysis suggested drinking more coffee may be linked with a reduced risk, but the amount of available information has more than doubled since.
Rachel Huxley, D.Phil, of The George Institute for International Health, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues identified 18 studies involving 457,922 participants and assessing the association between coffee consumption and diabetes risk published between 1966 and 2009.
Students who watch as their peers endure the verbal or physical abuses of another student could become as psychologically distressed, if not more so, by the events than the victims themselves, new research suggests.
Bullies and bystanders may also be more likely to take drugs and drink alcohol, according to the findings, which are reported in the December issue of School Psychology Quarterly, published by the American Psychological Association.
"It's well documented that children and adolescents who are exposed to violence within their families or outside of school are at a greater risk for mental health problems than those children who are not exposed to any violence," said the study's lead author, Ian Rivers, PhD. "It should not be a surprise that violence at school will pose the same kind of risk."
Bullies and bystanders may also be more likely to take drugs and drink alcohol, according to the findings, which are reported in the December issue of School Psychology Quarterly, published by the American Psychological Association.
"It's well documented that children and adolescents who are exposed to violence within their families or outside of school are at a greater risk for mental health problems than those children who are not exposed to any violence," said the study's lead author, Ian Rivers, PhD. "It should not be a surprise that violence at school will pose the same kind of risk."
School playgrounds fitted with granite sand surfacing significantly reduce the risk of children fracturing arms in comparison with wood fibre surfaces, according to a randomized trial published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.
Even in well maintained playgrounds there is always a risk of injury -- in the United States alone, 200,000 children are treated for playground injuries a year. Andrew Howard (of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada) and colleagues examined the rate of arm fracture as a result of falls on to two types of playground surface -- granite sand and engineered wood fibre. Despite standards for the type and depth of surfaces used in school playgrounds, there is little information about the ability of different surfaces to prevent injuries. The researchers took advantage of planned playground replacement by the Toronto School District Board in a number of schools to perform a randomized controlled trial of the two surfaces in preventing injuries.
Over two and a half years, the researchers found that of the 19 schools that complied with the surface they were randomly assigned to, falls from height onto wood fibre surface resulted in more arm fractures than falls from height onto granite sand. The risk of an arm fracture was 4.9 times higher on a wood fibre surface compared to a granite sand playground. The rate of arm fracture and other injuries that were not as a result of falling from height did not vary between the surfaces.
Even in well maintained playgrounds there is always a risk of injury -- in the United States alone, 200,000 children are treated for playground injuries a year. Andrew Howard (of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada) and colleagues examined the rate of arm fracture as a result of falls on to two types of playground surface -- granite sand and engineered wood fibre. Despite standards for the type and depth of surfaces used in school playgrounds, there is little information about the ability of different surfaces to prevent injuries. The researchers took advantage of planned playground replacement by the Toronto School District Board in a number of schools to perform a randomized controlled trial of the two surfaces in preventing injuries.
Over two and a half years, the researchers found that of the 19 schools that complied with the surface they were randomly assigned to, falls from height onto wood fibre surface resulted in more arm fractures than falls from height onto granite sand. The risk of an arm fracture was 4.9 times higher on a wood fibre surface compared to a granite sand playground. The rate of arm fracture and other injuries that were not as a result of falling from height did not vary between the surfaces.
Scientists have long assumed that amyloid brain plaques found in autopsies of Alzheimer's patients are harmful and cause Alzheimer's disease. But autopsies of people with no signs of mental impairment have also revealed brain plaques, challenging this theory.
Now, for the first time, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that brain plaques in apparently healthy individuals are associated with increased risk of diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease years later.
In two studies published this month in Archives of Neurology, scientists report that volunteers with brain plaques were more likely to have declining scores on annual cognitive tests, to show signs of shrinkage in a key brain area affected by Alzheimer's and to eventually be diagnosed with the disease.
Now, for the first time, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that brain plaques in apparently healthy individuals are associated with increased risk of diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease years later.
In two studies published this month in Archives of Neurology, scientists report that volunteers with brain plaques were more likely to have declining scores on annual cognitive tests, to show signs of shrinkage in a key brain area affected by Alzheimer's and to eventually be diagnosed with the disease.
Applying brainstorming techniques to new product development works best when the collaboration employs participants from varied specialties gathering to develop a less complex product, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).
When new products will be highly technical, a better way to develop them is for specialists to do their work in private and collaborate through 'nominal' groups, the study says.
"The Effects of Problem Structure and Team Diversity on Brainstorming Effectiveness" is by Stylianos Kavadias of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Svenja C. Sommer of HEC Paris.
When new products will be highly technical, a better way to develop them is for specialists to do their work in private and collaborate through 'nominal' groups, the study says.
"The Effects of Problem Structure and Team Diversity on Brainstorming Effectiveness" is by Stylianos Kavadias of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Svenja C. Sommer of HEC Paris.
As the country awaits word from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the controversial industrial chemical bisphenol A - BPA - the head of a key federal agency head warns that ingesting BPA be avoided, especially by women who are pregnant, infants, and children.
"There are plenty of reasonable alternatives," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (JSOnline). Birnbaum noted that she is not a physician, but that her involvement with BPA studies has her concerned about its adverse effects, said JSOnline. Birnbaum said consumers should be "absolutely" worried about BPA's effects quoted JSOnline.
Last week, Birnbaum gave testimony before a Senate panel, comparing the chemical to "lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls," said JSOnline. Those chemicals have been found to be extremely dangerous to human health at low doses. Meanwhile, the NIEHS will be investing $30 million over two years to research the toxin and its effects on what Birnbaum described as "all stages of development," said JSOnline.
Developed in the 1930s, the estrogenic mimicker - originally developed as a replacement for the hormone, said JSOnline - appears to wreak havoc on the body's' endocrine system. Today, in urine tests, BPA is found in the overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 93 percent and was recently found to be present in the vast majority of newborns.
BPA has been connected to increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; and links with serious health problems.
"There are plenty of reasonable alternatives," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (JSOnline). Birnbaum noted that she is not a physician, but that her involvement with BPA studies has her concerned about its adverse effects, said JSOnline. Birnbaum said consumers should be "absolutely" worried about BPA's effects quoted JSOnline.
Last week, Birnbaum gave testimony before a Senate panel, comparing the chemical to "lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls," said JSOnline. Those chemicals have been found to be extremely dangerous to human health at low doses. Meanwhile, the NIEHS will be investing $30 million over two years to research the toxin and its effects on what Birnbaum described as "all stages of development," said JSOnline.
Developed in the 1930s, the estrogenic mimicker - originally developed as a replacement for the hormone, said JSOnline - appears to wreak havoc on the body's' endocrine system. Today, in urine tests, BPA is found in the overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 93 percent and was recently found to be present in the vast majority of newborns.
BPA has been connected to increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; and links with serious health problems.
