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Agility, or the ability to react quickly to change without losing your balance, is an important skill not only for playing sports, but also for everyday living. Strength training helps improve agility, but so do balance and coordination exercises. Simple moves include standing on one foot, standing on tiptoe and walking heel to toe. Specific activities that boost agility: Yoga Tai chi Ladder and hurdle drills Jumping rope A great do-anywhere exercise is controlled marching in place. Lift your right arm overhead as you lift your left leg, bending the knee at a 90-degree angle. Hold for three to five seconds, then switch sides. Continue alternating arms and legs for a total of three to five minutes. For better agility and coordination, here are three more exercises that will help: First, toss a small, soft ball from one hand to another, keeping your eyes on the ball at all times. For added difficulty do this as you balance on one leg, lifting the other leg by bending the knee at a 90-degree angle. Do 10 tosses, reverse legs and repeat. Next, bounce a small agility ball against a wall and catch it, first with two hands, then with your dominant hand and finally with your non-dominant hand. The ball will bounce in different directions, requiring quick action. Be sure to do this in an open… read on >

The “choking game” — and other clearly ill-advised and dangerous internet challenges — leave many parents wondering what drives teens to take the bait and participate. Now, a new study suggests that an underlying psychological disorder may be one reason why some kids jump at online dares such as the “Bird Box” challenge, where people walk around blindfolded, and the Tide Pod challenge, daring people to eat laundry detergent. The French researchers, who decided to focus on the choking game, found that nearly 10 percent of the almost 1,800 middle schoolers surveyed had tried it. Those who had participated were about twice as likely to be depressed or to have a conduct disorder. “Parents of adolescents with behavioral problems, as well as parents of depressed teens, need to be aware of this serious problem in order to educate and monitor their vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Victor Fornari. He directs child and adolescent psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., and Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. Fornari said this study highlights that “prevention strategies need to be developed to intervene in this dangerous behavior.” The choking game is a thrill-seeking activity where people self-strangulate or have someone else strangle them to the point of passing out. Supposedly, the lack of blood and oxygen to the brain causes a temporary euphoric… read on >

American parents aren’t sure whether their teen and young adult children should be prescribed opioid painkillers, and many don’t know there are other ways to get pain relief, a new survey finds. The poll included more than 1,000 parents of children aged 13 to 24, one-third of whom had been prescribed opioid painkillers. While more than half of the parents were concerned their child may be at risk for opioid addiction, nearly two-thirds believed opioid painkillers were better at controlling their child’s pain after surgery or an injury than over-the-counter medications or non-drug treatments. Many parents don’t know or ask about those other options, according to the Jan. 27 survey commissioned by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). “The survey results shed light on the country’s conflicted relationship with and understanding of opioids. While most parents said they were concerned about side effects and risks such as addiction, improper or recreational use and overdose, they still thought opioids work best to manage pain,” Dr. Linda Mason, ASA president, said in a society news release. While 59 percent of parents said they would talk to their child’s doctor about pain management options, only 37 percent of those whose children were prescribed opioids actually did. The survey also found that nearly nine out of 10 parents knew that non-opioid, over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil… read on >

Even a slight improvement in your heart/lung fitness could reduce your risk of a heart attack, a new study reveals. Between 2006 and 2008, researchers assessed the cardiorespiratory (heart/lung) fitness of just over 4,500 men and women in Norway. None had heart disease, high blood pressure or cancer, and most were considered at low risk for heart disease over the next 10 years. By 2017, however, 147 of the study participants had suffered a heart attack or developed angina, conditions caused by narrowing or blockage of heart arteries. More investigation showed that the risk of heart attack and angina steadily declined as cardiorespiratory fitness increased. “We found a strong link between higher fitness levels and a lower risk of heart attack and angina pectoris over the nine years following the measurements that were taken,” said Bjarne Nes of the Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. “Even among people who seem to be healthy, the top 25 percent of the most fit individuals actually have only half as high a risk as the least fit 25 percent,” he said in a university news release. The study used a fitness calculator developed at CERG, which measures the body’s capacity to transport and use oxygen during exercise. It found that for each increase of 3.5 fitness points, the risk… read on >

(HealthDay News) — If you have arthritis, there are foods that may help you feel better. A diet that’s rich in vitamins and minerals, and includes fruits, lean proteins, fish, vegetables, nuts and healthy oils may be most beneficial, the foundation says. But it cautions against changing too much, too soon. Gradually swap out ingredients at each meal, and you may feel a big difference in how you feel and how well you can manage your pain and discomfort, the foundation adds.

When it comes to monitoring physical activity, we’ve come a long way from pedometers that only counted steps. Today’s health trackers use sensors to monitor movement and store and analyze the data. You can track calories burned, calories consumed, your heart rate during and after exercise, and even how long you sleep. Like a personal coach, a tracker can motivate you to reach goals and strive for new ones. It’s important to note that not all wearables perform equally well. A number of studies have compared the accuracy of many brands in lab tests to real-world activity. Their ability to estimate steps, distance, physical activity, energy expenditure and sleep can vary, but so do results from the various studies. For instance, one study found that step count and sleep time were recorded most accurately, but total daily energy expended less so. Such discrepancies aside, tracking your progress, even simply the number of steps you take toward the suggested goal of 10,000 a day, can be helpful. Before you invest in a device, you might want to first test an app to see if you’ll actually use it. Next decide on your budget — a good wearable can run well over $100, depending on its functions. Determine the type of wearable you want, such as a bracelet or watch for your wrist or a clip-on device… read on >

Weight loss wisdom suggests chewing every bite 15 or more times to give your brain time to process what you’re eating and send the signal that you’re full. Now a group of studies has found that counting the bites themselves could be an effective way to lose weight. Knowing that dieters often underreport how many calories they eat, researchers from Clemson University conducted a number of studies that showed bites could be a more accurate measure of food intake. They also found that wearable technology that can count the bites for you and tell you when you’ve reached your limit can help you eat less. To create a realistic bite goal for yourself, start by establishing your baseline number of bites. Without changing anything about your current consumption, track and write down every bite you take at every meal and snack for one week. Then you can work on reducing that number. A pilot study at Brigham Young University found that when participants cut their bites by 20 percent or 30 percent at every meal and snack, they lost an average of about one pound a week and lowered their body mass index (BMI), too. (BMI is a measure of body fat that takes into account a person’s weight and height.) One reason counting bites helps is that it keeps you from mindless eating. It’s… read on >

Three weeks in a cast or brace may be just as effective in healing ankle fractures as the typical six weeks, a new study shows. While six weeks in a cast is the usual treatment, there are risks associated with prolonged immobilization, including stiffness, skin damage and blocked blood vessels. Finnish researchers decided to find out if three weeks of treatment would be as effective as six. Their study included 247 patients who were 16 and older with a common type of stable fracture that didn’t require surgery. Eighty-four patients wore a cast for six weeks; 83 spent three weeks in a cast; and 80 spent three weeks in an ankle brace. They were assessed at six, 12 and 52 weeks after their fracture. The healing process for those who spent three weeks in a cast or brace was as successful as among those who spent six weeks in a cast, and shorter treatment brought no added harm, according to the study published Jan. 23 in the journal BMJ. In addition, those who wore a brace for three weeks had slightly better ankle mobility than participants who wore a cast for six weeks. The findings were similar after accounting for patient differences, according to the researchers led by Dr. Tero Kortekangas, from Oulu University Hospital in Finland. His team used an external-rotation (ER) stress test… read on >

Finasteride, best known as the enlarged-prostate medicine Proscar, is a safe, effective way to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, according to long-term findings from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). The trial was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and enrolled nearly 19,000 men between 1993 and 1997. Initially it found that finasteride — a hormone-blocking drug — cut the risk of prostate cancer by 25 percent. Those results were published in 2003. The newly released long-term data show that the reduction of prostate cancer risk has continued and that fewer than 100 men in the trial died from prostate cancer in more than two decades of follow-up, according to a research team led by Dr. Ian Thompson. The updated results also showed no statistically significant increased risk of death from prostate cancer among men taking finasteride. This removes concerns over early findings of a possible risk of more aggressive cancers among patients who take the drug. “Finasteride is safe, inexpensive and effective as a preventive strategy for prostate cancer,” said Thompson, who is principal investigator of the PCPT for the SWOG Cancer Research Network. The SWOG Cancer Research Network is an international cancer clinical trials group. “Doctors should share these results with men who get regular prostate-specific antigen [PSA] tests that screen for the presence of prostate cancer,” Thompson said in a… read on >

Fried chicken, french fries and chicken-fried steak might be delicious, but treating yourself to such fare regularly could be deadly, a new study warns. Women who eat more than one serving a week of fried chicken or fried fish have an increased risk of heart disease and death, researchers report. “Overall, we found that total fried food consumption is related to higher risk of all-cause death, and also death from cardiovascular disease,” said senior researcher Dr. Wei Bao. He’s an assistant professor of epidemiology with the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health. The results are not surprising “given the association of fried food to weight gain and obesity, as well as elevation of cholesterol and triglycerides,” said Dr. Guy Mintz, who was not part of the study. He directs cardiovascular health and lipidology at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “Poor decisions lead to poor outcomes. We have the opportunity to help ourselves live healthier and longer with lifestyle changes,” Mintz said. “It is time we own what we eat and realize our dietary choices have consequences.” For the study, Bao and his colleagues relied on data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a long-running federally funded study focused on heart disease, cancer and other health problems in postmenopausal women. Nearly 107,000 women between ages 50 and 79 were quizzed on… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Fun Moves for Better Agility

The ‘Choking Game,’ the ‘Bird Box Challenge’: Which Kids Are Most at Risk?

Many Parents Conflicted About Opioids for Their Teens’ Pain

Small Fitness Gains Provide Big Heart Disease Protection: Study

Health Tip: What to Eat if You Have Arthritis

How to Pick a Fitness Tracker That’s Right for You

Slim Down by Counting Bites Instead of Calories

Ditch the Cast: Some Broken Ankles May Heal in Half the Time

Prostate Drug Finasteride Can Safely Lower Cancer Risk, Study Says

Too Much Fried Food May Shorten Your Life