Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Cigarette use fell in most countries over the past three decades, but increased in some nations, notably China, a new global study says. Researchers analyzed data from 71 countries that represent 85% of the world’s population and account for more than 95% of global cigarette use. While overall cigarette use declined, there were significant differences between countries. About 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) of cigarettes were smoked in China in 2013, more than Russia (0.36 MMT), the United States (0.28 MMT), Indonesia (0.28 MMT), Japan (0.20 MMT), and the next 35 highest consuming countries combined. The United States and Japan had reductions of more than 0.1 MMT over a decade, while Russian consumption plateaued, and Chinese and Indonesian consumption rose by 0.75 MMT and 0.1 MMT, respectively. The study was published June 19 in The BMJ. A second study in the same issue of the journal looked at global cigarette use after adoption of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a 2003 international treaty meant to reduce tobacco use. It found that wealthy and European countries had a decrease in annual consumption of more than 1,000 cigarettes per adult, but low- and middle-income and Asian countries had an annual increase of more than 500 cigarettes per adult. The findings “should motivate greater implementation of proven tobacco control policies” and “encourage more assertive… read on >

Everyone experiences anxious moments now and then. But for those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), the worry is frequent and overwhelming, often interfering with everyday activities. Now, a small study suggests that these burdensome feelings can be quelled with a little heart-pumping activity. The study found that just a half hour of vigorous exercise might do the trick. For the study, 35 young adults with suspected but undiagnosed GAD (subclinical GAD) ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes at high intensity, then spent 30 minutes sitting. They completed questionnaires on their feelings of worry, anxiety, energy and fatigue before and after each session. Both men and women emerged less anxious and worried and more energetic after the workout. For women, the improvements were even stronger. Nearly 7 million adults in the United States have GAD, with women more likely to be affected. But only about 40% get treatment for it, and research has focused on alternative therapies. Researchers said their study is the first to show positive effects for young men with subclinical GAD. The findings support previous research about the benefits of exercise for women with GAD. “Several plausible mechanisms have been suggested” to explain the anxiety-easing benefits of exercise, said study lead author Matthew Herring, a lecturer in sport, exercise and performance psychology at the University of Limerick in Ireland. These reasons include… read on >

Kids who don’t drink water take in nearly 100 more calories from sugary drinks every day than those who do, according to a recent Penn State study. About one-fifth of children fall into the no-water group. But a multi-year experiment in the New York City public schools involving more than 1 million students found that installing water dispensers in school can change that. Having dispensers increases the amount of water the kids drink, decreases purchases of sugary chocolate milk and the number of sodas and juices brought to school, and helps prevent excess weight in both boys and girls. But it’s not enough to simply tell kids to give up soda and other sugary drinks and have water instead. It needs to be easier for kids to make this choice. Parents can follow these steps from Children’s Hospital Colorado to encourage kids to choose water. Make drinking water more fun by adding frozen berries or grapes to a clear reusable water bottle designed for small hands. Freeze small bottles of water to pack in their afterschool sports bag. The water will thaw during the day, yet still be cold and refreshing when they reach for it. Let your kids keep the deposit money when you recycle store-bought bottled water containers. When eating out, choose water as the beverage — you’ll not only save calories, but… read on >

Head injuries from riding electric scooters without a helmet are on the rise, a new study reports. Between 2008 and 2017, nearly 32,000 injuries were estimated nationwide, according to a review of records in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance system. Accidents tripled from about 2,300 in 2008 to nearly 7,000 in 2017. Most of those injured were adult men, but a third of the injuries happened to kids between 6 and 12 years of age, researchers said. The most common injuries were closed head injuries, such as concussions, and bleeding or bruising of the brain, the researchers found. Facial cuts and abrasions were also common. In accident records that made note of helmet use, 66% of those injured weren’t wearing one. Use of helmets increased with age from 19% among toddlers to 67% among senior riders. Helmet laws vary from state to state. Researchers emphasized that electric scooters aren’t toys and can reach speeds of up to 30 mph. “The United States should standardize electric scooter laws and license requirements should be considered to decrease the risky behaviors associated with motorized scooter use,” said study lead author Dr. Amishav Bresler. He’s a resident in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark. “In 2000, Italy implemented a law mandating helmet use for all types… read on >

A combination of depression and genetic risk may fuel an addiction to indoor tanning. That’s the conclusion of a new study out of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. For the study, researchers surveyed nearly 300 women who used indoor tanning beds, sunlamps or sun booths, and analyzed DNA samples. The women were white and between 18 and 30 years of age. The risk of tanning addiction doubled in those who had mutations in genes related to dopamine activity; dopamine is key to the brain’s pleasure and reward system. Those mutations, coupled with others linked to depression, increased the risk of tanning addiction by up to 13 times. “By demonstrating that genes in behavioral reward pathways are associated with tanning addiction, we are providing stronger evidence that tanning addiction is a cancer risk behavior in need of intervention,” lead author Darren Mays said in a Georgetown news release. “This finding adds to a growing body of evidence from animal studies and neuroimaging studies that have been done in humans.” Mays is an associate professor of oncology. He’s now beginning a study into the use of text messages as a way to help young women quit if they are addicted to tanning. Exposure to ultraviolet light can cause skin cancers, including deadly melanoma. Indoor tanning accounts for 10% of skin cancers, and this year… read on >

If your loved one’s crooning is music to your ears, the reason appears to rest with part of brain that is super-sensitive to pitch. That’s the upshot of a new study offering a fresh look into what makes us human. For the research, which aimed to understand the role of music in health, researchers compared how human brains and monkey brains respond to speech and music. Key finding: People have a far keener sensitivity to pitch than our evolutionary cousins, macaque monkeys. “This finding suggests that speech and music may have fundamentally changed the way our brain processes pitch,” said lead author Bevil Conway, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. “It may also help explain why it has been so hard for scientists to train monkeys to perform auditory tasks that humans find relatively effortless.” In the study, researchers played a series of harmonic sounds, or tones, to healthy volunteers and monkeys, and used imaging to see how their brains responded. They also monitored brain activity in response to toneless sounds. Though the brains of monkeys and humans had similar hot spots in response to high frequency sounds, a brain area called the auditory cortex was far more sensitive to tones among the humans. “It’s when we added tonal structure to the sounds that some of these same regions of the human brain became… read on >

The waning effectiveness of a flawed whooping cough vaccine is the main culprit in recent outbreaks of the highly contagious bacterial infection, a new study reports. More than four out of five confirmed whooping cough (pertussis) cases strike children who are fully vaccinated, the study authors said. That’s because the vaccine for whooping cough loses effectiveness over time, the researchers discovered. Up to age 7, kids have a five times higher whooping cough risk when they’re three years out from their last shot, compared to the year immediately after vaccination, according to the report published online June 10 in Pediatrics. And kids between 7 and 11 have double the risk if they are more than six years away from their last shot, compared with less than three years after, the findings showed. “We found children who received their vaccines and who are far away from their last vaccine were at increased risk of pertussis [whooping cough],” said lead researcher Ousseny Zerbo. He is a staff scientist in the Vaccine Study Center at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland. “As time goes by, the effectiveness starts to wane.” Researchers hastened to point out that the vaccine remains a vital means of preventing the disease. Risk of catching whooping cough is 13 times higher among unvaccinated children and twice as likely among kids who are behind on… read on >

Vitamin supplements don’t appear to prevent type 2 diabetes in those at highest risk for the disease, a new study finds. Some studies have suggested that low vitamin D levels might increase the odds of developing diabetes and that boosting levels could prevent it, but these findings throw cold water on these assumptions. In this study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than 2,400 people aged 30 and older across the United States were involved. Researchers randomly assigned half of them to take 4,000 units a day of vitamin D and the other half to take a placebo. After nearly three years, 24.2% of those taking vitamin D developed diabetes, as did 26.7% of those taking the placebo. This difference isn’t statistically significant, researchers said. “In addition to the study’s size, one of its major strengths is the diversity of its participants, which enabled us to examine the effect of vitamin D across a large variety of people,” lead author Dr. Anastassios Pittas said in an NIH news release. “When the study ended, we found no meaningful difference between the two groups regardless of age, sex, race or ethnicity.” Pittas is a professor and co-director of the Diabetes and Lipid Center at Tufts University Medical Center in Boston. The report was published June 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine… read on >

From positive effects on cholesterol levels to reducing the risk of heart disease and even some cancers, nuts are good for you. Ounce for ounce, they are nutrient powerhouses with beneficial fats and plant protein. Many studies recommend eating 1-1/2 ounces of nuts a day, but which are best? High levels of nutrients put these at the top of the list. Pistachios have antioxidants including lutein, important for eye health, beta-carotene and vitamin E. Eating pistachios may help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and maintain heart health, according to Penn State researchers. Shelling them yourself prolongs your enjoyment. One ounce is equal to 45 to 50 pistachios. Almonds are an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, plus a good jolt of calcium. A Korean study found that eating about two ounces of almonds a day can improve levels of all blood fats, including triglycerides. A University of Florida study found that their fiber content could boost good bacteria in the gut and good health in general. One ounce is equal to about 24 almonds. Hazelnuts, or filberts, are also rich in vitamin E as well as the minerals copper and manganese. They’re being studied, along with almonds and walnuts, as a food to protect brain health. One ounce is equal to 15 to 20 hazelnuts. Pecans are high in antioxidants and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. A… read on >

While taking vitamins may be fine for teens and young adults, supplements for weight loss, muscle-building and added energy may trigger severe medical problems, new research suggests. Regulations to keep these potentially harmful products out of the hands of young people are urgently needed, the study authors said. “The [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] has issued countless warnings about supplements sold for weight loss, muscle-building or sport performance, sexual function and energy, and we know these products are widely marketed to and used by young people,” said lead author Flora Or. She is a researcher with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders, in Boston. For the study, Or’s team looked at FDA reports of medical problems associated with these supplements among people aged 25 and younger between January 2004 and April 2015. The investigators compared these reports with reports made for vitamins. In all, nearly 1,000 incidents were reported, of which 40% involved a severe medical problem, including hospitalization and death, the researchers said. Weight-loss, muscle-building and energy supplements were linked with an almost three times greater risk of severe medical problems compared with vitamins, the findings showed. In addition, supplements sold to boost sexual function and clean the colon were tied to about twice the risk of a medical problem. According to researcher S.… read on >