Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off is another. Now, a new study suggests that exercising at the same time each day is key. The research, on 375 adults who maintained a weight loss of 30 or more pounds for at least a year, showed that consistent timing of exercise was linked with higher physical activity levels overall. The most common time to exercise? Early morning. “As long as you’re consistent, the time of day doesn’t seem to really matter. The best time to exercise is when you can exercise,” said study author Dale Bond. He’s a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in Providence, R.I. “Our speculation … is that in order to maintain a large weight loss over a long period of time, behavioral consistence is key,” Bond added. “But in terms of higher physical activity levels, it might be that exercising at the same time each day fosters a habit. You don’t have to think about it — it’s like brushing your teeth. You just do it.” Nearly half of American adults surveyed between 2013 and 2016 said they’d tried to lose weight during the prior year, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. But 2010 research indicated that only about one in six Americans who has ever been overweight or obese… read on >

No matter the age, race, gender, education or income level, most Americans favor forcing tobacco companies to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes to make them less addictive. That’s what researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found when they surveyed more than 4,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. “Cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products are responsible for the overwhelming burden of death and disease from tobacco use in the United States,” said Corinne Graffunder, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes could help current smokers quit and make it less likely for future generations to become addicted to these products,” Graffunder added in an agency news release. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States and causes about 480,000 deaths each year. About two-thirds of adult smokers want to quit smoking, but less than 10% of smokers manage to quit each year, mainly because of the nicotine in cigarettes, according to the CDC. The findings were published online July 11 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels is one of several possible ways to reduce smoking, according to the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General’s report. In March 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would seek public input… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Dry eye affects millions of adults in the United States, says the National Eye Institute. In a healthy eye, tears keep the surface moist. Without this lubrication, people may feel a stinging, burning or scratchy sensation. The institute mentions potential causes of dry eye: Medications such as antihistamines, antidepressants and decongestants. Conditions such as diabetes or rosacea. Windy, smoky or dry environments. Long periods of screen time. Seasonal allergies. People with symptoms should consult an eye-care professional.

Can sex help improve the health of a Parkinson’s patient? It might — at least for some. So claims a new two-year study that tracked the sexual habits and disease progression among 355 Parkinson’s patients. “This is in line with data showing a close relationship between sexual health and general health, both in healthy individuals and in patients with chronic disease,” said the Italian-British study team, led by Dr. Marina Picillo. She’s an assistant professor at the University of Salerno’s Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Salerno, Italy. Picillo and her colleagues concluded that early-stage male patients who are sexually active do experience “milder” disease progression and a less dramatic loss of motor skills and other disease symptoms, compared with those who don’t. But there’s a hitch. The finding only appears to apply to men. Why? The answer is not clear. But one factor may be that the investigation results were skewed, as twice as many men were enrolled as women (238 men versus 117 women). Beyond that, the study authors pointed out that women experience different Parkinson’s symptoms from men. And women “are less prone to talk about sexual and genital issues due to societal attitudes,” wrote Picillo. Even so, she and her research team said the findings warrant the attention of movement disorder specialists, who might view a patient’s sexual history as a tool… read on >

Fireworks are a beautiful sight to behold, but they can damage your hearing if you’re not careful. Protecting your hearing should be one of the safety precautions you take when you and your family are at fireworks displays and other events on the Fourth of July, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) says. Fireworks and firecrackers can be as loud as 150 decibels, which is louder than a jackhammer or jet plane take-off. Noise levels of around 75 to 80 decibels are considered safe. The louder the noise, the quicker hearing damage occurs, according to the ASHA. Noise-induced hearing loss is completely preventable, but is irreversible once it occurs, the association warned in a news release. The ASHA offered the following Independence Day hearing safety tips. Use hearing protection. Basic earplugs can be picked up at drug stores and provide hearing protection for most teens and adults. For children, well-fitting earmuffs over earplugs are typically a good idea. Keep your distance. Stay at least 500 feet from loud noise sources such as speakers, a stage, or fireworks launch sites. The closer you are, the greater the risk to your hearing. Plan your exit strategy. If you develop ringing in your ears or any other ear discomfort, you should leave the event. If you continue to have pain or ringing in the ears, or have difficulty hearing,… read on >

Don’t invite skin cancer to your holiday weekend. As you celebrate America’s independence at beaches, pools or backyard parties, remember that the sun’s damaging rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. — and protecting yourself is a must. “When it comes to sunscreen, people in general don’t put on enough, and they don’t put it on as often as they should,” said Dr. William Huang, a dermatologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. “I tell my patients that it should become routine, like brushing your teeth. You’d feel strange if you didn’t brush your teeth every day, and it should feel strange if you’re not using sunscreen every day,” he said in a health system news release. The sun emits two types of ultraviolet radiation, and both do skin damage. UVA rays contribute to premature wrinkling and aging. UVB damages surface skin cells and contributes to sunburn. But even if you don’t get a sunburn, ultraviolet radiation causes changes in skin DNA that can lead to cancer, Huang said. And everyone — not just people with fair skin — is at risk. “We see skin cancer in people of all ages and skin types,” Huang said. “Ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen.” And when it comes to skin cancer, UV radiation poses a bigger risk than smoking does for lung cancer, he… read on >

Many packaged foods have the potential to give you vitamin overload, especially if you’re already taking a daily multivitamin. Here’s what you need to know. Manufacturers have been adding nutrients to foods for decades. In fact, it started nearly 100 years ago with the addition of iodine to salt. Vitamins and minerals are added to foods in two key ways. Foods and beverages can be “enriched.” This means putting back nutrients lost in processing, like the longstanding practice of adding B vitamins to packaged breads and cereals made with refined flours. Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily make them as nutrient-dense as foods made with whole grains, because not every natural micronutrient lost in processing can be replaced. Foods and beverages can be “fortified.” This means adding one or more nutrients not normally found in the food in its natural state. Sometimes this is helpful — adding hard-to-get vitamin D to milk, adding calcium to non-dairy milks and orange juice for those who are lactose intolerant, and adding omega-3 fatty acids to eggs for people who don’t eat enough fatty fish. But some foods are fortified with levels of nutrients that exceed limits set by the Institute of Medicine. And sometimes they’re just not necessary for you. For instance, according to a University of Toronto study, the most common vitamins added to fortified waters… read on >

The anti-vaccination movement is now a global crisis, an international panel of scientists say, and everyone must do more to combat it. “We are alarmed that the WHO [World Health Organization] this year declared vaccine hesitancy a top-10 international public health problem. This is a man-made, dangerous and wholly unnecessary crisis,” said Dr. Scott Ratzan. He’s founding editor of the Journal of Health Communication. He’s also the founder of the International Working Group (IWG) on Vaccination and Public Health Solutions. The new Salzburg Statement on Vaccine Acceptance, published July 2, has been endorsed by 60 leaders in public health from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. According to the group, vaccines have prevented hundreds of millions of infectious diseases — such as polio, measles, hepatitis B and meningitis — and save up to 3 million lives a year. They are cost-effective, too. Every U.S. dollar spent on childhood immunization returns up to $44 in benefits, according to the IWG. But in the United States, outbreaks of measles have recently occurred in hotspots where parents have refused to vaccinate their children. In response, some U.S. states have reacted by closing “personal belief” loopholes that allowed parents to not immunize a school-aged child. “The resurgence of potentially life-threatening diseases like measles, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control declared eliminated in the United States in 2000,… read on >

Kids whose moms don’t get enough sunshine during pregnancy may be more likely to develop learning difficulties, researchers report. The finding stems from data on more than 422,000 school-aged children in Scotland. Low levels of exposure to UVB rays — but not UVA sunlight — during the entire pregnancy was linked to learning disabilities later on. Because only UVB rays were implicated, the researchers suspect the effect relates to insufficient vitamin D production. Exposure to vitamin D in the first trimester of pregnancy is essential for fetal brain development, the researchers said. The percentage of kids with learning disabilities varied by month of conception. It ranged from nearly 17% among children conceived in July to 21% among those conceived in February, March and April, when exposure to sunlight is less. However, the study could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. “Learning disabilities can have profound life-long effects on both the affected child and their family. The importance of our study is that it suggests a possible way to prevent learning disabilities in some children,” said lead author Jill Pell, director of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing. “Clinical trials are now needed to confirm whether taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy could reduce the risk of learning disabilities,” she said in a university news release. The report was published June 27 in the… read on >

Although many restaurants, offices and even apartment buildings are smoke-free, American universities appear to be an exception. By 2017, only 1 in 6 had gone completely smoke-free or tobacco-free, a new study reveals. “Continued success in increasing the adoption of comprehensive smoke-free and tobacco-free protections at institutions of higher learning will strengthen smoking prevention among nonsmokers, increase quitting among current smokers, and protect youth and young adults from the negative health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke,” said researchers led by Dr. Kelly Blake of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The research team discovered smoking was still allowed in colleges and universities in the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Only Iowa at 87%, Arkansas at 62%, North Dakota at 55%, Guam at 67% and the Northern Mariana Islands at 100% had smoke-free policies in more than half of their higher-learning institutions. The researchers estimated that only 27% of students and 25% of faculty members were covered by strict school or state smoke-free laws. For the study, investigators used data from these two sources: the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation and the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The report was published July 2 in the journal Tobacco Control. More information The American Lung Association offers more state-by-state information on smoke-free laws.