Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

As American kids pack on the pounds, the number of those with back pain is on the rise. One in three between the ages of 10 and 18 said they had backaches in the past year, according to a survey of about 3,700 youngsters. The incidence rose along with kids’ age and weight and was higher among those who play competitive sports. Though many people probably associate back pain with older people, the orthopedic surgeon who led the study was not surprised by his findings. “We see a lot of kids who have pain from overuse injuries or joint pain from playing sports,” said Dr. Peter Fabricant, who treats pediatric patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. “Of these kids who had back pain, very few actually required any sort of medical intervention. Most didn’t need treatment at all.” About 80 percent of adults suffer from lower back pain at some time, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. But this is the first time the extent of back pain among children has been estimated on nationwide scale, the authors said. The youngsters surveyed were equally split by age and gender. On average, those who reported back pain weighed more and had higher body mass indexes, or BMIs. (BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.)… read on >

Though coaches and parents are more alert to the need for emergency attention after young athletes suffer a concussion, many may not realize how long symptoms and other effects can linger. A study in JAMA Pediatrics found that 31 percent of concussion victims had persistent symptoms after four weeks, as well as lower quality-of-life scores than kids whose symptoms had resolved. For some, lower quality of life was still an issue at 12 weeks, even after concussion symptoms were gone. And even kids without persistent symptoms had lower quality-of-life scores than typical. It’s important that young athletes don’t return to play too soon. Another JAMA study found that 15 percent return after at least 30 days, but 3 percent did so after fewer than 24 hours, which doesn’t allow time for key return-to-play protocols. Under nationwide guidelines, kids seen in emergency departments must be referred to a health care provider for follow-up care and a plan for a gradual return to school, and to play when fully recovered. They must not return to practice or play the same day or even be told when they could do so by emergency staff. Each child must be evaluated individually. There are five gradual steps for a safe return to play, but they should be started only after a period of physical and mental rest, and after all… read on >

With research finding that the body prefers calcium from food, not supplements, it can be a challenge to meet daily requirements if you’re lactose-intolerant. On average, adults need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. Fortunately, there are choices within many food groups that deliver on calcium. Leafy greens are a great calcium source, and at the top of the list are cooked spinach, collard and turnip greens. Salad lovers, reach for raw kale. Calcium Content in Greens Cooked spinach, collard greens and turnip greens, 1 cup: 200 mg Raw kale, 1 cup: 90 mg Among legumes, beans and white beans in particular are calcium-rich, as are green soybeans, better known as edamame. Some brands of firm tofu made with calcium sulfate have more than half the daily requirement in a serving — check nutrition labels before you buy. Calcium Content in Legumes Cooked white beans, 1 cup: 160 mg Green soybeans, 1 cup: 260 mg Firm tofu, 3.5 ounces: up to 650 mg Some seeds and nuts also pack in calcium along with their unique mix of healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates. Choices include sesame seeds and tahini (sesame seed butter), chia seeds and amaranth, a seed that cooks up like a grain. Enjoy almonds as a snack or spread almond butter on your morning toast. Calcium Content in Seeds and Nuts Sesame seeds,… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are nightmares for athletes. Depending on the severity of the tear, patients can expect surgery followed by more than a year of physical therapy. Most commonly, ACL tears are the result of sudden twisting motions, MedlinePlus says. Though the injury is hard to predict, MedlinePlus suggests that athletes: Warm up before sports. Land on the back of their feet. Firm up muscles with strength training.

The switch to Daylight Saving Time can increase the risk of driver fatigue and crashes, but there are a number of ways to reduce the danger, an expert says. “Any time change can exacerbate drowsiness because your internal clock has not adjusted to the time change. This can lead to disruptions in sleep until your body adjusts, which can take a few days to a week,” said Jeff Hickman, a research scientist at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg. After clocks spring ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, try to avoid driving during rush hours and in early morning, when crash risk increases, he suggested. Driving between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. is particularly dangerous, because your circadian rhythm is at its lowest during this two-hour period. Drivers should try to sleep at least seven to eight hours, Hickman said. But one night of good rest may not be enough if you have had several sleepless nights. If that’s the case, you’ll need several nights of restful sleep to compensate. Watch for signs of drowsy driving, including slow eyelid closures, yawning, gentle swaying of the head, fidgeting in the seat, trouble staying in your lane, difficulty maintaining speed and slow reactions, Hickman said in a Virginia Tech news release. Be extra careful in situations that increase drowsiness, including driving alone, monotonous road… read on >

(HealthDay News) — A concussion is a brain injury that results from an impact to the head. While it usually isn’t life-threatening, a concussion can cause short-term and long-term problems. Parents and caregivers of concussed children should take an active role in their recovery, the New York State Department of Health says. The agency suggests: Make sure the child is well rested. Make sure the child avoids high-risk and high-speed activities. Do not give medicine the pediatrician hasn’t approved. Share information with those who interact with the child to help them understand the child’s needs.

Millions of Americans are left drowsy each day by sleep apnea, and new research suggests it might also raise their odds for Alzheimer’s disease. It isn’t clear, however, if sleep apnea causes the buildup of “tau” protein tangles in the brain that are a marker for Alzheimer’s, or if the increased tau helps cause the apnea, the researchers said. “Since tau accumulation is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, an increase in tau raises concern that sleep apnea could make [people] with sleep apnea more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s,” said lead researcher Dr. Diego Carvalho, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The new study — to be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) — is consistent with previous work suggesting that sleep apnea increases the risk for dementia, he said. “However, it is also possible that Alzheimer’s disease could predispose people to sleep apnea or that there is a bidirectional relationship between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s disease,” Carvalho said. Obstructive sleep apnea is a chronic condition that can cause breathing to stop frequently during sleep. Tau, a protein that forms tangles in the brain, is found in people with Alzheimer’s. For the study, Carvalho’s team looked at 288 people, aged 65 and older, without thinking and memory problems. Each study participant had brain scans to look for tau… read on >

Your metabolism rate determines how fast you burn calories, and that can influence how fast you lose weight — and how easily you can gain it. After age 25, metabolism naturally slows by 5 percent every decade. So if you eat as much in your 40s as you did in your 20s, you’re going to add extra pounds — especially if you exercise less and lose muscle. In addition to weight training to maintain muscle, these tips from the American Council on Exercise can help. Stick to well-spaced meals at the same times each day. This lets your body know to expect fuel at regular intervals and prevents it from conserving calories and adding to fat stores. Calorie cutting is important if you need to lose weight, but reducing your intake to starvation levels also puts your body in conservation mode, slowing down metabolism. So rather than speeding up weight loss, starvation ultimately slows it. And that’s why it’s so easy to regain lost weight when you start eating normally: Your metabolism tends to stay slow. Dehydration can lead to a 2 percent drop in the number of calories burned, so drink at least 8 glasses of water throughout each day, and even more when you sweat a lot. Watch the alcohol. Besides adding empty calories to your diet, processing alcohol diverts the liver from… read on >

(HealthDay News) — From heart disease to arthritis, many major diseases have been linked to chronic inflammation. Favoring anti-inflammatory foods in your diet could reduce your risk of illness. Harvard Medical School recommends that anti-inflammatory diets include: Tomatoes. Olive oil. Nuts. Fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

Fatigue can plague many people with multiple sclerosis (MS). But a small new study suggests a soothing cup of hot cocoa may bring some relief. Like dark chocolate, cocoa is rich in flavonoids, which are abundant in fruit and vegetables and have been linked with anti-inflammatory properties, explained researcher Shelly Coe, of the Center for Nutrition and Health at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, and her colleagues. That anti-inflammatory power may help fight MS fatigue, the researchers believe. “Our study establishes that the use of dietary interventions is feasible and may offer possible long-term benefits to support fatigue management,” Coe said in a news release from the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Her team published their findings online in the journal March 5. Prior research has suggested that dark chocolate, which is between 70 percent and 85 percent cocoa solids, appears to lessen fatigue in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, the British researchers noted. Would cocoa do the same for MS patients? To find out, Coe’s group tracked the symptoms of 40 adults recently diagnosed with the common “relapsing remitting” form of MS. Participants were asked to drink a cup of either high-flavonoid cocoa powder mixed with heated rice milk (19 people) or a low-flavonoid version (21 people), every day for six weeks. Small improvements in fatigue were seen in 11 of… read on >