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Having a couple of drinks a day won’t protect you from obesity or diabetes, a new study suggests. Everybody knows that heavy drinking isn’t good for your health, but whether moderate alcohol consumption is protective or harmful is still open for debate, researchers say. “Some research has indicated that moderate drinkers may be less likely to develop obesity or diabetes compared to non-drinkers and heavy drinkers. However, our study shows that even light-to-moderate alcohol consumption (no more than one standard drink per day) does not protect against obesity and type 2 diabetes in the general population,” said lead researcher Tianyuan Lu, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. “We confirmed that heavy drinking could lead to increased measures of obesity (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, fat mass, etc.) as well as increased risk of type 2 diabetes,” Lu added in a news release from the Endocrine Society. For the study, Lu’s team collected data on alcohol use from nearly 409,000 men and women in the UK Biobank (a large-scale biomedical database and research resource). The researchers found that people who had more than 14 drinks per week had higher fat mass and a higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The links were greater among women than men, the researchers noted. They found no association between moderate drinking and better health in people consuming up… read on > read on >

Growing up in poverty may harm the structural wiring of a child’s brain, a new study claims. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found a link between both neighborhood and household poverty and the brain’s white matter tracts. These let the brain communicate between its regions and are important for processing information. “White matter integrity is very important in brain development,” said first study author Zhaolong (Adrian) Li, a neuro-imaging research technician in the university’s department of psychiatry. “For example, weaknesses in white matter are linked to visuospatial and mental health challenges in children. If we can capture how socioeconomic status affects white matter early on in a child’s life, the hope is we can, one day, translate these findings to preventive measures.” Some of these white matter differences can be attributed to childhood obesity and lower thinking function, both of which are higher risks in children who grow up in poverty. The lower thinking function may be due partly to limited access to enriching sensory, social and cognitive (mental) stimulation. “Our finding that obesity and cognitive enrichment may be relevant mediators, if confirmed, would provide strong support for managing healthy weight and encouraging cognitively stimulating activities to support brain health in disadvantaged children,” co-corresponding author Tamara Hershey said in a university news release. She is a professor of cognitive neuroscience,… read on > read on >

Clouds of smoke continue to drift over the Eastern United States and Europe from wildfires in Canada, and experts are predicting a longer and more destructive wildfire season due to rising temperatures and drier conditions. Now, new research puts a number on just how dangerous wildfire smoke can be. Smoke particulates from wildfires could cause 4,000 to 9,200 premature deaths and may cost between $36 billion and $82 billion each year in the United States, according to the new study. Wildfires release fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, into the air, and these very tiny particles can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream and trigger an asthma attack, heart attack or strokes, among other risks. Symptoms may include coughing, wheezing and feeling short of breath. Wildfire smoke can also make conditions like asthma and bronchitis worse, said study author Yunsoo Choi, an associate professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Houston. “PM2.5 from wildfires can also have effects on the heart and blood vessels, increasing the chances of heart attacks and strokes, and making existing heart conditions worse,” he said. “It can cause general inflammation in the body and trigger allergies.” Certain groups, such as children, older adults, pregnant women and individuals with existing respiratory or heart problems, are more vulnerable to PM2.5 from wildfires, Choi said. For the study the researchers, led by… read on > read on >

A trendy form of intermittent fasting does seem to help people lose some weight — though it may be no better than old-fashioned calorie counting, a new clinical trial suggests. Researchers found that the tactic — called time-restricted eating — helped people with obesity drop around 8 pounds, on average, over one year. That was right on par with a second study group who went the traditional route of calorie counting and portion control. Time-restricted eating is a form of intermittent fasting where people limit themselves to eating within a certain time window each day. Outside that window, they swear off everything other than calorie-free drinks. The main selling point of time-restricted eating is its simplicity: Instead of laboriously counting calories, people only have to watch the clock. And small studies have shown that limited eating windows — 6 hours being a popular one — can help people eat less and shed some pounds. The new trial adds to the story because it aimed to be as real-world as possible, said senior researcher Krista Varady, a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago. Participants were allowed to eat across an 8-hour time span, from noon to 8 p.m., which let them have dinner with family or go out to a restaurant with friends. And they merely stuck with that time window, without having… read on > read on >

Having even a mild COVID-19 infection could trigger a months-long drop in sperm, a new study finds. Researchers found both lower sperm concentrations and fewer sperm that were able to swim when studying men an average of 100 days after COVID-19 infection, which is enough time for new sperm to be produced. “There have been previous studies that show semen quality is affected in the short term following a COVID infection but, as far as we are aware, none that have followed men for a longer period of time,” said researcher Rocio Núñez-Calonge, scientific advisor at UR International Group at the Scientific Reproduction Unit in Madrid, Spain. “We assumed that semen quality would improve once new sperm were being generated, but this was not the case. We do not know how long it might take for semen quality to be restored and it may be the case that COVID has caused permanent damage, even in men who suffered only a mild infection,” Núñez-Calonge added. Núñez-Calonge and her colleagues decided to study this after observing that in some men attending clinics in Spain for assisted reproduction treatment, semen quality was worse after COVID-19 infection than before the infection, even though they had recovered and the infection was mild. “Since it takes approximately 78 days to create new sperm, it seemed appropriate to evaluate semen quality at… read on > read on >

Athletes using ketone supplements to boost their performance may be kidding themselves, researchers say. The literature on the benefit of ketone supplements is mixed. Some studies have shown the supplements improve performance, but others say they have no effect or even worsen performance. Natural ketones fuel the brain and muscles. A ketogenic diet of very low carbs and high fat causes the body to make more ketone compounds and increase their use for energy. Ketone supplements are thought to speed up that process, without the strict diet, the researchers noted. “One of the main perceived benefits is that ketones may serve as an alternative fuel source during exercise or potentially alter the utilization of other major fuel such as carbohydrates and fats, and in turn enhance endurance capacity,” said researcher Martin Gibala, a professor in the kinesiology department at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. “But our findings suggest that isn’t the case,” he added in a university news release. For the study, Gibala and his team tested 23 well-trained endurance athletes who cycled five or more hours a week, selecting them because their athletic performance is consistent from day to day. Each participant completed two trials that differed only in the drink they were given before they completed a 20-minute cycling time trial that closely predicts 40-km race performance. The drinks contained a ketone supplement… read on > read on >

Diabetes is skyrocketing, with more than 500 million people of all ages living with the disease today and the number of cases worldwide projected to hit 1.3 billion in the next 30 years. “The rapid rate at which diabetes is growing is not only alarming but also challenging for every health system in the world, especially given how the disease also increases the risk for ischemic heart disease and stroke,” said lead researcher Kanyin Liane Ong, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. “While the general public might believe that type 2 diabetes is simply associated with obesity, lack of exercise and a poor diet, preventing and controlling diabetes is quite complex due to a number of factors. That includes someone’s genetics, as well as logistical, social and financial barriers within a country’s structural system, especially in low- and middle-income countries,” Ong said in an institute news release. Worldwide, 6% of people have diabetes, making it one of the top 10 leading causes of death and disability, the new study found. The highest rate is in North Africa and the Middle East, 9%, which is projected to reach 17% by 2050. The rate in Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to increase to 11%. In every country, the disease is commonly seen in… read on > read on >

Wild and feral cats appear to release more toxoplasmosis parasites in places densely populated with people, new research suggests. These cats also “shed” more when the temperature is warmer, a significant finding given climate change, according to the report published online June 21 in PLOS ONE. Policymakers could help protect humans from this illness by better managing these stray cat populations, the researchers said. “Changes from climate or human activities can affect disease transmission in ways that we don’t fully understand yet,” said study author Sophie Zhu, of the University of California, Davis, and colleagues. “In our study, we can see how these factors may be associated with changes in Toxoplasma shedding by cats, which in turn can affect the risk of exposure to vulnerable people and wildlife,” the researchers explained in a journal news release. Toxoplasmosis is a mild-to-severe disease that can be especially dangerous in pregnancy. It is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which can affect humans and many wild and domestic animals. Cats, sheep, mice, birds and sea otters are among the vulnerable creatures. Humans can become infected when they accidentally come in contact with an infected cat’s feces. This can happen unknowingly while gardening, for example. While most T. gondii transmission is driven by domestic cats shedding the parasite at a stage of its life cycle known as oocyst, research has tended… read on > read on >

Space travel appears to weaken astronauts’ immune systems, and researchers believe changes in gene expression are the culprit. These immune deficits aren’t permanent. They disappear when back on Earth, often within weeks, according to new research published June 22 in Frontiers in Immunology. “Here we show that the expression of many genes related to immune functions rapidly decreases when astronauts reach space,” said study lead author Dr. Odette Laneuville, an associate professor of biology at the University of Ottawa in Canada. “The opposite happens when they return to Earth after six months aboard the ISS [International Space Station],” Laneuville added in a journal news release. Astronauts seem more susceptible to infections in space, often getting skin rashes and a variety of other diseases on the ISS, evidence has suggested. They also shed, or emit, more live virus particles, including those for the Epstein-Barr virus; varicella-zoster, which is responsible for shingles; and herpes-simplex-1, the source of “cold sores.” To delve into this, the researchers studied gene expression in leukocytes (white blood cells) in 14 astronauts. Among them were three women and 11 men living on the ISS from 4.5 to 6.5 months between 2015 and 2019. The research team drew blood from each astronaut at 10 time points, including pre-flight, in flight and after their return to Earth. The investigators found that 15,410 genes were differentially… read on > read on >

Living in a walkable neighborhood fosters socialization and helps create a strong sense of community, new research shows. Among the active behaviors these walkable neighborhoods promote are walking for leisure or as transportation to school, work shopping or home. “Our built environments create or deny long-lasting opportunities for socialization, physical activity, contact with nature and other experiences that affect public health,” said senior study author James Sallis, a professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. “Transportation and land use policies across the U.S. have strongly prioritized car travel and suburban development, so millions of Americans live in neighborhoods where they must drive everywhere, usually alone, and have little or no chance to interact with their neighbors,” Sallis added in a university news release. Data came from the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study, which included 1,745 adults ages 20 to 66 living in 32 neighborhoods located in and around Seattle, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. In walkable neighborhoods, people can wave hello to a neighbor, ask for help or socialize in their homes, said study first author Jacob Carson, a student in the UC San Diego – San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health. Neighborhoods where driving is necessary may have the opposite effect, preventing neighbors from socializing. “Promoting social interaction is an important public… read on > read on >