Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Moderate exercise is known to improve blood pressure — and that may include activities that are more exotic than a brisk walk, two preliminary studies suggest. In one, researchers found that “hot” yoga classes lowered blood pressure in a small group of people with modestly elevated numbers. In the other, hula dancing showed the same benefit for people who had stubbornly high blood pressure, despite medication. Experts said the findings underscore the importance of exercise when it comes to blood pressure — and the value of finding an activity you enjoy. Hot yoga classes are held in a room that’s heated — usually to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit, though some centers keep the temperature less extreme. The practice is often touted as having health benefits, such as cleansing “toxins” from the body via sweat. For the study, Stacy Hunter and her team at Texas State University recruited 10 adults, ages 20 to 65. All participants had mildly elevated blood pressure: Their systolic pressure (the “top” number) ranged between 120 and 139 mm Hg, and their diastolic pressure was 89 mm Hg or lower. (Readings below 120/80 are considered normal.) The researchers randomly assigned five people to take hot yoga classes three times a week, for 12 weeks; the rest served as a comparison group. Over the 12 weeks, those who did yoga saw their systolic… read on >

The Alexander Technique has been used for more than 100 years to improve performance, posture and other body mechanics, yet it’s arguably the least well known method for achieving these benefits. Though some people call it a form of bodywork, practitioners describe it as an educational method, because it teaches you to recognize and then unlearn negative habits, like bad posture and tensing muscles in reaction to stress. The Alexander Technique shows you how to do everyday activities with less effort and greater ease. Business people can benefit by using it to improve vocal projection and voice quality when making presentations. Benefits include: Better mobility and reduced stiffness. Pain relief through better coordination of your head, neck and back. Enhanced performance for athletes as well as performing artists, through better breathing and speed and accuracy of movement. The self-named technique was developed by actor Frederick Matthias Alexander, who was plagued by chronic hoarseness that doctors couldn’t explain. Thinking that the problem could be related to how he was using his voice, he identified habits that were indeed causing it and then how to undo them. Though the number of lessons you’ll want to take varies based on your needs, one study on back pain, published in the BMJ, found that just six one-on-one lessons with an Alexander Technique teacher followed by a home plan was… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Your kids had a good summer. You were able to get them away from the TV and outside to play for lots of exercise. But now, they’re back to school and you want them to keep off the pounds. The Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati says lunches provided by many schools are loaded with fat. Packing a lunch for your kids is a healthy alternative, so you can control the amount of food. And include fruit and low-fat snacks, instead of potato chips. The medical center warns that after-school snacks can be full of fat. Yogurt and fruit are good choices for those times.

U.S. adults with diabetes are no more likely to meet disease control targets than they were in 2005, a new study finds. Typically, diabetes treatment focuses on controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as not smoking. For the study, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers analyzed data on diabetes care in the United States from 2005 through 2016. The investigators found that one in four adults with diabetes was not diagnosed, and nearly one in three was not receiving appropriate care for diabetes. “Fewer than one in four American adults with diagnosed diabetes achieve a controlled level of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol and do not smoke tobacco,” said study lead author Pooyan Kazemian, of the hospital’s Medical Practice Evaluation Center. “Our results suggest that, despite major advances in diabetes drug discovery and movement to develop innovative care delivery models over the past two decades, achievement of diabetes care targets has not improved in the United States since 2005,” Kazemian said in a hospital news release. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes. Most have type 2, which is linked to lifestyle. Certain groups of patients were less likely to achieve diabetes care targets, according to the study. “Younger age (18-44), female and nonwhite adults with diabetes had lower odds of achieving the composite blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and nonsmoking target,”… read on >

Growing up in a poor neighborhood significantly increases kids’ odds of becoming obese adults, and the risk is highest among teens, a new study says. It found that children from poor neighborhoods had 31% higher odds for adult obesity, and the risk was much higher (29%) among 11- to 18-year-olds than for younger children (13%). “Growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood sticks with you, and can have a negative impact on one’s health through increasing one’s chance of obesity in adulthood,” said lead author Steven Alvarado, a professor of sociology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Disadvantaged neighborhoods were defined by seven factors, including median income and home values, and the percentage of residents who were living in poverty, unemployed or had earned bachelor’s degrees. To account for other factors that can influence a child’s obesity risk — such as genes and their parents’ behaviors — Alvarado compared siblings. Siblings largely share the same genes and parenting influences, but may have been exposed to different neighborhood circumstances growing up, because their families moved or their neighborhoods changed between the births of the siblings, Alvarado explained. The study was said to be the first to account for factors such as grandparents’ experiences in segregated schools and neighborhoods, while examining the connection between growing up in poor neighborhoods and adult obesity. “We must continue to consider the… read on >

As helpful as your smartphone is, it’s easy to develop an unhealthy attachment to it, one that can even become an addiction. It also can isolate you from other people. For instance, looking at your phone in social settings keeps you from looking at others, whether loved ones, friends or co-workers, and missing the connection that comes from making eye contact. Research shows that just having a phone in view interferes with the connection between people and the quality of their interaction. There’s even a term for preferring your phone to people: phubbing (it’s pronounced fubbing). It’s short for phone snubbing, when you’re in a social setting and concentrate on your phone instead of talking to the person you’re with. Even more dangerous is “P-phubbing,” (it’s pronounced pee-fubbing) and happens when you phub your partner, or vice versa. People phub and are phubbed. It can erode marital satisfaction and overall satisfaction with life. Phubbing grows not only from smartphone overuse, but also from being addicted to the internet and the fear of missing out on something — yes, the famous acronym FOMO — if you’re not always connected. To prevent phubbing, keep your phone in a pocket or purse when you’re with other people and focus exclusively on them. Be part of the conversation that’s happening in front of you in real time. Your behavior… read on >

The firefighters who flooded into Ground Zero on 9/11 put their lives on the line to help others. Now, a new study shows they are still paying the price for their selflessness. Those who were first on the scene or worked for months among the ruins of the World Trade Center disaster in 2001 have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack that persists to this day, researchers report. Their exposure to the airborne dust and fine particles created by the collapse of New York City’s Twin Towers is wreaking long-term havoc on the health of their blood vessels and heart, experts said. Firefighters first on the scene have a 44% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, heart disease, sudden heart death, cardiac surgery or other life-threatening heart problems, when compared against those who arrived later in the day, researchers found. Further, those who worked at Ground Zero for six months or more have a 30% higher risk of a heart health emergency than those who worked fewer months on the scene. The risk from exposure to the World Trade Center disaster was about the same as that associated with chronic high blood pressure, said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, vice president of occupational medicine, epidemiology and prevention for Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y. “The concern is the dust was pro-inflammatory,” said Moline, who… read on >

Suicide continues to become more common in the United States, with rural areas hit hardest by this ongoing crisis of despair, a new study reports. Deprivation, isolation and lack of access to mental health care all appear to be driving the crisis in rural America, said lead researcher Danielle Steelesmith. She’s a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “Rural suicide rates are higher than urban rates and tend to be increasing a little more rapidly,” Steelesmith said. Suicide rates increased 41% between 1999 and 2016, from a median of 15 per 100,000 people to more than 21 per 100,000, county-by-county data show. Median means half had higher rates; half were lower. Rural folks tend to be at higher risk than city dwellers, the researchers found. Suicide rates were 22 per 100,000 in rural counties between 2014 and 2016, compared with about 18 per 100,000 in large metropolitan counties, the nationwide data revealed. To figure out the difference between rural and urban areas, the researchers did a county-by-county analysis of factors that could be driving suicide rates. “Deprivation” — a cluster of factors that includes low employment, poverty and lack of education — was closely related to increased rural suicide rates, the study authors said. Steelesmith said poverty could be more entrenched and economic opportunities more limited in rural areas, leaving… read on >