Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Stronger muscles might be able to ward off some of the organ damage associated with obesity. People with excess body fat who also had stronger handgrip strength were less likely to develop obesity-related heart, liver or kidney damage, researchers reported Oct. 15 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. They were also less likely to die early, researchers noted. “Our findings show that muscle strength is a powerful, early sign of who is most at risk of developing obesity-induced organ dysfunctions among people with excess body fat,” researcher Dr. Yun Shen said in a news release. He’s an assistant professor of chronic disease epidemiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. “Because grip strength is easy to measure and strength can be improved with weight training, this research points to a practical, low‑cost way to identify at‑risk individuals and to act early,” Shen said. For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 93,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale health research project in the United Kingdom. The team followed these people for an average of more than 13 years. They specifically focused on people with “preclinical obesity,” when body fat is higher than average but obesity has not caused organ-related health problems. Results showed that as handgrip strength increased among the participants, people gained significantly reduced risk of health… read on > read on >

A new definition of obesity could dramatically increase the number of Americans considered obese. Under the new definition, the prevalence of obesity rose from around 40% to nearly 70% among more than 300,000 people participating in a long-term health study, researchers reported Oct. 15 in JAMA Network Open. The new definition takes into account additional measures of excess body fat rather than just relying on body mass index (BMI). BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. “We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astounding,” said co-lead researcher Dr. Lindsay Fourman, an endocrinologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston. “With potentially 70% of the adult population now considered to have excess fat, we need to better understand what treatment approaches to prioritize,” she said in a news release. Evidence shows that the new definition is on the money, when it comes to health problems resulting from obesity, researchers said. The people newly classified as obese had a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and premature death than people without obesity. “Identifying excess body fat is very important, as we’re finding that even people with a normal BMI but with abdominal fat accumulation are at increased health risk,” Fourman said. “Body composition matters – it’s not just pounds on a scale.” The new definition could increase the number… read on > read on >

YouTube or TikTok might offer a solid alternative to meditation when it comes to stress relief. People’s stress dropped about as much from watching a short inspirational video as it did through guided meditation, researchers reported in the journal Psychology of Popular Media. “What we found is that even a few minutes of watching content that makes people feel hopeful can put a dent in stress,” said lead researcher Robin Nabi, a professor of communication at the University of California-Santa Barbara. “It’s a short, simple and even enjoyable break — and it can make a meaningful difference in helping people feel more optimistic and able to handle what’s in front of them,” Nabi added in a news release. Activities like meditation, deep breathing and exercise are often recommended for stress management, but many folks can’t fit them into their day, she said. “Though there are many effective ways to deal with stress, people often feel too busy or overwhelmed to enact these strategies,” Nabi said. Media is rarely discussed as a means of dealing with stress, even though movies, TV and short online videos are all considered enjoyable pastimes, she said. “So many of us are told that when we’re stressed, we should avoid media. And, in fact, we as a society tend to look at media use through a very negative lens,” Nabi said.… read on > read on >

Inhalers provide breath-saving relief to people with asthma and COPD, but ultimately are undoing those good works by promoting climate change, a new study says. Inhalers generated more than 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually over the past decade, researchers reported Oct. 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. By researchers’ estimates, that’s equal each year to the emissions from roughly 530,000 gas-powered cars. “Inhalers add to the growing carbon footprint of the U.S. health care system, putting many patients with chronic respiratory disease at risk,” lead researcher Dr. William Feldman, a pulmonologist and health services researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said in a news release. Prior studies have linked climate change to an increase in asthma triggers. For example, pollen counts are higher and pollen season longer as a result of global warming, according to an April study published in the journal The Laryngoscope. “Scaled across tens of millions of inhalers dispensed annually, these emissions drive global warming, exacerbating the very respiratory conditions inhalers are meant to relieve,” Dr. Alexander Rabin, a clinical associate professor of pulmonology at the University of Michigan, and co-authors wrote in an editorial accompanying the new study. For the new study, researchers analyzed emissions from the three types of inhalers approved for asthma or COPD from 2014 to 2024. The… read on > read on >

More than 2 in 5 drivers were driving while stoned when they died in car wrecks in a major Ohio county, a new study says. Coroner records show that nearly 42% of drivers who died in motor vehicle collisions during a six-year period tested positive for THC, researchers are to report Tuesday at a meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. The deceased drivers had an average THC level of 30.7 ng/mL — far above the 2 ng/mL to 5 ng/mL legal limit set by other states, researchers said. THC is the chemical in weed that produces intoxication. “I was surprised to see that level,” lead researcher Dr. Akpofure Ekeh, a professor of surgery at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, said in a news release. “An average level of 30.7 ng/mL generally means those people must have consumed marijuana at some time close to driving,” Ekeh said. “This isn’t about residual use; it’s about recent consumption.” For the study, researchers analyzed death records from Montgomery County, Ohio, where Dayton is located. Medical cannabis was approved in Ohio in 2016, and recreational use in 2023. The team focused on 246 drivers between January 2019 and September 2024 who were tested for THC following their fatal crash. Of those drivers, 103 tested positive for THC. These blood tests are typically drawn within hours of… read on > read on >

A new Commonwealth Fund report offers the first state-by-state ranking of how vulnerable individual health and health care systems are to climate risks. The report analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C., looking at factors like extreme heat, flooding and air quality, as well as policies to combat these threats. Vermont was ranked the best state for its climate preparedness and low health risk, while West Virginia ranked last. States in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest generally scored well, while several states in the South and Southwest ranked among the worst. Top 10 States Vermont New York Washington New Jersey Maine Idaho Maryland Massachusetts Pennsylvania Oregon Bottom 10 States West Virginia Kentucky Louisiana Florida Mississippi Missouri Arizona Arkansas Hawaii New Mexico The report found a clear correlation. “Our scorecard shows that states with strong clean energy and resilience policies are doing a better job protecting health and health care infrastructure, while other states leave patients exposed during potential crises,” said study author Matthew Eckelman, an associate professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Some areas face unique dangers. Southwestern states like Arizona and New Mexico have the greatest risk from extreme heat, while health infrastructure in low-lying coastal states like Florida and Louisiana has a high flood risk. Florida has the nation’s highest percentage of hospital beds — nearly 15% — located in high-hazard flood zones,… read on > read on >