Summer is here and so, too, is swimming season. As fun as a pool can be, it’s also a major safety risk if you don’t take the appropriate precautions. An expert from Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, offers some tips for a safe pool season. “If children or non-experienced swimmers will be in the pool, it’s very important to have adult supervision. I think asking another child to watch after their sibling, for example, is not adequate,” said Dr. Amal Obaid-Schmid, medical director of trauma services at Huntington Health. “You need a supervisor who’s an adult, who is not distracted with their cellphone, or a phone call inside the house, or a conversation with another adult, really taking that role very seriously. Not letting your eye off the child is huge because drowning can happen in an instant,” she said in a Cedars-Sinai news release. More children aged 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pool owners should be sure to have a fence at least four feet high around their pool, Obaid-Schmid advised. Keep a variety of flotation devices in and around the pool — a life jacket plus pool noodles or a paddle board — so that a drowning person has something to grab…  read on >  read on >

Lack of energy for exercise is a common problem for folks with so-called long COVID. New research pinpoints the most likely reason why: diminished capacity to get the heart pumping fast enough to support the effort. The name for this is chronotropic incompetence. “The amount of aerobic exercise an individual can do is limited largely by the delivery of oxygen by the heart, lungs, blood, and its use by the muscles,” noted study first author Dr. Matthew Durstenfeld, a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “If the heart can’t pump as fast, you can’t exercise as much,” Durstenfeld said. Chronotropic incompetence wasn’t the only reason people with long COVID had lower than expected exercise capacity in the new study, “but it was surprisingly common among people with long COVID,” he added. Some people infected with COVID-19 can develop a wide range of ongoing health problems. These conditions can last weeks, months or years, and have been labeled long COVID. Using biomarker testing, the researchers found inflammatory biomarkers early on in long COVID patients. They also discovered that all patients who struggled with a reduced capacity to exercise also experienced reactivation of a prior infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Epstein-Barr is linked to mononucleosis and multiple sclerosis. “EBV reactivation is common after SARS-CoV-2 infection in general,” Durstenfeld noted,…  read on >  read on >

If you’re one of the millions of folks living with type 2 diabetes, you know that regular exercise can help you keep your blood sugar in check. Now, new research suggests that working out in the afternoon may help maximize these benefits. The new study wasn’t designed to say how, or even if, exercising in the afternoon is better for blood sugar control, but researchers have some theories. “If we exercise after a meal, it may be more beneficial than after fasting, and if you exercise in the afternoon, it is likely after a meal,” said study author Jingyi Qian. She is an associate physiologist and associate director of the medical chronobiology program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. By contrast, folks who work out in the morning may not eat breakfast until after they are finished. This doesn’t mean that you should skip your workout if you can’t find time in the afternoon, Qian cautioned. “The best time to exercise is whenever you can and wherever you can.” For the study, more than 2,400 people with type 2 diabetes wore a device on their waist that tracked physical activity for a week when the study began and four years later. They were grouped based on the time of day that they exercised at one year and four years. Afternoon exercisers, those who worked…  read on >  read on >

Your achy joints may suggest that you take it easy. Don’t listen to them, experts say. If it hurts when you get up from a chair or climb stairs, you might have osteoarthritis. If so, it’s best to keep moving. “While the pain from osteoarthritis worsens with activity and improves with rest, exercise is still the most cost-effective treatment for it,” said Dr. Kathryn Dao, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Studies have shown exercise can build cartilage, strengthen muscles, and improve joint function and bone mass. Patients who exercise also have better balance and a lower risk of falling,” Dao, a rheumatology specialist, said in a medical center news release. This type of arthritis is caused by degenerative changes in the cartilage that connects joints and cushions the ends of bones. Symptoms can include pain, stiffness and limited mobility. You may have tenderness at the joint, along with swelling or popping sounds. The condition affects about 1 in 7 American adults, most commonly affecting hands, knees, hips and spine. Arthritis is common with age, but can also develop because of past injuries or surgeries, Dao said. It’s more likely to occur when a joint has endured repetitive stress, such as with a particular sport or job. Obesity is another risk factor. People with inflammatory arthritis, such as…  read on >  read on >

One potential solution to reducing chronic pain: Get moving. A new Norwegian study finds that physically active folks have greater pain tolerance compared to sedentary types. Those with higher levels of activity also had higher pain tolerance, according to the report published online May 24 in PLOS ONE. “Becoming or staying physically active over time can benefit your pain tolerance. Whatever you do, the most important thing is that you do something,” study author Anders Årnes, a PhD student at University Hospital of North Norway, and colleagues said in a journal news release. For the study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults who participated in a large population survey conducted periodically in Norway. Using data from two rounds of the study — 2007 to 2008 and 2015 to 2016 — the researchers examined participants’ self-reported levels of physical activity and their levels of pain tolerance. Pain tolerance was tested by submersing a hand in cold water. Those who reported being physically active in either round of the study had higher pain tolerance than those who reported a sedentary lifestyle in both rounds. Also, participants with higher total activity levels had higher pain tolerance. Those with higher activity in the second round than in the first round had a higher overall level of pain tolerance, the findings showed. The researchers did not find…  read on >  read on >

The problem of “food deserts” in many parts of the United States has gained attention in recent years. Now, researchers are highlighting a similar issue: play deserts. In a recent study, investigators at the University of Georgia found that in many areas of the country — particularly the South — families have few safe, free parks and playgrounds for their kids to enjoy. That’s a problem, experts said, because when kids lack those opportunities, they’re more likely to stay inside and stare at screens. It’s well known that there are communities nationwide where people have a hard time getting to a grocery store or any other source of fresh, nutritious food. Those places have been dubbed food deserts, and an estimated 10% of the United States falls into that dubious category. The new findings show that a similar percentage can be considered play deserts, according to researcher Lan Mu, a professor of geography at the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA). Many play-deficient counties are clustered in the Southeast, where a lack of options and the quality of existing play areas are often problems, the study found. The Southwest was another hotspot for play deserts, and a common issue was affordability: Some places require a membership or fee to enter. It’s not enough that parks or playgrounds merely exist in a community, said lead researcher Jue…  read on >  read on >

Need an activity to do with your kids on spring and summer days? Go to the park. Outdoor play is good for physical health, mental well-being and reduced stress in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). “Whether it’s sunny or snowing, playing outside is good for children, physically and mentally,” said pediatrician Dr. Monique Jonae Soileau-Burke, president of AAP’s Maryland chapter. “Scientific evidence tells us that playing outdoors can improve health, and children love it,” she said in an academy news release. “On Kids to Parks Day [May 20], we encourage families to make plans to get their children out into nature for summer fun and well-being. Consider visiting a national, state or local park.” People who spend time in nature have lower levels of stress and depression. It’s also fun to be outdoors. The earlier you share nature with your baby, the more likely they are to develop a lifelong love of the outdoors, AAP notes. With an infant, you can take a walk through the trees with a stroller. Throw down a blanket to explore weather, bird songs, forest smells and plant textures while giving them some outside tummy time. Take your kids on a bike ride through the neighborhood or on a bike trail at a local or national park. It’s a good activity for all ages if you…  read on >  read on >