Holiday Survival Tips From Dietitians Of Canada

The holiday season is here, and along with it can come lots of festivities and indulgences. However, there are still ways to enjoy get-togethers and not totally lose track of your healthy living goals. The holidays are a time for socializing with friends and family - focus on the occasion, not on the over-abundance of rich foods. Dietitians have the following 10 tips to help you and your family make healthy choices as a guest or host.

1. Keep your eye on portion sizes - it's often not what you eat, but how much that can lead to overindulgence at any time of the year. Use Canada's Food Guide as your guide to serving sizes. For those extra treats that are not considered part of the Guide, enjoy a small portion, such as one piece of shortbread or a small portion of the mince meat pie.

2. Make health and road safety a priority when serving or consuming holiday beverages. Nonalcoholic lower fat eggnogs, "virgin" Caesars, sparkling water and cranberry juice spritzers are great choices in keeping with the season. If you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Plan to have water or soda water with a slice of lemon or lime between each drink to pace your intake.

3. Use fresh zucchini or cucumber sticks, broccoli flowerets, carrot curls, red and green peppers with a low fat dip or spread such as hummus, yogurt with herbs, fat-free sour cream, or fresh salsa, rather than chips and cream-laden dips.

4. Serve crispy pita triangles, flatbread and Melba toast as alternatives to salty, high fat snack crackers. Check out the calorie content of some holiday foods and beverages here.

5. A beautiful array of exotic fresh fruits is a wonderful and refreshing end to any meal - pineapple, kiwi, mango, pomegranate, blood oranges and grapes are a colourful feast for the eyes and taste buds.

6. Let the holiday spirit move you! Enjoy regular activity during the holidays - strive for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity a day. Regular exercise not only will give you more energy to cope with the stress of the holiday bustle, but it can also help to compensate for some of your food over-indulgences! No time to get to the gym? How about walking to the grocery store when you only have a few items to pick up, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work? Carry your groceries as a substitute for lifting weights. Every bit of physical activity you can sneak in counts. If you can't get out of the house, do indoor exercise while watching your favorite TV show or chatting on the phone - squats, stretches, legwork, sit-ups, push-ups, treadmill…. the possibilities are endless.

7. Make physical activity part of the holiday fun to provide a balance to eating. Plan a cross-country ski afternoon, skating or a hike combined with a potluck.

8. Maintain your weight throughout the holidays by being careful about your choices. Have breakfast and several small meals throughout the day so you are not tempted to overeat later in the day. Limit the number of appetizers you eat, especially if you are planning to have a full meal later. If you are having a buffet, choose the smaller size plate, survey the choices before you start filling your plate and take only what you need to feel satisfied.

9. Give a gift of health that will last the whole year - an exercise ball is great for stretching; a yoga video and mat; golf lessons; some light weights for strength training; pedometer for someone who enjoys walking.

10. Track your eating and activity level over the holiday season to help you stay on track. Dietitians of Canada EATracker at http://www.dietitians.ca/eatracker is a convenient and easy to use tool.

Make these healthy living tips part of your routine the whole year round - not just for the holidays. When it comes time to write those New Year's resolutions, instead of adding "losing weight" among them, aim to make small changes over time for the greatest impact on your health. Dietitians of Canada cookbook, Simply Great Food, is an ideal gift for everyday chefs who enjoy the pleasures of healthy eating. Available in book stores and at http://www.dietitians.ca.

To learn more healthy living tips for the holidays and the whole year contact a registered dietitian in your area at http://www.dietitians.ca/find.

Dietitians of Canada represents over 5 600 dietitians across Canada. DC is committed to promoting the health and well-being of consumers through food and nutrition. For further information on nutrition and healthy eating, visit Dietitians of Canada award-winning website at www.dietitians.ca. Register to receive regular healthy eating messages from dietitians - food and nutrition information you can trust at http://www.dietitians.ca/eatwell.


Via Medicalnewstoday

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Fluoride in tap water may help older teeth too

NEW YORK - The added fluoride in many Americans' drinking water may be protecting older adults' teeth from decay, a study suggests.

Fluoridated drinking water has been credited with cutting rates of tooth decay among Americans, but the benefit is often thought of as being largely for children.

However, older adults may stand to gain as much or more, researchers report in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry.

In a study looking at dental care costs among nearly 52,000 members of one insurance plan, researchers found that those living in areas with fluoridated drinking water spent less on dental fillings than those without fluoridated water supplies.

When the researchers looked at plan members by age, however, it turned out that the benefit was seen in children and, to an even greater extent, in adults older than age 58.

"Our finding that fluoridated water lowered the number of dental fillings confirms studies on younger people but breaks new ground on older individuals," lead researcher Dr. Gerardo Maupome said in a statement.

"While those we studied had dental insurance, many older adults, who are often retired, don't have dental insurance and so prevention of decay is very important," added Maupome, of the Indiana University School of Dentistry in Indianapolis.

Much of the research on fluoridated drinking water has focused on children, the researcher noted, but more attention should go toward the potential benefits among adults.

"Community water fluoridation is a sound public health investment for people of all ages," he said.

SOURCE: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Fall 2007.


Via Reuters

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Apple Cider Vinegar

Over the centuries, vinegar has been used for countless purposes: making pickles, killing weeds, cleaning coffee makers, polishing armor, and dressing salads. It's also an ancient folk remedy, touted to relieve just about any ailment you can think of.

In recent years, apple cider vinegar has been singled out as an especially helpful health tonic. So it's now sold in both the condiment and the health supplement aisles of your grocery store. While many of the folk medicine uses of vinegar are unproven (or were disproved), a few do have a medical research backing them up. Some small studies have hinted that apple cider vinegar could help with several conditions, such as diabetes and obesity.

So does consuming apple cider vinegar make sense for your health? Or is vinegar best used for cleaning stains and dyeing Easter eggs? Here's a rundown of the facts.
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Vinegar is a product of fermentation. This is a process in which sugars in a food are broken down by bacteria and yeast. In the first stage of fermentation, the sugars are turned into alcohol. Then, if the alcohol ferments further, you get vinegar. The word comes from the French, meaning "sour wine." While vinegar can be made from all sorts of things -- like many fruits, vegetables, and grains -- apple cider vinegar comes from pulverized apples.

The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar, is acetic acid. However, vinegars also have other acids, vitamins, mineral salts, and amino acids.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Cure for Everything?

While long used as a folk remedy, apple cider vinegar became well known in the U.S. in the late 1950s, when it was promoted in the best-selling book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health by D. C. Jarvis. During the alternative medicine boom of recent years, apple cider vinegar pills have become a popular dietary supplement.

Look on the back of a box of supplements -- or on the Internet or in the pages of any one of the many books on vinegar and health -- and you'll find some amazing claims. Apple cider vinegar is purported to treat numerous diseases, health conditions, and annoyances. To name a few, it's supposed to kill head lice, reverse aging, ease digestion, and wash "toxins" from the body.

Most of these claims have no evidence backing them up. Some -- like vinegar's supposed ability to treat lice or warts -- have actually been studied, and researchers turned up nothing to support their use. Other claims have been backed up by studies, but with a catch: vinegar may work, but not as well as other treatments. For instance, while vinegar is a disinfectant, it doesn't kill as many germs as common cleaners. And while vinegar does seem to help with jelly fish stings -- an old folk remedy -- hot water works better.

Scientific Evidence of Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits

But there are some medical uses of vinegar that do have promise, at least according to a few studies. Here's a rundown of some more recent ones.

* Diabetes. The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.
However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.
* High cholesterol . A 2006 study found evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol.
* Blood pressure and heart health. Another study in rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large epidemiological study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. However, it's far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.
* Cancer . A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Epidemiological studies of people have been confusing. One found that eating vinegar was associated with a decreased risk of esophageal cancer. Another associated it with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
* Weight Loss . For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. White vinegar (and perhaps other types) might help people feel full. A 2005 study of 12 people found that those who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of white vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than those who just ate the bread.

While the results of these studies are promising, they are all preliminary. Many were done on animals or on cells in a lab. The human studies have been small. Before we will truly know whether vinegar has any health benefits, much larger studies are needed.
How Should Apple Cider Vinegar Be Used?

Since apple cider vinegar is an unproven treatment, there are no official recommendations on how to use it. Some people take two teaspoons a day (mixed in a cup of water or juice.) A tablet of 285 milligrams is another common dosage.

Apple cider vinegar is also sometimes applied to the skin or used in enemas. The safety of these treatments is unknown.
What Are the Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar?

On the whole, the risks of taking occasional, small amounts of apple cider vinegar seem low. But using apple cider vinegar over the long term, or in larger amounts, could have risks. Here are some things to keep in mind.

* Apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar is acetic acid. As the name suggests, it's quite harsh. Apple cider vinegar should always be diluted with water or juice before swallowed. Pure apple cider vinegar could damage the tooth enamel and the tissues in your throat and mouth. One study found a woman who got an apple cider vinegar supplement stuck in her throat. She seemed to have suffered lasting damage to her esophagus. Vinegar has been known to cause contact burns to the skin.

* Long-term use of apple cider vinegar could cause low potassium levels and lower bone density. If you already have low potassium or osteoporosis, talk to your doctor before using apple cider vinegar.

* Apple cider vinegar could theoretically interact with diuretics, laxatives, and medicines for diabetes and heart disease.

* If you have diabetes, check with your doctor before using apple cider vinegar. Vinegar contains chromium, which can alter your insulin levels.

What Are the Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar? continued...

Using apple cider vinegar supplements -- instead of the liquid itself -- adds another layer of risk. You just can't be sure what you're really getting. Unlike medicines, supplements are not regulated by the FDA. They aren't routinely tested for effectiveness or even basic safety. A 2005 study looked at the ingredients of eight different brands of apple cider vinegar supplements. The researchers found that:

* The ingredients listed on the box did not reflect the actual ingredients.
* The ingredients varied a great deal between different brands.
* The recommended dosages varied a great deal between brands.

Most disturbing, the chemical analysis of these samples led the researchers to doubt whether any of these brands actually contained any apple cider vinegar at all.
Should I Use Apple Cider Vinegar?

The answer depends on how you want to use apple cider vinegar. As a salad dressing, you should be fine. But taken as a daily medical treatment, it could be a little more risky. Yes, some studies of applecider vinegar are intriguing. But a lot more research needs to be done. Right now, there is not enough evidence that apple cider vinegar -- or any vinegar -- has any health benefit for any condition. Since the benefits are unknown, so are the risks.

If you're thinking about trying apple cider vinegar, talk to your doctor first. It's always worth getting an expert's advice. Your doctor can also make sure that the apple cider vinegar won't affect other health conditions or the effectiveness of the medicines you take. Trying to control a serious medical condition on your own with an unproven treatment is both unwise and dangerous.


Via Webmd

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4 Natural Cold Remedies: Do They Work?

Experts share their views of some popular cold treatments.
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

You're sneezing. You're sniffling. You're miserable with the cold that won't go away.

And nearly everyone within arm's length is suddenly describing their ''miracle'' cold remedy. They want to tell you all about how you can squash that cold -- maybe overnight! -- if you just (fill in the blank) pop some vitamin C, take echinacea or zinc, or heat up some chicken soup. And they may mention that taking their secret remedy before the first sniffle may have helped you avoid the cold altogether.

Never mind the fervor with which these cold remedies are offered. Do they actually work? WebMD turned to three top experts who have studied the cold virus for decades.

First, the really bad news: "You can't cure a cold," says David A. Blandino, MD, chairman of family and community medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh.

But you may be able to shorten one. Here's the scorecard on whether natural cold remedies such as vitamins and supplements get a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Natural Cold Remedies: The Rundown

1. Zinc. The mineral zinc, available in over-the-counter lozenges, nasal sprays, and gels, may work by preventing the formation of proteins needed by a cold virus to reproduce.

Despite the hoopla about zinc for treatment of colds, scientific studies are scarce, says Jack M. Gwaltney, MD, professor emeritus of internal medicine at the University of Virginia and a longtime cold researcher. Gwaltney tells WebMD that he and his colleagues could find only 14 published studies that looked at zinc the scientific way, with both placebo and treatment groups. Zinc lozenges, they conclude, have no effect. One well-designed study reported a positive effect on treating a cold with zinc nasal gel. But the study results have not yet been replicated, Gwaltney says.

2. Vitamin C. For decades, believers in vitamin C have said taking this vitamin supplement can nip a cold in the bud. The claim is partially triggered by lab studies that find vitamin C affects resistance to virus in animal studies.

But in people? Experts disagree on this slightly but lean toward the negative. Some, including Blandino, say vitamin C has not been proven to shorten the duration of a cold. One 2007 study showed that if vitamin C is taken after a cold begins, it doesn't shorten the cold or make it less severe. But when it is taken daily as a preventive treatment -- not just after that first sniffle -- it can very slightly shorten cold duration, by about 8% in adults and by about 14% in children.

Very highly fit people -- marathon runners, for instance -- might cut their risk of a cold in half by taking the vitamin, the study also showed.

But Gwaltney does not agree. "The weight of scientific evidence and the well-done studies indicate vitamin C does not prevent colds," says Gwaltney. "It may have some mild effect on treating colds."

3. Echinacea. The herbal supplement echinacea, like Vitamin C, sparks controversy among cold experts. Advocates say it's an immune booster with antiviral properties and other benefits, so it's good at preventing colds. However, two recent studies on the natural remedy have yielded conflicting conclusions. In one 2007 study, University of Connecticut researchers concluded that echinacea decreases the odds of developing a cold by 58% and reduces its duration by 1.4 days. But a previous study, conducted by Gwaltney's colleagues at the University of Virginia and published in 2005 in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed no benefit from the herb in either reducing the severity of a cold infection or preventing a cold.

Echinacea drew a "no" vote from our three experts -- Gwaltney, Blandino, and Owen Hendley, MD, professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, Charlottesvile.

4. Chicken Soup. Advocates of hot chicken soup, long offered as a cold remedy, say it may help soothe inflammation that can make the symptoms worse.

The problem with proving scientifically that chicken soup works, says Gwaltney, is finding a legitimate placebo food to study against it in a scientific way. "We were contacted by a soup manufacturer to do a study on chicken soup," he tells WebMD. "We thought we could use another hot beverage" for placebo, he says. "But it's got to look, smell, and taste [like chicken soup]." They didn't find anything that measured up. Gwaltney calls chicken soup "a waste of time."

That's despite the well-publicized report published in 2000 in which researchers reported that chicken soup, which they studied in the laboratory, may have an anti-inflammatory effect on easing symptoms of upper respiratory infections. But the report doesn't prove chicken soup does anything for cold symptoms, Gwaltney says, because it didn't include a test of people nor include a placebo for comparison.

Although chicken soup may not actively fight a cold, it can help fight dehydration that can occur when you have a cold or the flu.
Preventing a Cold: Does Anything Really Work?

Hand washing has long been touted as a way to prevent a cold during cold and flu season, and experts agree that is wise.

But here's the newest twist: Paying attention to where you put your hands -- and scheduling your hand washing around where your hands have been, rather than the clock -- appear to be important, too. That's because cold viruses may linger on surfaces longer then suspected, Hendley and his colleagues have discovered.

Hendley and other University of Virginia researchers did a study published in 2007 of people with a cold who stayed overnight in a hotel. "We went in the next day and swabbed 10 sites they had touched," Hendley says.

"We found about 30% or 40% of the sites had virus on them." He's talking about surfaces such as light switches and TV remote controls. "A third of the time, the virus was still there," Hendley says of the site samples. "Now we are trying to figure out, is it still infectious?" The hotel study didn't go there, but that study is under way.

Until more research is in, Gwaltney suggests hand washing after touching potentially germy surfaces, rather than adhering to the often-suggested advice of hand washing throughout the day no matter what you've touched.

Rhinoviruses cause about half of all colds in adults, Hendley says. You acquire the virus by getting it on your hand and then touching your nose or eyes, he says. "The virus doesn't usually go through the air," Hendley says. "You usually get it on the finger and you inoculate yourself. Just being in the air space [with an infected person or the virus] is not enough."

Preventing a Cold: Does Anything Really Work? continued...

Besides hand washing, breathing in humidified air and increasing your fluid intake may also help, Blandino says.

Whatever natural remedy you use, the effects on the cold will be minimal, cautions Gwaltney. Of natural cold remedies, he says: "They're not as effective as commercial cold remedies" such as decongestant, antihistamines, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Patience could pay off, too, Blandino says. "You can't cure the cold," he says. "But most of them are gone within 10 days."


Via Webmd

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Nostrums: Tame a Childâ s Cough With a Touch of Honey

A spoonful of honey might quiet a child's cough more effectively and safely than the most common over-the-counter cough medicine.

Researchers tested 105 children 2 to 18 with coughs from upper-respiratory infections, dividing them randomly into three groups. One received no treatment. The others received a remedy, but the researchers, parents and children did not know which it was: one or two teaspoons of buckwheat honey, depending on age, or an age-appropriate dose of honey-flavored dextromethorphan. The study was supported by a grant from the National Honey Board, an industry-backed agency of the Department of Agriculture.

Using questionnaires filled out by the parents, the scientists measured cough frequency and severity, and the effect on the children's and parents' sleep. By all measures, honey provided the greatest relief.

Honey, the authors wrote in the December issue of The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, has well-established antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and it might be that sweet substances of any kind help dissolve mucus in the airways and soothe the back of the throat.

In October, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended a ban on over-the-counter cold medicine, including some brands containing dextromethorphan, intended for children under age 6.

Dr. Ian M. Paul, the lead author and an associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State, said that parents should consider honey "as an alternative to cough medicine for children over age 1." In rare cases, honey can cause infantile botulism in children under 1.




Via Nytimes

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Fertility falls with weight gain

An overweight woman's chance of getting pregnant steadily falls as her weight increases, a major study has found.

Among 3,000 women with fertility problems, there was a 4% drop in the chance of pregnancy for every body mass unit (BMI) rise above a certain point.

Dutch scientists, writing for the journal Human Reproduction, said that very obese women fared the worst.

The British Fertility Society says some women weight should be barred from IVF on account of their weight.

The level of obesity among would-be mothers is increasing in the UK faster than in almost any other country in the world.

Doctors know that this affects a woman's chances of getting pregnant naturally, but are more worried by the increased risks to her health - and the health of her baby - that the extra weight poses.

The study by researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam is the first to follow a large group of women trying for a baby, and to see directly what effect their body mass had on the outcome.

The standard unit of weight is body mass index (BMI), which is the weight in kilograms divided by the height squared.

Anything above 25 is considered overweight, while exceeding 30 is defined as "obese".

All the women in the study had come to see fertility doctors, but there was no obvious reason for their failure to conceive, as they were still ovulating normally.

Some women with "unexplained infertility" do go on to become pregnant naturally.

Steady fall

The study found that there was a clear relationship between their BMI and their likelihood of achieving this.

Compared with women with a BMI between 21 and 29, for every BMI point between 30 and 35 there was a 4% drop in conception rates.

Severely obese women, with a BMI of over 35, were between 26% and 49% less likely to conceive compared with a BMI between 21 and 29.

Dr Jan Willem van der Steeg, who led the study, said: "Given the increased prevalence of obesity, this is a worrying finding.

"We think that women should be informed about their lower pregnancy chances due to their overweight.

"We hypothesise that losing weight will increase the chance to conceive without treatment."

Ban recommended

This position is shared by the British Fertility Society, which issued guidelines to its members last month urging them to withhold fertility treatment from obese women until they lost weight.

Mr Tony Rutherford, who helped draw up the guidance, said: "Over the last few years there has been evidence that obesity can harm the fertility of women.

"It decreases the chances of getting pregnant, and increases the risks of pregnancy - to both mother and child.

"Sometimes there are difficult balances to be made, and obviously we do feel for couples who are trying to have a baby."


Via News

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Buying Safe Toys for the Holidays

At a time when children are compiling their holiday wish lists, parents are fretting over another one: the safe toy list.

Barbie. Batman. Dora. Razor Scooters. Thomas the Tank Engine. All top contenders for space under the Christmas tree -- until they hit the toy recall list for safety violations. The dangers range from lead paint and choking hazards to faulty construction.

According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), toy-related injuries sent almost 73,000 children under the age of 5 to emergency rooms in 2005. Twenty children also died from toy-related injuries that same year.

More than 170 million units of jewelry -- most made in China and marketed to children in this country -- have been recalled since 2004, according to Scott Wolfson of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). And 31.7 million other units of toys were recalled during the past 14 months.

''For many parents, the more immediate concern is which toys could -- or should -- be recalled that are still sitting on shelves, waiting to be purchased. Several consumer interest groups such as PIRG have found that while most toys on store shelves are safe, some still pose hazards. Among the dangers: lead paint, choking and strangulation hazards, magnets, toys that are too loud, and those containing other toxic chemicals.
Safe Toys: Not Just Lead -- and Not Just From China

The situation has many parents asking where they can find safe toys this holiday season.

"I'm kind of worried about the lead paint," says Blair Comacho, 25, a Southern California resident and mother of two. "We had several of the things that were recalled. I had to throw them out."

Camacho, whose children are four and 22 months of age, said she isn't buying anything made in China.

"I'm not even going into the stores. I'm probably going to find a 'Made in America' web site," she says.

John F. Rosen, MD, a professor of pediatrics and childhood lead poisoning specialist at Montefiore Children's Hospital in New York, says that it's not who makes the toys that matters. It's where they are manufactured.

"Where it's made is critical," he says. "There are safe toys made in the U.S. and the European Union."

Wolfson wants parents to understand that the dangers aren't just limited to lead poisoning, however -- or toys made in China.

Magnets are an especially urgent concern for Wolfson because of their immediate, life-threatening danger -- and because they're so popular.

If a child swallows more than one magnet, they can fuse in the intestine, causing a blockage that usually requires surgery. "If doctors do not take an X-ray quickly enough and see that there is a need for surgery, you have a very, very, very serious health emergency that often results in death," Wolfson says.

The magnet problem is not limited to young children. Ten of the 22 cases brought to the attention of the CPSC involved children aged 6 to 11.
Safe Toys: Buyer Beware

Experts interviewed by WebMD urge parents to pay careful attention to the CPSC's recall list and follow manufacturers' remedies for replacement or reimbursement.

Safe Toys: Buyer Beware continued...

They also offer the following tips on toys to avoid:

1. Brightly-painted toys (wood, plastic, and metal) made in Pacific Rim countries, particularly China, because of lead paint dangers. Parents may even want to shun brightly-colored plastic toys made from molds, which have been a problem in previous years. Children mouthing the toys for extended periods can get lead poisoning, which can cause irreversible neurological damage.
2. Ceramic or pottery toys manufactured outside the U.S. and Europe, because of lead dangers. If children drink tea from a ceramic tea set, for example, the lead from the ceramic can leach into the tea.
3. Many products from any countries outside the U.S. and Europe. Mexican pottery and candy, for example, have tested for high levels of lead.
4. Soft vinyl toys can also contain toxins, including lead.
5. Toys with small parts can pose a choking hazard for young children. Government regulations specify that toys for children under age 3 cannot have parts less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches long.
6. Pull toys with strings that are more than 12 inches in length, which can be a strangulation hazard for babies.
7. Magnetic toys, which can be swallowed by young children.
8. All jewelry, especially metal jewelry, for children of all ages. Many jewelry pieces -- even some marked "lead-free" -- have contained dangerous levels of lead.
9. Items that contain "phthalates," or toxic chemicals, such as xylene, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, and benzene, which can cause health problems in children.
10. Toys that are not age-appropriate. Toys intended for older children can harm younger ones. And older children who play with toys intended for younger ones can be injured when, out of boredom, they seek unintended uses for the toys.

Experts also caution that parents should pay attention to warning labels, which mean the toy can be dangerous. At the same time, they shouldn't be deceived by manufacturers' labels, which are voluntary and not always factual. This includes labels that say "toxic-free" and "lead-free," among others.
Safe Toys: Widely Available

The good news is that plenty of safe toys are widely available both here and abroad.

You can find a list of companies that report selling American-made toys and products at toysmadeinamerica. This site provides 136 links to toy companies, many of which are small, family-owned businesses. Some are eco-friendly as well.

For information about buying other products reported to be made in America, visit www.howtobuyamerican.com.

For a self-reported list of products made in Europe, visit www.moolka.com or www.maukilo.com, two online retailers that boast an extensive selection of European-made products for children of all ages, including a variety of jewelry.

Fun suggestions for older kids include acoustic guitars and instruments, scooters, and a wide selection of purses, bags, and wallets.
Safe Toys: Reason for the Season?

What can parents do if their child is wailing for last month's "it" toy, when that item may pose a danger?

Family psychologist John Rosemond, author of Parenting by the Book, says that parents should simply tell kids the truth -- that the toy they want can hurt them.

"Make it simple," he says. "Today's parents explain things in too wordy a fashion."

Rosemond also believes that most families have far too many toys, anyway -- and most are the wrong kind.

He suggests that parents use this opportunity to get rid of dangerous toys and superfluous ones. Ideally, kids should have no more than 10 toys at a time -- and as many as possible should be toys that require imagination and creativity.

"I've been telling parents to get rid of 80% of their children's toys long before this controversy started," he says. "They play much more creatively and imaginatively, the fewer toys they have. There is also less sibling conflict and more family, and the kids play for longer periods of time, which means they bug the parents less."


Via Webmd

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Christmas lights found with potentially unsafe levels of lead

A CNN analysis of four common brands of Christmas lights shows levels of lead experts say are high enough to be dangerous to children.

Lead is used to help prevent the cracking or crumbling of Christmas light wiring insulation.

Manufacturers do not hide the fact that lead is part of the PVC insulation that insulates Christmas light wiring. Lead is used legally to stabilize polyvinyl chloride so it does not crack or crumble with age. The lead also acts as a fire retardant.

But the levels of surface lead surprised Dr. Leo Trasande, a specialist in children's environmental health at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

"There is no level at which lead exposure is safe," Dr. Trasande said. "Even at one microgram/deciliter -- the lowest level in a person's blood stream that we can detect -- that level has been associated with cognitive impairment in children."

CNN's "American Morning" purchased samples of four common brands of Christmas lights and asked an independent New Jersey-based testing organization, Quantex Laboratories, to check for surface lead. Quantex analyzed three strings of lights from each brand.

The lab followed the Consumer Product Safety Commission's standard wipe test for lead in polyvinyl chloride products, including mini blinds and toys, to see how much lead in the cords' PVC coating would come off on someone's hands.

"You don't realize there's lead in it, you eat a cookie, you eat something without washing your hands, that exposure builds up in your body over time," said Dr. James Menoutis, who runs the lab at Quantex.

In the four brands of lights tested, Quantex found surface lead levels far exceeding the CPSC's recommended children's limit of 15 micrograms.

Wal-Mart brand lights had the highest levels of surface lead, with levels ranging from 86.6 to 132.7 micrograms. GE lights showed surface lead levels from 68 to 109.1 micrograms. Sylvania had surface lead levels from 59 to 70.3 micrograms. Levels of surface lead in the lights made by Philips ranged from a low of 3.2 -- well under the 15 microgram limit -- to 107.2 in another sample.

For Trasande, the high levels of surface lead in the lights are a real concern.

"I wouldn't needlessly expose [children] to a lead-based hazard that could have significant lifelong consequences for that child's cognitive capacity or their attention or other health problems," Trasande said. He recommended leaving lights off trees entirely.

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* In Depth: Toy Recall

In written statements, the four companies whose lights were tested all expressed concern about safety.

"The special coating around electrical wires on the light sets is necessary to pass the stringent UL safety and quality regulations," Wal-Mart wrote. "We are in full compliance with UL regulations which set the standards for electrical coatings."

Sylvania said its lights are "tested rigorously for safety and have been used safely by millions of Americans for many years."

"Holiday lights are electrical appliances. We encourage consumers to exercise common sense by keeping holiday lights and other electrical products away from the hands and mouths of children," the company wrote.

"We can make a fairly obvious common sense observation: Lights are not toys, should not be handled by children, and are not subject to the same standards for lead," wrote GE. "The CPSC guidelines you refer to are for products that would regularly be handled by children."

Philips pointed out that while the CPSC swipe test "is not a mandated measurement for our industry (it is a test to be applied to children's items and not electrical products), Philips takes matters concerning lead content very seriously. As such, the company and the industry are currently working on technologies to reduce the amount of lead in these products."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission insists Christmas lights do not pose an elevated danger of lead exposure to children. A spokeswoman vigorously criticized the CNN tests, saying that using the CPSC's methods for testing lead on blinds and toys "is like comparing apples to oranges and is rotten to the core."

But in a prior interview, not a response to CNN's tests, the Consumer Product Safety Commission advised children should still keep away from lights because they are electrical products, not toys.

"There are plenty of other things kids can do to help decorate the tree," said Julie Vallese, the CPSC spokesperson. "Lights are something that should be the responsibility of the parent."

Underwriters Laboratories, which inspects tree lights for electrical and fire hazards, said there are substitutes for lead in the insulation, such as calcium and zinc, but those options would be more expensive to manufacture.


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Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Circumcision is one of the commonest surgical procedures performed on males. Opponents argue that infant circumcision can cause both physical and psychological harm, while recent evidence shows that circumcision may be medically beneficial. Two doctors debate the issue in this week's BMJ.

There is now rarely a therapeutic indication for infant circumcision, yet ritual (non-therapeutic) male circumcision continues unchecked throughout the world, long after female circumcision, facial scarification, and other ritual forms of infant abuse have been made illegal, writes Geoff Hinchley, a consultant at Barnet & Chase Farm NHS Trust.

The law and principles pertaining to child protection should apply equally to both sexes, so why do society and the medical profession collude with this unnecessary mutilating practise, he asks?

In addition to religious justification, there have been many spurious and now unsupported claims for circumcision including the prevention of penile cancer, masturbation, blindness, and insanity, most of which relate to adult sexual behaviour and not to the genital anatomy or best interest of a child, he adds.

There may be a case that male circumcision reduces HIV risk in sexually active adults, however the decision on whether an individual wishes to have this procedure should be left until they are old enough to make their own informed health care choices.

Male genital mutilation is not a risk-free procedure, he adds. Far from being a harmless traditional practice, circumcision damages young boys.

And in terms of legal protection, he argues that both the US and the UK legal systems discriminate between the sexes when it comes to protecting boys and girls from damaging ritual genital mutilation.

The unpalatable truth is that logic and the rights of the child play little part in determining the acceptability of male genital mutilation in our society, he writes. The profession needs to recognise this and champion the argument on behalf of boys that was so successful for girls.

But Kirsten Patrick of the BMJ argues that, if competently performed, circumcision carries little risk and cannot be compared with female circumcision.

Although any surgical operation can be painful and do harm, the pain of circumcision, if done under local anaesthesia, is comparable to that from an injection for immunisation, she writes.

In terms of evidence of benefit, male circumcision has been associated with a reduced risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as human papilloma virus, chancroid and syphilis.

Robust research has also shown that circumcision can reduce the spread of HIV.

And although the complication rate for infant circumcision is essentially unknown (because most operations are unregistered) data suggest that it is between 0.2% and 3%, with most complications being minor. Furthermore, she says, no robust research exists examining the long term psychological effects of male infant circumcision.

Despite the fact that no medical body advocates routine male infant circumcision, most agree that it is safe and acceptable and recommend that the procedure is carried out by a competent operator using adequate anaesthesia.

Male circumcision is not illegal anywhere in the world. It is a choice that parents will make on behalf of their male children, for cultural or other reasons, and regulating its provision is the wisest course of action, she concludes.

An accompanying clinical review concludes that medical indications for male circumcision in both childhood and adulthood are rare, but that complications can be drastic.


Via Medicalnewstoday

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Strawberries, Watermelon, Grapes, Oh My! Study Finds Students Will Opt For Healthy Foods In The Lunch Line

Strawberries, grapes, and yogurt are just some of the healthier food items children prefer, researchers argue in a new study released this week. Kent State University researchers surveyed 1,818 students in grades 3 through 12, asking them what their favorite foods were. The study, included in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Child Nutrition & Management, found that items such as strawberries, watermelon, white milk, and string cheese ranked among the "Top 20" foods, demonstrating that children will eat fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.

The researchers also found differences in taste between grade levels. Elementary school students were more likely to rank fruits much higher than older children, while "fast and familiar" foods such as chicken nuggets and hamburgers were less preferred by middle school and high school students.

Although healthy items made the "Top 20" list, children still consider pizza, French fries, and chicken nuggets among their favorite foods. The researchers attribute this to the influence of culture on students. On average, approximately 30% of students consume fast food on any given day, making it more likely that students will eat these foods at school. To accommodate their tastes, school nutrition professionals offer these items, but use healthier ingredients such as whole grains, low-fat cheese, and lean meats and prepare the foods with healthier cooking techniques such as baking.

"School foodservice professionals and dietitians have been promoting the consumption of a wide variety of foods for a healthy diet," concluded researchers Natalie Caine-Bish, PhD, RD, LD and Barbara Scheule, PhD, RD. "Menu planners should consider the inclusion of these selections (favorite foods) in their menus as means to improve nutritional quality as well as satisfaction."

The Journal of Child Nutrition & Managementis the premier research journal for school nutrition professionals andis a publication of the School Nutrition Association

The School Nutrition Association is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. The Association and its members are dedicated to feeding children safe and nutritious meals. Founded in 1946, SNA is the only association devoted exclusively to protecting and enhancing children's health and well being through school meals and sound nutrition education.

School Nutrition Association


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Caffeine's Use In Cosmetic Dermatology

A new study recently published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology reports on the discovery of caffeine's novel benefit in slenderizing thighs.

The Brazilian researchers studied 99 women treated with a cream consisting mostly of a 7 percent caffeine solution. The women used the cream twice daily for 30 days.

When the researchers took their subjects' measurements at the end of the study, the slimming effect was clear. More than 80 percent of the women had a reduction in the circumference of their upper and lower thighs. Nearly 68 percent also reduced their hip measurements.

Whether caffeine banishes cellulite is less clear. The researchers assessed cellulite changes with a handheld imaging instrument that reveals microcirculation in fat tissue. Imaging showed little change in cellulite even in the hips and thighs that slimmed down. The researchers speculate that the 30-day trial might not have been long enough for the cream to act on cellulite.

"This is no cure for cellulite", said lead researcher Omar Lupi of the Federal University of then State of Rio de Janeiro. "But it can help women who want to look thinner. Exercise is still the best way to go."

This study is published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

Professor Omar Lupi, MD, PhD is affiliated with the Federal University of then State of Rio de Janeiro.

Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology is the official journal of the European Society for Cosmetic and Aesthetic Dermatology (ESCAD). Both the Journal and ESCAD wish to foster the highest standards of patient care in cosmetic dermatology. Each aims to facilitate continuing professional development and provide a forum for the exchange of scientific research and innovative techniques.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal.

Source: Amy Molnar
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


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Generosity 'may be in the genes'

Some people may be genetically destined to have a generous personality, Israeli research has suggested.

A total of 203 people took part in an online task in which they could either keep or give away money.

Gene tests revealed those who had certain variants of a gene called AVPR1a were on average nearly 50% more likely to give money away.

The study, by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, appears online in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior.

Lead researcher Dr Ariel Knafo said: "The experiment provided the first evidence, to my knowledge, for a relationship between DNA variability and real human altruism."

The gene AVPR1a plays a key role in allowing a hormone called arginine vasopressin to act on brain cells.

Vasopressin, in turn, has been implicated in social bonding.

The researchers found greater altruism in players in which a key section of the gene, called its promoter, was longer.

The promoter is the region that determines how active a gene is. In this case a longer promoter makes the gene more active.

Long history

The researchers point out that a version of AVPR1a also exists in voles, where it also promotes social bonding.

This, they say, suggests that altruism has a long rooted genetic history.

Dr George Fieldman, a lecturer in psychology at Buckinghamshire New University, said carrying genes which promoted altruism and social bonding made evolutionary sense.

He said the success of altruism as a strategy was based on the idea that a good deed was likely to be reciprocated.

However, the odds of that happening among strangers were lower than among people who were known to each other. Therefore, the impulse to bond socially, and make new friends, was important.

He said: "Because society is becoming increasingly complicated, it is probably more important to be altruistic and co-operative than it was in our ancestral history."


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Encouraging Baby To Like Fruits And Veggies

Moms, want your baby to learn to like fruits and vegetables?

According to new research from the Monell Center, if you're breast feeding, you can provide baby with a good start by eating them yourself.

And, offer your baby plenty of opportunities to taste fruits and vegetables as s/he makes the transition to solid foods by giving repeated feeding exposures to these healthy foods - regardless of whether you're breast feeding or using formula.

"Vegetable and fruit consumption is linked to lower risks of obesity and certain cancers," says senior author Julie A. Mennella, PhD. "The best predictor of how much fruits and vegetables children eat is whether they like the tastes of these foods. If we can get babies to learn to like these tastes, we can get them off to an early start of healthy eating."

The study, designed to test the influence of early sensory experiences on the development of healthy eating patterns, is published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Mennella and co-author Catherine A. Forestell, PhD, studied 45 infants, 20 of whom were breastfed. The infants, who were between the ages of four and eight months and unaccustomed to eating solids other than cereal, were randomly assigned to one of two groups.

One group was fed green beans for eight consecutive days; the other was given green beans and then peaches over the same period. Acceptance of both foods was assessed before and after the repeated exposure period.

The results revealed that breast-feeding confers an advantage for baby's acceptance of foods during weaning - but only if the mother regularly eats those foods.

During their first exposure to peaches, breast-fed infants ate more and for a longer period of time, compared to formula-fed infants. Questionnaires revealed that mothers of breast-fed infants ate more fruits than did formula-feeding mothers, suggesting that the enhanced peach acceptance of their infants might be attributed to increased exposure to fruit flavors through breast milk.

However, both groups of mothers reported eating green beans and green vegetables infrequently, at levels below current recommendations. Accordingly, there was no difference in the amount of green beans eaten by breast-fed and formula-fed infants the first time the vegetables were offered.

"It's a beautiful system," says Mennella. "Flavors from the mother's diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother's milk. So, a baby learns to like a food's taste when the mother eats that food on a regular basis."

In both groups, repeated opportunities to taste green beans over eight days enhanced acceptance of the vegetable, increasing intake by almost three-fold.

"Babies are born with a dislike for bitter tastes," explains Mennella. "If mothers want their babies to learn to like to eat vegetables, especially green vegetables, they need to provide them with opportunities to taste these foods."

The researchers also found that babies' facial expressions did not always match their willingness to continue feeding, noting that infants innately display facial expressions of distaste to certain flavors.

They urge caregivers to provide their infants with repeated opportunities to taste fruits and vegetables, focusing on the infant's willingness to eat the food instead of on their negative facial expressions during eating.

Dr. Forestell's current affiliation is Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary.

The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a nonprofit basic research institute based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For 39 years, Monell has been the nation's leading research center focused on understanding the senses of smell, taste and chemical irritation: how they function and affect lives from before birth through old age. Using a multidisciplinary approach, scientists collaborate in the areas of: sensation and perception, neuroscience and molecular biology, environmental and occupational health, nutrition and appetite, health and well being, and chemical ecology and communication. For more information about Monell, visit http://www.monell.org/.

Funding: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Canadian Institutes of Health.

Source: Leslie Stein
Monell Chemical Senses Center


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Studies show how fruits and veggies reduce cancer

WASHINGTON - Just three servings a month of raw broccoli or cabbage can reduce the risk of bladder cancer by as much as 40 percent, researchers reported this week.

Other studies show that dark-colored berries can reduce the risk of cancer too -- adding more evidence to a growing body of research that shows fruits and vegetables, especially richly colored varieties, can reduce the risk of cancer.

Researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, surveyed 275 people who had bladder cancer and 825 people without cancer. They asked especially about cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage.

These foods are rich in compounds called isothiocyanates, which are known to lower cancer risk.

The effects were most striking in nonsmokers, the researchers told a meeting being held this week of the American Association of Cancer Research in Philadelphia.

Compared to smokers who ate fewer than three servings of raw cruciferous vegetables, nonsmokers who ate at least three servings a month were almost 73 percent less likely to be in the bladder cancer group, they found.

Among both smokers and nonsmokers, those who ate this minimal amount of raw veggies had a 40 percent lower risk. But the team did not find the same effect for cooked vegetables.

"Cooking can reduce 60 to 90 percent of ITCs, (isothiocyanates)," Dr. Li Tang, who led the study, said in a statement....


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Wake Up: A Guide to Living Your Life Consciously

A life lived of choice is a life of conscious action. A life lived of chance is a life of unconscious creation.
- Neale Donald Walsch

As much as possible, I try to live my life by bringing to my consciousness what is bubbling up from my unconsciousness.

I try to clear the fog through which we often drift, to see where I'm going, to make conscious choices instead of automatic ones.

Do you ever have a feeling that you're drifting through life, and not going where you want to go? Or that you don't know how you got where you are today?

Living consciously is about taking control of your life, about thinking about your decisions rather than making them without thought, about having a life that we want rather than settling for the one that befalls us.

If you're drifting through life, or feel out of control, or don't know how you got here … deciding to live consciously could be the single most important thing you do.

Are you living unconsciously now?
Ask yourself the following questions … if you find yourself saying yes to many of them, you might want to consider trying conscious living:

1. Are you in a job that you fell into rather than the job you want?

2. Are you doing things that are given to you rather than what you love to do?

3. Are you spending your time doing busy work rather than what you want to do with your days?

4. Do you wish you could spend more time with loved ones?

5. Do you find yourself overweight because you've been eating the food you've been eating for years and stuck in a rut of not exercising?

6. Do you find yourself living from paycheck to paycheck or in debt, not knowing where your money goes?

7. Do you find yourself wasting your time doing things that aren't important rather than focusing on completing the things that are very important?

8. Do you go through your days not thinking about what you want out of life and how to get it?

If you answered "no" to all of these questions, you're probably already living consciously, and you don't need this article at all. For those who would like to live more consciously, read on.

How to Live Life Consciously
It's not something you can change overnight. Living consciously is a lifestyle, a skill, an art. It's not something you do just once, but a habit that you can form for the rest of your life.

But it is deceptively simple: Be conscious, and think about, everything you do. Make conscious choices rather than doing things without thinkings. That's all.

It sounds simple, but it's amazing how few people actually do this, and it's amazing how easy it is to live life on autopilot, and just do what we always do because that's what we're used to doing. And it's easier that way, even if our lives are difficult.

It's not easy to changes our lives, to break out of our routines, to begin to live the lives we want.

It takes willful effort, energy and constant vigilance to think about our choices … all of them.

Here are some key tips that have worked for me:

1. Make reflecting on your life a regular routine. Whether you keep a journal, or make reflecting on your day part of your evening routine, or have a weekly session where you review your life or take some time away from the office to reflect on everything … it's important that you give things some thought. Regularly.

2. At least once a year, set or review your life's goals. What do you want to do in life? What is important to you? What do you want your life to be like? And how will you get there? Write it down, and keep it somewhere you will see it often, and take action.

3. Also review your relationships. The people we love are among the most important things in our lives, if not the only important things. You need to think about your relationships. Do you spend enough time with them? Do you show your appreciation for them? Is there a way you can improve your relationship? Do you need to forgive or apologize about anything? Are there barriers that can be removed? Communication that can be improved? Also review your relationships with others, such as co-workers.

4. Consider your impact on the world. How does what you do, what you consume, and how you live, impact the environment? How does it impact poor people in Third World countries? How does it impact the poor, the powerless, the voiceless? How does it impact your community? Your life has an impact, whether you think about it or not. Being conscious of how your decisions affect others is important.

5. Consider the real costs of each purchase. We often buy things without really thinking about what we're doing or what they really cost. Sure, it's just $30 … no problem, right? But that $30 might represent several hours of your life … hours that you'll never get back. Do you really want to spend your life earning money for trivial purchases? Is that what you want to do with your life? Worth some thought, I think. Read Your Money or Your Life for more.

6. Consider the real costs of the things in your life. Our lives are filled with stuff … our houses, our offices … and beyond just the cost of buying the stuff, this stuff takes a toll on us. The stuff in our life must be arranged, cleaned, moved, taken with us when we move … it takes up the space in our life, it is visual stress. Later, we'll have to get rid of it, sort through all of it, take time to throw it away or recycle it or donate it. If having the stuff is not worth all of that, then get rid of it.

7. Review how you spend your time. Until we do a time audit, and keep a log of our day, even if it's just for one or two days, we don't really know how we spend our time. And if we do audit our time, it can be very surprising. And if we know how we're spending our time now, we can make conscious decisions to change how we spend our time in the future. For computer-based time tracking, try Rescue Time.

8. Explore yourself. Not in a dirty way. Take some time to think about what kind of person you are. What your values are. Whether you live your life according to those values. How you treat people. How you treat yourself. Think about this: what do you want people to say about you when you die?


Via Zenhabits

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Obesity: A shrinking problem for women?

The obesity rate among U.S. women seems to be leveling off, continuing a trend that began in 1999, government data reported Wednesday.

Before then, obesity rates had been skyrocketing for both women and men since 1980.

WEIGHT-LOSS CHALLENGE: News and resources on dieting, exercise and more

Overall, about 34% of adults — more than 72 million people — in the USA were obese in 2005-2006, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or greater, which is roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight.

Specifically, 33.3% of men and 35.3% of women were obese in 2005-2006. This was not a statistically significant increase from 2003-2004, when 31.1% of men and 33.2% of women were obese.

"It's too early to say that overall obesity rates are leveling off, but I feel optimistic that for women it is, because we have seen no change since 1999," says Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics. "Among men, however, we have seen an increase since 1999, but there is hope for men, too."

Gary Foster, president of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss researchers and professionals, cautions, "Even if there is a leveling off, we're still left with a staggering public-health problem with two-thirds of people in this country overweight or obese." Government data have shown that 66% of Americans weigh too much.

"This news should not signal a decrease in the intensity of our efforts to pursue effective prevention and treatment for obesity," Foster says.

The latest data are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is considered the gold standard for evaluating obesity in the USA because it is an extensive survey of people whose weight and height are actually measured.

Among the findings:

•Obesity was highest in people ages 40 to 59, with 40% of men and 41% of women this age falling into the obese category. By comparison, 28% of men ages 20 to 39 and 30.5% of women that age were obese.

•53% of black women, ages 40 to 59, and 51% of Mexican-American women were obese, compared with 39% of white women the same age.

•61% of black women, ages 60 and older, were obese, compared with 37% of Mexican-American women and 32% of white women the same age.

•About 65% of obese adults were told that they were overweight by their health care provider.




Via Usatoday

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Skin ageing 'reversed' in mice

Scientists have reversed the effects of ageing on the skin of mice by blocking the action of a specific protein.

In two-year old mice, Californian researchers found that they could rejuvenate skin to look more youthful.

Further analysis published in the journal Genes and Development showed the skin had the same genetic profile as the skin of newborn mice.

The team said the research would most likely lead to treatments to improve healing in older human patients.

They stressed it was unlikely to be a potential "fountain of youth" but could help older people heal as quickly from injury as they did when they were younger.

The protein in question - NF-kappa-B - is thought to play a role in numerous aspects of ageing.

It acts as a regulator, causing a wide range of other genes to be more or less active.

Lead researcher, Dr Howard Chang, from the Stanford School of Medicine in California, said the findings supported the theory that ageing is the result of specific genetic changes rather than accumulated wear and tear.

And that it is possible to reverse those genetic changes later in life.

Regulation

Previous studies have identified several genes which play a part in the ageing process.

Dr Chang and colleagues spotted that the one thing the genes had in common was that they were regulated by NF-kappa-B, which can either make them more or less active.

By blocking the protein in older mice for two weeks, they found the skin was thicker and more cells appeared to be dividing, much like the skin of a younger mouse.

And the same genes were active as in the skin of newborn mice.

It is unclear whether the effects are long-lasting and the protein has also been implicated in cancer and regulation of the immune system.

"We found a pretty striking reversal to that of the young skin," Dr Chang said.

But he added any application in humans was likely to be on a short-term basis because of other effects of blocking the protein.

"You might get a longer lifespan but at the expense of something else," he said.

Nina Goad from the British Association of Dermatologists said: "Targeting of gene therapy to skin is still very difficult but this may provide some new avenues of research that will be of value to wound healing, following skin trauma or disfiguring skin cancer surgery.

"However, the researchers' caveats about the unforeseen consequences of manipulating genes that play a role in many cells are most important and add a strong element of caution."


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Study Of Adolescent Eating Disorders

Eating disorders in the U.S. among ethnic groups were thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that many cultures are now exposed to the thin beauty ideal. As a result, experts expect to see an increase in eating disorder symptoms among ethnic groups. It is also suspected that eating disorders and weight control behaviors may be increasing among adolescent boys. Although research has shown that eating disorders begin during adolescence, few epidemiological studies have been conducted with teens and those that have examined weight control practices among adolescents are too varied to be able to discern trends.

A new study, one of the first to examine trends in adolescent weight control behaviors over a 10-year period, found that the prevalence of these behaviors in male adolescents significantly increased, while black females appear to resist pressure to pursue thinness. The study was published online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/eat), the official journal of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

Led by Y. May Chao of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, researchers examined data from nationally representative samples of high school students from 1995 to 2005. The data was available via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a survey conducted every two years since 1991 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among teens.

The results showed that the prevalence of dieting and diet product use among female adolescents significantly increased between 1995 and 2005 and as did the prevalence of all weight control behaviors (including dieting, diet product use, purging, exercise and vigorous exercise) among males. The data suggested that black female adolescents are the least likely to practice weight control, while white female adolescents are the most likely. Among males, white adolescents are the least likely to practice weight control and Hispanic adolescents are the most likely. The authors suggest that Hispanics may be more motivated to control their weight due to the higher prevalence of overweight among these young men.

The increase in weight control behaviors among males indicates that the social pressure for men to achieve unrealistic body ideals is growing, putting young males at an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and developing an eating disorder, according to the authors. "Considering that males have negative attitudes toward treatment-seeking and are less likely than females to seek treatment, efforts should be made to increase awareness of eating disorder symptomatology in male adolescents, and future prevention efforts should target male as well as female adolescents," they state.

The study reported the 10-year trends but also showed that some behaviors fluctuated during this period. The authors suggest that some practices, such as dieting, may be sensitive to changes in certain aspects of culture, such as fashion and topics of media focus, or seasonal variations, since it was not known at what time of year the YRBSS was administered.

Surprisingly, unlike previous studies, the current study did not find that ethnic differences in weight control behavior are decreasing. The authors suggest that black women tend to have more flexible concepts of beauty, which may make them less vulnerable to social pressure. However, this may put them at increased risk for becoming overweight, given the current environment of super-sized portions of nutritionally deficient foods.

The authors conclude, "Males, especially ethnic minority males, are under studied in this field, and this study provides key information about the prevalence of weight control practices in a large, diverse sample of male adolescents and raises important questions about the factors contributing to the ethnic difference in weight control practices among male adolescents."


Article: "Ethnic Differences in Weight Control Practices Among U.S. Adolescents from 1995 to 2005," Y. May Chao, Emily M. Pisetsky, Lisa C. Dierker, Faith-Anne Dohm, Francine Rosselli, Alexis M. May, Ruth H. Striegel-Moore, International Journal of Eating Disorders, (DOI: 10.1002/eat.20479).



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Animal health crucial in bird flu battle

WASHINGTON - Most governments are working quickly to attack avian flu when it pops up among birds but the virus is now entrenched in at least three countries, the United Nations and World Bank reported on Thursday.

And domestic animals can act as a "time bomb," providing a place for the virus to hide and change, potentially into a pandemic strain, the U.N.'s top bird flu official said.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus has now been reported in 60 countries since 2003, according to the report. It has killed 206 out of 335 people infected and could mutate into a form at any time that would easily spread from person to person, killing tens of millions.

But the report says most countries had taken the threat seriously and were building up the infrastructure needed to fight outbreaks.

"The efforts of thousands of good men and women are starting to pay off," U.N. bird flu coordinator Dr. David Nabarro told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Nabarro said much more needs to be done.

"Highly pathogenic avian influenza is currently entrenched in Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria, and possibly in some locations in China and Bangladesh," the report reads...


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Sticky molecule may hold key to nerve disorders

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (- A sticky molecule previously linked to inflammation also helps seal vital insulation around peripheral nerves, making it a potential target for new drugs against nerve disorders, scientists said on Thursday.

The latest research suggests the molecule, known as JAM-C, could be a key player in regulating the way nerves work.

In genetically modified mice without the adhesion molecule, the myelin insulation sheath protecting nerves deteriorates and the animals experience faulty nerve firing, muscle weakness and a shortened stride, researchers reported in the journal Science.

The team also found that nerves of patients with certain peripheral nerve disorders had defective JAM-C.

Taken together, the findings suggest the molecule is a key player in regulating the structure and function of peripheral nerves and its malfunction may cause a number of illnesses.

JAM-C, which was discovered only recently, is already being studied as a target for new medicines involved in inflammation and as a possible route to fight cancer, since it seems to help tumors form new blood vessels.

"This finding opens up yet another area that this molecule should be investigated in -- but it's very early days," Sussan Nourshargh, professor of microvascular pharmacology at Barts and The London School of Medicine, said in an interview...


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