Posts from — April 2009

Health Tip – Audio Version - Race, exercise and breast cancer
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Physical Activity and Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

Exercise can reduce the risk of getting breast cancer – and researchers now can say that’s true for black women as well as white. While it might seem obvious, scientists couldn’t be sure because prior studies had not focused on minorities.

To fill that gap, researcher Leslie Bernstein of the University of Southern California conducted a large study of black and white women who developed breast cancer and those who did not. Her study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

“We recruited both black and white women. Our conclusion was that we saw comparable reductions in risk among black and white women.”

The study found, though, that black women were less likely to be exercisers – and so less likely to get the benefit.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Inside fat
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Physical Activity: Energize Your Life! (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

We can see fat on our outside. But we also have fat we can’t see – called visceral fat – around organs in the belly. Increasing visceral fat increases the odds of excess weight, higher blood sugar levels, cholesterol problems, and high blood pressure. And this raises the risk of heart disease.

But Cris Slentz of Duke University Medical Center, who used imaging to check inside fat, says exercise works against inside fat. People who did no exercise gained fat; people who did some exercise gained none, and people who did more lost visceral fat.

“Thirty minutes a day most days – preferably all days of the week – people ought to be walking or doing some activity. We really do need this. Inactivity is just killing us.”

The study in the Journal of Applied Physiology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Was it the carbs?
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Eat 5 to 9 a Day for Better Health (National Cancer Institute)

Some diet backers say carbs make you put on weight. But a look at the experiences of more than 48,000 people tells a different story.

The researchers studied postmenopausal women on a low-fat diet in the National Institute of Health’s Women’s Health Initiative trial on diet and cancer. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Barbara Howard of the MedStar Research Institute in Washington, D.C.:

“Our study shows that increasing carbohydrate as we did it, with an emphasis on vegetables and fruits and grains, in fact does not promote weight gain.”

Instead, women who substituted carbs for fat lost an average of almost five pounds the first year – and kept much of it off over seven and one half years of follow-up.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Early problems, young drinkers
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step:

Teen drinking means trouble. And a study finds that for some teens, the more trouble in their lives, the younger their drinking starts.

Researcher Samuel Kuperman of the University of Iowa compared the age at which young people had their first drink to the number of problems in their lives.

“Stealing, setting fires, destroying property, using weapons, fighting, cruelty to people – symptoms like that decreased the age of first drink by about three months for each positive symptom.”

Kuperman’s study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Kuperman says that, for these kids, a lot of bad things are happening, and the age of first drink is just one. But he says there’s still hope for the teens, parents and schools to turn things around.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - How’s the family?
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Heart and Vascular Diseases (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

When Mom or Dad told you to keep an eye on your brother or sister, they probably didn’t have this in mind. But researchers say you can watch your sibs to get an idea of whether you might have cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack or stroke.

The researchers looked at the long-running Framingham Heart Study, supported by the National Institutes of Health. They found a 45 percent higher risk of heart attack among people with a brother or sister who already had a heart attack, compared with people with siblings free of the disease. The report was in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Joanne Murabito of the Framingham Heart Study:

“We were surprised that sibling cardiovascular disease was associated with the same or greater risk for future cardiovascular disease as parental cardiovascular disease.”

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Big kid
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: We Can! Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health)

It’s wonderful to watch kids grow. Every day, it seems, they get bigger.

But can Mom and Dad tell when their youngster is maybe too big?

Researcher Thomas Joiner of Florida State University had parents rate their three-year-olds – from very underweight, through the right weight, to very overweight. His study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Could the parents judge their kids’ weight right? You be the judge.

“No one categorized their kids as in the highest category of all. Based on the characteristics of this sample, some of the kids’ body mass index did meet criteria for obesity.”

To keep the weight under control, Joiner suggests parents keep the kids active, so they burn off the calories they take in.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Tough customer
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Workplace Violence (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

The old saying is that the customer is always right. But maybe we need a new saying: The customer is sometimes dangerous.

A survey finds almost half of American workers are victims of aggression in a given year – mostly psychological, some physical – most from members of the public.

Aaron Schat of Canada’s DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University had support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Schat says employees can defuse some aggression through empathy and help:

“Indicate that you realize that there is a problem. Be very clear that you are trying to – or will try to – take steps to solve their particular problem. Go get extra information if you don’t have adequate information. Provide extra assistance if you can.”

Schat also advises businesses to set clear standards of civility for customers and employees.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Status check
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day (Office of Minority Health)

HIV knows no boundaries and no race. But the virus afflicts people in some groups more than others. Blacks are especially at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. A recent multi-city study shows almost half of black men who had sex with men were infected. However, everyone needs to get tested and know their status – especially black women, and men who have sex with men.

That’s why today – February 7th – is important. It’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The director of HHS’ Office of Minority Health, Dr. Garth Graham:

“Protect yourself, your family and community. Get educated. Get involved. Get tested.”

And if the test is positive, the next step is to get treated.

The National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Web site has a way to find local-level testing sites.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Care for the obese
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Checkups, Tests, and Shots: Which Ones You Need and When To Get Them (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)

Those of us who are obese generally need more health care than people who are normal weight. But a study finds overweight and obese Americans are less likely to get some crucial care that can head off disease.

The study supported by the National Institutes of Health looked at three preventive services – mammograms and pap smears in middle-age women to spot signs of breast and cervical cancer, and flu shots in the elderly.

Researcher Truls Ostbye and colleagues from Duke University Medical Center published their findings in the American Journal of Public Health. They found trouble among middle-aged women and the elderly.

“The more overweight or obese a woman was, or an elderly person was, the less likely were they to receive mammograms, pap smears and influenza vaccination.”

Ostbye says Americans with extra pounds need these services and should get them.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006

Health Tip – Audio Version - Breastfeeding against diabetes
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Breastfeeding. Best for Baby. Best for Mom. (National Women’s Health Information Center)

A study indicates breastfeeding gives moms a benefit – a drop in the risk of diabetes.

Researchers compared mothers who breastfed with those who did not. The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Researcher Alison Stuebe (STOO’-bee) of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital:

“We looked specifically at women in the 15 years after they had their last baby. And we found that each year a woman breastfeeds reduced her risk of diabetes by 15 percent.”

How could that happen? Well, breastfeeding lowers levels of insulin and sugar – and helps women shed weight:

“A breastfeeding woman uses up about 500 calories a day making milk for her baby. That’s the equivalent of running about four to five miles a day. That’s a lot of energy.”

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 15 2006