The New York Times, Jane E. Brody, July 26, 2010
Vitamin D promises to be the most talked-about and written-about supplement of the decade. While studies continue to refine optimal blood levels and recommended dietary amounts, the fact remains that a huge part of the population — from robust newborns to the frail elderly, and many others in between — are deficient in this essential nutrient.
If the findings of existing clinical trials hold up in future research, the potential consequences of this deficiency are likely to go far beyond inadequate bone …
The New York Times, Duff Wilson, July 27, 2010
When the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation decided in 1991 to take on Joe Camel, it became the nation’s largest private funding source for fighting smoking. The foundation spent $700 million to help knock the cartoon character out of advertisements, finance research and advocacy for higher cigarette taxes and smoke-free air laws and, ultimately, to aid in reducing the nation’s smoking rate almost by half.
But a few years ago, the Johnson foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., added another target to its mission, pledging …
Time, Laura Blue, July 28, 2010
A healthy social life may be as good for your long-term health as avoiding cigarettes, according to a massive research review released Tuesday by the journal PLoS Medicine.
Researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pooled data from 148 studies on health outcomes and social relationships — every research paper on the topic they could find, involving more than 300,000 men and women across the developed world — and found that those with poor social connections had on average …
NPR, Patti Neighmond, July 28, 2010
The health effects of being overweight or obese are well documented. Extra pounds add extra risk for diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers, even among children. But new research also documents significant social and economic consequences of being overweight since high school.
A group of teenagers take a morning jog at the Wellspring Academy in Reedley, Calif., in 2009. The school specializes in helping teens and college students lose weight. A new study shows teens who remain obese risk a lifetime of chronic health problems and …
BBC News, Jane Hughes, July 27, 2010
Mothers often say they get confusing advice about exercise during and after pregnancy
Obesity levels among pregnant women have reached epidemic levels, putting the health of their babies at risk, experts say.
The health watchdog NICE has issued new guidelines encouraging women in England to attain a healthy weight before they get pregnant.
It also advises them against eating for two once they conceive.
It says almost half of women of childbearing age are overweight or obese, which could harm their child.
Many women feel they are offered confusing …
Chicago Tribune, Monica Eng, July 21, 2010
Every five years the American public gets a newly tweaked directive on what we’re supposed to be eating.
And every five years the American public largely ignores it.
For example, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend we eat 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 14 percent of adults are even coming close.
Special interest groups, however, watch the guidelines closely and are speaking out. Just last week, nearly …
