Nutrition and Health News

The results of a 17 year study of 1441 patients with type 1 diabetes published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine shows that very tight control of blood sugar levels substantially reduced the risk of heart attack and strokes.

The chance of having any cardiovascular disease decreased by 42 percent, and the chance of a heart attack or stroke was reduced by 57 percent, when compared with type 1 diabetes patients following a conventional diabetes management routine. This study is the first to clearly show that controlling blood sugar reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A report in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association quantifies the low physical fitness of today’s US youth and adult population. Using data from the 1999-2002 US National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, about one third (33.6%) of those aged 12-19 failed a basic treadmill test of cardiovascular fitness. The adults, aged 20-49, did better, with about one seventh (13.9%) failing the fitness test.

Average cholesterol levels were about 10 points higher for youngsters in the low fitness category than for those considered highly fit. Blood pressure differences between categories was not as dramatic.

It can be challenging to maintain healthy eating habits during the holiday season, especially with the many parties and social gatherings that offer both good company and a variety of festive food and drinks.

A report published by psychology professors Peter Herman and Jane Polivy of the University of Toronto suggests a strong social component of overeating behaviors.

Rather than focusing on hunger and fullness in regulating food intake, in their model, eating is largely governed by the motive to avoid eating “excessively”, based on personal and situational norms.

There is a growing volume of health related information available online, making it easier for individuals to seek out advice and information resources on their own in addition to consulting a physician or other medical professional.

The US National Cancer Institute recently published the results of the first Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), which polled 6,369 adults about how they get information about health care and cancer treatment.

The results showed that 63.0 percent of respondents had ever used the Internet. Of these, 63.7 percent had looked there for some type of health or medical information. Other health-related Internet activities, such as purchasing medication, communicating with physicians, or participating in an online support group, were taken advantage of by less than 10 percent of users.

The good news: people don’t gain as much as they think they do during the holidays
The bad news: people don’t lose the weight back, and increase an average of 1.5 pounds every year.

What to do: Pay attention, eat sensibly, and maintain your healthy eating and exercise habits.

Read the whole article (insook.com).

Tags: diet, nutrition, obesity, weight management, weight loss