USA Today columnist, Kim Painter, writes today about “Vacation deprivation,” as it has been dubbed by Expedia.com. The phenomena has been spreading for years as Americans’ vacations get shorter or are skipped entirely. But this year’s high travel costs, flying hassles and spooky economy may be creating a “perfect storm” that keeps people hunkered down as never before. Believe it or not, this may negatively impact your health.

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USA Today is reporting that testing for vitamin D levels, once uncommon, has skyrocketed as medical studies raise awareness about vitamin D deficiencies. Physicians agree that they’re increasingly using the blood test to find out whether their patients are low on the vital vitamin.

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MedScape is reporting that the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) has updated its guidelines on postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) and issued a position statement published in the July/August issue of Menopause. Recent data suggest that the benefit-risk ratio for HT is favorable near menopause but decreases with aging and time since menopause in previously untreated women.

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Reuters is reporting research from Italy claiming that mandatory heart screenings for all athletes could detect potentially fatal problems and save lives. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest that a family history and physical exam miss many undiagnosed heart problems.

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Reuters has published a story about Greek researchers who say a few cups of green tea each day may help prevent heart disease. The study, published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, showed further evidence of the potential health benefits from a brew already linked to a reduced risk of a range of cancers and other conditions.

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Reuters is reporting that New York City’s ban on trans-fats in restaurants, which took full effect on Tuesday, is the first of its kind among major U.S. cities. The move follows the city’s 2003 ban on public smoking.

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Reuters Health is reporting on a UK study that suggests health experts generally recommend that children get at least one hour of moderate exercise each day. However, the study says this may not be enough to counter the problem of childhood obesity.

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HealthDay News has an informative review on Trans Fat labeling. The bottom line? Trans fat is always unhealthy, since no amount of the artery-clogging artificial fat is good for you. But, it may be hard to get that from food labels.

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WebMD is reporting findings by University of Miami researchers showing that by age 12 to 14, half of obese children have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predicts heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Even at ages 8 to 11, as many as 9.5% of obese children already have metabolic syndrome. That means they have at least three of these risk factors: abnormally large waist size, high blood-sugar levels, low levels of HDL “good” cholesterol, high blood fat levels, and high blood pressure .

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HealthDay News is reporting that if you’re an older American with no major health problems, chances are about one in 10 that you’ve had a stroke and didn’t know it. It was probably not severe enough to cause recognizable symptoms, such as vision problems, facial weakness or trouble walking, but it was still a blockage of a brain artery, and it reduced your thinking powers just a bit.

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The AP is reporting new research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes. In fact, patients with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times more likely to die from any cause during the next eight years than those with the highest levels, the study found. The link with heart-related deaths was particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

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WebMD is reporting on the CDC’s latest diabetes statistics – and, the results are gruesome. Nearly 24 million people in the U.S. have diabetes — including almost 6 million who don’t know they’re diabetic — and at least 57 million have prediabetes.

Diabetes is the No. 7 cause of death among U.S. adults. Researchers reported last year that type 2 diabetes hastens heart disease and shortens lives by about eight years.

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