Month: October 2012

Thought you’d enjoy this report from USA Today: During the summer, I don't worry about my kids getting enough exercise. They're on the go all day long, swimming, playing sports, riding bikes and going to camp. When it's time to go back to school, though, making sure they stay fit requires some oversight and scheduling on my part. (more…)

Trying to avoid eating the entire bag of candy bars you bought for Halloween before the big night arrives? Worried that you won’t have the willpower to resist midnight raids on your child’s Halloween stash? Here are several tips on how to limit empty Halloween calories. (more…)

For many people, autumn events like Halloween and Harvest Day are fun times to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties, and eat yummy treats. These events are also opportunities to provide nutritious snacks, get physical activity, and focus on safety. How can you make your Halloween safer for you and your kids? (more…)

If you're planning a Halloween party for the neighborhood kids, candy and other "junk food" aren't your only options. (more…)

Drinking several cups of coffee a day could help protect against bowel cancer, according to new research. It can cut the risk of developing a tumor by between15 percent and 25 per cent, the study of almost half a million people found. (more…)

CNN reports in "The Chart" blog that "new research presented at the Neuroscience 2012 conference suggests that what you eat can even alter your brain – and vice versa." (more…)

ABC World News reported on laundry detergent packs: "Children, who see those bite-sized packets of laundry detergent and think they're candy. They eat them, get sick. It's happening more than we knew. A new report finds that in a 30-day period, more than 1,000 children were sickened from those candy-colored packets. It is now being called an emerging public health hazard." (more…)

The NPR "Shots" blog reports, "Women who had multiple abortions before giving birth to a first child were more likely to have that child very prematurely or to deliver a child with a low birth weight, according to" a study published in the European journal Human Reproduction. (more…)

Reuters reports that a new study, published in the journal Epidemiology, suggests that vaccinating older siblings and mothers against pertussis – also known as whooping cough – prevents infants from getting the infection. (more…)

The Washington Post has confirmed President Barack Obama lied about the Planned Parenthood abortion business doing mammograms with comments during the debate and with comments the other night on the Jay Leno show. (more…)

USA Today reports, "A new analysis" published in Obesity Reviews "touts the benefits of a low-carb, meat-lovers' diet." (more…)

CNN  "The Chart" blog reports that the Centers for Disease Control is warning parents of the dangers of small coin-sized batteries often called "button batteries." (more…)

The Los Angeles Times reports in its "Booster Shots" blog on a new study published in the journal Neurology which "finds that compared with men who reported eating little-to-no chocolate on a regular basis, those who had the highest weekly consumption of chocolate - about 63 grams per week, or just a little more than 2 ounces - reduced their likelihood of suffering a stroke by 17%." (more…)

The New York Times "Well" blog reports, "For people who are extremely overweight and likely to develop diabetes, surgery may be the best form of prevention." (more…)

PBS' NewsHour correspondent Betty Ann Bowser reports on the resurgence of whooping cough (pertussis) and its potential impact on newborns, who are particularly susceptible to the disease. (more…)

Energy shots and drinks are promoted to keep you alert and energized, attributing their effects to special formulas often “packed with B vitamins and nutrients to make it last,” as a commercial for 5-hour Energy proclaims. But could it just be a lot of caffeine? (more…)

ABC News reports on its website that the FDA has issued another Safety Warning about "Reumofan and Reumofan Plus," which are marketed as "natural dietary supplements for treating arthritis, muscle pain, osteoporosis, bone cancer, and other conditions." (more…)

The New York Daily News reports, "Authorities say contaminated water used in tattoo ink caused a mysterious outbreak of nasty skin rashes in upstate New York." (more…)

WebMD reported, "More and more children are being treated for gallstones, and the obesity epidemic may play a role," according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. (more…)

Bloomberg News reports that according to a study from University of Athens researchers, presented at the European Respiratory Society annual meeting, "electronic cigarettes cause damage to the lungs," which "challenges earlier research suggesting the devices to quit smoking are harmless." (more…)

Reuters reports that study results presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich indicate that the use of electronic cigarettes is not associated with an increased risk for cardiac-related complications. (more…)

Reuters reports on a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine finding that due to a decline in Medicaid coverage of male circumcision (MC) in the US, fewer babies may be circumcised and that may lead to increases in healthcare costs due to higher rates of urinary tract infections, HIV, penile cancer, and herpes. (more…)

In the Wall Street Journal "Aches & Claims" column, Laura Johannes shines the nightlight on the torrent of new products designed to help consumers fall asleep. (more…)

The New York Times "Well" blog says that "recent reports suggest that too many younger women are being evaluated and treated for bone loss when they should not be." (more…)

Hate to post this on a football Saturday, but you need to know. Plonking yourself on the couch in front of the TV could be taking years off your life - 4.8 years to be exact. (more…)

Reuters reports that a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that fit 50-year-olds are less likely to be afflicted with chronic disease as they get older than those who are sedentary. (more…)

Bloomberg News reports, "Normal-weight people with fat bellies have a higher risk of death than the obese, according to data presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich." (more…)

The idea that fathers play a significant role in the development of their kids' approach to sex has received some support in a new evidence review. Studies in the review suggest that adolescents have less sex if their fathers talk to them more about sexual matters. (more…)

The New York Times reports, "Men treated for prostate cancer who took aspirin regularly for other medical conditions were less likely to die of their cancer than patients who weren't taking aspirin, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology." (more…)

NBC Nightly News reported that Rosie O'Donnell's heart attack in which she "did not recognize the symptoms right away" has "become something of a teaching moment for the heart symptoms women should look for." (more…)