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Jogging may add years to life: Study

According to a new study from Denmark, jogging regularly may help a person live longer. The findings show that women who regularly jogged lived 5.6 years longer than women who didn't, and men who jogged lived 6.2 years longer than those who didn't.

4 May 2012

Not enough 14 year old girls are getting adequate exercise at school: Report

According to new research into sports and physical education (PE) at school by the Women's Sport & Fitness Foundation (WSF) suggests that the embarrassment of PE classes can put young women off exercise for the rest of their life.

2 May 2012

LUHS to celebrate Nurses Week from May 7- 11

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) will celebrate Nurses Week from May 7- 11. The theme for the week, "Healthy Nurses, Healthy Teams, Healthy Patients," celebrates all that nurses do to improve the health of their patients and the community.

2 May 2012

Free brain health screenings at Sam's Club

Everyone forgets sometimes. A certain degree of memory problems are a common part of aging. There is a difference, however, between changes in memory and memory loss from Alzheimer's disease. One in eight adults over the age of 65 is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and 20 percent of the elderly population suffers from some form of dementia. If detected early, some memory loss can be manageable by taking simple steps to improve brain function.

7 Apr 2012

SelectHealth announces 2012 Select 25 award recipients

SelectHealth is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Select 25 award. The nonprofit health insurance carrier will give $2,500 to each of the 25 winners to assist them in their efforts to improve health and wellness, or to serve populations with special needs.

6 Apr 2012

Tips for parents to increase outdoor physical activity for kids

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatric healthcare providers promote active healthy living by encouraging children to play outside as much as possible. Being outdoors correlates strongly with physical activity for children, which is important for preventing obesity in the preschool years and on through adulthood.

4 Apr 2012

Half of preschool children not being taken outside to play daily by parents

Parents reported that about half of the preschoolers in a nationally representative sample did not have at least one parent-supervised outdoor playtime per day, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

3 Apr 2012

Sitting more than four hours a day could raise risk of dying early: Study

According to Australian researchers spending less time sitting could boost longevity. Their study of more than 220,000 NSW residents found the longer you spend sitting down the greater your risk of dying early, even if you otherwise do regular exercise.

29 Mar 2012

AFB announces Access Award recipients for 2012

What do the leaders of "America's pastime," a free open-source screen-reading software company, an orientation and mobility (O&M) program, and the founder of Camp Abilities have in common? All have taken successful strides toward creating a better quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired, which is why they were named the recipients of the 2012 Access Awards, announced today by the American Foundation for the Blind.

29 Mar 2012

Opinion pieces, editorials, blog posts recognize World TB Day

Saturday, March 24, was World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. The following is a summary of several editorials, opinion pieces, and blog posts published in recognition of the day.

27 Mar 2012

Medica Foundation awards $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients

The Medica Foundation in 2011 awarded $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients across five funding priority areas. The awards include $1 million in longitudinal grants to five Minnesota organizations. Those grant amounts range from $100,000 to $300,000 each and are designed to provide funding to the recipients over a three-year period.

26 Mar 2012

Newly enhanced version of Brain Swaggle released

"The newly enhanced version 2 of Brain Swaggle, the quick thinking word game that requires strategy and offers 12 levels of play has just been released," said Gary Downing, founder of the game and company of the same name. This new version is literally explosive from the first page and will challenge people of all ages and skill levels. Plus, we guarantee that the more difficult levels will take even the most adept wordsmiths to task, Downing continues.

26 Mar 2012

Women's health status linked to empowerment

"The health status of women is linked to their fundamental freedoms and empowerment," Susan Blumenthal, public health editor at the Huffington Post and former U.S. assistant surgeon general, and Jean Guo, a health policy intern at the Center for the Study of Presidency and Congress, write in the website's "Healthy Living" blog in a post marking International Women's Day, which was celebrated on Thursday.

11 Mar 2012

Hawaii bags “Happiest State” award for third year in a row

After an assessment of health and well-being of Americans in 2011 – known as Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, it was found that among the 50 U.S. states, Hawaii, with a score of 70.2, tops the list with the highest level of well-being. This is the third year in a row that Hawaii has come in first.

29 Feb 2012

Examining HIV/AIDS in Zambian prisons

In this post in PSI's "Healthy Living" blog, Mannasseh Phiri, PSI's country representative in Zambia, examines HIV/AIDS in Zambian prisons. Phiri reports the findings of a survey recently conducted by the IN BUT FREE (IBF) Prisons Project "to determine the extent and magnitude of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Zambia's prisons."

28 Feb 2012

Longer looks: GOP contraceptive amendment could have wider effect; The love of caregiving

In their latest move in the battle over contraception coverage, top Republicans in Congress are going for broke: They're now pushing a bill that would allow employers and insurance companies to pick and choose which health benefits to provide based simply on executives' personal moral beliefs. ... Last week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) offered a "conscience amendment," to the law, pitching it as a way to allay religious employers' qualms about providing birth control to their employees.

17 Feb 2012

High calories associated with memory loss in elderly: Study

Overeating may lead to a higher risk of memory loss say researchers. A new study found that elderly who consumed more than 2,143 calories a day had more than double the risk of a type of memory loss called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to those who ate fewer than 1,500 calories a day. The study appeared Sunday by the American Academy of Neurology on its website (aan.com).

13 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Many weigh in on contraception controversy; NEJM on essential benefits

Critics are missing the larger point. Why should the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decree that any of us must pay for "insurance" that covers contraceptives? ... Insurance is a bad idea for small, regular and predictable expenses. There are good reasons that your car insurance company doesn't add $100 per year to your premium and then cover oil changes, and that your health insurance doesn't charge $50 more per year and cover toothpaste.

10 Feb 2012

Elderly and ill patients connect to their doctors via broadband: Pilot Australian project

Now elderly patients and severely ill cancer patients will be able to see their specialist or GP with the click of a mouse, even if they are hundreds of kilometres away. This will be possible with a $20.6 million pilot program that starts this July. The program will use the national broadband network to deliver telehealth services to older Australians, cancer patients and those in palliative care.

23 Jan 2012

NHS Choices launches new food allergy and intolerance myth buster tool

To mark food allergy and intolerance awareness week, NHS Choices, the health information website for the NHS, has launched a new tool to help dispel common myths around food allergy and intolerance.

21 Jan 2012