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Continuing care retiring communities receive increased scrutiny

The New York Times: "For middle- and upper-income retirees who had the money, it was almost a no-brainer in recent years to choose living in a continuing-care retirement community. They could move, as the need arose, from independent living to assisted care to skilled nursing care — all without leaving the community."

17 Sep 2010

SCAN Foundation releases six fact sheets on critical long-term care issue

The SCAN Foundation released today six fact sheets compiling national figures that provide basic information on some of the most important issues surrounding long-term care.

16 Sep 2010

Data finds U.S. adults perform sedentary, light activities

On any given day, most U.S. adults report performing predominantly sedentary and light activities, according to a new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Overall only 5.07% report any vigorous intensity activity. The most frequently reported moderate activity was food and drink preparation.

16 Sep 2010

Blue Cross, Blue Shield employees shed 2.80% of their total weight since Memorial Day

Three months and more than 37,000 pounds later, The Biggest Loser Summer Challenge has a winner: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and its employees, who lost more than 3,780 pounds or 2.80 percent of their total weight in pounds per employee since Memorial Day.

16 Sep 2010

Study finds aerobic exercise improves chronic insomnia

The millions of middle-aged and older adults who suffer from insomnia have a new drug-free prescription for a more restful night's sleep. Regular aerobic exercise improves the quality of sleep, mood and vitality, according to a small but significant new study from Northwestern Medicine.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers to develop new wearable sensor network to assess physical activity

Researchers from Michigan State University's departments of Electrical Engineering and Kinesiology are teaming up to create a new wearable sensor network to assess a person's physical activity and overall well-being.

15 Sep 2010

HCHN, ADA to unveil new national program to improve consumers' access to nutrition experts

Today, the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition joined with the American Dietetic Association to unveil Moderation Nation, a new national program which kicks off by providing complimentary visits with ADA member registered dietitians to consumers, age 18 or over. Moderation Nation seeks to educate people on how to achieve balance in their lives through moderation, both in nutrition and physical activity.

15 Sep 2010

UBM Live anticipates CPhI Worldwide attendance to exceed 25,000

Leading events organiser UBM Live today announced that it expects the attendance for CPhI Worldwide, the annual flagship tradeshow for pharma ingredients, now in its 21st year and the year being held in Paris, to exceed the 25,000 seen at last year's event, held in Madrid.

14 Sep 2010

Health risk assessments

At various points in our lives, we're curious about our health risks, wondering about our susceptibility for everything from high cholesterol to a deadly inherited disease. We might want to learn more about our risks when we reach a certain age or experience a bout of bad health; when we hear about a friend or co-worker coping with a dreaded illness; or read the latest headlines about disease research.

13 Sep 2010

National Dementia Awareness Week

This National Dementia Awareness Week 15-22 September, Alzheimer’s Australia and National Dementia Awareness Week Ambassador, Dr Andrew Rochford will be promoting the benefit of early diagnosis and where worried friends and family can access help.

9 Sep 2010

World Water Week: Urbanization, irrigation, global food security

"Global efforts to improve access to drinking water have been hampered by rapid urbanisation, with the proportion of people in urban areas with access actually declining, according to U.N. figures presented" at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Sep 2010

Risk factors for indoor and outdoor falls for elderly adults are different: Study

The risk factors for indoor and outdoor falls for older adults are different, according to a new study by the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, a fact that is often missed when the two are combined and may affect how falls prevention programs are structured.

8 Sep 2010

FAO calls for special meeting to address global food price spikes

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization "has called a special meeting on the recent spike in food prices, responding to fears of a repeat of the shortages that led to riots in parts of the world two years ago," the Associated Press reports.

4 Sep 2010

BAP releases new guidelines on treatments for sleep disorders

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common, yet are not generally well understood by doctors and other health care professionals. Now the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released up-to-the-minute guidelines in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, to guide psychiatrists and physicians caring for those with sleep problems.

3 Sep 2010

Study reveals factors linked to cognitive impairment in Type 2 diabetes

Older adults with diabetes who have high blood pressure, walk slowly or lose their balance, or believe they're in bad health, are significantly more likely to have weaker memory and slower, more rigid cognitive processing than those without these problems, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Sep 2010

Mindfulness training increases well-being in adolescents, reports new study

'Mindfulness', the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports. Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed 155 boys from two independent UK schools, Tonbridge and Hampton, before and after a four-week crash course in mindfulness. After the trial period, the 14 and 15 year-old boys were found to have increased well-being, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and functioning well.

2 Sep 2010

Tooth brush in a teenager’s stomach

A 15-year-old girl in New Zealand came to the emergency department at an Auckland hospital after accidentally swallowing her 19-centimetre toothbrush. The case study was published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

31 Aug 2010

Uninsured Maine adults with mental illness struggle to get care; Florida continues to push to repeal reform

Kennebec (Maine) Journal: "A growing number of uninsured Mainers with mental illness are falling through the cracks of the health care system because of state budget cuts and financial strains on nonprofits, according to state officials and private agencies. Just as when someone goes without treatment for a toothache and ends up in the ER, the lack of access to regular mental health care means illnesses are getting more expensive and patients are getting sicker, officials said."

31 Aug 2010

New system safely induces sensory, mobility disturbances experienced by astronauts after return to Earth

What does it feel like to return to Earth after a long stay in space? Until now, it has been difficult during astronaut training to realistically simulate the dizzying effects the human body can experience.

27 Aug 2010

Study finds moderate exercise enhances DMN connectivity in specific regions of brain

A group of "professional couch potatoes," as one researcher described them, has proven that even moderate exercise - in this case walking at one's own pace for 40 minutes three times a week - can enhance the connectivity of important brain circuits, combat declines in brain function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks.

27 Aug 2010