School would track fitness, keep kids longer

A local charter school hopes to launch an ambitious program this fall that would keep students in school for 12 hours a day and track the impact of physical fitness on their grades.
The Let's Move Academy for freshmen and sophomores at Dohn Community High School would be the first in the region - and perhaps the nation - to track and tie health to academics, school officials say. It would also be the first mandatory after-school program in the state at a public school according to the Ohio Department of Education. It is contingent on the school winning around $130,000 in local and federal grants to help pay for it. The school will find out about its grant applications in April.
The program would combine physical fitness activities and nutrition lessons with academics, tutoring and character development classes. Dohn will also provide healthy meals for the students.
The goal is to improve students' health and in turn raise their grades and graduation rates.

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Fitness expert explains ways to manage stress

With Spring Break just a few weeks away, Fake Patty's Day looming over the horizon, midterms coming up and Kansas weather teasing us with no end in sight, it's safe to say this time of year is particularly stressful for college students.
While the stress might seem difficult to handle at times, there are many ways to de-stress and also improve your health in the process.
There's a new fitness website, DailyBurn.com, that is rapidly gaining popularity with over a million users already. With iPhone apps, workout plans, meeting motivators and groups, the website provides a variety of ways to accommodate the need of any person looking to stay healthy and get in shape.
Kate Brown, community manager of DailyBurn and certified fitness trainer, was able to offer specific tips for college students to help keep fit and manage stress.
Given that the typical college student is incredibly busy, many people might say they just don't have the time to exercise. Taking into account the life of a college student, Brown said high-intensity workouts are great to do in the middle of a study break. She said they require only the use of your own body weight and help reduce stress and refocus if you're knee-deep in an intense study session.
"What you're going for is speed and to get the most bang for you buck," Brown said.
There are three particular exercises she recommended. Body squats (as many as you can do in one minute), plank pushups and the cross body chop. Brown also said taking 30 minutes out of your day to go for a jog with a workout buddy is more beneficial than you might think.

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Seniors face unique oral health challenges

The fact we're living longer and keeping our natural teeth longer is making seniors' oral health increasingly complex, says Dr. Mary McNally, an associate professor of dentistry at Dalhousie University.
"The situation has changed from even a generation ago," she says.
"Then, the profile would be quite different in longterm care. Now, many of the people have much higher needs. As well as living longer, the data show that they are frailer and more of them have dementia."
Canadians' life expectancy is now an average of 80.7 years, compared to 78.4 a decade earlier, and the population balance is changing, according to Statistics Canada. In 1996, there were 3.5 million seniors in Canada. By 2021, the number is expected to almost double to 6.9 million.
Many members of this older generation are likely to have more or all of their natural teeth.
"We really have improved our oral health in the last 40 years," says Dr. Peter Cooney, the chief dental officer for Canada, citing the most recent Canadian Health Measures Survey.
"People are keeping their teeth much more. Only about six per cent of the Canadian population has full dentures."
The increase in the number retaining their teeth complicates the work of care providers, adds McNally.
"All of a sudden, the care sector has inherited people with lots of teeth, when, a generation ago, they would have had their teeth in a glass by the bed. Trying to brush someone else's teeth is not easy, especially people with dementia."
Phil Hughes, former president of the retired teachers organization of Nova Scotia and former chair of the Group of IX Nova Scotia Seniors' Organizations, says he is "very concerned with all aspects of senior oral health, in particular, the barriers faced by seniors."
He cites a long list of issues ranging from the cost of care, the lack of dental insurance or public dental programs to living in rural areas without easy access to a dental office, fear of dental visits and disease and disability "that makes brushing or flossing extremely challenging."

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Health and Fitness Facts

Health and Fitness – Many people these days have been very obsessed on how they look. Easy as it may seem but little did we know that having a healthy and fit body will be very hard to achieve.
You have to deal with a lot of patience. Especially in a world full of stressors and workloads it could not get any easier to reach the goal of being healthy and fit. First you must be cautious on what you are eating and drinking.
You have to abate the fats, calories and carbohydrates. But not to the extent that you will not eat or drink any of them just lessen. You also have to exercise and get enough rest to gain both.
Health and Fitness come together, in order to be healthy you have to be physically fit. It is not merely about being free from injury or sickness it is a thoroughgoing of being physically, mentally and having a very good welfare.
Fitness is about getting enough nourishment and adequate exercise. Remember too much or too little of something is not good. Moderation is the key to all of these.
After all the efforts for having a healthy and fit body it will all pay off just as long as you don’t cheat and must continue to live a stress free life you will be able to get what you really want . Just keep in mind the famous quotation, “No Pain, No Gain.”

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senior fitness – for body and mind

There are some things you are never too old to do. Learning new tricks, falling in love, and keeping in shape.
According to research, the most important thing on that list for seniors is staying in shape.
"There is new evidence that senior citizens can preserve the size of their brain and memory into old age by walking regularly at least 6 miles per week," a recent study supported by the National Institute on Aging states.
So it appears, staying in shape for seniors can make learning new tricks easier and make falling in love something they can remember.
"Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems," said study author Kirk I. Erickson in "Senior Journal."
In his study, Erickson recorded the number of blocks walked per week in 299 dementia-free people with an average age of 78. The study found that people who walked at least 6 to 9 miles per week, had greater gray matter volume than people who don't walk as much and less problems with memory loss and dementia.
As often as weather permits, Bud Gott, 86, of Corning, walks the length of the town, from his home to the post office and back everyday.
A veteran of Iwo Jima, Gott said the activity has kept him in shape and has become a welcome habit.
Got also continues to do his own yard work which includes mowing his large lawn with a push mower.
Meredith Allen, athletic trainer and physical therapy assistant at Physical Therapy and Wellness Center in Corning, says staying fit is important for seniors.
"Physical fitness is important for the aging adult in helping prevent injuries," said Allen. "Walking and light resistive weight training can also help with joint discomfort and muscle fatigue."
A study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Associations" found physical activity of at least 150 minutes per week can lower the risks of chronic diseases and help ward off obesity. That is 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or 50 minutes three times a week.

Local health clinics desperate for financial savior

Palm Beach County health leaders are searching for a white knight after Gov. Rick Scott zeroed out clinic care from his proposed budget for the Florida Department of Health.
So far, no rescuers are stepping forward.
The state manages seven clinics that serve vulnerable people in Palm Beach County: the uninsured, the homeless, migrant workers, those on Medicaid, those lacking a doctor.
The clinics care for pregnant women, people with HIV/AIDS, patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, people with infectious diseases - anyone with nonemergency medical needs.
The health department saw about 67,000 clients last year from Pahokee to Delray Beach, and if the state agency pulls its $5 million contribution, the entire $30 million program risks closure or dramatic shrinkage, warned Dr. Claude Earl Fox, who heads the Florida Public Health Institute in Lake Worth.
"If the health department gets out of primary care, which it looks like it may, you are talking about 40,000 to 60,000 patients who are going to have nowhere to go," Fox said. "I am not sure the capacity exists elsewhere to handle those patients."
Fox raised the specter of hospitals routinely seeing women showing up in the ER to give birth who have never visited a doctor, kids with ruptured eardrums from untreated infections and diabetics in comas from lack of insulin.
"This is something that could affect a lot of people in a very adverse fashion," Fox said.

What's the key to long-term heart health?

Moderation is Jesse Weiskopf's philosophy. Weiskopf, who just celebrated his 97th birthday, never really worked out hard when he was younger.

"It's not that I worked out, but I always did something. I'm an introverted person and this is my outlet," Weiskopf said. These days, though, he goes to the gym a couple times a week.

"I don't lift hundreds of pounds. I do a little of everything. I'm just trying to be sensible and conservative."

He applies that to his diet too. "I'm not a food nut. I eat everything that's good," said Weiskopf, who tries to avoid sugar, fat and salt. "I don't eat sugar or salt if I can help it."

But moderate exercise, not a strenuous workout session, may be the best medicine, no matter what the age group. The stress of a high-intensity workout, said Dr. Henry Cusnir, interventional cardiologist at University Hospital and Medical Center in Tamarac, "raises blood pressure to levels that are not healthy" and impose stress on the aorta and heart. "It's much more harmful than beneficial," Cusnir said.

Dr. Errol Campbell, MD of internal medicine at University Hospital, said a lower intensity exercise regimen for a longer period of time is better, as opposed to a more intense exercise program done over a shorter period of time. "What is important is that you are doing some sort of exercise and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle," Campbell said.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2008 Japan tied with San Marino for the highest average life expectancy, 83.

In Japan, nowhere are the benefits of moderation more apparent than in Okinawa, which has more per capita centenarians than anywhere else in the world.

The Okinawa Centenarian Study – conducted by Makoto Suzuki, MD, PhD, Dr. Craig Willcox, PhD and Bradley Willcox MD, MS – found that elderly Okinawa residents had an 80 percent lower risk for coronary disease compared to citizens in Western nations.

Health care is subject One for local company leaders

After eating breakfast Thursday morning, local business leaders chewed on a problem that affects every company, individual and family in the state: the astronomical price of American health care and the particularly high cost in Massachusetts.
"Health care costs are probably the single biggest issue facing the commonwealth today," said speaker Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, at the Century House in Acushnet.
In the past, "common financial advice was you should reserve 25 percent of your income for your housing costs," Dreyfus said. "No one ever told us that another 25 percent should be reserved for health care."
Along with many others, Dreyfus was joined at the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce's "Good Morning SouthCoast!" meeting by Southcoast Health System officials, with whom Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has been locked in ongoing contract negotiations for months.
"We believe we will reach an agreement soon. I'm very optimistic," Dreyfus said of the continuing discussions over reimbursement rates for care at St. Luke's, Tobey and Charlton Memorial hospitals. "The conversations have been positive, productive."
Southcoast spokeswoman Joyce Brennan, likewise, reported progress and sai

A better diet may make kids smarter

A healthy diet filled with high intakes of nutrient rich foods could make kids smarter.
Research just published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health says a poor diet high in fat; sugar and processed foods in early childhood may be associated with lower IQ's later.
The new study used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which collected data on children's diet reported by parents in food-frequency questionnaires at ages 3, 4, 7 and 8.5. Dietary patterns were identified using principal-components analysis and scores computed at each age. IQ was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children at 8.5 years. Complete data was available for 3966 children.
Scientists concluded:
The "processed" (high fat and sugar content) pattern of diet at 3 years of age was negatively associated with IQ assessed at 8.5 years of age. A 1 SD increase in dietary pattern score was associated with a 1.67 point decrease in IQ (95 percent CI −2.34 to −1.00; p<0.0001). p="0.001).">

Practical health instructions

To help prevent breast cancer, eat guyabano (soursop) or drink tea made from its bark. Another natural killer of cancer cells is curcumin, a byproduct of turmeric that can be extracted from yellow ginger. This was locally discovered by a father-and-son team of chemists, who first commercially produced it abroad before introducing it here as “picur,” or curcumin with pepper.
Intense pain
Reflexology can treat a lot of medical problems. A friend endured constant and intense pain from fibromyalgia, which rendered her bedridden. She was in so much pain that her lips and nails would turn black! She spent so much on different kinds of treatments and took pain killers for years.
My friend also has breast cancer, which was diagnosed last year. But, she doesn’t like going to hospitals and refuses traditional and conventional treatment. She’s at an age when all her organs are already weak—heart, liver and kidney—and she suffers from high blood pressure and arrythmia. All these conditions have been addressed, and she’s now stronger and better. Happily, the cancer hasn’t progressed.

Outdoor exercise healthier than gym workouts

A new study has found that going for a run outdoors is better than exercising in the gym because it has a positive impact on mental, as well as physical health.
The study found that exercise in natural environments was linked to greater feelings of revitalization, increased energy and positive engagement, reports the Telegraph.
Also levels of tension, confusion, anger and depression were lowered by exercising outside.
A team at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry looked at data from sources including 11 trials involving 833 adults.
All compared the relative merits of outdoor exercise compared to indoors.
Apart from improved mental health benefits, the study also reported greater enjoyment from exercising outside, and a higher likelihood of continuing with the exercise regime.
The study has been published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. (ANI)

Unemployment causes health problems

A new study has shown that compared to people in employment, men and women who are unemployed suffer more often and longer from both physical and emotional complaints.

The GEDA study (Gesundheit in Deutschland Aktuell, or Current Health in Germany) was carried out in 2008-2009 by the Robert Koch Institute.

The results showed that unemployed people between the ages of 30 and 59 years are especially often affected by physical, emotional, and functional impairments such as sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance addictions. As a result, the unemployed make more use of the health care system.

The health consequences of unemployment result from loss of income, loss of so-cial contacts in the workplace, or loss of social reputation.

Unemployed men and women who are supported by their partners, family members, or friends are less frequently affected by these complaints.

USC offers free flu vaccines

The Thomson Student Health Center is offering the flu vaccination free of charge to students, faculty and staff. This initiative began after the center cut the price of flu shots in half in order to increase incentive for vaccination.
Nicole Carrico, a public relations and quality assurance coordinator for Student Health Services, said February is the prime flu month for campus, and there is a vaccine surplus in the health center. Carrico added that about 4,000 vaccines were ordered and that the health center is offering the remaining 1,000 for free.
"Anticipating we're going to see a huge amount of flu on campus within the next couple of weeks, it's important we get rid of the vaccines now," Carrico said.
According to an update provided by Heather Stewart-Grant, a Thomson Student Health Center lab manager, there were 94 positive flu tests in January 2011 at the health center, and five of those were positive for H1N1, also known as the swine flu.
Last year, two different kinds of flu shots were offered at the health center — the H1N1 flu vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine — while this year's vaccine is a combination that combats three different types of flu, Carrico said. She also added that last year, the facilities that provide the vaccine ran out, and in order to prevent a shortage this year, more were ordered.
"The whole response overall this year has been somewhat disappointing and slow at all the clinics so far, so we made [the vaccine] free," Carrico said.

Honey not so sweet for babies

Honey should not be consumed by children under age one, Health Canada said Wednesday, citing concerns that infant botulism could lead to paralysis.
Health Canada said the condition stems from the Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which is common in nature.
"The bacteria can't grow or make toxins in honey, but if an infant swallows honey, the spores in the bacteria may grow and produce toxins in the baby's body and could cause paralysis," the advisory reads.
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Women still don't recognize heart attack symptoms

The government launched a new campaign today aimed at educating women about the signs of heart disease and the risks.
It happens once every minute in the U.S.: A women suffers a heart attack.
It's the number one killer among women, but according to a recent survey, when it comes to recognizing the signs of heart disease and dialing 9-1-1, women will only call if it's happening to someone else.
"Women typically are superwomen. They're for everyone but they are very unlikely to take care of themselves," said Dr. Roquell Wyche of Washington Hospital Center.
The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new campaign called, "Make the call, don't miss a beat," to educate women on the symptoms and the risks.
Sixty percent of Caucasian women surveyed were aware heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, compared to 45 percent of African American women.
"African American women have more risk factors and poor outcomes and are less likely to know their risk factors and symptoms, " said Dr. Wyche.
Cardiologist Maria Mountis of The Cleveland Clinic points out that the signs in women tend to be different.
"The symptoms can be much more subdued. They can be anything from shortness of breath, nausea, they can have some palpitations, they can have pain that goes into their jaw or back," said Mountis.