Nutrition News

Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, free from chronic illness, investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and The Cooper Institute have found.

Many people can drop pounds quickly in the early phases of a diet, but studies have found that it is difficult to keep the weight off in the long term. For post-menopausal women, natural declines in energy expenditure could make long-term weight loss even more challenging. A new study finds that in post-menopausal women, some behaviors that are related to weight loss in the short term are not effective or sustainable for the long term. Interventions targeting these behaviors could improve long-term obesity treatment outcomes.

When Thomas Edison tested the first light bulb in 1879, he could never have imagined that his invention could one day contribute to a global obesity epidemic. Electric light allows us to work, rest and play at all hours of the day, and a paper published this week in Bioessays suggests that this might have serious consequences for our health and for our waistlines.

Eating right and exercising hard in space helps protect International Space Station astronauts' bones, a finding that may help solve one of the key problems facing future explorers heading beyond low Earth orbit. A new study, published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, looked at the mineral density of specific bones as well as the entire skeleton of astronauts who used a new, stronger "weight lifting" machine.

Normal weight individuals who carry weight concentrated in their belly have a higher death risk than obese individuals, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012. The results were presented by Dr Karine Sahakyan from the Mayo Clinic.

Many elderly people spend their last years alone. Spouses pass and children scatter. But being lonely is much more than a silent house and a lack of companionship. Over time, loneliness not only takes a toll on the psyche but can have a serious physical impact as well.

A study to be published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) shows consumption of a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil for two years is associated with increased serum osteocalcin concentrations, suggesting a protective effect on bone.

Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical widely used in hand soaps and other personal-care products, hinders muscle contractions at a cellular level, slows swimming in fish and reduces muscular strength in mice, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Colorado.

Eating cocoa flavanols daily may improve mild cognitive impairment, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. Each year, more than six percent of people aged 70 years or older develop mild cognitive impairment, a condition involving memory loss that can progress to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Newly published research led by Western's Dr. David Spence shows that eating egg yolks accelerates atherosclerosis in a manner similar to smoking cigarettes. Surveying more than 1200 patients, Spence found regular consumption of egg yolks is about two-thirds as bad as smoking when it comes to increased build-up of carotid plaque, a risk factor for stroke and heart attack. The research is published online in the journal Atherosclerosis.

Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs -- a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.

Tai Chi can be used as an effective form of exercise therapy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to new findings. The research, which was published online August 9, 2012 ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal, suggests that this form of exercise can improve exercise capacity and quality of life in people with COPD and may be as beneficial as pulmonary rehabilitation.