A new report released today by the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council suggests that lack of resources, less than optimal organization and a reactive instead of preventive approach are undermining the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to effectively regulate food safety.
Diet & Fitness
Do compression clothes really impact sport performance?
Two new studies from researchers at Indiana University suggest that the new fad of athletes wearing compression clothing to enhance performance may be little more than that, a fad. In two separate inquiries analyzing the effect of compression legwear on athletic performance, Abigail Laymon and Nathan Eckert both found no evidence for
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Mediterranean diet linked to lower child asthma risk
Children who consume a diet rich in fish, fruit and vegetables tend to have a lower risk for asthma and wheezing, while kids who eat several hamburgers a week may have a higher risk, according to new research published this week in the international respiratory journal Thorax.
What does a clean house have to do with health?
If you have a clean house, chances are, you’ve also got a fit body, according to new research by physical activity expert NiCole Keith at Indiana University.
Keith’s team looked at the relationship between physical activity levels in urban African American adults and a range of factors in their residential environments — …
How exercise works at the cellular level
We all know that exercise is good for us, but do we know why? How do those hours of sweating it out on a treadmill or pushing yourself in a weight training regimen actually help your cells and tissues to get healthier?
Two papers by separate groups may provide some intriguing answers. One team, led by researchers at the …
Study: too few places to exercise
A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may provide some explanation for why the obesity rate among youngsters continues to climb.
According to the report, released by the government agency, most Americans don’t live in communities where they are encouraged — by parks, sidewalks and playgrounds — to become …
Autism research: infertility treatment link, no benefit of special diet
Autism researchers from around the world are meeting this week in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the International Society for Autism Research, and have presented studies investigating everything from the impact of an autistic child on the strength of his or her parents’ marriage, to the merits of popular gluten-free,
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Why urinary tract infections are getting harder to treat
Increasing antibiotic resistance stemming from the use of antibiotics in raising livestock is contributing to growing difficulty in treating urinary tract infections, according to new research published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. Dr. Pak-Leung Ho and colleagues at the University of Hong Kong say that genes which encode
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Are elite athletes equipped with “sports genes”?
An article in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated examining the latest science on genetic influence over athletic ability suggests that the world’s elite athletes aren’t necessary equipped higher proportions of superpowered genes. In fact, David Epstein writes that when it comes to genes that research has linked to athletic
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Can exercise help your cells live longer?
Our cells are constantly replenishing themselves — with new ones replacing old ones that die off during routine apoptosis, or programmed cell death. According to new research published this week in the journal BMC Physiology, strenuous exercise might slow down the process of apoptosis, effectively making your cells live longer.
Study: quick weight loss may yield lasting results
Get-slim-quick strategies are often evaluated similarly to get-rich-quick schemes — as unlikely to yield any long-term results. Yet a new study published today in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine suggests that, for obese patients in the initial stages of weight loss, shedding pounds speedily may actually be key to
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Brazilian health minister recommends having more sex
As part of a national campaign against high blood pressure, Brazil’s minister of health Jose Temporao offered some tips for simple ways to improve health—among them, dancing, routine blood pressure screening, and more time in the sack, the Associated Press reports. Nearly a quarter of Brazilians had high blood pressure in 2009,
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Spicy research: peppers may help burn calories
Peppers are having a big week. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Center for Human Nutrition say that preliminary findings from a small study suggest that the chemical that gives spicy peppers their kick, capsaicin, may not only make you sweat when digging in to a hot dish, but may actually prompt your body to
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