New research published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine finds that, starting the school day just a half hour later was associated with significant benefits for teens — from better sleep and enhanced alertness to improved mood and overall well being. The findings contribute to a growing body of research on
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Numerous studies have documented the negative effects of television exposure at a young age; TV viewing has been linked to behavioral and attention problems later in life. Now researchers confirm the same effect of video games on attention problems in both younger children and teens.
Studying two groups of students — a group of 1323 …
As helpful as the body mass index is for telling you if you’re overweight or obese, doctors agree that it’s not perfect. Because it measures height and weight, researchers have noted that doesn’t take into account muscle, which can push the BMI of a fit but built individual into the above normal range.
Though roughly one third of all deadly crashes take place during the summer months, more than 80% of Americans think that winter is the most dangerous time to be on the road, according to the results of a new poll conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Excellence in Rural Safety. And, not only are there more
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A new Gallup poll of more than 136,000 people from 132 countries around the world and a broad range of ethnic and economic backgrounds finds that, while people generally associated having more money with a greater satisfaction with their overall quality of life, when researchers focused on other measures of happiness — day to day
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Amid growing concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a team of researchers from the Netherlands may be developing a sweet way to fend off harmful bacteria. A new study in the July issue of the FASEB Journal details their research investigating the antimicrobial properties of an ingredient in honey known as defensin-1. Researchers
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Jamie Oliver, the British celebrity chef whose recent U.S. reality show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, initially had a mixed reception among the people whose school lunch program he was attempting to overhaul, is now getting some flack from the health minister back on his home turf. His School Dinners initiative to get junk food out of
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As much as 43% of the U.S. swine flu vaccine supply may ultimately go unused — and be destroyed — according to a new report from the Associated Press. Roughly 40 million doses, or one quarter of the total supply produced by the U.S. to cope with the outbreak, have already expired and will be incinerated by public health authorities.
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In January of this year, public health officials applauded the fact that, after steadily rising for more than three decades, obesity levels in the U.S. finally appeared to be leveling off. And while holding steady with a third of the adult population obese and more than two thirds overweight hardly had health professionals jumping for
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A new study analyzing physical activity at different phases of life for more than 9,000 elderly women finds that routine exercise at any age was associated with a reduced risk for cognitive decline or dementia, but that regular physical activity during teenage years was most strongly linked to a lower risk for mental deterioration later
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Riding a bicycle helps women keep their weight down in middle-age, a new study finds. Even small increases in time spent biking — of 5 min. or less per day — are associated with less weight gain as women age.
Research presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome suggests that men whose mothers had several alcohol drinks per week during pregnancy may have lower quality sperm. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, studied 347 men born
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Over at the Ecocentric blog, I wrote about a new policy direction from the Food and Drug Administration on the use of antibiotics in meat production. Antibiotics—often used for growth promotion and given in the feed of animals—are a major part of America’s meat production. The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), the …
