Sports Fitness Health

Calorie counting matter a lot when people are trying to control their weight, so some researchers decided to see how accurate the stated calories on restaurant boards are.

The researchers, lead by Lorein E. Urban at Tufts University, discovered that overall they aren’t far off. But individual foods had the wrong information. Some were understating calories and some were overstating, indicating poor portion control, especially at sit down restaurants but also at some fast food places.

They looked at 42 restaurants and 269 food items in three states, according to a study published in the July 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Americans get a little more than a third of their calories in restaurants.

Of the 269 items, 108 had energy contents at least 10 calories higher than the state amount and 141 had energy contents at least 10 calories lower. Ni

Read the full article…

LONDON British scientists say a new expert body should be formed to regulate experiments mixing animal and human DNA to make sure no medical or ethical boundaries are crossed.

In a report issued on Friday, scientists at the nation’s Academy of Medical Sciences said a government organization is needed to advise whether certain tests on animals that use human DNA should be pursued.

Tighter regulation isn’t needed for most such experiments, said Martin Bobrow, chair of the group that wrote the report. “But there are a small number of future experiments, which could approach social and ethically sensitive areas which should have an extra layer of scrutiny,” he told reporters in London.

The group analyzed evidence from academics, the U.K. government, animal welfare groups and others. An independent survey was also conducted to gather public opinion. Read the full article…

So you think your child will outgrow the baby pudge?

Don’t be so sure.

A new report finds that even the youngest children are at risk of becoming obese. Nearly 10 percent of infants and toddlers carry excess weight for their length, according to the report, by the Institute of Medicine. More than 20 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 5 are already overweight or obese.

While the report doesn’t suggest parents put their kids on a diet, it does say actions need to be taken before a child enters school.

Everyone should play a role, the report said.

Pediatricians and other health care professionals should pay attention to weight gain in their young patients.

Parents and childcare providers should keep children active and feed them healthy diets of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. They should also limit children’s television and make sure they get enough sleep, the report said.

Read the full article…

Gone are the days when games consoles were purely the domain of the geeky teenager, shut away in the bedroom. Ever since the popular Wii Fit game was released, a whole new audience has discovered a new side of gaming that is fun, sociable, popular and beneficial to health. There are now a huge variety of fitness games for the Wii console, each with a unique style of gameplay, which means that those wishing to get in shape need never feel uncomfortable at a public fitness class ever again.

The big advantage that these games present is that they make fitness accessible to all, even those too self conscious to exercise in public. Another huge benefit is that the games are much cheaper long term than attending a weekly fitness class or gym, and can be played at any time suitable to the user.

Read the full article…

PARIS -  Scientists are closing in on a long-sought goal: A blood test to screen people for Alzheimer’s disease. An experimental test did a good job of indicating how much of the telltale Alzheimer’s plaque lurks in people’s brains, Australian researchers reported Wednesday. If the test proves accurate in larger studies, it could offer a way to check people having memory problems to see who needs more definitive testing for the disease. Many blood tests are being developed and a few are used in research settings now, but only the Australian one has been validated against brain scans and other accepted diagnostic tests with good accuracy in large groups of people, said Maria Carrillo, senior director of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimer’s Association. The results, reported Wednesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in France, “give us hope that we may be able to use a blood test in the near future,” although that doesn’t mean next year, she said.

Read the full article…