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Volume 4, Issue 8
Obesity worsens severity of asthma
The chronic disease of asthma affects tens of millions of Americans, many of whom are obese. Asthma can result in a variety of medical complications including severe coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, chest pain and decreased level of alertness. A new study from New Zealand has found that these symptoms are often times more severe in obese individuals.
Researchers studied a group of 30 asthmatic women and divided them into three groups based upon BMI: normal weight, overweight and obese. Asthma-like attacks were then induced in each woman and changes in lung function were assessed. The results indicated that obese women had greater breathing difficulties and did not inhale as deeply as normal weight individuals.
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Exercise and counseling improves health of heart failure patients
Research indicates that up to 20% of heart failure patients suffer from depression. The increased risk of dying combined with the physical limitations and health issues associated with the disease can cause patients to feel hopeless and depressed. Doctors often times prescribe medication to decrease the depressive symptoms, however a new study indicates that exercise combined with counseling may be just as effective as antidepressants.
For the study, researchers followed 74 heart failure patients for a 12-week period. Patients were divided into four groups, one which received a 12-week home-based counseling and exercise program which consisted of low-moderate intensity exercise three times a week, one which received just counseling, another which only exercised and the fourth which received standard care. In the end, only the combined group saw significant improvements in their six-minute walk test and had fewer depressive symptoms.
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Fear of falling leads to decreased physical functioning in seniors
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2 million seniors over the age of 65 are treated in the emergency room for non-fatal falls each year. This said, it is not surprising that many older adults limit their activities out of fear of falling. While this fear is understandable, new research has found that seniors who limit their activities may actually cause their physical functioning to deteriorate.
In a study of 673 adults over the age of 65, researchers found that those who limited their daily activity out of fear of falling were more likely to decrease their physical functioning over a three-year period. In addition, those who avoided common daily activities such as walking outdoors and visiting friends, were more likely to have difficulty conducting more complex daily activities like gardening and grocery shopping.
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Exercise in teenage years may prevent breast cancer later in life
While breast cancer commonly affects women over the age of forty-five, a quarter of all breast cancers are diagnosed in younger women, and these cancers tend to be more aggressive. A new study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has found that teenage girls who exercise regularly can reduce their risk of breast cancer in their early years of adulthood.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine tracked nearly 65,000 nurses ages 24 to 42 for six hears. Women were asked detailed questionnaires about their physical activity dating back to age 12. During the six-year period 550 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. This said, those women who were physically active in their teenage years were 23 percent less likely to develop breast cancer later in life. Women with the lowest incidence of breast cancer exercised vigorously for a minimum of 3 hours a week as teenagers.
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Unhealthy lifestyles and obesity are linked with severe urinary problems
According to a new study based on results from the Boston Area Community Health Study, individuals that suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease have an increased risk for urinary tract problems. The research indicates that this increased risk is due in large part to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, including poor dietary habits and inactivity.
For the study researchers evaluated the urological symptoms of 5,506 men and women aged 30 to 70 from diverse backgrounds. Each participant took part in a detailed interview where their urological symptoms, medical conditions, psychiatric history, socioeconomic background, height, weight and body fat were established. After studying the data researchers found that those participants who were obese, physically inactive or those that suffered from diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure had more severe, persistent urinary problems.
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Sources
1Sutherland TJ, Cowan JO and Taylor DR. (2008). Dynamic hyperinflation with bronchoconstriction: Differences between obese and nonobese women with asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 177, 970-5.
2The American Heart Association's Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, 2008.
3Deshpande N, et al. (2008). Activity restriction induced by fear of falling and objective and subjective measures of physical function: A prospective cohort study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 56, 615-20.
4Maruti SS, et al. (2008). A Prospective Study of Age-Specific Physical Activity and Premenopausal Breast Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, epub.
5Hall SA, et al. (2008). Do urological symptoms cluster among women? Results from the Boston Area Community Health Survey. BJU International, 101, 1257-66.
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