http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50% of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28% of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game (e.g., Xbox-Kinect, Wii), has become popular, and may provide an alternative form of exercise to counteract sedentary behaviors. In a study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the effects of exergaming on children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-videogaming-exergaming-children-health.html Pediatrics Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:01 EST news287944806 Cases of type 2 diabetes continue to rise in the US. And while the development of the disease is more commonly associated with risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity, research has shown that stress can also have a significant impact. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-positive-social-shown-diabetes.html Diabetes Thu, 09 May 2013 10:53:49 EST news287315614 Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others. These results, which were achieved by scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München following their evaluation of data from a population-based cohort study, were published in the specialist journals Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and Psychosomatic Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-workplace-stress-poses-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:03:52 EST news285923026 Many people survive their cancers, but end up dying of cardiovascular disease (CVD). New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center finds that CVD risk factors may be overlooked during survivorship care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-survived-cancer-cardiovascular.html Cancer Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:11:43 EST news285343525 New research reveals that advanced fibrosis is a significant predictor of mortality in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), largely brought about by cardiovascular causes. NAFLD alone was not associated with increased mortality according to findings published in the April issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cardiovascular-issues-mortality-patients-advanced.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:10:02 EST news284823912 Teenagers who increased the days on which they got just 20 minutes of exercise were able to cut down on their smoking habit. And teenage smokers were more likely to quit altogether if they participated in a smoking cessation/fitness program—and they ramped up the days on which they got at least 30 minutes of physical activity, according to a study published online April 9. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-short-daily-teen-smokers.html Health Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:24:18 EST news284700251 (HealthDay)—Women who struggle with chronic obesity end up engaging in less and less routine physical activity, new research shows, confirming what may seem obvious to some. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-obesity-people.html Overweight and Obesity Sat, 06 Apr 2013 11:10:19 EST news284445868 Physically active healthcare providers were more likely than their inactive counterparts to advise patients to lead an active lifestyle in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-physically-health-care-physical.html Health Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:10:02 EST news283190331 The American Heart Association has released new recommendations for policy makers and public health providers to combat heart disease and stroke on a local level. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-policy-makers-cardiovascular-disease.html Cardiology Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:00:02 EST news283092289 (HealthDay)—Rates of premature death in counties across the United States are the lowest in 20 years, but people in the least healthy counties are more than twice as likely to die early as those in the healthiest counties, according to a new report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-healthy-county.html Health Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:50:05 EST news283019833 Nurses and midwives can play a critical role in lessening people's risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes, according to a groundbreaking new report issued by the World Health Organization and co-authored by a UCLA nursing professor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nurses-key-role-deaths-world.html Health Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:42:29 EST news282926543 Preventive cardiology is now on the political as well as clinical agenda. In 2011 a UN heads-of-state meeting agreed to reduce mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-heart-disease-requires-universal-approach.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:21:23 EST news282918075 The public is very supportive of government action aimed at changing lifestyle choices that can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases—but they're less likely to support such interventions if they're viewed as intrusive or coercive, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study. The study also found that support was higher for interventions that help people make more healthful choices, such as menu labeling requirements, than for interventions that penalize certain choices or health conditions, such as charging higher insurance premiums for obese individuals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-survey-legal-interventions-obesity-noncommunicable.html Health Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:02 EST news281616131 Men who reported permanent stress have a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than men who reported no stress. This is the finding of a 35-year prospective follow-up study of 7,500 men in Gothenburg, by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-permanent-stress-diabetes-men.html Diabetes Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:57:04 EST news279457011 An international study led by King's College London has identified a new genetic variant associated with stroke. By exploring the genetic variants linked with blood clotting – a process that can lead to a stroke – scientists have discovered a gene which is associated with large vessel and cardioembolic stroke but has no connection to small vessel stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-gene-discovery-tailored-treatments.html Neuroscience Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:08:09 EST news278917678 Clogged arteries and sedentary lifestyles have replaced germs as the world's leading killers. Where hunger once held much of the world in its grip, the 1.6 billion overweight and obese now outnumber the malnourished by nearly 2-to-1. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-obesity-consequences-rapidly-world.html Health Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:50:02 EST news278689633 (Medical Xpress)—Higher body mass index (BMI) and physical inactivity are associated with more than a two-fold increase in risk for mortality among women with endometrial cancer, new research by the Yale School of Public Health has found. The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-healthy-bmi-physical-linked-endometrial.html Cancer Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:13:29 EST news276847998 (AP)—Most people know the usual vital signs, like blood pressure, temperature and pulse. But what about exercise? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-medical-minutes.html Health Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:48:42 EST news276695317 Physical inactivity is a major public health problem that has both social and neurobiological causes. According to the results of an Ipsos survey published on Monday 31 Dec., the French have put "taking up a sport" at the top of their list of good resolutions for 2013. However, Francis Chaouloff, research director at Inserm's NeuroCentre Magendie (Inserm Joint Research Unit 862, Université Bordeaux Ségalen), Sarah Dubreucq, a PhD student and François Georges, a CNRS research leader at the Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience (CNRS/Université Bordeaux Ségalen) have just discovered the key role played by a protein, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, during physical exercise. In their mouse studies, the researchers demonstrated that the location of this receptor in a part of the brain associated with motivation and reward systems controls the time for which an individual will carry out voluntary physical exercise. These results were published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-good-resolutions-physical-hard.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:29:16 EST news276521336 Agreement by governments, by the end of 2012, on a set of ambitious global targets to curb the growing scourge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which includes cardiovascular disease (CVD; heart disease and stroke), is critical to avoiding the millions of premature deaths worldwide. This, according to a new paper published by the Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce a group of eminent experts who represent five leading heart-health organizations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cardiovascular-disease-tougher-curb-global.html Cardiology Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:40:05 EST news267169199 Cancer kills more than seven million people a year throughout the world. This is more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, and African countries, which carry a large part of the burden, are the least able of all developing countries to cope with the challenges it presents, says a consortium of international cancer organizations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-advocacy-toolkit-halt-runaway-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:56:12 EST news266151364 (Medical Xpress)—Having access to a personal computer lowers or decreases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older men by up to 40 per cent, according to researchers at The University of Western Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-memory-older-men-ram.html Health Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:45:43 EST news265959936 Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes are no longer just a problem in wealthy nations – the rate of NCDs in low-to-middle income countries are increasing faster than in developed countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-non-communicable-diseases-devastating-global-impact.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:26:32 EST news265537585 A sedentary lifestyle is a common cause of obesity, and excessive body weight and fat in turn are considered catalysts for diabetes, high blood pressure, joint damage and other serious health problems. But what if lack of exercise itself were treated as a medical condition? Mayo Clinic physiologist Michael Joyner, M.D., argues that it should be. His commentary is published this month in The Journal of Physiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-doctors-lack-medical-condition-mayo.html Health Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:45:23 EST news264091400 (Medical Xpress) -- The global issue of physical inactivity should be recognised as pandemic, according to a research paper published today in the prestigious Lancet medical journal and launched in a special pre-Olympics event in London. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-pre-olympic-global-action-physical-inactivity.html Health Wed, 18 Jul 2012 08:16:23 EST news261818166 A third of the world's adults are physically inactive, and the couch potato lifestyle kills about five million people every year, experts said in the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-physical-inactivity-million-year.html Health Wed, 18 Jul 2012 03:20:02 EST news261799527 European experts in cardiovascular medicine will today gather at a two day symposium to address the national agenda on cardiovascular disease prevention, held at Imperial College London and sponsored by leading independent academic and professional publisher SAGE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-killer-cardiovascular-disease.html Cardiology Fri, 06 Jul 2012 09:34:26 EST news260786058 The World Health Organization announced on Friday it was set to approve a new target to reduce premature deaths from chronic illnesses such as heart disease by a quarter by 2025. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-early-chronic-illness-deaths.html Health Fri, 25 May 2012 10:25:23 EST news257160317 Living a healthy lifestyle might seem like common sense, but the environment we live in can make healthy choices more difficult. Whether it’s how much access we have to green spaces, the transport we take to work, or our diet, each can have an impact on leading a long and healthy life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-unhealthy-diet-physical-inactivity-silent.html Health Mon, 14 May 2012 09:10:36 EST news256205226 A Comment linked to The Lancet Series on Adolescent Health calls for major investments in adolescent health, including moving 10% of total funding for children and adolescents towards preventive interventions in communities and schools within 5 years. It also calls for at least 30% of countries produce their own reports on adolescent health and development compared with the less than 5% that currently do so. The Comment is by Professor Michael Resnick, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, and lead authors from each of the four Series papers already mentioned in this press release. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-percent-total-funding-children-interventions.html Health Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:30:08 EST news254507628