CDC county-by-county analysis finds some areas with 1 in 10 adults already diabetic
(HealthDay News) — While rates of obesity are climbing across America, they are especially high in sections of Appalachia and the Southeast, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in its first county-by-county survey.
Obesity and diabetes “are basically the two conditions of greatest concern for U.S. adults right now,” said study lead author Edward Gregg, chief of epidemiology and statistics in the CDC’s division of diabetes translation.
“They have been increasing for the last 10 to 15 …

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) — The fight against fat is going high-tech. To get an inside look at eating and exercise habits, scientists are developing wearable wireless sensors to monitor overweight and obese people as they go about their daily lives.
The experimental devices are designed to keep track of how many minutes they work out, how much food they consume and even whether they are at a fast-food joint when they should be in the park. The goal is to cut down on self-reported answers that often cover up what’s really …

The usual January diet drill has an unusual proponent in 2010: the fast-food industry. Many of the nation’s largest fast-food chains — better-known for their often fatty, high-calorie foods — are loudly touting diet and low-calorie offerings.
Familiar brands from Taco Bell (YUM) to Starbucks (SBUX) to Dunkin’ Donuts are rolling out new products and ad campaigns in an attempt to lure calorie-conscious consumers during the month when the $170 billion fast-food industry typically sees sales slide.
Consumers feel fat in January. Some 61% would like to lose 20 pounds, …

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Dieters who exercise lose 3 to 5 pounds more over several months than those who only diet. To help you lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks with the USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge, reporter Nanci Hellmich worked with fitness expert Mark Fenton to adapt a quiz and program from his book, The Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness. He says walking “should be at the core of everyone’s active lifestyle.”
Take the quiz
To begin a walking program that’s right for you, take the …

Long-term exposure to dirty air doubled likelihood of respiratory infection, study found
(HealthDay News) — Seniors who are exposed to significant levels of air pollution for more than a year face double the risk of pneumonia, Canadian researchers report.
“We postulate that long-term exposure to air pollution may have increased individuals’ susceptibility to pneumonia by interfering with innate immune defenses designed to protect the lung from pathogens,” lead investigator Dr. Mark Loeb, of McMaster University in Ontario, said in a news release from the American Thoracic Society.
The study included 365 adults aged …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study provides more evidence that acupuncture can help ease hot flashes in women with breast cancer who are being treated with the “anti-estrogen” drug tamoxifen. Acupuncture, researchers found, is free of side effects and has a side benefit for some women: an increased sex drive.
“Acupuncture appears to be at least as effective as drug therapy,” Dr. Eleanor M. Walker of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and her colleagues report, “and it may provide additional and longer-term benefits without adverse effects.”
Breast cancer patients with …

Suggestions to help you sleep
(HealthDay News) — Insomnia is a broad term that may include difficulty sleeping through the night, or problems falling asleep in the first place.
The National Women’s Health Information Center offers this list of possible treatment options for insomnia:

Practicing relaxation therapy to help manage stress.
Working with a doctor, initially restricting the amount of sleep (rising earlier or going to sleep later), then gradually increasing sleep to encourage a …

Improved screening, awareness may help delay progression and reduce expenses, researchers say
(HealthDay News) — Medical care for osteoarthritis patients in the United States costs $185.5 billion a year, according to a new study.
Of that amount, insurers pay $149.4 billion while patients pay $36.1 billion in out-of-pocket costs. Annual insurer costs are $4,833 per female patient and $4,036 per male patient. Women also have higher out-of-pocket expenses than men — $1,379 versus $694. The total cost for female patients is $118 billion, compared with $67.5 billion for male patients. All figures …

Findings could someday help scientists engineer tooth enamel
(HealthDay News) — Scientists have identified the way a simple amino acid makes human teeth strong and resilient.
Proline is repeated in the center of proteins found in tooth enamel. When the repeats are long, such as in humans, they contract groups of molecules that help enamel crystals grow. When the repeats are short, such as in frogs, teeth don’t have the enamel prisms that provide strength, the researchers explained.
The research offers clues on how to engineer tooth enamel.
“We hope that one day, these …

Mouth Area Wrinkles More in Women Than Men
Dermatologists discover gender differences that explain the aging inequity
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay News) — Dermatologists have discovered yet another gender inequity: Women develop more and deeper wrinkles around their mouths as they age than men do.
The disadvantage had long been suspected, but a new study provides “irrefutable scientific evidence,” said Dr. Foad Nahai, a plastic surgeon practicing in Atlanta and editor-in-chief of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal. The study appears in the November/December issue of the journal.
The authors of the paper believe they even …

Some experts support the Senate bill, which could be approved by Christmas, but others have misgivings
By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay News) — Prominent health-care experts are throwing their support behind the Senate version of the health reform package, which now looks like it will be passed before Christmas since Senate Democrats have garnered the 60 votes needed to move the bill forward.
“Overall, it is a multi-dimensional attack on the problems of our health-care system,” said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, and includes all of the essential elements for achieving …

Over 45 Million Americans Now Lack Health Insurance
About 8 percent of children are uninsured, government report finds
(HealthDay News) — In the first six months of this year, 45.4 million Americans of all ages — or 15.1 percent of the population — had no health insurance, according to new National Health Interview Survey statistics released Wednesday.
In addition, 58.4 million (19.4 percent) people of all ages had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to the interview, and 31.9 million (10.6 percent) had been uninsured for more than a …