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The Checkup: November, 2011

Posted at 10:21 AM ET, 11/01/2011

ADHD drugs don’t increase heart risks, study concludes
By Rob Stein
New research finds no evidence that ADHD medications increase the risk for heart problems.

By Rob Stein  |  10:21 AM ET, 11/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/28/2011

The chemistry of candy corn
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Just in time for Halloween, the fun-loving folks at the American Chemical Society have served up a couple of videos explaining the science behind candy corn and hard candy.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/27/2011

Surrounded by sugar
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Sugar isn’t inherently evil. But it adds nothing but empty calories to our diets and may contribute mightily to obesity.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 10/26/2011

Hormones make it hard for dieters to stay thin, study indicates
By Rob Stein
Research indicates that the body is programmed to try to stay at a higher weight “set-point,” and people are fighting powerful biological signals that are hard to resist.

By Rob Stein  |  05:00 PM ET, 10/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 10/26/2011

Yogurt appears to aid digestion of carbs
By Rob Stein
New research provides one of the first real clues that yogurt may indeed be helpful.

By Rob Stein  |  02:00 PM ET, 10/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 PM ET, 10/25/2011

Flu vaccine less effective than thought, study finds
By Rob Stein
The flu vaccine is less effective than widely thought, leaving too many people vulnerable to infection, especially if a particularly dangerous pandemic occurred.

By Rob Stein  |  06:30 PM ET, 10/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 11:32 AM ET, 10/25/2011

Federal advisers endorse routine HPV vaccination of boys
By Rob Stein
A federal advisory panel Tuesday recommended that boys routinely get vaccinated against the HPV at 11 or 12 to protect against genital warts.

By Rob Stein  |  11:32 AM ET, 10/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:31 AM ET, 10/25/2011

Coffee cuts skin cancer risk
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Research finds that coffee drinkers are at reduced risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  10:31 AM ET, 10/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 PM ET, 10/23/2011

Soda boosts violence among teens, study finds
By Rob Stein
Teenagers who drink soda are more likely to carry a weapon and act violently, according to new research.

By Rob Stein  |  06:30 PM ET, 10/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/21/2011

For every suicide, many more thoughts, plans and attempts
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
A sobering report Thursday from the CDC shows that thousands of U.S. adults take their own lives each year -- and that many millions of others seriously contemplate killing themselves or make an attempt to do so.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 06:30 PM ET, 10/20/2011

No link between cellphones and brain cancer, study finds
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
The largest study of a potential link between cellphone use and brain cancer risk has found no increased incidence of malignancies.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  06:30 PM ET, 10/20/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:07 PM ET, 10/19/2011

Groups issue conflicting proposals for cervical cancer screening recommendations
By Rob Stein
Leading medical groups Wednesday proposed new guidelines for how often and how women should undergo screening tests for cervical cancer.

By Rob Stein  |  12:07 PM ET, 10/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 10/19/2011

More than one in 10 Americans aged 12 and older take antidepressants, survey shows
By Rob Stein
The use of antidepressants has soared in the U.S. in recent decades with the development of Prozac and other similar drugs.

By Rob Stein  |  12:00 PM ET, 10/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 10/17/2011

Less-frequent mammograms, fewer false positives
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
A study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine supports the notion that screening women every other year rather than annually reduces false positives and increases only very slightly the risk that cancer will be detected at a later, harder-to-treat stage.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  05:00 PM ET, 10/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/17/2011

Dads’ role in kids’ health care
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
A small study out paints a revealing — and, to my mind, touching — picture of the role dads play in keeping their kids healthy.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/14/2011

Recent studies suggest supplements’ shortcomings
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
I’m no particular fan of dietary supplements, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to switch your dietary habits on the basis of any single study, or even three.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/13/2011

Same pancreatic cancer, different outcome
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
After I wrote about Steve Jobs’s death last week I got a tweet from a woman named Tracy Krulik: “@jhuget Read ur piece on pancreatic cancer. W islet cell cancer u can live a full & long life. I’ve never been healthier since my diagnosis.”

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 10/12/2011

More teens using condoms, federal survey shows
By Rob Stein
Teenage sexual activity, pregnancies and births appear to have held steady since 2002, while condom use among adolescents has increased, according to new federal data.

By Rob Stein  |  12:00 PM ET, 10/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/11/2011

Report: Greek economic woes affect health care
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
As Greece’s economic crisis has worsened over the past few years, so has the health of the Greek people, suggests a report in the British medical journal The Lancet.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/10/2011

Study: Eating disorders more common than diabetes among young children
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Parents may regard kids who regularly reject food simply as “picky eaters.” But new research suggests some may actually have eating disorders.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/10/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 10/06/2011

CDC: ER visits for concussions and other brain injuries among kids jump
By Rob Stein
Increase appears due to a combination of factors, including more kids participating in potentially hazardous activities and adults being more aware of the need to seek treatment for children when they get injured

By Rob Stein  |  12:00 PM ET, 10/06/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 10:17 AM ET, 10/06/2011

Steve Jobs’s death a reminder that pancreatic cancer’s toll is still too high
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Steve Jobs surpassed expectations by surviving pancreatic cancer for more than five years. But his was an exceptional case.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  10:17 AM ET, 10/06/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/06/2011

The case for male circumcision
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
As many critics have come to question the wisdom of circumcising newborn boys or even regard it as barbaric, a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association makes a case in favor of the procedure.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/06/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/05/2011

Omega-3’s and other ‘antioxidants’ may do more harm for lung patients, study finds
By Rob Stein
Contrary to previous studies, giving patients with lung problems omega-3 fatty acids and “antioxidants” appears to do more harm than good.

By Rob Stein  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/05/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:56 PM ET, 10/04/2011

CDC: 112 million incidents of drinking and driving in 2010
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
CDC says there were 112 million instances in which adults drove after drinking occurred in 2010. That’s 30 percent fewer than five years ago.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  01:56 PM ET, 10/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 10/04/2011

Denmark’s fat tax
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Denmark has enacted a tax on foods containing high percentages of saturated fat, the BBC reported over the weekend. The move is meant to help reduce obesity among the Danish, though just 10 percent of that population is overweight or obese.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Dietary Guidelines

Posted at 09:58 AM ET, 09/30/2011

Does overweight equal unhealthy?
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Some argue that overweight in and of itself doesn’t translate to poor health and that it’s the lifestyle choices that contribute to overweight (lack of exercise, poor diet) that make people sick.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  09:58 AM ET, 09/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)

 

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