Health Tip – Audio Version - Walking away from breast cancer.
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Questions and Answers: Physical Activity and Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)

A new study says that being physically active seems to help women with breast cancer improve their chances of beating the disease. The report in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the amount of walking or other activities that the women did.

The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that it didn’t take a lot to raise the odds of survival. Researcher Michelle Holmes of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School:

“Compared to the most inactive women, just about any amount of physical activity was linked with a lower risk of death from breast cancer.”

Any amount? Well, the study found that women who did as little as an hour’s worth of walking a week got a benefit. And the maximum benefit came with being active on the level of walking three to five hours a week.

The authors also note, though, that women often become less active after diagnosis.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: July 12, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Nurturing Better Health
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: The Problem of Overweight in Children and Adolescents
(Office of the Surgeon General)

Parents who weigh in on their own as well as their child’s health are more likely an influence on whether their children become overweight or obese.

An Arizona State University study discovered households turning a blind eye to poor eating habits and non-active lifestyles led to a greater risk obesity for growing children -some 33.3 of children in these households were likely to become overweight or obese as young adults.

While race and family income levels were found to have very little impact on children’s weight, parental nurturing of their self-esteem was found to have a greater influence toward their better eating and exercising habits.

“Parents should exert control over a child’s diet, especially making a healthy breakfast a priority. And also they should limit the amount of free time children have to spend on sedentary activities, such as watching TV and playing video games.”

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 1, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Stop and go and wheeze
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Environmental Triggers of Asthma
(Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)

Living closer to car, truck and bus exhaust seems to affect how a baby breathes. A new study finds more wheezing among infants who live near stop-and-go traffic. Researcher Patrick Ryan of the University of Cincinnati says that’s within about a football field’s length of a bus route, or a state road with a posted speed of less than 50 miles an hour:

“The infants that resided within the stop-and-go exposure category wheezed the most frequently, with 17 percent of them reporting wheezing, compared to the infants that were unexposed to all types of traffic, who wheezed only approximately six percent.”

Ryan says wheezing is an indication, although not a certainty, that the infant might develop asthma.

His study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 4, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Smoking like the stars
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: You(th) & Tobacco
(National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

Ever come out of a movie feeling like one of the characters? Well, movies can leave a strong impression. And a researcher thinks they may influence kids to smoke.

Dr. James Sargent of Dartmouth Medical School and his colleagues checked out smoking in 532 movies. They also surveyed more than 65-hundred 10- to-14-year-olds, asking if the teens had seen the movies and if the teens smoked. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the journal Pediatrics.

Sargent says teens who saw the most smoking were over two and a half times more likely to smoke than were teens who saw the least smoking:

It’s our opinion that movies are a major perhaps the major primary risk factor for starting to smoke.

Sargent advises parents to limit the number of movies their kids see.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 7, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Learning cholesterol control
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Cholesterol Counts For Everyone
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Many of us are getting better at getting our cholesterol levels down — many, but not all.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says total cholesterol levels among older people fell significantly in men ages 60 and older, and women ages 50 and older. But it says levels in younger adults over the past ten years were mostly unchanged.

Researcher Clifford Johnson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says proper diet and exercise are crucial. He notes many Americans have some work to do there:

“Obesity’s going up, physical activity is sort of stabilized, not changing much in the general population.”

The scientists say drugs called statins, which control cholesterol, are a big reason for the improvements they saw. For some people, the drugs could be worth talking to a doctor about.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 8, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Get vaccinated
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: Key Facts About Influenza (Flu) Vaccine
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

If you want to protect yourself against the flu, get a vaccination. October and November are the best months to get vaccinated, but you can still benefit from vaccination after November, even if flu is present in your community.

People of any age can get the flu, so it’s recommended that everyone be vaccinated. But Dr. Jeanne Santoli of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says certain groups of people are more prone to develop complications, than others and should pay particular attention to getting their yearly vaccinations.

“It’s especially important that people who are 65 years and older, children 6-23 months, pregnant women, and those with chronic medical conditions get vaccinated.”

In an average year, the flu causes 36,000 deaths, mostly among those 65 years or older, and more than 200,000 hospitalizations.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 9, 2005

Health Tip – Audio Version - Modern-day slavery
Health Tip – Healthy Next Step: The Campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking
(Administration for Children & Families)

Imagine being kidnapped and forced to work against your will – trapped into slavery with no one, seemingly, to rescue you.

The reality is, nearly 18 thousand victims are trafficked across borders and into the United States each year.

Human trafficking one of the world’s largest criminal industries, and is the fastest growing.

Traffickers trap people through fear and confinement. But victims can be spotted — often by physical injuries or their inability to move around freely.

Wade Horn, HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Children and Families:

“If anybody believes that they think they know of a situation where someone is a victim of human trafficking or just simply wants to get more information about this problem, they can call our toll free number at 1-888-373-7888.”

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: November 10, 2005