Health aNd Fitness Guide

Obese children are like obese adults, when it comes to heart diseases. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine say, as a child’s body mass index for age increases, both the relaxation and contraction phases of the heartbeat alter. A new tissue Doppler-imaging technique, ‘vector velocity imaging’, helped the researchers to trace the subtle → Continue reading »

Children who watch television during their meals may suffer from eating disorders, a study by American researchers has found. They may also have a lower quality of diet compared to children of families that ate together and turned the television off. Children who watch television while eating meals are also likely to consume fewer vegetables. → Continue reading »

A loom, operated by Meghan Quirck, a graduate student at Virgina Tech, is weaving cloth that may one day be made into a shirt that could both defibrillate a heart and play MP3s. Virginia Tech electrical and computer engineering professor Mark Jones and associate professor Tom Martin lead a research team that started developing the → Continue reading »

People who are purposeful, self-disciplined and scrupulous — or rather conscientious — appear less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers performed neurological, cognitive and medical tests on about 1,000 healthy Catholic clergy. Volunteers rated themselves by responding to items like, “I am a productive person who always gets the job done.” After 12 years, → Continue reading »

Chinese researchers have outlined the molecular chain activity that makes resveratrol — a chemical found in the skin of red grapes and in red wine — a promising candidate for treatment of diabetes and other conditions. The study focused on how resveratrol improved the sensitivity of mice to insulin, an effect that could lead to → Continue reading »