Developing unhealthy eating and exercise habits doesn’t happen overnight. Left to their own devices, children may cultivate a taste for carb-laden fast food and spend their leisure time playing video games, placing them at risk for serious health problems in adulthood. According to a CDC report titled “Childhood Obesity Causes and Consequences,” the risks include obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.
It might surprise you to know that while 94 percent of Americans recognize the importance of clinical trial research to advance medical science, a mere 25 percent of the population say they understand how clinical trials work, or how to participate in one. The need to raise awareness of the importance of clinical trials has never been greater. Today’s standards of medical treatments are developing and improving thanks primarily to clinical trials and the people who volunteer to participate in t
A new study from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) finds that older adults who take short walks after meals may be contributing to lowering their risk of type 2 diabetes by helping to reduce the elevations in blood sugar that occur after filling the stomach with food. Researchers, who caution that the results still need to be confirmed by trials in larger groups, suggest three short bouts of exercise a day are more likely to help older people
For a couple planning to begin or add to their family, coming up without a desired pregnancy month after month can be confusing, especially when they’re young, healthy, and have no obvious conditions preventing conception. Confusion can turn to despair when months turn to years and still no pregnancy occurs. One thing we do know about infertility is that it can be caused by a wide range of physical and emotional factors. It can also be a due to a physical problem with the man, the woman, or both
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are not just uncomfortable and troublesome, they are one of the most common infectious problems among older adults. Experts estimate that 25 to 30 percent of all infections in older adults are UTIs. Aging adults have a heightened vulnerability to urinary tract infections because they are prone to problems that set people up for this kind of infection. Bacterial growing in the urine within the bladder is the basic culprit behind urinary tract infections.
Peyronie’s disease, which effects mostly middle aged men, is caused by scar tissue (plaque) which forms along the length of the penis in the corpora Cavernos. The Corpora Cavernosa consists of three expandable erectile tissues that run along the length of the penis and fill with blood during an erection. The plaque is not visible, and depending on the severity of the condition, the plaque can cause the penis to bend, making sexual intercourse difficult and occasionally painful. There is no clea
Men and women both experience changes in their reproductive systems as they age, but like all things gender-related, the change is different for men. Unlike women, who experience a fairly sudden change in fertility or the functioning of sexual organs, men experience changes more slowly over time. Changes to the male reproductive system are a natural part of aging and can include: While the conditions mentioned above are considered a normal part of the aging process, there are other conditions
Although they share a few common characteristics, Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis are actually two different diseases. Most people who have been diagnosed with arthritis have osteoarthritis, which commonly occurs as we age. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious autoimmune disease, and the two are often confused, which can be a real problem for people suffering from RA. Below are some guidelines for understanding the difference between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis: Age. Oste
As most American baby boomers appreciate yet another New Year’s celebration on planet Earth, resolving to become more vigilant of our urinary health in 2013 makes perfect sense, and far as New Year’s resolutions go. Unfortunately, we spend too many of our younger years ignoring things like urinary health, and as we get older the repercussions of our folly begin to catch up. So it actually does take a commitment on the part of people in their 50s and older to try to make up for the decades of fe
The process of achieving an erection is a biologically complex one. When problems arise achieving or maintaining an erection, the cause can involve a physical or psychological problem, or a combination of both. The physical origins of erectile dysfunction (ED) occur when the sequence of events that lead to an erection is interrupted. Since achieving an erection depends on an intricate series of nerve impulses in the brain, spine and penis that trigger simultaneous responses in the veins and art
Most men who are suffering from advanced prostate cancer experience side effects that can be the result of their illness or the result of certain treatments used to slow the spread of the cancer. Prostate cancer begins with a tumor developing in the prostate gland. If the cancer spreads outside of the prostate gland to the lymph nodes, bones, or other areas, it is called advanced or metastatic prostate cancer. Although there are no current treatments to cure advanced prostate cancer, there are
One of the more annoying physical issues we face as we age is nocturia, a condition that has sufferers waking up two or more times during the night to urinate. The causes of nocturia are often gender-specific; for men, it can be a symptom of an enlarged prostate, which causes the flow of urine from the bladder to be blocked. A man suffering from this condition may not be fully emptying his bladder during the day. This can leave him with a partially full bladder when he goes to bed at night,
Most men past age 50 will probably experience an enlarged prostate in their lifetimes. But since it’s not a popular subject of conversation, few men are prepared for it when symptoms begin to surface. The prostate is a gland critical to the male reproductive system. The prostate surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine passes during urination. It also produces the fluid that carries sperm out of the body in ejaculation. In younger men, the prostate is normally about the size of a wa
Type II 2 diabetes is a chronic disease, but contrary to popular belief it is not caused by eating too many sweets. Although we still don’t know exactly what causes type II diabetes, we can tell patients that there are certain risk factors that are known to increase the risk of developing it. There are two main categories of risks associated with the metabolic disorder, those risks that you can keep under control (controllable) and those that you have no control over (uncontrollable).
