Online Weight Management

Online Weight Management Gets Personal
NIH Body Weight Planner

It’s always a good time to resolve to eat better, be more active, and lose weight. For the more than 2 out of 3 Americans who are either overweight or obese, there’s now a free, research-based tool to help you reach your goals: the NIH Body Weight Planner.  

“A lot of people want to change their lifestyle to lose weight and improve their overall health but really don’t know what it takes,” says Dr. Kevin Hall, a senior NIH researcher who created the Planner. “The Body Weight Planner is the first tool of its kind. It uses specific information about the diet and physical activity changes that are needed to help people reach and stay at their goal weight over time.”

Keeping your body at a healthy weight may help you lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer that can result from being overweight or obese.

To use the NIH Body Weight Planner, just enter your weight, sex, age, height, and physical activities during work and leisure. Then enter a target date for reaching your goal weight. You can also add details like percent body fat and metabolic rate. The Planner will then calculate your personal calorie and physical activity targets to achieve your goal and maintain it over time.

“In the past, people have relied on simple rules of thumb, such as cutting 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound of body weight per week,” Hall says. “It turns out that this rule overestimates how much weight people actually lose.” The NIH Body Weight Planner uses technology based on years of scientific research to accurately calculate how your body adjusts to changes in your eating habits and physical activity.

NIH recently partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to add the NIH Planner to the USDA SuperTracker food and activity tool.

The NIH Body Weight Planner “has changed my life,” says one user. “At 280 pounds, I decided to make a change. I used the Body Weight Planner and set a goal to reach 220 pounds in 180 days. I tracked my calories, dropped weight, and hit the 220 goal. My doctor was really happy.”

Hall says the Body Weight Planner is compatible with most Web and mobile browsers. NIH is also working to develop mobile apps for tracking your body weight and physical activity, and for assessing how well you stick to your plan over time. This will help you change your plan or goals as needed.

Try the NIH Body Weight Planner  to take charge of your weight and your health. Be sure to talk with your health care provider about setting realistic and healthy weight goals

Health News:Discovery could open door to frozen preservation of whole organs ♦ New strategy discovered for treating arthritis ♦ Can physical exercise enhance long-term memory?

Discovery could open door to frozen preservation of tissues, whole organs A new approach to 'vitrification,' or ice-free cryopreservation, has been discovered, which could ultimately allow a much wider use of extreme cold to preserve tissues and even organs for later use.

New strategy discovered for treating arthritis Arthritis patients could one day benefit from a novel form of medicine, according to researchers. Arthritic cartilage, previously thought to be impenetrable to therapies, could be treated by a patient's own 'microvesicles' that are able to travel into cartilage cells and deliver therapeutic agents.

Certain factors may help identify patients for surgical procedure for obstructive sleep apnea Patients with more severe obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to receive greater benefit from the surgical procedure known as maxillomandibular advancement,

Can physical exercise enhance long-term memory? Exercise can enhance the development of new brain cells in the adult brain, a process called adult neurogenesis. These newborn brain cells play an important role in learning and memory. Mice that spent time running on wheels not only developed twice the normal number of new neurons, but also showed an increased ability to distinguish new objects from familiar objects

Cardiovascular research: New treatment potential for heart attack sufferers ♦ Heart failure improvements with diet and exercise ♦ When exercise is unhealthy for the heart:

Heart failure improvements with diet and exercise Doctors have shown the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise in patients with heart failure

First-in-human use of virtual reality imaging in cardiac cath lab to treat blocked coronary artery Virtual reality has potential to revolutionize some aspects of medicine and healthcare. Several medical specialties are already using it to train physicians and assist diagnosis and it also has potential for treatment. A group of cardiologists has now successfully used a VR device to guide the opening up (revascularization) of a chronically blocked right coronary artery.

When exercise is unhealthy for the heart: How heart problems and sudden cardiac death occur with endurance exercise Endurance exercise accelerates the development of heart problems in individuals with a particular genetic mutation, a new study finds. In mice with a mutated version of desmoplakin, a protein that maintains the heart wall, exercise made the heart walls come apart sooner. The findings offer insight into how to best manage exercise in individuals with the mutation.

New treatment potential for heart attack sufferers New hope in the fight against cardiovascular disease has arrived, following breakthrough research identifying a pigment in our bile which could protect us

Senior's Health Not so happy old age? :♦ Fractures Can Lead to Premature Death in Older People ♦ Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects

Exercise program in senior centers helps decrease participants' pain and improve mobility A study finds that a low-impact exercise program is improving quality of life for many older adults with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. The program, offered by Hospital for Special Surgery, has helped decrease pain, improve mobility and enhance the overall health of many participants.

Fractures Can Lead to Premature Death in Older People A new study shows certain fractures due to osteoporosis can cause premature death in people 45 and older. This is the largest study, to date, that shows a connection between these fractures and premature death.

Not so happy old age? The notion that older people are happier than younger people is being challenged following a recent study. In fact it suggests that people get more depressed from age 65 onwards

Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects Scientists have discovered a molecule that slows the clock on key aspects of aging in animals.

Barriers to health care increase disease, death risk for rural elderly A new study of adults ages 85 or older has found that rural residents have significantly higher levels of chronic disease, take more medications, and die several years earlier than their urban counterparts.

Health News: Researchers develop 3D printing method for creating patient-specific medical devices ♦ An aggressive treatment for an aggressive cancer

How depressive thoughts persevere, interfere with memory in people with depression Depressive thoughts are maintained for longer periods of time for people with depressed mood, and this extended duration may reduce the amount of information that these individuals can hold in their memory.

Researchers develop 3D printing method for creating patient-specific medical devices An innovative 3-D printing technology has been developed that could revolutionize important biomedical equipment, enhancing treatment for everyone from premature babies to patients needing implants.

An aggressive treatment for an aggressive cancer Pancreas cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. In the United States, it accounts for only three percent of all diagnosed cancers but it causes almost seven percent of all cancer deaths. A pancreas cancer diagnosis often comes after age 50 and after the cancer has spread, making it difficult to remove surgically. A new clinical trial may help more people to undergo surgery to remove their pancreas tumors. And that may help more of them to live longer.

Endurance expert: Drugs could help 'lazy' people exercise Together with lack of time, physical exertion is one of the main perceived barriers to exercise. This is not surprising because humans evolved to be 'lazy' to conserve energy. Now, a researcher suggests that reducing perception of effort during exercise using caffeine or other psychoactive drugs could help many people stick to their fitness plans

Food Research: Diet lacking soluble fiber promotes weight gain, mouse ♦ Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease

Diet lacking soluble fiber promotes weight gain, mouse A new study highlights the importance of the gut microbiome in maintaining intestinal and metabolic health and suggests that eating more foods high in soluble fiber may help prevent metabolic disease and obesity.

Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease Taking vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease.

Obese people need more vitamin E, but actually get less Obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E -- they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced.

Even a little is too much: One junk food snack triggers signals of metabolic disease We hate to ruin Thanksgiving, but a new report suggests that for some people, overindulgence at the dinner table or at snack time is enough to trigger signs of metabolic disease

Women's Health: Obese pregnant women who lose weight have healthier newborns ♦ Increasing vitamin D supplementation in elderly women ♦ Substantial differences in obstetric care for First Nations women in Canada

Obese pregnant women who lose weight save money, have healthier newborns, Severely obese women who maintained or lost weight during pregnancy had healthier babies and lower healthcare costs. The work compared 82 severely obese pregnant women with 85 healthy weight women. The obese mothers experienced more medical problems during pregnancy, higher medical costs and longer lengths of hospital stay. Twenty-six percent of the obese mothers maintained or lost weight during pregnancy.

Exercise Could Provide a Margin of Safety for Women Who Want to Delay Preventive Mastectomy, Penn Study Shows Regular physical activity could play a role in helping women at high-risk of breast cancer delay the need for drastic preventive measures such as prophylactic mastectomy. Results of the study help clarify the emerging connection between exercise and breast cancer risk. The authors suggest that women who have an elevated breast cancer risk or worry about having such risk should consider doing 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity per day for five days per week.

Increasing vitamin D supplementation in elderly women Elderly women should take in more vitamin D than previously recommended during the winter months.

Substantial differences in obstetric care for First Nations women in Canada There are substantial differences in obstetric care provided to First Nations women compared with women in the general population, and these differences may contribute to higher infant mortality in First Nations populations.

Cardiovascular Research: Look inside your heart ♦ Studying cardiac arrhythmias in nematodes ♦ Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after heart attack

Look inside your heart Quantifying the damage caused to specific parts of the heart by cardiac arrest is key to providing effective treatment and accurate prognoses for millions of people worldwide. Now, researchers have developed a computational method that uses magnetic resonance imaging data to assess the extent of damage to the left ventricle, the heart’s powerhouse.

Studying cardiac arrhythmias in nematodes A simple model using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been developed that can be used to test substances for treating genetically-mediated cardiac arrhythmias. They used the nematode feeding apparatus for this purpose, a rhythmically active muscle pump that resembles the muscle cells in the mammalian heart.

Novel prosthetic heart valve developed for treatment of severe heart disorder A novel prosthetic heart valve has been developed, known as VeloX, which can be implanted through a small incision for the treatment of a serious heart valve disorder called mitral regurgitation. This is a condition in which the mitral valve on the left side of the heart does not close properly. The device is particularly beneficial to patients who are of high surgical risk or are unsuitable for existing clinical interventions

Transplantation of unique, newly discovered stems cells may lead to promising stroke therapy When rats modeled with stroke were transplanted with newly discovered and unique Muse cells, neuronal regeneration resulted in significant improvements in neurological and motor functions and did not cause cancer, as other cells often do, scientists report.

Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after heart attack  Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after a heart attack, experts urge.

Health Research: High-fructose diet slows recovery from brain injury ♦ Tallness linked to increased risk of premature death for patients on dialysis ♦ Washing dishes decreases stress

High-fructose diet slows recovery from brain injury A diet high in processed fructose sabotages rat brains’ ability to heal after head trauma, neuroscience report. Revealing a link between nutrition and brain health, the finding offers implications for the 5.3 million Americans living with a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

Exercise is good for everyone, but some struggle more than others People with increased risk of type 2 diabetes need to exercise more than others to achieve the same results, according to new research.

Researchers identify cause of inherited form of extreme nearsightedness 'Why, Grandma, what big eyes you have!' Though similar in appearance, the hidden cause of those big eyes Little Red Riding Hood notices in Grimms' fairy tale has nothing to do with the hidden cause of enlarged eyeballs in buphthalmia, a genetic mechanism causing this devastating eye disease which has now been uncovered by researchers. Patients afflicted are severely myopic, or nearsighted.

Tallness linked to increased risk of premature death for patients on dialysis Tallness has been associated with higher premature mortality risk and shorter life spans in patients on dialysis. The association was observed in white, Asian, and American Indian/Alaskan native patients, but not in black patients. The overall paradoxical relationship between height and premature death was not explained by concurrent illness, socioeconomic status, or differences in care

Chore or stress reliever: Study suggests that washing dishes decreases stress

Mindfully washing dishes calms the mind and decreases stress, a new study shows. The study looked at whether washing dishes could be used as an informal contemplative practice that promotes a positive state of mindfulness -- a meditative method of focusing attention on the emotions and thoughts of the present moment.

Health News: Salmonella outbreak linked to fig & olive ♦ Exercise in a bottle could become a reality ♦ Psoriasis, risk of depression in the US population

CDC, Salmonella outbreak linked to fig & olive Multiple cities are investigating Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to eating at Fig & Olive restaurants, the U.S. CDC says. Illnesses have so far been reported Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and the investigation is ongoing to determine whether there are illnesses in other states

Exercise in a bottle could become a reality Research finds around 1000 molecular reactions to exercise, opening the door for drug treatments to mirror the health benefits of exercise.

Experimental cancer drug shows therapeutic promise in mouse models of multiple sclerosis An experimental drug originally identified in a National Cancer Institute library of chemical compounds as a potential therapy for brain and basal cell cancers improves the symptoms of mice with a form of the debilitating neurological disorder multiple sclerosis.

Psoriasis, risk of depression in the US population The chronic inflammatory skin condition psoriasis was associated with the risk of major depression, although the risk was unrelated to the severity of the disorder, according to a new article

Training for patients with melanoma and their partners on skin examinations Training on skin self-examination to aid early detection could be extra beneficial for patients with melanoma and their partners who report having low relationship quality because it gives them activities to do together, according to a new article.

Children's Health: Probiotic formula reverses cow's milk allergies by changing gut bacteria of infants ♦ Exercise reduces suicide attempts by 23 percent among bullied teens

Exercise reduces suicide attempts by 23 percent among bullied teens As high schools across the country continue to reduce physical education, recess, and athletic programs, a new study shows that regular exercise significantly reduces both suicidal thoughts and attempts among students who are bullied.

Teenagers who become pregnant at higher risk of further teen pregnancies Nearly a quarter of teenagers in England and Wales who have had an abortion have been pregnant before.

Researchers find novel signature in brains of children with cerebral malaria Cells associated with inflammation and blood clotting accumulate in the brain blood vessels of children affected by a potentially fatal form of malaria called cerebral malaria, potentially contributing to the disease process, an international team of researchers has found, and HIV can exacerbate this development

Probiotic formula reverses cow's milk allergies by changing gut bacteria of infants The gut bacteria of infants who developed tolerance to cow's milk after treatment with probiotic formula showed significant differences from those who remained allergic.

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Food Research: A new study comes down hard on honey ♦ The exercise replacement? ♦ Eating a lot of fish may help curb depression risk

A new study comes down hard on honey Turns out that whole thing about honey being a “nectar of the gods” might be false advertising. In this month’s Journal of Nutrition, a team of nutritionists report that they came upon a surprising discovery while studying different sweeteners to see just how much worse high-fructose corn syrup is, diabetes- and obesity-wise.

Vitamin C: The exercise replacement? Exercise improves health in overweight and obese adults but can be hard to incorporate into a daily routine. New findings show that taking vitamin C supplements daily instead can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in these adults.

Cocoa flavanols lower blood pressure and increase blood vessel function in healthy people Consuming cocoa flavanols lowers blood pressure, increases flow-mediated vasodilation and improves blood cholesterol profile. Applying the Framingham risk score suggests that cocoa flavanols might therefore be able to reduce age-related risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Eating a lot of fish may help curb depression risk -- at least in Europe Eating a lot of fish may help curb the risk of depression -- at least in Europe -- suggests a pooled analysis of the available evidence. Depression affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide, and is projected to become the second leading cause of ill health by 2020.

Adaptation to high-fat diet, cold had profound effect on Inuit, including shorter height Researchers have found unique genetic mutations in the Inuit genome that make them more adapted to cold as well as a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids, with the side effect of shorter height. This is the first evidence human populations have adapted to particular diets and differ in their physiological response. While a fish oil diet may be healthful for Inuit, this may not be true for other populations.

Health News:New compounds could reduce alcoholics' impulse to drink ♦ The amazing adaptability of brain's vision center ♦ Exercise to prevent, manage diabetes is more effective

Exercise to prevent, manage diabetes is more effective for college graduates Key prescriptions to prevent and manage diabetes -- physical activity and a healthy diet -- don't appear to be working as well for Americans who didn't graduate college.

Social media is transforming emergency communications Emergency organizations have only started using social media mainly as a response to the presence of the public in them. in the case of an emergency (a terror attack, hurricane or an earthquake), communication infrastructure may be overloaded and collapse as numerous people attempt to access information. The public can be exposed to large quantities of information without being aware of its validity or risk of misinformation. For these reasons, emergency communications are having to react.

The amazing adaptability of brain's vision center

By early childhood, the sight regions of a blind person's brain respond to sound, especially spoken language, a neuroscientist has found. Working with individuals who are blind offers cognitive researchers an opportunity to discover how nature and nurture, or a person's genes and their experience, sculpt brain function.

Having friends: Happiness spreads but depression doesn't

Having friends who suffer from depression doesn't affect the mental health of others, according to research led by the University of Warwick.

New compounds could reduce alcoholics' impulse to drink

Alcoholism inflicts a heavy physical, emotional and financial toll on individuals and society. Now new discoveries and promising animal studies are offering a glimmer of hope that a new class of drugs could treat the disease without many of the unwanted side effects caused by current therapies.

Children's Health: Exercise during adolescence linked to lowered risk of death later ♦ Computer games can pick up dyslexia ♦ Study sheds surprising light on the causes of cerebral palsy

Exercise during adolescence linked to lowered risk of death later Women who participated in exercise as adolescents had a reduced risk of death from cancer and all causes in their middle and older ages. After adjusting for socioeconomic factors in adult life, the researchers found that women who participated in exercise as adolescents for 1.33 hours a week or less had a 16 percent lowered risk for death from cancer, and a 15 percent lowered risk for death from all causes; those who participated in exercise as adolescents for more than 1.33 hours a week had a 13 percent lowered risk for death from all causes.

Computer games can pick up dyslexia in minority pupils While pupils from minority groups are over-represented in Norwegian special needs education, practically no children from these groups are diagnosed with dyslexia. As a consequence many miss out on important help. Researchers are studying whether a computer game can pick up dyslexia in pupils from minority groups

New survey enhances precision of distinguishing between expectable vs. worrisome early childhood misbehavior Researchers are using a novel dimensional method for distinguishing misbehavior that is expectable in early childhood versus that which is cause for clinical concern. Using a survey developed by the researchers to enhance precision of clinical identification in early childhood the Multidimensional Assessment Profile of Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), scientists obtained mothers' reports of their preschoolers' irritability at multiple time points. They used these irritability patterns to predict which preschoolers would exhibit problems that interfered with their behavior.

Study sheds surprising light on the causes of cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children. It has historically been considered to be caused by factors such as birth asphyxia, stroke and infections in the developing brain of babies. In a new game-changing study, a research team has uncovered strong evidence for genetic causes of cerebral palsy.

Senior Health:Gene fuels age-related obesity and diabetes ♦ Exercise can improve brain function in older adults ♦ Everyday access to nature improves quality of life in older adult

Everyday access to nature improves quality of life in older adult Natural environments are known to promote physical, mental, and spiritual healing. People can attain health benefits by spending time outside, often in remote places to 'get away from it all.' Now research shows that green and 'blue' spaces are especially beneficial for healthy aging in seniors.

Gender differences play key role in supporting healthy diets for seniors Strategies to support healthier diets among seniors need to take into account differences between elderly men and women. The study explored which types of social support encouraged seniors to boost their daily intake of fruits and vegetables.

Gene fuels age-related obesity and diabetes Practically everyone gets fatter as they get older, but some people can blame their genes for the extra padding. Researchers have shown that two different mutations in a gene called ankyrin-B cause cells to suck up glucose faster than normal, fattening them up and eventually leading to the type of diabetes linked to obesity.

Exercise can improve brain function in older adults Older adults can improve brain function by raising their fitness level, new research suggests. The research indicated that the intensity of the exercise appeared to matter more than the duration.

Health Research: Over hydration potentially deadly for athletes ♦ Liver disease linked to drug metabolism ♦ DNA protection, inch by inch

DNA protection, inch by inch DNA within reproductive cells is protected through a clever system of find and destroy; new research lifts the veil on how this is done. A team of scientists has discovered how the cells produce tiny pieces of RNA -- called piRNA -- that identify and silence 'jumping genes' or transposons: genes that are able to change their position within the genome and therefore alter or disrupt the genetic code.

Liver disease linked to drug metabolism, research indicates Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an increasingly common but often undiagnosed liver disease, could have significant medical implications for people with type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered.

Recruits show lower immunity levels to measles, mumps, rubella The percentage of U.S. Air Force recruits with detectable immunity to measles, mumps and rubella was lower than found in previous nationwide samples and may be low enough for outbreaks to occur.

It's Not What You Do, but How You Get Yourself to Exercise That Matters Developing any habit starts with a routine. The trick is making exercise a habit that is hard to break. A new study shows that may be easier to accomplish by focusing on cues that make going to the gym automatic.

Over hydration potentially deadly for athletes While the risks of dehydration are well known, new international guidelines seek to protect athletes from the serious health risks associated with drinking too many fluids while exercising -- potentially including death.

Cardiovascular Research: PTSD, traumatic experiences may raise heart attack,♦ Review indicates where cardio benefits of exercise may lie ♦ Minor heart feature may mean trouble at high altitude

Minor heart feature may mean trouble at high altitude A common heart feature long thought to have negligible effects on human health and performance may be problematic at high altitude. That's a key finding from a study that looked at the effects of a condition known as patent foramen ovale in a high-altitude Bolivian setting.

PTSD, traumatic experiences may raise heart attack, stroke risk in women Women with severe PTSD or traumatic events may have a 60 percent higher lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease. The study is the first to examine trauma exposure, PTSD, and onset of cardiovascular disease exclusively in women. Researchers suggest physicians ask women about traumatic events and PTSD symptoms and then monitor them for cardiovascular issues.

Review indicates where cardio benefits of exercise may lie A systematic review of 160 clinical trials of the cardiometabolic benefits of exercise shows which health indicators improve most with physical activity and for whom. For example, some of the benefits are greater for men, people under 50 and among those battling type 2 diabetes or other cardiovascular conditions.

Genes may not be to blame for link between migraine, heart disease Genes may not be to blame for the increased risk of heart disease some studies have shown in people with migraine, especially those with migraine with aura, new research shows. Aura are sensations that come before the headache, often visual disturbances such as flashing lights.

Health Research: Gel that can make drugs last longer ♦ New antibody weapons against Marburg virus ♦ 'Drink when thirsty' to avoid fatal drops in blood sodium levels during exercise

Gel that can make drugs last longer A drug-delivering hydrogel has been developed to treat chronic diseases such as hepatitis C, a liver disease that kills around 500,000 people worldwide every year

New antibody weapons against Marburg virus New immune molecules that protect against deadly Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola virus, have been identified by researchers. The research provides ingredients needed to develop treatments for future Marburg outbreaks, they say.

'Drink when thirsty' to avoid fatal drops in blood sodium levels during exercise For hikers, football players, endurance athletes, and a growing range of elite and recreational exercisers, the best approach to preventing potentially serious reductions in blood sodium level is to drink when thirsty, according to an updated consensus statement on exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH).

Pioneering study may explain origin of several digestive diseases The tridimensional characterization of the calcium phosphate formed in the stomach is shown for the first time in a new study, revealing its internal structure, morphology and real functionality. This study has succeeded in taking one more step towards discovering the origin of certain diseases, although there is still a lot of work ahead before we can combat these diseases that would appear to be associated with a calcium deficiency.

Food Research: Muscadine grape seed oil may help reduce obesit ♦ Sugary drinks linked to high death tolls ♦ 'Fitness' foods may cause consumers to eat more, exercise less

Dietary guidelines for Americans shouldn't place limits on total fat intake Researchers call on the American federal government to drop restrictions on total fat consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

'Fitness' foods may cause consumers to eat more, exercise less Weight-conscious consumers are often drawn to foods such as Clif Bars and Wheaties, whose packaging suggests that they promote fitness. But according to a new study, such "fitness branding" encourages consumers to eat more of those foods and to exercise less, potentially undermining their efforts to lose or control their weight.

Getting children to embrace healthy food If the packaging has an appealing design, primary school children also reach for healthy foods, a study shows. The method developed in the study can be used, the researchers say, to investigate how the appeal of school milk or whole-grain sandwiches can be increased.

Muscadine grape seed oil may help reduce obesity Most of the seeds and skin from grapes used for wine production winds up in waste streams. But scientists have found that the oil extracted from Muscadine grape seeds produces a form of Vitamin E, which can help reduce fat.

Sugary drinks linked to high death tolls worldwide Consumption of sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide, according to research. In the first detailed global report on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages, researchers estimated deaths and disabilities from diabetes, heart disease, and cancers in 2010. In this analysis, sugar sweetened beverages were defined as any sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, sweetened iced teas, or homemade sugary drinks such as frescas, that contained at least 50 kcal per 8oz serving. 100 percent fruit juice was excluded.

Senior Health Why are 95% of people who live to 110 women? ♦ :Light-intensity exercise could prove beneficial to older adults, ♦ Partial sleep deprivation linked to biological aging in older adults

Why are 95% of people who live to 110 women? You're as old as your stem cells Human super centenarians share at least one thing in common--over 95 percent are women. Scientists have long observed differences between the sexes when it comes to aging, but there is no clear explanation for why females live longer. In a discussion of what we know about stem cell behavior and sex, researchers argue that it's time to look at differences in regenerative decline between men and women..

As baby boomers age, do their decisions get better or worse? As an economic and political force, researchers say that older adults hold a tremendous amount of social power in the United States. A new study is examining what factors contribute to older adults’ decisions.

Light-intensity exercise could prove beneficial to older adults, An easy walk, slow dancing, leisurely sports such as table tennis, household chores and other light-intensity exercise may be nearly as effective as moderate or vigorous exercise for older adults -- if they get enough of that type of activity.

Partial sleep deprivation linked to biological aging in older adults One night of partial sleep deprivation promotes biological aging in older adults, a new study suggests. One night of partial sleep deprivation activates gene expression patterns in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) consistent with increasing accumulation of damage that initiates cell cycle arrest.