Problems With Teen Obesity
Obesity carries with it a multitude of health risks, but now an intensive study has shown that obese adults who were obese as teens have a much greater risk of developing adverse health conditions, including abnormal kidney function, asthma and difficulty walking. Results of the study, conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh, were published in the journal Pediatrics. The study involved 1,502 severely obese adults, who were between the ages of 19 and 76.
Caffeine Disrupts Sleep Later
Drinking coffee might be a nice way to round off the evening meal or perk you up in the late afternoon, but it may well disrupt your sleep hours later when you retire for the night, according to a new study. Writing in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the researchers say this is the first study to look at the effects of a given dose of caffeine taken at different times before a night’s sleep. Caffeine six hours before bed reduced sleep by at least one hour.
Healthy findings
Link Between Congenital Heart Defects and Environmental Toxins
Children’s congenital heart defects may be associated with their mothers’ exposure to specific mixtures of environmental toxins during pregnancy, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013. “Although still in the early stage, research suggests some chemical emissions—particularly, industrial air emissions—may be linked to heart abnormalities that develop while the heart is forming in the womb,” said lead researcher Deliwe P Ngwezi, MD, a PhD student and research fellow in pediatric cardiology at the University of Alberta in Canada. The study is based on congenital heart defects diagnosed in 2004-11 and chemical emissions recorded by a Canadian agency tracking pollutants.