The Week: Most Recent health

The future of Big Tobacco: Tobacco-free products?

The Week — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:40:00 -0400

Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and Marlboro, will soon unveil its first tobacco-free nicotine product: A chewable, mint-flavored lozenge called Verve. Unlike other smokeless products, which have become a hugely competitive niche for cigarette makers, Verve has no tobacco, which might make it easier for Altria to market. Here, a guide to why tobacco-free products might give Big Tobacco a boost:

How is the tobacco industry doing?
It's seen better days. More and more smokers are quitting, possibly because of high taxes, public-service campaigns, and graphic warning labels. But Big...

The sleep mask that helps you control your dreams

The Week — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:20:00 -0400

The first step to controlling your dreams is to realize you're actually dreaming. And that's where the Remee sleep mask, a product developed by two Brooklyn inventors, comes in. Using an array of glowing lights, the mask gently reminds a user mid-dream that he or she is asleep, theoretically making it easier for the wearer to enter a lucid dreaming state. Here, a guide to the ambitious Kickstarter project that has investors dreaming big:

What exactly is lucid dreaming?
"Lucid dreaming refers to the act of being conscious while in a dream state — you're in a dream, but you know...

How to wean America from its dangerous food addiction

The Week — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:20:00 -0400

In ancient history, eating was for survival. Food was tough to come by and we consumed what we needed. Food was a necessity. In today's America, it is an addiction.

Much of the conventional wisdom about obesity, including what your doctor has probably told you, is wrong. My fellow doctors, for the past four decades, have preached a "calories in — calories out" approach, suggesting that weight loss must be achieved by restricting calories or expending more energy. That approach is failing… miserably.

Contemporary medical research, most of which has not yet made it to mainstream understanding...

The heavy price of obesity in America: By the numbers

The Week — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:12:00 -0400

The obesity rate in America is skyrocketing, and according to new statistics from the Campaign to End Obesity, along with increased health risks and health care costs for those struggling to control their weight comes a huge economic toll on the U.S. With hospitals widening bathroom stalls for severely overweight patients, and the Federal Transit Administration testing new steering and breaks on mass transit systems because of an increase in the number of heavyset riders, the estimated national cost of accommodating obese citizens is approaching $190 billion a year. Here's a look at some unexpected...

Disturbing trend alert: The feeding-tube diet

The Week — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:14:00 -0400

Plenty of brides try to lose weight, hoping to pull off tightly fitted wedding gowns. Some go on crash diets, others combine a hard-core cleansing regimen with a brutal gym schedule. But these days some women are taking dieting to a new extreme by having a feeding tube inserted into their noses, which funnels a slow drip of liquid protein and fat (with no carbohydrates) through the esophagus into the stomach. Is this a safe and effective way to shed pounds? Here, a brief guide:

Really... a feeding-tube diet?
Yes. Patients following the K-E (ketogenic enteral nutrition) diet wear a feeding tube in...

Should hospitals ban obese employees?

The Week — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:43:00 -0400

Citizens Medical Center, a health-care facility in southeastern Texas, is refusing to hire any person who has a body mass index over 35, which means that in order to work at the hospital, a 5'5" applicant can weigh no more than 210 pounds. Officials say the measure is meant to promote healthy living, so that employees can set an example for patients. The rule is legal in Texas, and the medical center is hardly the first company to institute weight-related policies — in 2010 grocery chain Whole Foods started offering workers with low BMIs better employee discounts. Considering how hard...

Are we underestimating how fat Americans are?

The Week — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:50:00 -0400

It's no secret that America has a bit of a weight problem. The most recent statistics say 35.8 percent of Americans are overweight, while 35.7 percent are obese. But a new study published in the journal PLoS One suggests that those estimates are wrong, and that we may be severely underestimating how many of us are obese. Is the obesity epidemic actually worse than we thought? Here, a brief guide:

How did the researchers determine how fat we really are?
Doctors normally look at body mass index, or BMI, for a quick indication of whether a patient is obese. (Calculate your BMI, which is a ratio...

The green coffee bean: A miracle weight-loss drug?

The Week — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:30:00 -0400

Coffee may be the lifeblood that keeps most workplaces humming, but new evidence suggests that the drink's unroasted beans might also hold the key to cheap and effective weight loss. In a study presented to the American Chemical Society in San Diego this week, scientists said that a supplement extracted from green coffee beans helped patients drop significant poundage. Here's what you should know about the findings:

How was the research carried out?
This small preliminary study looked at 16 overweight young adults in India. Over 22 weeks, the participants were given, in turns, a low dose of an...

A good night's rest: The key to eating less?

The Week — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:25:00 -0400

If you've been trying to shed a few pounds, it might behoove you to get more shut-eye. New research presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association found that people who got less sleep consumed substantially more calories a day than those who had a good night's rest. Here, a brief guide to the study:

How did researchers conduct the study?
This small experiment, led by Dr. Andrew D. Calvin of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., took a close look at the sleeping and eating habits of 17 people between the ages of 18 and 40. The researchers put the volunteers in a Big Brother-style house...

The CDC's shocking new anti-smoking campaign: Will it work?

The Week — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0400

The video: The federal Centers for Disease Control has launched a confrontational $54 million anti-smoking advertising campaign, which horrifically illustrates the dangers of smoking to shock people into giving up cigarettes. One ad from the 12-week campaign (called "Tips From Former Smokers") features a man shaving, navigating his razor around a gaping hole in his neck, the result of a tracheotomy (see the video below). Other ads show a 31-year-old man who lost his legs due to smoking-related vascular disease or a woman who peels up her shirt to reveal a foot-long scar on her back, her souvenir...

FuelBand: Will Nike's 'futuristic' wristband make fitness cool?

The Week — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:58:00 -0400

Nike is out to reinvent personal fitness with its "futuristic" FuelBand bracelet, which turns your daily movements into a game. (See demo video below.) With a built-in tri-axis accelerometer that measures every motion in a three-dimensional space, the FuelBand is preprogrammed to not only recognize the type of activity you're doing — be it going for a run, shooting hoops, or playing tennis — but tabulates every move into what Nike calls "Fuel points," which allows you to set daily goals and compete online with friends. (For example: Ten jumping jacks earns you 10 Fuel points, while...

America's teen smoking 'epidemic': By the numbers

The Week — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:23:00 -0500

Smoking among young Americans has decreased in recent years, but still, 1,000 teens take up the habit each and every day. According to the first U.S. Surgeon General's office report on youth tobacco use since 1994, 80 percent of smokers are hooked before they're even old enough to buy a pack. "The numbers are really shocking," Surgeon General Regina Benjamin tells USA Today. "It's a problem we have to solve." Here, a look at America's teen smoking "epidemic," by the numbers:

3,800
Teens under 18 who tried their first cigarette on a typical day in 2008, the last year for which data is available...

The future of weight loss: A 'marijuana' diet pill?

The Week — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 07:15:00 -0500

If you find the prospect of staying thin while eating as much as you want appealing, scientists have news for you. New research from the University of California, Irvine — detailed in the March issue of Cell Metabolism — found that certain brain chemicals with characteristics similar to marijuana might play a key factor in helping you shed pounds without any exercise. A dream come true? Here's a brief look at the promising discovery:

What chemical could have such power?
It's an endocannabinoid compound called 2-AG. Endocannabinoids, as the name might suggest, share a similar molecular...

Does sleep get better as we age?

The Week — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:51:00 -0500

Start looking forward to a relaxing retirement: According to an extensive new study, older Americans appear to sleep better than their far-younger counterparts. Here, a guide to the counter-intuitive findings:

Old people sleep better?
So they say. Men between the ages of 18 and 24 are twice as likely as adults over 80 to report sleeping problems. Women in that young age range are 1.61 times more likely to complain of sleep trouble. When it comes to a good night's sleep, says Alexandra Sifferlin at TIME, factors like stress, depression, and illness are more important than age...

Proof that the Nintendo Wii fails to make kids fit?

The Week — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:40:00 -0500

The boxing motions and arm waving often associated with the Nintendo Wii have been a core part of the gaming company's marketing strategy ever since the console made its debut in 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that kids get an hour of exercise per day, and early research concluded that "active" video games, such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit, could help. But according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, that might have been wishful thinking. Here, a brief guide:

What's so special about "active" games?
The basic idea behind Nintendo's fitness initiative...

Qnexa: Is the new anti-obesity drug too risky?

The Week — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:15:00 -0500

In a 20 to 2 ruling, an advisory panel overwhelmingly recommended the anti-obesity drug, Qnexa, for approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has not approved a weight loss drug in the past 13 years, and has removed similar diet pills from the market over concerns about heart risks and other adverse side effects. What makes Qnexa any different? Is it an important step forward in the fight against obesity, or another "quick fix" for Americans who refuse to make healthier lifestyle choices? Here's what you should know:

What is Qnexa?
It's a prescription medication for weight loss. It...