Girls and parks a perfect mix for physical activity
Girls will get moving if they've got someplace to go.
University of North Carolina researchers found that adolescent girls who lived close to a public park were much more physically active than other girls. And the closer they lived, the more active they were.
The study team tracked 1,556 girls in the sixth grade in six cities and counted the average number of public parks within a half-mile of their homes. The girls were fitted with accelerometers - devices that measure physical activity - and were monitored for six days.
The study sites include Minneapolis (2.2 parks within a half-mile radius of participants); Baltimore and Washington, D.C. (1.8 parks); San Diego (1.2 parks); New Orleans (0.9 parks); Columbia, S.C. (0.7 parks); and Tucson, Ariz. (0.34 parks).
The study, in the November 2006 Pediatrics, found physical activity was highest among girls who lived less than a half-mile from a park.
Undiagnosed diabetes dangerous on holidays
The holidays could be deadly for people who are unaware that they have diabetes.
University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center experts say 20 million Americans have diabetes, and 6 million of them don't know it.
The symptoms of diabetes, a metabolic disorder linked with obesity, build up over time and lead to heart disease or other illnesses. Symptoms include excessive thirst or hunger, dramatic weight loss, fatigue, frequent urination or blurry vision.
Diabetes has several basic forms and stages:
Pre-diabetes: higher-than-normal blood sugar levels but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis.
Type 1: The immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, requiring insulin to survive.
Type 2: The body can't efficiently use its own insulin, so glucose builds up in the blood.
Specialists make these recommendations for holiday eating and exercise:
• Set consistent meal times. Avoid fast food.
• At parties, cut food portions in half or don't eat large portions of food, even healthy food.
• Use low-calorie ingredients when making treats.
• Exercise regularly.
• If you are an appropriate weight for your age, maintain your weight.
Testing begins on cervical cancer vaccine
The nation's first cervical cancer vaccine is being studied to see if it might prove effective for boys and men, too.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccine that protects against human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, for girls and woman ages 11 to 26. Now researchers are determining whether it would be useful for males and women over 26.
About 80 percent of women will be infected by HPV by the age of 50, but many won't know it, according to the Partnership to End Cervical Cancer.
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