Sugary beverages like soda, energy drinks, sweetened teas, lemonades, coffees and fruit juices are known to be an unhealthy daily drink and some say they are becoming the next big tobacco, as researchers continually find their link to elevated chronic health risks. Now new study put on by researchers at the Karolinska Institute have found that not only do sweetened beverages heighten the risk for diabetes, but also artificially-sweetened beverages had similar risks in study results. In fact, higher consumption for these two types of drinks increased a higher risk for type 2 diabetes by 20%. The researchers reviewed over 2,800 Swedish adults compared to adults with diabetes cases, and all results were adjusted for various measures. The results found that possible direct adverse ...
Many countries are talking more about reducing sugary beverage consumption after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on October 11th, 2016 it's suggestion to tax all sugary drinks by 20 percent to help reduce consumption. Now talks in Australia have bubbled up around reducing sugary drink consumption, as The Green Party campaigned announced a policy to tax sugary drinks at the recent federal election, reports Foodtank. The country currently stands at a 63% rate of obese or overweight adults and a 27% rate of children that are overweight or obese. The estimated billions in money saved on health care expenditures could benefit the direct cost of overweight and obesity expenditures. A longitudinal study also showed, that over $15.8 billion dollars are spent ...
Latino kids are more likely to start smoking and develop a daily habit than other kids, according to a new study, Reuters reports. The study, led by Sherine El-Toukhy of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, examined "smoking susceptibility," which precedes smoking behavior, of almost 144,000 non-smoking youth ages 9-21 from 1999 to 2014. Overall, the amount of smoking susceptibility rose from 21% to 23% over those 15 years. But smoking susceptibility varied by race/ethnicity: For Latino kids, it rose from 22% to 28%.
For white kids, it held steady at about 21%.
For black kids, it dropped from 21% to 17% in 2003, but rose back to 20% in 2014. Latino kids overall appeared to be as much as 67% more susceptible to smoking than white kids, ...
After the World Health Organization suggested a 20% tax on sugary beverages for all countries, Portugal announced three days later a plan for a sugar tax on soft drinks for 2017, estimated to raise 80 million euros for public health services. Sugary drinks other than sodas like flavored milks or fruit juices will not be taxed, however all sodas are planned to be taxed that have a sugar content above 80 grams per litre. Back in November 2015, Portugal's center-right government tried to introduce a tax on sugar, drinks and foods that contained high amounts of sugars or too much salts but the efforts fell unnoticed. Trying again the political battles will fuel out the battle to determine the sugar tax and ultimately impact the future health of their country. Continued ...
PHIT America shares 10+ Research Projects on how physical activity improves academic performance. University of Illinois – “Physically Fit Kids Have Beefier Brains”
University of Illinois Urbana – “How Exercise Can Boost Young Brains”
Dartmouth – “12 minutes of exercise improves attention and reading comprehension”
Purdue University – “Kids working out get better grades”
Medical University of South Carolina – “P.E. actually helps academic scores”
University of Hindenburg – “More physical activity improved school performance”
Dundee University – “Moderate to vigorous exercise boosts academic performance”
Strathclyde University – “Regular exercise improves children’s academic results”
University of Western ...
Millions of people attend conferences and conventions throughout the world every year and eat whatever is on the planned list for meals. Unfortunately, a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) found that there are very few "healthy" options in regards to menu options at these large hotel and convention centers. Reviewing over 70 hotel properties in the 25 largest U.S. cities, CSPI found most options that were considered "healthy" were not based on specific nutrition criteria. In fact, some meals labeled as "healthy" included desserts or pastries, which are often high in fat, calories or sugars. Fortunately, soft drinks were often in most hotels not included in the beverages included in conference or meeting catering options. On the other hand, ...
What happens in a state where half of people are Latino, but only 5% of doctors are? It means not enough doctors with the cultural competency and understanding of the Latino community to adequately serve them—like in California right now. That is why the Latino Physicians of California professional group and others are urging increased representation of Latinos in the medical field, according to California Healthline. Complicating matters is that, in California: Latinos represent only 8% of nurses;
Latino represent only 4% of pharmacists;
More than one-third of current doctors are expected to retire within 10 years; and
Latinos make up a small percentage of graduating medical students. “If we are going to properly serve our current and future patient base, we ...
Since the recent announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO) that all countries should implement a 20 percent soda tax to help reduce worldwide health risks linked to sugary drink consumption, many countries and health advocate groups have started talking about various new sugary drink reduction policy initiatives. Now a group of Doctors, researchers, and public health advocates have joined together with the goal of eliminating sugary drinks from New Zealand by 2025. The group, FIZZ, which stands for "Fighting Sugar in Softdrinks", states on their website their justification in ending sales of sodas is due to the tide of evidence that implicates consumption of sugary drinks with common health risks like type-2 diabetes, rotten teeth gout, and cardiovascular ...
One company saw a 46% cost reduction for employees using wearable fitness tracking devices. According to a three-year study by Springbuk Inc., a healthcare analytics firm that tracks corporate wellness efforts, an actual return on investment has been calculated for an organization using wearable fitness tracking devices; employees using wearables for two years cost $1,292 less on average for a company. Additionally, the opportunity for cost savings could be the highest among less active individuals, individuals who tend to have higher rates of chronic disease and higher healthcare costs, like Latinos. Physical activity, such as walking, plays a critical role in health and wellness. Wearable fitness trackers have the potential to increase participation in physical activity, ...
