Conquering the chilly workouts of winter
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The short days, the weak sun, and the warm beds of winter can wreak havoc on your fitness routine. As the outside temperature plummets, so too can the will to brave the elements for outdoor exercise. Experts say as long as you layer up, drink up and tune into how cold is just too cold it shouldn't impact your fitness.
Vitamin D doesn't ease lung disease symptoms: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study of people with moderate or severe lung disease, taking large amounts of vitamin D was not linked to any symptom relief, researchers from Belgium report. Prior research suggested that up to three quarters of people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, are deficient in the vitamin. So it was thought that giving them extra vitamin D might help prevent exacerbations in symptoms or trips to the hospital because of shortness of breath or mucus in the airways -- but that turned out not to be the case.
"Fitness-Buffet" serves up a smorgasbord of sports
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Turned off by the treadmill and bored by the bike, but know you need to get in shape? A start-up firm may have the answer: an array of coupons for fitness and sports programs, at bargain prices, to tempt aspiring athletes into trying a little of everything to see what really works for them.
Smaller servings mean more balanced meals for kids: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Feeding preschoolers smaller portions of the main dish at lunchtime means they'll eat more fruit and vegetables on the side and fewer total calories, according to a new study. Researchers said the finding may give parents one extra strategy to encourage youngsters to eat more greens, as childhood obesity rates continue rising and research suggests that kids lag well behind guidelines for fruit and veggie consumption.
New app adds incentives to go to the gym
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If a bulging waistline isn't enough of a motivator to go to the gym, a new iPhone app adds a financial incentive to provide that extra nudge. The app called GymPact charges users a fee for every gym commitment they skip. The fee can range from $5 to $50 dollars.
China cancer village tests law against pollution
XIAOXIN, China (Reuters) - Nothing in Wu Wenyong's rural childhood hinted he would end up on a hospital bed aged 15, battling two kinds of cancer. Born to poor farmers in Xiaoxin, a dusty village of low brick houses in southwestern Yunnan province, he paddled in the Nanpan River as a child and later helped his parents tend rice.
Science's "most beautiful theories"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - From Darwinian evolution to the idea that personality is largely shaped by chance, the favorite theories of the world's most eminent thinkers are as eclectic as science itself. Every January, John Brockman, the impresario and literary agent who presides over the online salon Edge.org, asks his circle of scientists, digerati and humanities scholars to tackle one question.
Magnesium-rich diet may lower stroke risk: study
(Reuters) - People who eat lots of magnesium-rich foods such as leafy green vegetables, nuts and beans have fewer strokes, according to an international analysis covering some 250,000 people. But the authors of the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, stopped short of recommending people take a daily magnesium supplement because their analysis focused on magnesium in food -- and it may be another aspect of the food that is responsible for their finding.
Fewer kids being hospitalized for near-drowning
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Half as many kids are sent to the hospital after almost drowning than were two decades ago, according to a new study that suggests public health education campaigns about drowning risks may be working. Researchers found that hospitalization rates dropped in both boys and girls, and in all age groups, from babies through teenagers.
PepsiCo says finds trace fungicide in orange juice
CHICAGO (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc said company tests of its Tropicana orange juice showed low levels of a potentially dangerous fungicide, but levels were below federal safety concerns and did not pose a health risk. The company said in a statement on Saturday it was conducting additional tests after the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily halt orange juice imports and remove any juice found to have dangerous amounts of the fungicide carbendazim.
