Can Risk of Early Death from Heart Disease or Cancer Be Reduced?

“One should adopt healthy lifestyle” in order to prevent from heart disease, and other medical disorders such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, and so on and so forth. Nevertheless, how many of us will really take this seriously and keep that in mind?

Based on the data provided by 80,000 women in the United States who were between 34 and 59 years old, a long-term study by the Harvard School of Public Health began in 1980. The findings, which were published on September 17, 2008 online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), indicated that women who eat right, exercise and never smoke tobacco were more than halve the risk of dying from heart disease or cancer.

During a period of 24 years, the volunteers participated in the study filled out detailed questionnaires regarding their physical activity, diet, weight, alcohol intake, and disease history. At the end of 2004, 8,882 of the women in the group had died. Record showed that 1,790 and 4,527 of these women died from heart disease and cancer respectively.

According to the calculation made by the researchers, smoking alone accounted for more than a quarter of the deaths. In fact, 55 percent of the death figure could have been avoided if these women had maintained slim, avoided fatty foods and exercised regularly, in addition to not smoking.

The study also found that a glass of wine or beer with dinner every night would offer some help in heart disease prevention. This confirmed earlier research.

Based on the results from the study, the researchers concluded that even small changes in the lifestyle could have a substantial impact on the reduction of mortality rates. Perhaps, people should start changing their lifestyle right away.

Why Obese Children Could End Up with Heart Disease or Stroke?

In the evolution of heart disease and stroke, there is a saying that “one is as old as his or her arteries”. This does mean that his or her state of arteries is more important than his or her actual age.

A recent paper, presented on November 11, 2008 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008 in New Orleans, revealed that neck arteries of obese children and teenagers experienced similar strain as those of middle-aged adults. The researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas found that the state of the arteries in these children is more typical of a 45-year-old than of someone their own age.

Data from 34 boys and 36 girls who were likely 'at-risk' because of obesity, abnormal cholesterol and/or a family history of early heart disease were analyzed. These teenagers had an average age of 13, and 89 percent of them were white.

Ultrasound was employed to measure the thickness of neck arteries (carotid arteries) that supply blood from the heart to the brain. When increased carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT, in short) occurs, there is a strong possibility that fatty buildup of plaque has taken place, which can clog the arteries and lead to a heart attack or stroke.

The analysis on the data obtained in the study indicated that the children’s ‘vascular age’ was approximately 30 years older than their actual age. A person’s vascular age refers to the age at which the level of artery thickening would be normal for his or her actual age.

In the meantime, the researchers also discovered that a higher body mass index (BMI) and higher blood pressure would have the biggest impact on CIMT.

It was suggested in the study that further research is necessary to determine whether the build-up of artery thickness would decrease if obese children undertake weight loss and exercise.

The researchers believe that something could be done to help those obese children, as the buildup in the vessels was found not hardened and calcified. If the vessel walls and blood flow in adults could be improved through medical treatment presently available, it is highly possible that health experts could come up with some solutions to help obese children even more in the prevention of heart disease and stroke.

Listen to Your Favorite Music to Prevent Heart Disease!

Listening to music could be an alternative way to help people with hypertension lowers their blood pressure. This was the findings of a study by the University of Florence in Italy reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in New Orleans in May 2008. Although high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, the study did not provide any evidence that linked directly with heart disease.

Recently, a research team at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine, who was also involved in a 2005 study that noted the cardiovascular benefits of laughter, reported that listening to favorite music could actually help maintain a healthy heart.

Their findings were announced at the 2008 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in New Orleans on November 11, 2008. The researchers claimed that they had shown for the first time the emotions aroused by music enjoyed by the listener could be beneficial to a healthy blood vessel function.

The study, which involved 10 healthy, non-smoking volunteers, had noted highly significant differences both before and after listening to joyful music as well as between joyful and anxious music.

In fact, they found that by allowing these volunteers to listen to music that gave them a sense of joy, their inner-lining tissues of blood vessels would expand, which aided blood flow to increase. Such response matched those found in the 2005 study of laughter.

In order to minimize desensitization of emotions felt by listening to their favorite music, participants were told not to listen to the pieces for a minimum of 2 weeks before the test. The reason behind this was that when they listened to the pieces they really enjoyed, they would get an extra boost of whatever emotion generated.

It was found that after listening to joyful music, the diameter of the average upper arm blood vessel was increased by 26 percent. On the other hand, the diameter was narrowed by 6 percent after listening to music that caused anxiety.

Furthermore, the study also noted that the physiological impact of music might also affect the activity of the ‘feel good’ brain chemicals known as ‘endorphins’.

It is hoped that the findings would inspire people to incorporate ‘listening to favorite music’ as a preventive strategy for heart disease prevention in their daily lives.

Prices For Healthy Foods Are Getting Higher And Higher!

Healthy lifestyle is the key for heart disease prevention. This is an undeniable fact. But when we talk about healthy lifestyle, we cannot do away with healthy diet. In other words, healthy food forms an integrated part of our healthy life.

But regretfully, the prices of fruits and vegetables are now climbing faster than inflation, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, also revealed that junk food is actually getting cheaper.

The researchers examined the prices of 372 foods and beverages at Seattle supermarket chains in 2004 and 2006 and found that low-calorie and nutrient-rich foods, mainly fruits and vegetables, were far more expensive than sweets and snack foods, based on comparison of calorie for calorie. While the price of the lowest-calorie fruits and vegetables was more than US$18.16 (S$26.33) per 1,000 calories, the most calorie-rich foods cost US$1.76 per 1,000 calories.

In fact, the average price of the lowest-calorie foods, including green vegetables, tomatoes and berries, increased by almost 20 per cent over 2 years. In the same time period, there was a 2-per cent drop in the cost of the most calorie-laden fare, such as butter, potato chips, cookies and candy bars. The 20-per cent increase in the cost of the lowest-calorie foods may very likely put those Americans who need these healthful foods the most out of reach.

This study highlighted a key obstacle to healthy eating. In addition, the fact that calorie-dense foods are the least expensive and most resistant to inflation, may also help explain why the highest rates of obesity continue to be observed among groups of limited economic means.

The researchers urged Americans to change their personal behavior and the government to make policy shifts that can help people eat more healthful foods, such as changes in the way they subsidizes the agricultural industry.

Government Starts Plan To Combat Obesity At Schools

Heart disease prevention is possible if one can adopt heart-healthy lifestyle that combines balanced and healthy diet with regular exercises. And more importantly, one should start this lifestyle when young.

Unfortunately, the majority of the youngsters nowadays are living away and away from the heathy lifestyle that they are supposed to have. Long hours of TV and computer games cause young kids to skip almost all of their physical exercises. Instead of having more fresh vegetables and fish, they choose to have french fries and fast foods like burgers. As such, overweight or obese school children can be spotted easily almost everywhere.

In order to combat the increasing threat of obesity, the British government launched on October 15, 2007 a new programme costing 100 million pounds to encourage greater participation in sports at schools. The campaign aims to increase the number of hours of physical education in schools from 2 to 5 per week.

A government-commissioned research has earlier warned that half of all Britons will be obese in 25 years if nothing is do to change the current trends. Moreover, the report also revealed that 86 percent of men will be overweight in 15 years and 70 percent of women in 20 years.

As a matter of fact, about 2.3 million pounds has already been set aside in the last decade to increase the number of hours of sport in school. Nevertheless, establishing sports facilities alone would not effectively stop the situation from becoming worse. There is no doubt that schools should show leadership but because school kids spend more time at home with their parents, what they do at home matters most. Moreover, it is also agreed that there is more to do for girls so as to encourage them to keep playing sport.

It is evident that parents at home should play their parts by setting role examples for their children, in terms of their living habits. Without their support, it is felt that the effort to stop the epidemic in obesity would greatly be compromised even with the bigger budgets from governments to help kids at schools.