Health Buzz: High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Often Untreated
Most Americans Aren't Controlling Their High Blood Pressure or Cholesterol
Americans whose blood pressure or cholesterol is too high aren't doing enough to get it down. Of about 71 million adults with high cholesterol levels, only about a third of them have it under control, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday, and fewer than half are being treated at all. And of approximately 68 million adults with high blood pressure, about 30 percent aren't being treated with blood-pressure drugs and under half have their condition under control. Analyzing data from the 11,000-person National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers found that control among Mexican-Americans and those with a low income or no health insurance was especially poor, the Associated Press reports. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are two major risk factors for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases, which kill about 800,000 people each year. "Heart disease is the leading killer in America, and high blood pressure and high cholesterol are out of control for most Americans who have these conditions," CDC director Thomas Frieden said in a news conference. "Although there has been progress in the past decade, it hasn't been nearly enough."
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4 Things Women Should Be Doing in Their Fitness Training--But Aren't
If your workouts consist of doing light weights and steady-state cardio, you might be in for some bad news: These things alone won't likely get you the results you're after, say experts. To increase your fitness level, burn fat, and improve muscle tone, you've got to step up your game, fitness blogger Chelsea Bush writes for U.S. News.
Here are four things women tend to skip that can deliver serious results.
1. High-intensity training. All that time coasting on the elliptical at a comfortable pace probably hasn't done much for your body, says Panama-based trainer Belinda Benn, creator of the Breakthrough Physique home fitness system. In fact, the biggest mistake women make in their training is not exercising with enough intensity, she says.
High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is typically a 10- to 20-minute workout that alternates short, intense bursts of activity with moderate-exertion recovery periods. "High-intensity interval training is the best way to improve your overall fitness, burn fat, and stimulate your hormones for a stronger body," says Benn.
How to tell if you're training hard enough? Look to your body for clues, Benn says. Good indicators are sweating, increased heart rate, and lactic acid production (i.e., feeling the "burn") during exercise. Moderate muscle soreness for up to a few days post-workout is also a good sign. "If you feel nothing," Benn says, "you probably didn't work out hard enough." [Read more: 4 Things Women Should Be Doing in Their Fitness Training--But Aren't.]
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Optimism Protects Teens From Depression, Health Risks
Parents are always telling kids they need to be optimistic, but there hasn't been much evidence that optimism really does them any good. Looking on the bright side may even hurt teenagers, say some experts, because it can make them downplay the risks posed by smoking and drug abuse. That's in stark contrast to older adults, who are generally healthier and happier the more optimistic they are, writes U.S. News contributor Nancy Shute.
But researchers in Australia say that optimism may help protect teenagers against depression. That news, reported in the journal Pediatrics, could matter to many teens, since 10 to 15 percent of adolescents have symptoms of depression at any given time. Depression is a huge risk factor for suicide and increases the risk of substance abuse, trouble in school and relationships, and physical illness.
The researchers followed 5,634 Australian 12- and 13-year-olds for 18 months, asking them about their psychological state, substance abuse, and antisocial behavior. The more optimistic the students were, the less likely they were to become depressed. But there was just a modest effect on other common teen problems. For instance, optimistic teenagers were only slightly less likely to be involved in criminal activity or heavy substance abuse. [Read more: Optimism Protects Teens From Depression, Health Risks.]
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