In an article written by The Associated Press, readers learn that concussions in the NFL have gone down quite significantly this year. With the Superbowl just one day behind us, those hard hits and head-on collisions on the field are still fresh on our minds. The rate of concussions among NFL players fell 25 percent this season, according to the league, even as injury reporting and trips to injured reserve list rose overall. Data provided to The Associated Press by the NFL ahead of its annual pre-Super Bowl health and safety news conference Thursday shows there were 111 concussions in games during the 2014 regular season, down from 148 in 2013, and 173 in 2012, a 36 percent drop over that three-year span. When preseason games, plus preseason and regular-season practices, are included, the 202 concussions this season declined 12 percent from 2013, and 23 percent from 2012. That’s despite Read the full article →
In an article for CNN written by Jen Christensen, we learn that sitting for long periods of time does damage to our health. (CNN)One of your favorite activities may actually be killing you. Our entire modern world is constructed to keep you sitting down. When we drive, we sit. When we work at an office, we sit. When we watch TV, well, you get the picture. And yet, a new study that’s running in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that this kind of sedentary behavior increases our chances of getting a disease or a condition that will kill us prematurely, even if we exercise. Researchers from Toronto came to this conclusion after analyzing 47 studies of sedentary behavior. They adjusted their data to incorporate the amount someone exercises and found that the sitting we typically do in a day still outweighs the benefit we get from exercise. Of course, the more Read the full article →
This month, Health.com showed us the “10 Best Big Cities for People With Asthma”. Do you know anyone lucky enough to live in any of these towns? Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) ranks the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. from worst to first, based on how challenging it is for people with asthma to live there. (The areas include major cities and their surroundings.) The AAFA considers a wide range of variables, including asthma rates, air quality, pollen counts, and the number of asthma specialists in the area. The AAFA emphasizes the 10 worst cities for asthma. But in this slideshow we take a look at the 10 best big cities for asthma. Is your city on the list? Boise, Idaho #10 Population: 587,689 2008 rank: 11 The estimated asthma rate of this city is higher than the national average, but Boise received good Read the full article →
In an article written by Lexi Petronis for Glamour Magazine, “5 Surprising Things Your Eyes Can Tell You About Your Health”, she tells us a few things we probably didn’t know about what our eyes are capable of telling us. There’s the saying about how your (lovely!) eyes are the windows to your soul, right? But it turns out that those same lovely, lovely eyes may just also offer some insight (ha) as to what’s up with your entire body too. According to the experts at LensCrafters, your eyes can actually give you a peek (um, I really promise I’m not trying to pun here) into what’s going on with the rest of you. Seriously, just look (see?) at what Dr. Mark Jacquot, clinical director for LensCrafters, has to say… Stress: If you suffer from sustained emotional stress, you may be at risk for Central Serous Retinopathy—otherwise known as blisters inside the eye (blergh!). Read the full article →
In an article written by Jenna Birch for Yahoo! Health, she tells us why a 20 minute walk per day can help us live longer. You probably have at least an extra 20 minutes in your day, almost every day. If you take that time and go for a short, brisk walk, you may boost your lifespan by up to 30 percent. According to the new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, University of Cambridge researchers rounded up measurements of weight, height, waist circumference, and the self-reported physical activity levels — or, sometimes, lack thereof — of 334,000 men and women in Europe. They followed up 12 years later and discovered that a relatively moderate amount of activity seemed to reduce mortality rates. The scientists found that inactivity kills almost twice the number of people each year when compared to obesity (676,000 deaths versus 337,000 deaths, respectively). They also estimated that daily Read the full article →
