Knowledge Update

​New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Consumption of fast foods and lack of physical activity are making the youngsters more vulnerable to high blood pressure today, says a doctor who took part in the World Hypertension Day activities in the city.

Yashoda Super Specilaity Hospital Ghaziabad initiated the "BP check programme" throughout the National Capital Region on Tuesday. The progaramme saw the participation of over 3,000 people.

"What we found through this checkup was that youngsters are particularly vulnerable to high blood pressure,” Rajat Arora, senior cardiologist at Yashoda Hospital, said.

Experts have warned that hypertension is on the verge of becoming an "epidemic" and a third of India's population is likely to suffer from the disorder by 2020.

"The rise in high BP among youngsters is because of sedentary lifestyle and consumption of sodium-rich fast foods,” Arora said.

"There is a strong evidence that links our current high salt intake to high blood pressure," Arora noted.

The solution is simple -- reduce your intake and watch the numbers go down. The greatest contributor to cardiovascular diseases is hypertension, which the medical profession believes is a result of a high sodium diet.

In some people, sodium increases blood pressure because it results in excess fluid in the body, creating an added burden on the heart, Arora explained.

Most people participating in the programme requested the hospital staff to make the BP check programme a regular feature.​

​New York, May 18 (IANS) Are you over 50 and remain wearily busy? If yes, take heart. A new study says older adults with a busy daily lifestyle tend to have better mental functioning than their less busy peers.

The findings showed that at any age, and regardless of education, a busier lifestyle can lead to superior processing speed of the brain, working memory, reasoning, and vocabulary. 

"We show that people who report greater levels of daily 'busyness' tend to have better cognition, especially with regard to memory for recently learned information," said lead author Sara Festini, postdoctoral researcher at University of Texas in the US.

Also, the busiest an individual is, the better can be his/her episodic memory -- the ability to remember specific events in the past.

Busy people are likely to have more opportunities to learn as they are exposed to more information and encounter a wider range of situations in daily life. 

However, it is also possible that people with better mental functioning seek out a busier lifestyle, or that busyness and cognition reinforce each other, resulting in reciprocal strengthening, the researchers said. 

For the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, the team surveyed 330 healthy women and men between 50 and 89.

The participants took part in a long series of neuropsychological tests to measure their cognitive performance.

"Living a busy lifestyle appears beneficial for mental function, although additional experimental work is needed to determine if manipulations of busyness have the same effect," Festini noted.​

​New York, May 18 (IANS) Love to binge on potatoes and French fries? If yes, you may be at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, warns a new study.

Potatoes are one of the world's most commonly consumed foods -- and are a high source of potassium.

The findings showed that participants who consumed four or more than four servings a week of boiled, baked or mashed potatoes, are at an 11 percent increased risk of hypertension. 

Also, a higher consumption of French fries was associated with a 17 percent increased risk of hypertension in both women and men. 

However, consumption of potato chips (crisps) was associated with no increased risk.

In addition, potatoes have a high glycaemic index compared with other vegetables, thus it can also trigger a sharp rise in blood sugar levels.

"In the study, participants who did not have high blood pressure at baseline, and consumed four or more servings a week of potatoes (boiled, baked or mashed) later had a higher risk of developing hypertension compared to those who consumed one or less than one serving a month," said lead author Lea Borgi, physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US. 

Replacing one serving a day of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes with one serving of a non-starchy vegetable can lower the risk of developing hypertension, the researchers suggested.

For the study, published online in the British Medical Journal, the team followed over 187,000 men and women from three large US studies for more than 20 years. 

Dietary intake, including frequency of potato consumption, was assessed using a questionnaire.

The results "have potentially important public health ramifications, as they do not support a potential benefit from the inclusion of potatoes as vegetables in government food programs but instead support a harmful effect that is consistent with adverse effects of high carbohydrate intakes seen in controlled feeding studies," the researchers concluded.

​New York, May 18 (IANS) Intake of sesame rich food has many health benefits and the antioxidant boosting properties, especially sesame oil, can have a significant effect on oxidative stress, a new study has found.

After multiple clinical trials, researchers reported increased levels of antioxidants and a reduction in oxidative stress with sesame consumption, particularly for individuals with hypertension and with Type 2 diabetes.

Luciana de Almeida Vittori Gouveia and co-authors from Rio de Janeiro State University and Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Brazil, assessed the effects of consuming sesame-based ingredients on markers of oxidative stress in people with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. 

The study was published in Journal of Medicinal Food.

"In addition to the clinical trial results reviewed in this article, preclinical studies have also shown that sesame oil is very effective in preventing atherosclerosis," said Sampath Parthasarathy from University of Central Florida.

The article effects of the intake of sesame seeds (Sesamm indicum L.) and derivatives on oxidative stress: A Systematic Review includes further discussion of the potential positive effects of sesame on different populations.​

​New York, May 17 (IANS) If you are trying to lose weight, better concentrate on not missing your exercise schedule rather than skipping your meal, suggests new research.

Researchers have found that exercise plays a significant role in the fight against obesity by promoting metabolic function and healthy shifts in gut microbes, the microscopic organisms in our intestines that break down food and can contribute to decreased obesity.

"These findings confirm that exercise is an important component of overall health and is critically important in the fight against obesity, especially during the juvenile period," said Victoria Vieira-Potter from the University of Missouri in the US.

The findings were published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

"The purpose of study was to look at exercise independently from weight loss and to determine other metabolic benefits associated with physical activity,” Vieira-Potter said.

“We aimed to tease out what effects on adipose, or fat tissue, were due to weight loss from diet, and what could be attributed to exercise," she added.

The team divided young rats prone to obesity into three groups to study the impact of exercise on their metabolic function and fat tissue. All of them were fed a high-fat diet. 

Two of the groups were sedentary while the third group was able to exercise using running wheels.

The findings showed that the exercising rats were metabolically healthier than the sedentary groups and they developed different gut microbes than the other groups, despite eating the exact same amount of food. 

"Overall, the exercising rats had higher metabolic rates, were more active even when not running on their wheels and experienced shifts in their gut microbes, perhaps putting them in a better position to avoid future weight gain compared to the other groups," Vieira-Potter pointed out. ​

New York, May 16 (IANS) Are you keen on shedding those extra kilos, but are unable to maintain consistency? Take heart, as according to a new study, participating in a weight-loss programme for long-term can help manage your body weight.

Losing weight is difficult and at the same time maintaining the new healthy weight, which is associated with lower blood pressure, blood sugar, improved sleep, over years is even harder. 

The results demonstrate that long-term participation in weight-loss programme could be effective in sustaining weight loss and ward off obesity.

"Maintaining long-term weight loss is a critical challenge in treating obesity and other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease," said lead author Nia Mitchell from University of Colorado in the US.

The team followed over 65,000 overweight or obese people who joined a national programme called 'Take Off Pounds Sensibly' (TOPS), from 2005 to 2010. 

The findings revealed that half of the participants showed significant weight loss in the first year. 

Out of those who participated in the second year, 80 percent kept off the weight.

During years three to seven, nearly 90 percent of participants who continued the programme maintained their weight loss steadily.

Consistent participation in the weight loss programme for one year helped the participants to sustain their new healthy weight, the researchers noted.

"Just losing the weight isn't enough. Since the health benefits of weight loss disappear when weight creeps back on, we need more research into effective strategies for maintaining a healthier weight once it is reached," Mitchell added.

The findings were presented at the recently held Society of General Internal Medicine 2016 Annual Meeting in Florida.​

New York, May 17 (IANS) Regular exercise at any age could keep the mind young and help you stave off Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

People with dementia may experience memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.

In this study, the researchers discovered a positive correlation between fitness and blood flow to areas of the brain where the hallmark tangles and plaques of Alzheimer's disease pathology are usually first detected.

"This is an important first step towards demonstrating that being physically active improves blood flow to the brain and confers some protection from dementia," said lead researcher Nathan Johnson from the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences in the US.

Conversely, the findings suggest that people who live sedentary lifestyles, especially those who are genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's, might be more susceptible.

The findings were published in the journal NeuroImage.

For the study, thirty men and women aged 59-69 were put through treadmill fitness assessments and ultrasounds of the heart. Then they received brain scans to look for blood flow to certain areas of the brain.

"We set out to characterise the relationship between heart function, fitness, and cerebral blood flow, which no other study had explored to date," Johnson said.

"In other words, if you're in good physical shape, does that improve blood flow to critical areas of the brain? And does that improved blood flow provide some form of protection from dementia?," Johnson noted.

The results showed blood flow to critical areas of the brain - and so the supply of oxygen and vital nutrients - was higher in those who were more physically fit.

This study demonstrates that regular exercise at any age could keep the mind young, Johnson said.

Since people who exercise frequently often have reduced arterial stiffness, the researchers believe that regular physical activity -- regardless of age -- maintains the integrity of the "pipes" that carry blood to the brain.​

​New York, May 15 (IANS) The proximity to snacks at workplace can increase your consumption behaviour, says a new study that focuses on how companies can promote healthy choices and still provide indulgent goodies.

Many companies provide free snacks and beverages to incentivise productivity and boost morale of its employees. However, unhealthy snacking may cause an office obesity epidemic.

The findings showed the proximity of snacks to free beverages increased the consumption rate.

The closer the snacks were placed to the drinks, the more people tended to eat, even a difference of a few feet mattered.

"It was a bit surprising that an extra few feet of distance between snacks and beverages yielded such a significant change in snacking frequency," said lead researcher Ernest Baskin, consumer behaviour expert and professor at Saint Joseph's University in the US.

Also, the snacking behaviour was found more in men as opposed to women.

"Factors that influence consumer behaviour without our full realisation, like convenience or relative proximity, are especially important to study to help educate individuals about healthy decision-making," Baskin noted.

The study, published in the journal Appetite, worked on how to provide the right kind of culinary indulgence that make an office so attractive to employees without.

Potential interventions for reducing snacking in the workplace include moving healthier snack options closer, or making unhealthy snacks more difficult to access (placing them in a pantry or in a free vending machine), the researchers suggested.​

​London, May 14 (IANS) People with depression are significantly less likely to recover well after treatment for colorectal cancer compared to those without depression, new research has found.

The new study showed that one in five colorectal cancer patients are depressed at the time of diagnosis. 

These people are seven times more likely to have 'very poor health', which could include things like severe difficulty with walking around or being confined to bed, two years after treatment has ended compared to those without depression. 

They are also 13 times more likely to have 'very poor quality of life', which could include problems with thinking and memory or sexual functioning.

"Our study has highlighted the importance of taking into account psychological factors when thinking about how best to support patients recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer,” said Claire Foster, professor at University of Southampton in Britain.

“We have shown that self-reported depression before cancer treatment starts predicts quality of life and health status during treatment and up to two years later,” Foster noted.

The findings based on an analysis of lives of more than a thousand colorectal cancer patients were published in the journal PLOS ONE.

"This research tells us that having depression has an enormous impact on how people live after their cancer treatment,” Jane Maher, joint chief medical officer of Macmillan Cancer Support, a Britain-based charity organisation, said.

“In fact, it affects their recovery more than whether or not they've been diagnosed early. We know that depression and anxiety often go hand in hand with cancer but now we can see the extent to which people are struggling to live with these illnesses,” Maher noted.​

​London, May 13 (IANS) British researchers have designed a smartphone app that can help people manage their problems -- anxiety and depression -- based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

The 'Catch It' app uses psychological approaches to mental health and well-being through CBT -- a therapy that can help individuals manage problems by changing the way one thinks and behaves. 

'Catch It' helps the user identify thoughts and thinking styles associated with a shift in mood or a particular emotion and takes the users through a process referred to as "Catch it, Check it, Change it".

The app helps users better understand their moods through use of an ongoing diary.

"Our research examined the uptake and usage rates of this application along with the faithfulness of user responses to CBT principles and their impact on reported negative and positive moods," said Peter Kinderman, professor at University of Liverpool in Britain.

The findings of the initial trial, published in the British Journal of Psych Open, showed that there were statistically significant reductions in negative mood intensity and increases in positive mood intensity among participants.

"This type of therapy cannot remove problems, but it can help people deal with them in a more positive way. It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle," Kinderman added.

"Smartphone apps have potential beneficial effects in mental health through the application of basic CBT principles. More research with randomised controlled trial designs should be conducted," Kinderman suggested.​