ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• Neighborhoods with healthy food options less likely to have overweight kids
• Early predictor for preeclampsia found by researchers
• Health most common major stressful event in Americans' lives last year, poll finds
• Harmful hookahs: Many young smokers aren't aware of danger
• No rest for the bleary: Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all
• Same genes drive mathematics and reading ability
• Drowning remains a top cause of death for children with autism
• Better visualizing of fitness-app data helps discover trends, reach goals
• Fungus in yogurt outbreak poses threat to consumers
• Olfactory receptors in the skin: Sandalwood scent facilitates wound healing, skin regeneration
• Working memory is key to early academic achievement
• Contradictory findings about effect of full moon on sleep
• Healthy lifestyle adds years to life
• Sibling composition impacts childhood obesity risk
• Slim down for the health of it and possibly reduce your hot flashes in the process
• The tortoise and the hare: A sex difference in marathon pacing

Neighborhoods with healthy food options less likely to have overweight kids Posted: 08 Jul 2014 03:56 PM PDT Children with a greater number of healthy food outlets near their homes had a reduced likelihood of being overweight or obese, finds a study. Children who had access to at least one healthy food outlet within 800 meters (about half a mile) of their home had a 38 percent decreased risk of being overweight or obese compared to those who did not. Each additional outlet for healthy foods within that distance was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk of being overweight or obese.

Early predictor for preeclampsia found by researchers Posted: 08 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT A biomarker has been discovered that could give expecting mothers and their doctors the first simple blood test to reliably predict that a pregnant woman may develop preeclampsia, at least as early as six weeks into the pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a cardiovascular disorder generally occurring late in pregnancy and often resulting in an early delivery, creating immediate and potentially lifelong risks to both mother and baby.

Health most common major stressful event in Americans' lives last year, poll finds Posted: 08 Jul 2014 11:09 AM PDT A new poll released today that examines the role of stress in Americans' lives finds that about half of the public (49 percent) reported that they had a major stressful event or experience in the past year. Nearly half (43 percent) reported that the most stressful experiences related to health.

Harmful hookahs: Many young smokers aren't aware of danger Posted: 08 Jul 2014 10:18 AM PDT Despite warnings that hookah smoking can be just as dangerous as cigarettes, many young adults believe that using the water pipes is not harmful to their health, according to a study. "With hookah smoking on the rise, particularly among young adults, our goal was to identify factors influencing perceptions, attitudes and preferences toward hookah smoking," said the lead researcher.

No rest for the bleary: Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:17 AM PDT Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all, researchers explain in a first of its kind study. In the study, the investigators establish a causal link between interrupted sleep patterns and compromised cognitive abilities, shortened attention spans, and negative moods. The researchers discovered that interrupted sleep is equivalent to no more than four consecutive hours of sleep.

Same genes drive mathematics and reading ability Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:17 AM PDT About half of the genes that influence how well a child can read also play a role in their mathematics ability, say scientists who led a study into the genetic basis of cognitive traits. While mathematics and reading ability are known to run in families, the complex system of genes affecting these traits is largely unknown. The finding deepens scientists' understanding of how nature and nurture interact, highlighting the important role that a child's learning environment may have on the development of reading and mathematics skills, and the complex, shared genetic basis of these cognitive traits.

Drowning remains a top cause of death for children with autism Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:15 AM PDT Many families beat the summer heat with trips to swimming pools, beaches, and water parks; but water safety concerns are particularly heightened for families of children with autism. In fact, drowning remains a leading cause of death in children with autism because they often become overstimulated with crowds and escape to unsafe environments.

Better visualizing of fitness-app data helps discover trends, reach goals Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:15 AM PDT Researchers have developed visual tools to help self-trackers understand their daily activity patterns over a longer period and in more detail. They found people had an easier time meeting personal fitness and activity goals when they could see their data presented in a broader, more visual way.

Fungus in yogurt outbreak poses threat to consumers Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:29 AM PDT The fungus responsible for an outbreak of contaminated Greek yogurt last year is not harmless after all but a strain with the ability to cause disease, according to research. "When people think about food-borne pathogens, normally they list bacteria, viruses, and maybe parasites. Fungal pathogens are not considered as food-borne pathogens. However, this incidence indicates that we need to pay more attention to fungi. Fungal pathogens can threaten our health systems as food-borne pathogens" says the lead author.

Olfactory receptors in the skin: Sandalwood scent facilitates wound healing, skin regeneration Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:25 AM PDT Skin cells possess an olfactory receptor for sandalwood scent, researchers have discovered. This data indicate that the cell proliferation increases and wound healing improves if those receptors are activated. This mechanism constitutes a possible starting point for new drugs and cosmetics.

Working memory is key to early academic achievement Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Working memory in children is linked strongly to reading and academic achievement, a new study has shown. Moreover, this finding holds true regardless of socio-economic status. This suggests that children with learning difficulties might benefit from teaching methods that prevent working memory overload.

Contradictory findings about effect of full moon on sleep Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT According to folklore, the full moon affects human sleep. International researchers are trying to determine whether there is any truth to the belief. Studies have found that people actually sleep 20 minutes less when the moon is full, take five minutes longer to fall asleep and experience 30 minutes more of REM sleep, during which most dreaming is believed to occur.

Healthy lifestyle adds years to life Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Live longer thanks to fruit, an active lifestyle, limited alcohol and no cigarettes. This is the conclusion of a study by public health physicians who documented for the first time the impact of behavioral factors on life expectancy in numbers. The results are intended to be integrated into prevention and health counseling in primary care.

Sibling composition impacts childhood obesity risk Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Having obese brothers and sisters is a more revealing indicator of child obesity than having obese parents, according to a new study. Older children in a two-child household with an obese parent are 2.3 times more likely to be obese, but that number jumps to 5.4 times for those with overweight younger siblings. If the child is the younger sibling in a two-child household, parental obesity is not relevant to risk, but having an obese older sibling is associated with a 5.6-fold higher risk.

Slim down for the health of it and possibly reduce your hot flashes in the process Posted: 07 Jul 2014 01:17 PM PDT Now women have yet one more incentive to lose weight as a new study has shown evidence that behavioral weight loss can help manage menopausal hot flashes. For purposes of the pilot clinical trial, hot flashes were assessed before and after intervention via physiologic monitoring, diary and questionnaire. The study confirmed a significant correlation between weight loss and hot flashes. Furthermore, the degree of weight loss correlated with the degree of reduction in hot flashes.

The tortoise and the hare: A sex difference in marathon pacing Posted: 07 Jul 2014 01:17 PM PDT Men are more likely than women to slow their pace in the marathon, according to a new study. The researchers also showed that the sex difference in pacing held across age groups. It also held when adjusting women's performances by 12 percent to address men's greater maximal oxygen uptake and their typically faster performances.

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