Health Headlines of the Week July 30 – August 3

Healthy Living
on August 3, 2012
breast-milk-formula-hospital-new-mom-baby-infant-new-york-city-mayor-bloomberg-health-spry
Thinkstock
https://i0.wp.com/spryliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/breast-milk-formula-hospital-new-mom-baby-infant-new-york-city-mayor-bloomberg-health-spry.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1

Take One of These …

Thinking of bypassing the doctor’s orders? Think again! This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the nation’s first “digital pill,” an ingestible sensor created by Proteus Digital Health that monitors prescription medicine ingestion times and frequencies as well as heart rate, body position and activity. The tiny sensor sends all of this info to a patch worn on the patient’s skin. From the patch, the data is sent to the physician or care provider to keep them up to speed on just what the patient has—or has not—been up to. Take THAT, Big Brother!

No Formula for You!

In yet another controversial move, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the driving force behind “Latch On NYC,” a new initiative that, frankly, forces moms to breastfeed their newborns. Twenty-seven of the city’s birthing hospitals are taking part in the movement by no longer handing out free baby formula to new moms in the hospital unless medically necessary or the mother makes the specific request. Bloomberg is quoted as saying, “Most public health officials around the country think this is a great idea.” We are just curious what most new mothers think about the idea…

If the Bed’s Not Rockin’…

If longevity and quality of life aren’t enough to motivate a man to lose weight, perhaps this is: British researchers studied 400 men with urinary problems. Three quarters of the group who were overweight also suffered from erectile dysfunction compared to only one third of the group that was not overweight. The good news? Lose just 2 1/2  inches around the waist, guys, and you can be back up and running in no time. How’s that for motivation?

Better Sight, Fewer Falls

It makes sense that clearer vision would be helpful in reducing falls in the elderly population, but just to make it official, a new study confirms just that. The findings reveal that study participants who had cataract surgery to improve their vision were less likely to fall and fracture a hip within a year of surgery compared to those who did not have cataract surgery. Perhaps a little more in-depth than just stating the obvious, the study demonstrates that cataracts make seeing contrast difficult, and the risk of falling is increased with poor depth perception and contrast sensitivity. Thus the results: Restore your vision, and it will be easier to stay on your feet.

Found in: Healthy Living