Higher Waist and Hip measures may add up to greater risk for Heart Attack among Women

Journal of the American Heart Association Report

Dallas, TX – Higher waist and hip size are more strongly associated with heart attack risk than overall obesity, especially among women, according to research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

In a study of nearly 500,000 adults (aged 40-69) from the United Kingdom, researchers found that while general obesity and obesity specifically around the abdomen each have profound harmful effects on heart attack risk in both sexes, women were more negatively impacted by higher waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio than men.

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American Heart Association reports Irregular Sleeping Pattern may affect how Teens Eat

Dallas, TX – Day-to-day changes in how long your teen sleeps at night might be affecting how much they eat, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association EPI/Lifestyle 2015 meeting.

Penn State researchers looked at data on 342 teenagers and analyzed their sleeping habits. On average, they slept about seven hours nightly. But when the amount of time teens slept varied by an hour – whether it was less sleep or more.

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American Heart Association says small weight gain can raise Blood Pressure in Healthy Adults

San Francisco, CA – Gaining just five pounds can increase your blood pressure, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2014.

Many people understand the health dangers of large amounts of extra body weight, but researchers in this study wanted to see the impact of a small weight gain of about five to 11 pounds.

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Increased fat in children raises their blood pressure risk

Dallas, TX – If your children are overweight or obese, their risk of having high blood pressure is almost three times higher than children at normal weight, according to new research in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

A study of 1,111 healthy Indiana school children over a period of 4.5 years revealed that when the children’s body mass index (BMI) reached or passed the 85th percentile — the beginning of the overweight category — the adiposity effect on blood pressure was more than four times that of normal weight children. Adiposity is fat under the skin and surrounding major organs. [Read more]

ShopSmart Cuts the Fat with Smart Food Swaps

15 Foods to Reduce Fat Intake and Help Prevent Health Problems

Yonkers, NY – Fats can be sneaky – they lurk in lots of everyday, packaged food items and can put people at risk for heart disease and other health issues. The October 2011 issue of ShopSmart magazine, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, found 15 popular packaged goods that are surprisingly high in fat and suggests low-fat swaps for each. [Read more]