Green Tea Health Benefits
Drinking, or better yet digestion and the body’s ability to absorb key elements of green tea, may play a vital role in aiding the brain to fending off the development of Alzheimer’s, More
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Drinking, or better yet digestion and the body’s ability to absorb key elements of green tea, may play a vital role in aiding the brain to fending off the development of Alzheimer’s, More
The needles were apparently inserted into the boy's body one at a time.#Health Read More
People hoping to boost their sex lives with the help of "mad" honey may find themselves in the emergency room instead, according to a new report.#Health Read More
Since early November, cases of H1N1 have continued to decline nationwide, and scientists keeping track of the numbers say that as pandemics go, 2009 H1N1 may turn out to be mild one at least for the time being.
The question now on health officials' minds is: Will there be a second wave of cases in the new year? The answer depends on whom you ask. "We took an informal poll of about a dozen of some of the world's leading experts in influenza," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters recently. "About half of them said, yes, we think it's likely that we'll have another surge in cases. About half said, no, we think it's not likely. And one said, flip a coin."
Toy safety regulators say one of the holiday season's hottest toy crazes Zhu Zhu Pets do not violate federal safety standards after all.
updated 5:41 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2009LONDON - Measuring body mass index or waist size in overweight people can accurately predict the risk of heart disease, Dutch scientists said on Monday.
A large 10-year study found that half of all fatal heart disease cases and a quarter of all non-fatal cases are linked to being overweight and having a high body mass index or large waist.
Body mass index and waist circumference are well known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases but the Dutch researchers said their work showed BMI and waist size could actually help predict the risk of dying from or developing heart disease.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here"What this study shows is the substantial effect which (being) overweight and obesity have on cardiovascular disease, whether fatal of non-fatal," said Ineke van Dis from the Netherlands Heart Foundation, who led the study.
"In the near future the impact of obesity on the burden of heart disease will be even greater."
Dis and colleagues at the monitoring project on risk factors for chronic diseases at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment measured between both BMI and waist circumference in 20,500 men and women 1993 and 1997.
When age-adjusted BMI and waist sizes were correlated with hospital records and cause-of-death data over 10 years, more than half (53 percent) of all fatal heart disease cases and around a quarter (25-30 percent) of all non-fatal cases were in people defined as overweight and obese.
Click for related contentOverweight people are defined as having a BMI of between 25 and 30 and obese people of 30 or more, according to the World Health Organization. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared.
Waist circumference measurements in men were defined as between 94 and 101.9 cm for overweight and more than 102 cm for obese. In women these measurements were 80-87.9 cm for overweight and more than 88 cm for obese.
Obesity is increasing throughout the world and is now recognized as a major global public health concern.
"These findings underline the need for policies and activities to prevent overweight in the general population," Dis said in the study, which was published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.
Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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updated 1:53 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2009WASHINGTON - Pushing Americans to receive swine flu vaccinations, the Obama administration on Monday released a new slate of television and radio ads to counter an illness that already has infected millions.
The public service announcements target children and their parents, young adults and those in high-risk groups, such as people with asthma. The ads in English and Spanish come as a shortage of the vaccine is easing, with another 10 million doses expected to become available this week. The messages also are a shift from earlier efforts to teach Americans how to avoid spreading the illness, known also as H1N1.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was announcing the new ads Monday.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here"Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family against the H1N1 flu virus," Sebelius said. "Fighting the flu is a shared responsibility and it is up to all of us to help prevent the spread of the flu in your community."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 22 million people have been infected with swine flu and 3,900 have died. Government tallies also include 98,000 swine flu-related hospitalizations.
The vaccine is becoming plentiful enough that some state and local governments are allowing everyone to get it, not just those in priority groups. There are 73 million doses available, roughly twice as many as there were a month ago, and another 10 million doses are expected this week, Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director, told reporters Friday.
Initially, limited supplies caused the CDC to advise state and local health officials to reserve doses for those at highest risk for severe complications from swine flu or those who take care of them.
Officials at the CDC said last week that it appears that a fall wave of swine flu infections has peaked. But flu is hard to predict, and health officials say they are worried of the possibility of a third wave this winter.
"Right now, Americans have a window of opportunity to get vaccinated," Sebelius said.
The new ad campaign features five television spots, including two targeting young Americans who are especially susceptible to the flu. Another three radio ads are available.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CLEVELAND, Ga. -- Investigators believe a missing Blairsville mom may have been abducted by the same man who attempted to kidnap a woman about 25 miles away in Ranger, N.C.
www.ajc.com%2fmultimedia%2fdynamic%2f00286%2fcornwell_286436c.jpg&superSizeImage=y">Enlarge photoCourtesy of the Cornwell family Investigators searched the woods in North Carolina for a missing Blairsville mother, Kristi Cornwell, but found no signs of her.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the link between Kristi Cornwell's abduction and the Cherokee County, N.C. woman at a news conference Monday afternoon. Investigators released a sketch of the suspect Monday and said they are searching for a silver Nissan Xterra with tinted windows and a brush guard on the front. The suspect is described as a white male in his mid 20s with dark hair.
Cornwell, 38, was reportedly abducted on Aug. 11 while walking near her parents’ Union County home and talking on the cell phone to her boyfriend.
On Aug. 2, a man attempted to kidnap a woman walking near the Ranger Community Center in Cherokee County, N.C., the GBI said. The woman was able to escape from the attack, investigators said.
"The timing and the vehicle description involved in this incident indicates a possible connection to Kristi's disappearance," the GBI said Monday.
On Sunday night, Cornwell’s family said they are praying that investigators have good news.
“Any news is helpful,” Cornwell’s brother, Richard Cornwell, told the AJC. “We’re praying for good news, but any information we can get will be helpful in the search.”
The family is scheduled to meet with the GBI Monday morning, Cornwell’s cousin, Keith Hogsed, told the AJC.
Hogsed said he is excited that his cousin’s case will get more media attention.The family appeared in local and national media for several weeks after the reported abduction. However, once the GBI called off the massive ground search – which involved more than 100 officers – the media coverage has faded.
Since then, Cornwell’s family has announced a $50,000 for a reward and built a heliport to help with the search.
On Saturday, the family auctioned off their lake-front vacation home to raise money for the search.
The three-bedroom Union County house, which has been owned by the family since 1958, garnered $355,000, Richard Cornwell said.
“That was a difficult thing to do, but something necessary,” he said.
About 10 percent of the money will go the auction company, but the rest will be used in the search. The money will go to help pay for helicopter rentals, newspaper ads and 60,000 postcards mailed to area residents.
“The costs are extraordinary,” Richard Cornwell said. “We’re doing the things we need to generate cash to keep the search moving forward.”
On Sunday, the family continued searching the Blue Ridge Mountain area via helicopter.
“We’re absolutely committed,” he said. “We’re going to see this through to a successful outcome. We still believe we will find Kristi alive and we will hunt down the suspect who did this.”
Kristi Cornwell’s parents last saw her the evening of Aug. 11 when she told them she was going out for a walk.
At the time of the abduction, she was on her cell phone, telling her boyfriend in Atlanta that a car was following her.
The next thing the boyfriend, Douglas Davis, heard was a struggle and then Cornwell was gone, he told the GBI. Davis called police.
Investigators questioned Davis and ruled him out as a suspect, the GBI said.
Cornwell, a single mom, is a former probation officer. She was taking classes at Dalton State College to become a medical technician when she went missing, her family said.
Anyone with information may contact the GBI at 1-800-597-TIPS.
