New study shows the obesity rate in America increasing
It’s no secret that there’s an obesity problem in America, and while we may think that more folks are concentrating on eating healthy and exercising, the truth is things are actually getting much worse.
New data gathered in a large-scale federal survey finds that close to 40% of U.S. adults were considered obese between 2015 and 2016 which is up from 33.7% between 2007 and 2008. What’s more, 7.7% of adults were considered severely obese during that same time period, which is up from 5.7%.
The survey considered obese people as anyone with a BMI of 30 or more, while someone with a BMI of 40 or more fell into the severely obese range. And of course an increase in obesity brings an increase in heath risks, like heart disease, diabetes and cancers.
On a positive note, young people seem to be doing a bit better than their older counterparts. The study found that 18.5% of those ages two to 19 were considered obese between 2015 and 2016, while 5.6% fell into the severely obese category. That is only a slight increase from ten years earlier. Although there is reason to worry about kids ages two to five, where obesity rates rose to 13.9% from 10.1% in 2007 and 2008.
As for why there’s such an increase, the research didn’t say, but experts suggests it’s likely due to lifestyle, genetics, and, of course, poor diet. You're kidding.
Source: Miami Herald
Scientists say they're able to slow aging in mice through increased muscular blood flow.
Have scientists found the fountain of youth? No, but they may be on the path to slowing aging. A group of scientists from Harvard, MIT, and the University of New South Wales say they've been able to successfully slow the aging process in mice, which could lead to anti-aging in humans.
Researchers have found that compromised blood flow is a huge part of aging. They fed a compound, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a type of vitamin B3, to 20-month-old mice. That age is reportedly comparable to a 70-year-old human. After two months of this, scientists tracked an increased blood flow and physical performance and endurance. Eventually the mice became as fit as younger mice.
Where's the proof? The treadmill time for the treated mice increased by 60%. If all goes well, this research could be used to create an anti-aging pill for humans.
Source: New York Post
A school in Pennsylvania is arming their students with buckets of rocks.
(Yahoo.com)
People are understandably freaked out in the wake of more school shootings, and many school systems are scrambling to figure out how to keep their students, teachers, and staff safe. Now, one superintendent at a Pennsylvania school district thinks he has the solution: arm students with rocks.
David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District, told state lawmakers earlier this week that in the event of a shooting, his students will use rocks to protect themselves. “Every classroom has been equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stone. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance into any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full students armed with rocks and they will be stoned,” he said, per WNEP 16.
Helsel said he came up with the idea himself and chose river stone because the rocks are “the right size for hands, you can throw them very hard, and they will create or cause pain, which can distract.” According to Helsel, teachers, staff, and students in his district were given active-shooter training through a program known as ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), and they regularly hold evacuation drills for active-shooter simulations.
This isn’t the first line of defense, Helsel says, but it could be one tool in their arsenal. “We have devices installed in our doors that help to secure them, to make it very difficult to break through,” he said. “We also train kids and talk about barricading the doors.”