Researchers found that regular exercise lowers the risk of five most common diseases. The higher level of physical activity has been associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, breast and bowel cancer.

Many studies highlight the benefits of physical activities which is why the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends increasing our daily activity level. Whether we engage more in domestic activities such as gardening or housework or manifest more interest in active transportation such as cycling or walking, increasing our daily activity rate is highly recommended by specialists.

The advised physical activity level is approximately 75 minutes per week of running or 150 minutes of alert walking every week. The researchers used a formula named MET-minutes to appraise how much physical activity can present the higher health benefit. The MET-minutes can estimate how much energy you burn during physical activity.

Researchers from the US and Australia examined how much surpassing the advised levels can decrease one’s risk of the five common chronic diseases. They found that for all five diseases risks went down as exercise went up.

For a larger reduction in the risks of these diseases, the total physical activity must be several times higher than the advised minimum level of 600 MET-minutes/week. The biggest benefits are at 3,000 to 4,000 MET-minutes a week, the study showed. By adding daily activities such as climbing stairs, running or cycling to our routine, we can achieve those MET-minutes.

At this level of physical activity, heart disease risk dropped by a fifth, colon cancer and diabetes risk fell by a sixth and breast cancer risk decreased by about a twentieth.

June Davison, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation mentioned that adults must be active each day and engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Unfortunately, only two in five adults manage to accomplish this minimum recommendation.

With an increased level of diabetes and cardiovascular deaths and an aging population, we must focus on promoting physical activities to the general public, researchers mentioned.

By being active, we not only decrease the risk of heart disease and illnesses, including cancer, but we also improve our general well-being and mental health.

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American women from the Millennial generation are less interested in sex than their mothers were. A new study shows that Millennial women wait longer before having sexual intercourse than any generation in the last 60 years.

Researchers cannot explain why these women are delaying sex, but they suspect that some factors may play a role. Millennials are notoriously for being a highly individualistic generation, but they are also known to postpone major adulthood milestones such as owning a home or getting married.

Lead author Prof. Jean Twenge who even wrote a book about the Me-generation aka the Millennials explained that this generation takes longer to grow into adulthood. Her study found that many people born in the 1980s and 1990s reported not having sex for years or at all.

But in Millennial women’s case, abstinence is even more widespread. About 5.4 Millennial women admitted they are abstinent. By contrast, just 2.3 women in their mothers’ generation also known as the Gen X said that.

Twenge’s team interpreted abstinence as being either virgin or not having sex since age 18. So, study authors factored out people who were abstinent for at most a year or lacked a sex partner at the moment of the survey.

The study also focused more on the Millennials in the 20 to 24 age bracket, and compared their sexual behavior to that of the people born in the 60s. In the Millennial group, 15 percent said they had no sexual partners, while in the Gen X group just 6 percent said that.

The latest study involved 27,000 participants.

The trend was recorded in underage groups as well. Last year, a survey found that nearly 60 percent of high school students were virgins. In 1991, only 46 percent acknowledged that.

However, the latest study found that Millennial women experienced the most significant shift in sexual behavior among all sex and age groups. Only 1.9 percent of Millennial men said they had no sexual partners, a slight change from the 1.7 percent in the Gen X.

Study authors believe that Millennial women have a higher ‘erotic plasticity’ or the ability to adapt their sexual behavior to social norms than men.

The findings were published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

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This rare brain-eating amoeba has infected over 37 people between 2006 and 2015 in the United States. The last person seems to have caught the amoeba while swimming on the Edisto River in Charleston County.

The amoeba is proved to live in rivers and lakes in warm water locations. When it enters the human, it uses the human brain as a food source, but this creature usually feeds on bacteria.

The infection is named naegleriasis and symptoms appear after about a week after one has caught the disease. Vomiting, extreme headaches, fever, and nausea seem to be among the symptoms. After the infection is well spread in the human brain, symptoms include lack of attention, loss of balance, hallucinations, confusion and a stiff neck that are usually followed by death.

It is known that the mortality rate when contracting this amoeba is 99 percent, the victim practically suffers from both a brain infection and meningitis.

According to media reports, three people died a few days earlier from this infection after swimming in the Trinity River in Texas.

The diseases are very rare, so specialists assure us that we do not have to worry every time we go swimming in warm waters.

A pharmaceutical company has sent the hospital treating the infected patient a drug called miltefosine. It was initially invented in the 1980s to fight cancer, and it is well known to fight diseases caused by parasites transmitted through flea bites, tropical climates or sand. The treatment with this drug costs around $48,000

It’s difficult to contract the amoeba because you must first swim in the waters the amoeba can be found in, and secondly, you must jump feet-first in the water in a way that the amoeba –containing water would go up your nose with a force that will propel it close to your brain. Most often, the amoeba dies before causing the infection.

Doctors recommend holding your nose or using nose plugs when jumping in the water because just drinking the water containing the amoeba doesn’t contaminate you. Specialists also assured that salty waters are not an enabling environment for the amoeba and the infection cannot be spread through contact with another person.

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Skin cancer can impact anyone at any time that’s why it’s best to pay attention to all of the changes your body shows you. We must be proactive when it comes to cancer detection and prevention because skin cancer is most treatable when it is detected in an early stage.

Although melanoma can appear in places hidden from sunlight, the most preventable risk according to many specialists is ultraviolet radiation exposure. Regardless of our skin color, we must seek to protect ourselves from the sun’s UV rays. Exposing a mole to UV radiation can trigger a mutation which represents an abnormal cell division that characterizes cancer.

Most adults have somewhere between 10 and 40 moles, but those with a lighter skin might have much more. Most of the time, during the years, moles change in appearance or size and rarely become a melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer. In some cases, the change of a mole from benign to cancerous can be genetic.

Rapidly rising for at least 30 years, melanoma rates increase with age which is why the American Academy of Dermatology recommends people get tested periodically.

When monitoring our skin for signs of skin cancer, we must pay particular attention to hard-to-see areas.

Common moles are those developed until the age of 40 or those that we are born with. According to the National Cancer Institute, people over 50 are most likely to develop a form of melanoma although other researchers have questioned this theory.

Several strategies for recognizing early signs of melanoma have been drawn up by specialists. Called the Ugly Duckling sign, it represents a mole that sticks out in a group of moles, when it changes its color, shape or size rapidly. If a mole is asymmetrical, this could be a sign of melanoma. Moreover, if the borders of a mole are uneven, or it has a variety of colors, this could also be an early sign of melanoma.
Atypical moles especially appear during puberty. Most of them are considered benign and don’t necessarily become melanoma, but having more than five atypical moles can be linked to higher risks of developing skin cancer.

Doctors advise that in the case of abnormal changes like spots that are different from others, bleeding on the skin or asymmetrical moles with uneven borders to make an appointment as soon as possible.

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New studies have shown that red meat shortens your life. It appears that this protein source is not a very healthy one.

Health fitness instructors and dietitians warn people of the consequences that red meat can have on our health.

Studies have been conducted on individuals who get their proteins mostly from red meat and on people who have a more plant based diet and get their proteins from fish and chicken. The risk of getting heart disease increases with the consumption of unprocessed red meat.

Moreover, it was proved that changing your lifestyle with a plant-based diet can lower the risk of premature death, depending on the type of meat that you substitute it with.

The probability of premature death decreased by 34 percent when people tried to replace red processed meat, 12 percent if people ate fewer eggs, and 12 percent if people ate less unprocessed meat. Interestingly, these effects have been proved to be more intense on individuals who already had obesity problems or that were heavy drinkers or smokers.

The results of these studies revealed that processed meat contains loads of nitrates and sodium that for decades have been associated with cancer and heart problems. Moreover, red meat contains a high quantity of cholesterol and saturated fats that translate into extra calories. These additional calories are related to weight problems that lead to heart diseases.

The studies have also concluded that the consumption of dairy and eggs is not as bad as eating red meat or processed foods.

Nobody says to give up entirely the consumption of processed meat, but if one has three meals a day based on red meat protein, it is highly recommended to at least try and substitute the processed red meat with chicken, fish or a plant based diet at least for a while.

Plant proteins have been proved to be healthier because they are full of antioxidants, fibers, B-vitamins, and extra healthy nutrients that, of course, have fewer calories, thus being associated with a healthier way of living. One can get plant proteins from nuts, legumes, beans, bread, and pasta, so these various sources will help obtain all the nutrients and vitamins needed for the organism.

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Being lazy costs a lot of money. Who would have thought?

According to the first study to measure the global cost of being a couch potato, the tab is no less than a whopping $67.5 billion annually.

Australia’s University of Sydney has analyzed data from 2013 from 142 countries, cross-referenced it with five major non-communicable diseases – which would be reduced by exercise – and came up with the cost of being lazy.

Researchers took into account the costs related to colon cancer, diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, and breast cancer, but only when the condition was associated with lack of physical activity. These five ailments have been determined to be most commonly to the laziness.

The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition reports that only one in 3 adults gets enough physical activity per week. The World Health Organization defines that as the equivalent to 150 minutes of moderate-to-intense physical activity each week.

A related study reviewed more than 1 million people and revealed that performing one hour of moderate physical activity per day can cancel the adverse effects of sitting down for 8 hours a day.

There’s a general lack of success in addressing the world’s epidemic of physical inactivity, which has seen a steady rise since 2012. One out of every 4 adults in the world does not perform enough daily physical activity.

Lead author Ulf Ekelund, a professor at the Norwegian School of Sports, said that “Our message is a positive one: it is possible to reduce – or even eliminate – these risks if we are active enough, even without having to take up sports or go to the gym.”

Many people who work in offices do not have time to take a walk in between sitting down for long hours. Professor Ekelund stressed that these individuals must realize it is of the utmost importance to find time to work out, even if it’s jogging in the morning or cycling in the afternoon.

The results of the study were featured in The Lancet, the British medical journal, calling for the world to “get serious about physical activity.”

The true cost of inactivity, defined by WHO as less than 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity, is likely two to three times higher.

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The World Health Organization has decided to remove transgender identity from the list of mental illnesses. This is the first time in many years that the official list is being updated.

The United Nations decided to revise the categorization of behavioral and mental disorders. The new and improved list will be released sometime in 2018.

The change comes in the nick of time as the Lance Psychiatry magazine just published a new article that brings compelling arguments on why transgender identity should not be classified as a mental illness.

Geoffrey Reed, the lead researcher in the case, stated that transgender identity was classified as a mental illness in order for doctors to be able to deny health care to transgender individuals.

“Stigma associated with both mental disorder and transgender identity has contributed to the precarious legal status, human rights violations, and barriers to appropriate care among transgender people,” the lead researcher declared.

Reed also stated that the proposal did not meet any opposition from the other members of the organization.

Reed and his team interviewed a sample of 250 transgender individuals with ages between 18 and 65. The researchers found that even though most participants experienced some level of distress during their lives, in the majority of cases the suffering was generated by violence and social rejection, not negative feelings or confusion.

The next step in the process is for other studies from different countries to confirm the thesis of Dr. Reed and his associates.

Unfortunately, even if the classification is changed, most negative opinions will linger, and the violent behavior towards transgender individuals will not change suddenly. However, researchers are hopeful that by removing transgender identity from the list of mental illness, stigmatization may be reduced in the long term.

Dr. Robles, the co-author of the paper, declared that among the participants, there was a surprisingly high number of individuals who received backlash from their own families.

The authors of the cited study were also aware of the limitations of their paper. The participation in the survey was volunteer-based, so there is a possibility that they interacted with only one kind of transgender individuals.

The scientists believe that the doubts can be removed if other scientists from around the world would conduct the same study, leading to a broader understanding of how transgender individuals see themselves.

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Alzheimer’s is a disease difficult to diagnose. According to two new studies, the neuro-degenerative condition is often misdiagnosed, causing unnecessary distress to those who are told they have the disease when they don’t.

Misdiagnosing Alzheimer’s is also a factor that delays treatment for others who do need it. Even though medical research has yet to find a cure or effective treatment, it’s vital to give a correct diagnosis because Alzheimer’s progress can be delayed and the patient’s quality of life can be preserved for as long as possible.

Experts also agree that an early diagnosis gives patients the necessary time to plan for their end-of-life care. Dean Hartley, head of science initiatives, scientific and medical relations at the Alzheimer’s Association, said that some drugs can temporarily boost memory if given at a very early stage.

A correct diagnosis can also offer people the chance of being enlisted into clinical trials to test the efficiency of new drugs. At the moment, Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed based on symptoms.

There’s no method available to physicians so they can diagnose the condition with 100 percent accuracy; no imaging test or blood test has that kind of ability, which is the reason why misdiagnoses occur sometimes.

To make matters even more difficult, Alzheimer’s turned out to be a much more complex disease than it was once believed. However, medical research makes progress each year, looking for more accurate ways to diagnose the condition.

According to the results of the first study – conducted by the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. – men are more prone to be misdiagnosed than women.

Leading researcher Melissa Murray, an assistant professor of neuroscience, explained that one of the reasons leading to this higher rate is the fact that men develop more aggressive forms of Alzheimer’s at a younger age than women.

While Alzheimer’s onset occurs in men in their 60s, the condition develops in women only in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. The symptoms also differ, both in the location in the brain and the physical effects.

In the second study, the Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, found that the inconsistencies between clinical and autopsy diagnoses rose to nearly 20 percent.

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Depression is a mental disorder that hangs above the patient like a dark cloud. Fortunately, various treatment options are available, including therapy and medication.

According to a recent study, behavioral activation is a simple therapy that has been proven efficient and affordable for people looking to treat their depression.

Oftentimes, depression treatments are either too expensive or there are too few qualified therapists to sustain the growing number of patients in the U.S. The new study found that people can access something cheaper than the gold standard treatment and still find a cure.

At the moment, the most recommended type of treatment for depression is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). As explained by study author David Richards, a professor of mental health services research at the University of Exeter in the UK, CBT is a treatment that looks to analyze the depression from the inside out.

While cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the way people think, behavioral activation is a therapy from the outside in, one that wants to help people who struggle with depression change the way they act.

The premise of this kind of depression treatment suggests that people’s mood and behavior are tightly connected and that depression can be battled by encouraging the patient to increase engagement in the activities they find most meaningful.

At the same time, people fighting depression are also urged to reduce the behaviors that may cause them isolation, which can worsen the condition.

Beyond the fact that the behavioral activation was found efficient in patients, the study’s authors also highlighted the fact that practicing it on a wide scale could lower healthcare costs without reducing the quality of treatment.

The use of behavioral activation could improve the patients’ access to talk therapy treatment (the main feature of CBT), while also reducing long waiting lists.

Behavioral activation treatment is a less complex depression treatment that costs significantly less than CBT – $1,277 and $1,618 per person on average, respectively. According to the study, this is a 20 percent in the cost of savings.

It’s also easier to train people to deliver this type of therapy. However, that doesn’t mean that behavioral activation therapy should replace CBT. Instead, the study suggests that more people with depression could be treated if health workers are trained to deliver it.

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