Could You Have Type 2? 10 Diabetes Symptoms
Diabetes symptoms
By Amanda GardnerDiabetes affects 24 million people in the U.S., but only 18 million know they have it. About 90% of those people have type 2 diabetes.
In diabetes, rising blood sugar acts like a poison.
Diabetes is often called the silent killer because of its easy-to-miss symptoms. "Almost every day people come into my office with diabetes who don't know it," says Maria Collazo-Clavell, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
The best way to pick up on it is to have a blood sugar test. But if you have these symptoms, see your doctor.
Ostracized overweight kids eat more
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
When overweight children feel left out or ostracized, they tend to eat more and exercise less, new research shows.
The findings come at a time when about one-third of children are overweight or obese, which increases their risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and other health problems.
Scientists
at the University of Buffalo have been studying the effects of
different situations on kids' food intake and activity levels for
several years.
In one new study, they had 40 normal-weight and overweight children play a computer game that replicates ball-tossing.
Under
one condition, the children's video characters were excluded or
ostracized during the game; and under another, the same children's video
characters were included in the game. After playing the computer game
under both conditions, the children had a chance to eat as much as they
wanted for about 15 minutes.
The findings:
•The
overweight kids consumed 200 calories more when their video character
was excluded from the game than when the character was included.
•The normal-weight children didn't eat more when their video characters were ostracized.
One
possible reason is that overweight kids seek food for comfort after
they feel ignored, says lead researcher Sarah-Jeanne Salvy, an assistant
professor of pediatrics. She is presenting her research Friday at a
meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in Montreal.
In
a similar experiment, 20 normal-weight and overweight children played
the same computer ball-tossing game under conditions in which they were
either ostracized or included, and then they were given a chance to be
physically active. The kids wore accelerometers to measure their
activity levels.
Findings: Overweight and
normal-weight kids alike were less physically active after their video
characters were excluded from the games.
It
may be that the children were so focused on dealing with the pain of the
ostracism that they stop being as active, Salvy says.
She
says the take-home message for parents is to help their children find
ways other than eating to deal with rejection and peer adversity: "Kids
may need to talk about their feelings and seek comfort in other
activities."
Salmonella-hit egg company gets FDA OK for sales
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The company at the center of the salmonella
outbreak that sickened more than 1,820 people during the summer and led
to the recall of 550 million eggs has been cleared by the Food and Drug
Administration to begin selling eggs for the table again.
On Tuesday the FDA notified Wright County Egg LLC
of Galt, Iowa, that it could begin shipping shell eggs from two of its
73 henhouses. The company has six egg farms in and around Galt,
spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell says.
Since August, the company has been under orders
from the FDA to sell only to "breaker" facilities, where eggs are broken
and processed to eliminate potential pathogens.
"During the outbreak, I said that FDA would not
agree to the sale of eggs to consumers from Wright County Egg until we
had confidence that they could be shipped and consumed safely," FDA
Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement. "After four months of
intensive work by the company and oversight, testing and inspections by
FDA, I am satisfied that time has come."
In a letter to Austin DeCoster, the owner of
Quality Egg LLC, which also does business as Wright County Egg, the FDA
outlined the steps that the company has taken to clean up its henhouses,
including testing for salmonella enteritidis and clearing up its rodent
problem.
In a statement, DeCoster said: "We recognize that
we will have to continue to do more than is expected of us as we resume
operations ... both to ensure our ongoing compliance with FDA
regulations and to re-establish successful relationships with our
customers."
The FDA has conducted multiple on-site
inspections, the most recent in October and November. Eggs from the two
laying houses now cleared to sell shell eggs have tested negative for
salmonella enteritidis, twice by the FDA and once by Wright County Egg.
The company has agreed to test the houses every month.
When the company was in full production before
the first recall Aug. 13, it sold 3 million dozen eggs a week to the
table egg market, Mitchell says. "Now we're going to be at about 71,000
dozen going to the table egg market."
'Pediatrics' study disputes energy-drink claims
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Some young people gulp drinks such as Red Bull, Full Throttle and
Rockstar to boost their energy, concentration and athletic performance.
But the caffeinated energy drinks don't appear to
provide the purported benefits and can cause problems, including
serious medical complications, says a review of the scientific
literature published online today in Pediatrics.
The
paper is already drawing criticism from the beverage industry, which
says energy drinks have no more caffeine than a cup of coffee and aren't
widely used by kids and teens.
Steven Lipshultz, chair of pediatrics at the University of Miami
School of Medicine, and colleagues reviewed 121 scientific studies,
government reports and media sources on energy drinks — different from
sports drinks, vitamin waters and sodas.
Energy
drinks usually contain 70 to 80 milligrams of caffeine per 8-oz.
serving, more than double many cola drinks. Energy drinks also may
contain guarana, a plant that contains caffeine, taurine (an amino
acid), vitamins, herbal supplements and sweeteners.
Surveys
show that 30% to 50% of teens and young adults consume energy drinks,
but "we didn't see evidence that drinks have beneficial effects in
improving energy, weight loss, stamina, athletic performance and
concentration," Lipshultz says.
And the
research shows that children and teens — especially those with
cardiovascular, renal or liver disease, seizures, diabetes, mood and
behavior disorders and hyperthyroidism — are at a higher risk for health
complications from these drinks, says Lipshultz, a pediatric
cardiologist.
He encourages pediatricians and parents to talk to kids and teens about whether they should be drinking such beverages.
Maureen
Storey of the American Beverage Association, an industry group, said in
a statement that "this literature review does nothing more than
perpetuate misinformation about energy drinks, their ingredients and the
regulatory process."
She says government data
indicate that the "caffeine consumed from energy drinks for those under
the age of 18 is less than the caffeine derived from all other sources
including soft drinks, coffee and teas."
Red
Bull said in a statement that the study "largely ignores in its
conclusions the genuine, scientifically rigorous examination of energy
drinks by reputable national authorities. ... The effects of caffeine
are well-known, and as an 8.4-oz. can of Red Bull contains
Less stress, better sleep may help you lose weight
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
If you're looking to lose those extra pounds, you should probably add reducing stress and getting the right amount of sleep to the list, say researchers from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland.
In fact, although diet and exercise are the usual prescription for
dropping pounds, high stress and too little sleep (or too much of it)
can hinder weight loss even when people are on a diet, the researchers
report.
"We found that people who got more than six but less than eight hours
of sleep, and who reported the lowest levels of stress, had the most
success in a weight-loss program," said study author Dr. Charles Elder.
Elder speculates if you are sleeping less or more than recommended and
if your stress levels are high, you will not be able to focus on making
behavioral changes.
These factors may also have a biological impact, he added.
"If you want to lose weight, things that will help you include reducing
stress and getting the right amount of sleep," Elder said.
The report, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is published in the March 29 online edition of the International Journal of Obesity.
In this two-step trial, 472 obese adults were first counseled about
lifestyle changes over a 26-week period. Recommendations included
cutting 500 calories a day, eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and
whole grains by following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
(DASH) diet approach, and exercising at least three hours a week.
In addition, the researchers asked the participants questions about sleep time, depression, insomnia, screen time and stress.
During this part of the trial, the participants lost an average of
almost 14 pounds. The 60% of the participants who lost at least 10
pounds went on to take part in the next phase of the trial. Those in
the second phase of the trial continued their diet and exercise
program.
Elder's team found the right amount of sleep and stress reduction at
the start of the trial predicted successful weight loss. Lower stress
by itself predicted more weight loss during the first phase of the
trial, they added.
Declines in stress and depression were also important in continuing to
lose weight during both phases of the trial, as were exercise minutes
and keeping food diaries, Elder's group found.
Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University
School of Medicine, said that "while we often tend to look at health
one condition at a time, the reality is that health is best viewed
holistically."
"People who are healthy and vital tend to be healthy and vital not
because of any one factor, but because of many. And the factors that
promote health — eating well, being active, not smoking, sleeping
enough, controlling stress, to name a few —promote all aspects of
health," he added.
This study shows that people are more likely to lose weight when not
impeded by sleep deprivation, stress or depression, he said.
"Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight probably could have said much
the same from personal experience. Similarly, weight loss reduced
stress and depression. This, too, is suggested by sense and common
experience, as it is affirmed by the science reported here," Katz said.
The important message is that weight loss should not be looked at with tunnel vision, Katz said.
"Improving sleep may be as important to lasting weight control efforts
as modifying diet or exercise. Managing stress is about physical
health, as well as mental health. This study encourages weight loss in a
more holistic context," he said.
Another study presented earlier this month at the American Heart Association scientific sessions held in Atlanta found that people of normal weight eat more when they sleep less.
Columbia University
researchers discovered that sleep-deprived adults ate almost 300
calories more a day on average than those who got enough sleep. And the
extra calories mostly came from saturated fat, which can spell trouble
for waistlines.
The researchers came to their conclusions — which should be considered
preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal — after
following 13 men and 13 women of normal weight. They monitored the
eating habits of the participants as they spent six days sleeping four
hours a night and then six days sleeping nine hours a night (or the
reverse).
"If sustained, the dietary choices made by people undergoing short
sleep could predispose them to obesity and increased risk of
cardiovascular disease," the researchers wrote in an American Heart
Association news release.
New study links pain relievers to erectile dysfunction
By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY
Men who regularly take pain relievers such as ibuprofen and aspirin may be at increased risk for erectile dysfunction, new research suggests.
Men who use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) three times a day for more than three months are at a 22% increased risk of erectile dysfunction, reports Steve Jacobsen, director of research for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, in this week's Journal of Urology.
"Regular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use is associated with erectile dysfunction beyond what would be expected due to age and other conditions," he says.
More than 30 million people a day take these prescription and over-the-counter pain relievers.
The observational study, which began in 2002, included 80,966 men ages 45 to 69 who were members of Kaiser managed care plans in California. Erectile dysfunction was assessed by questionnaire and NSAID use was determined using pharmacy records and self-reported data.
Regular users were about 2.4 times more likely to have erectile dysfunction than men who didn't use those drugs regularly or at all. Even when the scientists controlled for age, race and ethnicity, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and coronary artery disease among other health problems, a link between
NSAID use and erection problems still existed, said Jacobsen. A previous smaller study suggested a similar link, but Jacobsen says it's too early to conclude that ibuprofen is the reason for erectile dysfunction. He says that the drugs have many proven benefits, and that men whose doctors have prescribed NSAIDs for other reasons shouldn't cut them short.
The results raise more questions than they answer, says Stephen Kraus, professor and vice chairman of urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
He says NSAIDs have been shown to reduce risk of heart disease, so the same should be true of erectile dysfunction, which can be linked to circulation problems. "If it works for one, you'd think it should work for the other. But lo and behold, the opposite is what they saw in this study. The question is why?" Kraus says.
The study authors suggest several theories, including that while treating someone to improve blood flow may potentially make erections better, it could also hinder other pathways involved in healthy erectile function.
"It needs to be tested in a clinical trial designed to look at this," Kraus says. He agrees it's premature for men to avoid NSAIDs based solely on this new research.
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