Health Headlines

Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV... making news this week... possible dangers from sitting too much É risks from stress during pregnancy É and finding weight loss help online. Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines, host of HealthDay TV. First up: Researchers have linked the time you spend sitting down with conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. A new study finds that sitting down too much in your spare time may even be related to your risk of death. The study, which included more than 123,000 adults, found that women who spent at least six hours a day sitting down in their spare time were 34 percent more likely to die than those who sat less than three hours. In men, the risk was 17 percent higher. Because people sit so much these days, the researchers recommend getting up and walking around more. Moving on: Stress or anxiety in pregnant women may affect the health of their children later. In a recent study from the journal Pediatrics, researchers gave women questionnaires in their last trimester of pregnancy that asked about their levels of stress and anxiety. They also took samples of the women's saliva to test for a stress hormone. Anxiety and stress were associated with more general illnesses, respiratory and skin problems in the babies' first year of life. And finally: Heading to a web site for support after losing weight may be helpful for maintaining the weight loss. Researchers followed 348 people who had trimmed down during a weight-loss program. They were encouraged to use a website that supported long-term weight maintenance. The site allowed them to keep track of their eating and exercise patterns, their weight, and their weight-loss goals. It also let them communicate with other participants through a bulletin board. The people who visited the website more consistently were more successful in maintaining their weight loss long-term. IÕm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news that doctors are reading; health news that matters to you.