Health News: Forget That Smart Phone

Forget That Smart Phone

Overly relying on tech makes our brains lazy, according to recent research. Study authors posit that using Google to check answers to even simple questions hampers our ability to recall, making our memories slip. —Memory

Alternative Cancer Therapy Risk

People who choose alternative treatments for commonly curable cancers may double their risk of death, according to a recent study. Researchers defined an alternative treatment as one administered by a non-medical person. Traditional treatments included chemo, radiation and surgery. The reason cited for the extra risk is that the cancer may be allowed to spread. —Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Watch Your Bs

A study of 77,000 people revealed that high intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 over a 10-year period were associated with a higher risk of lung cancer in men. On the other hand, there was no such link between these vitamins and lung cancer in women. —Ohio State University

Late To Life

Today’s adolescents ages 13 to 19 are less likely than their counterparts from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s to drive, work at a paying job, drink alcohol or have sex, according to a survey of 8.4 million teens over 40 years. The reason? Experts can’t point to a particular cause. —San Diego State University and Bryn Mawr College

Take A Seat

You’re twice as likely to develop heart disease if you stand rather than sit most of the day. Even if you do sit, be sure to move around rather than stay in one position. —American Journal of Epidemiology

Men Who Diet On-Again, Off-Again

Recent research found that obese men who dieted two weeks, then went off their program for two weeks lost more weight over 30 weeks than those men who dieted nonstop. In addition, the intermittent dieters kept the weight off for the long term. —International Journal for Obesity

Lose The Grin

Save the smiley faces and other emoticons for your personal emails. Using them in work emails may make a bad impression, leaving recipients thinking that you’re less competent than you really are, according to a recent study. —Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

45

The percentage of women who claim to have delayed a doctor’s visit until they lost weight. —Women’s Heart Alliance

Dogs Push Us To Move

Researchers checked out the fitness trackers of more than 3,000 folks between the ages of 49 and 91. They found that dog owners spent 30 minutes more each day being active than those people who don’t own pups. —Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health