The Checkup: October 3, 2010 - October 9, 2010

Company drops effort to develop 'pink Viagra'

Citing unsurmountable regulatory hurdles, the pharmaceutical company that's been working to develop a drug to boost women's libidos has abandoned that effort.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 8, 2010; 2:32 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  FDA, Sex, Women's Health, drug safety  
Save & Share:                   

Diet drug Meridia pulled over heart attack, stroke issues

Abbott Laboratories has withdrawn its popular weight-loss drug Meridia because it increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.

By Rob Stein  | October 8, 2010; 12:49 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
Categories:  Cardiovascular Health, FDA, Food Safety and Recalls, Obesity, Recalls, Women's Health, drug safety  
Save & Share:                   

FDA issues warning on weight-loss drug

Federal health officials warned consumers Friday not to use a supposedly "herbal" weight-loss product sold over the Internet because it contains a powerful prescription stimulant that can be dangerous. The product, known as "Slimming Beauty Bitter Orange Slimming Capsules," contains the drug sibutramine, which is only supposed to be sold...

By Rob Stein  | October 8, 2010; 12:18 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Cardiovascular Health, FDA, Food Safety and Recalls, Obesity, drug safety  
Save & Share:                   

Is that right? Uncle Ben's whole-grain white rice is really brown?

Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice is being marketed as "the first and only whole grain rice that looks and tastes like white rice." The product description on the company's Web site says the rice "gives you all the goodness of whole grains with the taste and texture of white rice you love." And the TV ad promises the rice delivers "the goodness of brown, now available in white."

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 8, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  Is That Right?, Nutrition and Fitness  
Save & Share:                   

Is it okay to spend food stamps on soda?

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has raised a stir by asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow the city to prohibit food-stamp recipients from using food stamps to buy sugary drinks such as soda.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 7, 2010; 11:23 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (81)
Categories:  Childhood obesity, Health Policy, Nutrition and Fitness, Obesity  
Save & Share:                   

Those darned dense breasts

There's now new cause to be aware of how dense your breast tissue is: A study published this morning in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention shows that among women who have had breast cancer, higher breast density appears to raise the risk of a subsequent breast cancer, especially in the breast that was not affected by the first cancer. The study bolsters earlier research linking breast density and cancer risk.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 7, 2010; 12:05 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  breast cancer, Women's Health  
Save & Share:                   

Can noise be deadly?

Is working in a noisy environment bad for your health? A new study suggests that it is. Wen Qi Gan of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and colleagues analyzed data collected from 6,307 adults ages 20 and older who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination...

By Rob Stein  | October 6, 2010; 9:33 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Cardiovascular Health, Chronic Conditions, Environmental Toxins, Smoking  
Save & Share:                   

When a beloved food triggers overeating

When I set about to lose weight via my "Me Minus 10" effort, my advisers Pam Peeke and Brian Wansink gently noted that perhaps bread could play a different, smaller role in my life. Neither suggested I omit it altogether, and both maintained that I should continue to eat the healthful carbohydrates my body needed to fuel its activity.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 5, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (8)
Categories:  Eating disorders, Me Minus 10, Nutrition and Fitness, Obesity  
Save & Share:                   

Lack of sleep may hinder weight loss

A small study published Monday afternoon in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that getting too little sleep can impede weight-loss efforts.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 4, 2010; 5:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Me Minus 10, Nutrition and Fitness, Obesity, Sleep  
Save & Share:                   

IVF inventor Robert Edwards wins Nobel

The British scientist who developed the process for creating "test tube" babies won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday.

By Rob Stein  | October 4, 2010; 6:29 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  Nobel Prize  
Save & Share:                   

Study reveals Americans' sexual activity, condom use

Talk about an interesting read! I've just got my hands on the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB). The 118-page report, released this morning in a special issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, features research about the sexual activity and behaviors of nearly 6,000 adults and adolescents ages 14 to 94. It's an update of similar research done 20 years ago, and it provides a fascinating snapshot of what we're doing in bed -- and elsewhere.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | October 4, 2010; 12:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (111)
Categories:  Family Health, Seniors, Sex, Teens, Women's Health  
Save & Share: