Disease Proof

• Like George Carlin said, “There are people walking around with a kind of a neutral zone around their head.” Call them what you will, daydreamers, space cadets, whatever. But spacing out might be a good thing! A new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals letting your mind wander actually helps activate the problem-solving area of the brain; via LiveScience.

• Okay, you can space out, just don’t pig out! Presented at the European Congress on Obesity, scientists blame overeating for the booming obesity in the United States. Saying food intake in the U.S. has increased, while physical activity declined. Between 1970 and 2000, adults are on average 18.9 pounds heavier, surprisingly lower than their prediction of 23.8 pounds; Reuters reports.

• Our new overstuffed, sluggish attitude has made us less productive at work. Published in the American Journal of Health Promotion experts surveyed 7,338 working adults about their sick days, reduced efficiency and difficulties doing daily activities, finding obese people with type-2 diabetes reported physical impairment during 20 to 34% of their day and missed 11 to 15% of work time; from HealthDay News.

• And eating Cheerios won’t give us a boost. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has slammed General Mills for harebrained proclamations that eating Cheerios can lower cholesterol and reduce heart disease risk. The FDA calls them "unauthorized health claims” and that Cheerios isn’t an approved drug, saying the product is misbranded; via Med Page Today.

• The National Boy Scouts of America is also drawing a hard line on health. If you plan on dressing up in short-shorts and traipsing around the wilderness, you better meet the weight requirement, or you can’t go. The Boy Scouts established weight regulations to ensure the health of their scouts and volunteers. A 6-foot, 2-inch, 370-pound man is not happy about it; CBS News explains.

• Being overweight is a common risk factor for sleep apnea, a condition causing abrupt pauses in respiration during sleep. And now, new search in Journal of Cardiac Failure, involving 218 heart failure patients with sleep apnea, found central sleep apnea was associated with atrial fibrillation, i.e. abnormal heart rhythm; ScienceDaily investigates.

Image credit: kretyen