Archives for June 2012

Lose It! App Wins Surgeon General’s Healthy Apps Challenge

June 29, 2012 | by

The U.S. Surgeon General recently challenged mobile device application developers to come up with apps that would “provide tailored health information and empower users to engage in and enjoy healthy behavior.” The first place winner in the Fitness/Physical Activity category was Lose It!, an app designed to help users lose weight. According to the Lose It! website, the average user loses 12.3 pounds with the help of the app, with a 99% success rate (defined as losing any amount of weight) over 4 weeks.

Lose It! app

New Study Suggests Low-fat Diets Aren’t Effective

June 29, 2012 | by

With Americans becoming increasingly overweight each year, weight loss is big business. This paves the way for any number of diet books and fads. Some of these are based upon sound scientific principles, while others may not work at all, or may result in a modest weight loss followed by rebound weight gain.

A preliminary scientific study — one neither large enough nor strong enough to be considered conclusive at this point — suggests that low-fat diets may be less effective than other weight-loss strategies from a metabolic perspective [1].

Weight loss

FDA Works Toward Regulating Medical Apps

June 26, 2012 | by

In recent years, people are turning more and more to the Internet for health information and to “self-diagnose.” With an increasing variety of medical apps available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and other mobile platforms, self-diagnosis has become even more accessible. Unfortunately, however, checking the boxes next to a variety of symptoms and waiting for a mobile device to spew forth a litany of potential ailments lacks the sensitivity and accuracy of a human diagnostician. Further, those who are not trained in medicine may misinterpret symptoms as erroneously relevant or erroneously irrelevant, leading to misdiagnosis.

Medical apps

New CDC Data Shows Drowning Rates Down Overall, Still High

June 25, 2012 | by

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a five-year review of drowning rates for 2005-2009 in a recent issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [1]. The report shows that overall drowning rates are decreasing, though drowning is still the leading cause of preventible death in children aged 1–4 [2].

Drowning

Q&A: How do I Make Sure I’m Eating Right During Pregnancy?

June 22, 2012 | by

Question: I just found out I’m pregnant, and want to make sure I eat well. How much do I need to eat, and what kinds of foods are best? How much weight should I gain?

Eating right during pregnancy