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Russia’s N. Korean Refugee Drill JULY 07, 2010 11:21 Russia conducted over the weekend an emergency drill to respond to a massive inflow of North Korean refugees in the settlement of Khasan, Primorsky Krai. Russian soldiers played the role of refugees and others set up camps and provided food and medical supplies. The drill was the second of its kind following one in August 2003. Moscow apparently believes that a contingency could erupt at any time due to internal instability in North Korea. The drill was part of Vostok 2010, a military maneuver conducted by the Russian armed forces, that...

A mathematical model suggests that aggressively pursuing low blood pressure and cholesterol levels may not benefit, and could even harm, some patients with diabetes, according to a report in the June 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Almost all treatment guidelines for patients with diabetes suggest aggressively treating high low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) and blood pressure levels to reduce patients' risk of developing heart disease, according to background information in the article. "These recommendations, which are based on the average results of trials evaluating the relative benefits of intensive risk factor control,...

(June 23) -- When most people get in line at Orlando, Fla.'s new Harry Potter theme park, they're worried about the wait -- not their weight. But according to some Harry Potter lovers, pudgy muggles -- those who weigh about 265 pounds or more -- are getting tossed from line at the most-hyped ride in Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter amusement park. For them, the ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" is truly living up to its name -- and that's a big disappointment for fans who resemble Harry's rotund cousin Dudley. Harry Potter fanatic Jeff Guillaume...

This week President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council. The task of this council will be to monitor the nation’s health and prescribe the behavior modifications needed to ensure optimal health. “Now that the federal government has taken on the responsibility of ensuring that all persons residing in America will have health insurance it is only fitting that we take aggressive steps to control the cost of this undertaking,” the President said. “We all know that bad habits are the major cause of preventable illnesses. Individuals who are unable to...

BOSTON — The word “Paleolithic” might evoke images from the 1980s film “Quest for Fire” — or, more recently, the scruffy cavemen in those Geico commercials. But Nate Rosenberg says going back in time to eat like a Neanderthal doesn’t make him one. “It’s obviously not a reenactment of Paleolithic life,” Rosenberg says. The 27-year-old foraged through his contemporary kitchen in the cute Somerville apartment he shares with his Paleo partner Michal Naisteter. “We eat modern foods,” he says. “In the Paleolithic era they did not have ground beef or, you know, dried oregano from Whole Foods and stuff life...

A few months back, the commander in chief of our Armed Forces, that erstwhile community organizer Barack Hussein Obama, denigrated a large cross section of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement -- those who advocate for Essential Liberty and Rule of Law. Obama identified them as malcontents, "waving their little tea bags." Since then, the Obama administration and their Leftmedia sycophants have endeavored to characterize Tea Party attendees as rude, radical, racist, redneck, enemies of the state. They have attempted to tie high-profile acts of violence against the government to the Tea Party, including the pilot who crashed...

Traditional treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy don't reach everyoneExercise is a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies. "Exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for mental health," says Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be." Smits and Michael Otto, psychology professor at Boston University, based their...

Losing weight is difficult, and keeping it off may be even harder. So Harvard researchers set out to determine exactly how much physical activity women need in midlife to avoid gaining weight as they age. The researchers found that an hour of moderate activity a day — including such recreational activities as brisk walking, leisurely bicycling, ballroom dancing and playing with children — prevented women of normal weight from gaining more than five pounds over any three-year period. Half that amount of vigorous activity, like running, jogging or fast biking, will do the trick as well, they said. Women who...

"5 Simple Wellness Strategies Sometimes Simple is Best" Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 BRYAN FASS Fitness Contributor Officer.com SNIPPET: "This month, as we rapidly roll into the holiday season I thought it would be a good idea to start thinking about our wellness. As the weather got colder and most of us became less active out doors the pounds slowly began to sneak on and we slowly become more sedentary. As I have been fond of saying year after year, now that it is officially spring, SUMMER IS COMING. So instead of going into a tirade on fitness and nutrition,...

Michelle Obama Plays Football First lady Michelle Obama took to the pitch with a group of children to encourage them to exercise regularly. 05 Mar 2010 US first lady Michelle Obama kicks a ball as she attends a free soccer clinic Photo: REUTERS Mrs Obama's participation in a football clinic in Washington coincided with the announcement of a new partnership between the US Soccer Foundation and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. The groups are launching a 25-city tour to provide children and their families with free health screenings and soccer clinics. The scheme is part of the first lady's...

People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse. Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week's workout into less than an hour. Intense exercise regimens, or interval training, was originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people. But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise -- and save millions of people hours in the gym every week....

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Severely obese teens who had surgery to limit what they could eat lost more weight and enjoyed more health benefits than those who did an intensive lifestyle program, researchers said on Tuesday. They said 21 of 25 severely obese teens aged 14 to 18 who underwent a form of gastric banding lost more than half of their excess weight compared with just 3 out of 25 who did a diet, exercise and behavior modification program. "In this study, gastric banding proved to be an effective intervention leading to a substantial and durable reduction in obesity and to...

People who carry a few extra pounds after age 70 tend to live longer than people who don’t, new research finds. Overweight older adults who took part in the Australian study had a clear survival advantage over those who were normal weight, underweight, or obese. The findings suggest that the widely accepted body mass index (BMI) weight guidelines may not be particularly useful after age 70, lead researcher Leon Flicker, PhD, of the University of Western Australia tells WebMD. Last summer, researchers in Canada reported the same findings after analyzing data from more than 11,000 adults followed for more than...

Detroit (WWJ) -- Detroit's homeless not only have a place to stay, they now also have a place to stay in shape. The Green Gym opened at the warehouse of the Cass Community Social Services at 12025 Woodrow Wilson. It is the first gym of its kind specifically for homeless clients. The specially-equipped bikes hooked to a generator will make electricity redirected to the warehouse. One cyclist over an hour's time can create enough juice to power two laptop computers for an hour.

Lounging in front of the tube not only eats up hours in your day, it may also shorten your life, according to a new study. The study, which looked at the connection between watching TV and death for 8,800 Australian adults, found that each hour of TV-viewing was associated with an 11 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and an 18 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. These findings held true even after the researchers took into account other factors that could raise the risk of dying, such as age, gender, waist circumference and exercise habits....

When I was younger, I never worried about gaining weight. I was a “skinny little thing,” and at 5’3,” weighed 98 pounds soaking wet when I graduated from high school in 1971. At one time, I could eat anything I pleased. Oh how I wish for those days. However, age has caused my metabolism to slow down.

It is New Years Day. I just returned home from a great workout at the gym. Squats, leg press and 30 minutes on the Stair Master. Last year at this time, I was losing weight despite eating like a horse. Diagnosis, Diabetes. I have learned my blood sugar numbers are better when I reduce calories and exercise. Despite this knowledge, I have been lazy and not exercising. I had a revelation today. “You can exercise for an hour 3 or 4 times a week or you could probably have to attend kidney dialysis 4 or 5 times a week for...

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors fly in formation during a training mission in southwest Asia, Dec. 6, 2009. The F-22 fighters and crews are deployed from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and entered the Air Forces Central area of responsibility for the first time as part of a multi-national exercise where aircrews from France, Jordan, Pakistan, the U.A.E., the U.K. and the U.S. trained together in fighting a large-scale air war. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller. SOUTHWEST ASIA — U.S. Airmen here marked a milestone recently, completing the first deployment...

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to two new studies, coffee and exercise may be the keys to men beating prostate cancer. The first study was carried out by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, and was led by Kathryn M. Wilson. The study focused on data from 50,000 men to get an idea as to the rate at which prostate cancer was being diagnosed, and whether or not coffee would help in any way. Over a 20-year period from 1986 to 2006, there were nearly 5,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed out of the 50,000 men. What they found...

Joubert/Photo Researchers, Inc A neuron in the brain. Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons) but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.In the experiment, preliminary results of which were presented last month at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of...