TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 (HeathDay News) — Following decades of declines, drowning deaths are once again climbing in the United States, new government data shows. More than 4,500 people died from drowning each year in 2020 through 2022, 500 more per year than in 2019, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…  read on >  read on >

Yoga can help improve the long-term health of people with heart failure, a new study has found. “Patients who practiced yoga on top of taking their medications felt better, were able to do more, and had stronger hearts than those who only took drugs for their heart failure,” lead researcher Dr. Ajit Singh of the…  read on >  read on >

Children and young adults who are couch potatoes could wind up with enlarged hearts, increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke and early death. Sedentary behavior contributed as much as 40% to the total increase in heart size between the ages of 17 and 24, researchers found. Further, a lack of movement helped enlarge teens’…  read on >  read on >

The benefits of physical fitness for kids spill over into their mental health, new research shows. Getting plenty of exercise may guard against depressive symptoms, anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study published April 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found. And the more exercise, the better: Higher performance in cardiovascular activities, strength and…  read on >  read on >

Want to live longer? Choose the stairs over the elevator, a new review suggests. Folks who regularly climb stairs have a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause, and a 39% reduced risk of dying from heart disease, compared to those who always take the elevator, researchers found. Stair climbing also is associated with…  read on >  read on >

Active women using the pill appear to receive an added bonus from their birth control, a new study says. These women are less likely to suffer sprains and strains than women not on birth control, researchers reported recently in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Women taking oral contraceptives had significantly fewer…  read on >  read on >

Walking is one of the best exercises available to average folks, and it can be as easy as stepping out your front door, experts say. “It is something you can easily fit into your lifestyle,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at…  read on >  read on >