Getting to the Bottom of Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most common eating disorders. People with anorexia nervosa are usually underweight, anxious, maintain rigid rules, exercise excessively, and constantly see themselves as grossly overweight. People with bulimia nervosa, however, have varied weights that often fall within the normal range. Their eating habits usually consist of eating binges followed by an action to counteract the binge, such as self-induced vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, exercising excessively, or starving themselves.

Begin Alcohol Education Early
Alcohol prevention programs instituted by schools and supported by parents are vital to discouraging youth from using alcohol, but we may not be starting these programs soon enough.

Another weapon to fight ovarian cancer
About 2,000 Minnesota women are diagnosed and treated each year for ovarian cancer. For most of these women, the cancer will recur.

Keep Your Skin Safe from Frostbite
Mittens, scarves, hats, coats, and boots; all important clothing designed to keep out Minnesota's winter weather. These layers are especially important to prevent frostbite.

Mesothelioma: a rare and deadly cancer
Mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer typically linked to asbestos exposure. It is relatively rare, with only 2,000 to 3,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year (compared with over 150,000 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed each year). Mesothelioma has been in the news locally because of the Minnesota Department of Health's release of historical data identifying 58 cases of mesothelioma in northeastern Minnesota taconite miners, a much higher number than would be expected in that group.

National Pool of Eligible Blood Donors Smaller
It was previously estimated that more than 177 million people were eligible to donate blood in the United States. However, last fall at the University of Minnesota my colleague Jeffrey McCullough and I found that only 111 million individuals are actually eligible. The pool of eligible blood donors was overestimated by 59 percent.

Early Detection Key to Surviving Oral Cancer
Last year the United States saw 40,000 new cases of oral and pharyngeal (throat) cancer. Even more startling is that 50 percent of those diagnosed will die within the next five years. While fatality rates for people infected with other forms of cancer have steadily decreased over the past few decades, they are stagnant for those with oral and pharyngeal cancer. Though these numbers and facts are grim, research at the University of Minnesota's School of Dentistry provides hope for the future.

Fall Prevention
As Minnesotans gear up for winter, and ice and snow makes it way into the weather forecast, many families may begin to worry about their older relatives navigating slippery sidewalks. Research has shown that approximately 34 percent of people age 65 years and older fall each year. The statistics only get worse as people get older. Falls cost older adults their health and independence and can lead to expensive hospitalizations. In some cases, a particularly bad fall may even hasten death.

Family meals are important: TV on or off
The prevalence of overweight children aged 12 to 19 in the United States has more than tripled in the past 20 years, and researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health are taking a serious look at one of the major factors that influence childhood obesity: what influences the eating patterns of adolescents.

Don't be fooled by smokeless tobacco
Now that the statewide smoking ban is in effect, some Minnesotans might be thinking about switching from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco. My advice to them: Don't do it.

Planning is key to healthy pregnancy
A planned pregnancy is usually a healthy pregnancy. But studies show more than half of all pregnancies in the United States are not planned, and that unplanned pregnancy is associated with poorer maternal and infant outcomes. Many unplanned pregnancies are related to either lack of, or ineffective, contraceptive use. In addition to identifying the right time for pregnancy, women should have a preconception visit with their health-care provider to assure that they are in the best possible health and have the resources, information, and support they need for a healthy pregnancy.

Tick talk: avoiding these pests and the diseases they can carry
When summer arrives and Minnesotans flock outside, they share the scenery with several species of ticks. Although some ticks can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans, with just a bit of precaution Minnesotans can enjoy their beautiful state even during peak tick season.

Treating Shingles
Shingles is a condition that initially causes pain, followed by a rash that blisters and eventually heals. While it is not life-threatening to people with normal immune systems, people living with shingles can be in constant pain that makes it difficult to complete simple daily tasks. The disease is caused by the same virus as chicken pox, the varicella-zoster virus. Despite being a member of the herpes family, shingles is in no way related to sexual activity.

Eating Fish: Being Healthy and Safe
Fish is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. High in heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids, fish is a low-fat source of protein and nutrients. Reports about chemical contamination in water, however, raise questions about how these chemicals may affect your health. It¿s a balancing act: to be both healthy and safe, you should eat fish, but avoid unlimited consumption.

Postpartum Depression Is Real and Responds to Treatment
Brooke Shields received media attention recently for her bout with postpartum depression, a condition believed to affect between 10 and 20 percent of all women who have a child. Fortunately, several effective treatment options are available for new mothers sidelined by this condition.

Managing childhood asthma
In the United States, asthma rates have been on the rise in recent decades. Fortunately, because of advances in the understanding of what causes asthma and how it can be treated, there are more options than ever for helping a child with asthma lead a healthy, normal life.

Exercise Medicine: A Specialty that Complements Regular Health Care
When most of us think of treatment for disease, we might think of pills, injections, even surgery, but "exercise" is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But, the right kind of exercise can help treat and even cure serious medical conditions.

What Is a Clinical Trial and Who Participates?
You may have seen advertisements seeking "men and women age 18-55 who have chronic bronchitis" or "healthy smokers who want to quit smoking" to participate in clinical trials to test new treatments. But just what is a clinical trial and what does participation involve?

A Better Era for Children with Type 1 Diabetes
Not so long ago, we assumed children with type 1 diabetes would not lead normal lives. Now, with better treatment options and education, these young people can have virtually the same lifestyle as other children.

Awareness Is the First Step to Better Heart Health in Women
You may have noticed women wearing red on Feb. 2, National Wear Red Day, a day designated by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of heart disease in women.

Colorectal Cancer: Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure
Colorectal cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer in the United States, causing about 55,000 deaths a year. Only lung cancer kills more people.

Secondhand Smoke Poses Risk to Children's Health
Close contact with a loving parent helps an infant thrive, but when this contact exposes the baby to secondhand smoke, it's a mixed blessing.

Dietary Supplements or Drugs: Know What You're Getting
Although dietary supplements are often taken to address health concerns as well, the FDA does not regulate companies that manufacture them in the same way it regulates drug manufacturers.

Caring for Aging Parents Can Present Confusing Choices
At some point in your life it's likely you'll be involved in caring for your parents or other elders. When this happens, you'll be faced with a confusing spectrum of choices--home care, assisted living, nursing homes, and more. How does a person navigate this maze?

Vaccines and Common Sense Measures
As the weather turns colder and the holiday season approaches, Minnesotans will also face another season, an unwelcome one: Influenza, or flu, season.

School lunch lines can provide children
How healthy are school lunches? With obesity and other nutrition-related problems at an all-time high among youth--and memories of their own corn-dog-and-french-fries days stuck in their minds--many parents fear school meals are nutritional wastelands.

Cervical Cancer: A New Vaccine and a Brighter Future
Some women may only become aware of cervical cancer when they get the results of their Pap smear. But, worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and it causes an estimated 233,000 deaths each year.

Parenting with Prevention in Mind
Parents know adolescence can be stormy for their children and them. But parents may not know there is a lot you can do to keep children on track before and during adolescence.

Peripheral Arterial Disease -- Are You at Risk?
When people hear the term "blocked artery," they often assume doctors are referring to a vessel near the heart. But, the same fat and plaque that obstructs arteries surrounding the heart can block the channels supplying blood to the arms and legs. This can result in a serious condition known as Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), which afflicts more than 8 million Americans.

Mononucleosis: The Kissing Disease
As thousands of students head back to class this fall, many will find their studies interrupted by the arrival of an unwelcome illness--infectious mononucleosis, or mono.

Common Birth Defect is Very Treatable
Cleft lip and palate is a condition that can be seen, felt, and heard. A multifaceted condition, it can affect many basic functions and activities--eating, breathing, speaking, and hearing. That's why it is critical to approach the treatment of people with cleft lip and palate early in life and with a multidisciplinary group of professionals.

Skin Cancer
As the weather grows warmer and more of us head outdoors, we Minnesotans need to protect ourselves from the sun's harmful rays that can lead to most common cancer: skin cancer.

Pop and Tooth Decay
After many decades of improvements in oral health, tooth decay is on the rise again. Much of the blame can be placed on soda pop, with sports drinks and other sugary beverages causing their share of trouble, too.

Is it safe to take antidepressants during pregnancy?
It's hard to find a straight answer on whether expectant women should continue taking antidepressants during pregnancy and what effect the medication has on newborns.

The Failure of Long-Term Care
Almost every adult in this country will either enter a nursing home or have a parent or other relative who does. Demographic studies suggest that 40 percent of all adults who live to age 65 will enter a nursing home before they die. Even more will use some other form of long-term care.

Choose food products low in 'bad' fat
Since the first of the year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has required food manufacturers to list the amount of trans fat on its product label as a way to help consumers make more informed eating choices.

Cancer screening can save lives
First, cancer is the leading cause of all deaths in Minnesota. Colorectal cancer is second to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in Minnesota and the United States. In 2006, there will be an estimated 2,400 new cases of colorectal cancer in the state and almost 900 deaths from the disease.

Study: Schools contribute to childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is on the minds of many people these days, and there are countless reasons why it has become such a problem. In the United States, 15 percent of children and teens are at risk of being overweight and another 15 percent are overweight. Altogether, nearly 9 million children are affected by overweight and obesity.

Educate yourself before choosing Medicare drug plan
If you're eligible for the new Medicare prescription drug plan but haven't yet enrolled, you might have good reason, but you should consider signing up.

Regular Pap Smears Help Ensure Women's Health
During the past 50 years, the rate of cervical cancer among Western women has dropped dramatically. Most of the decrease can be attributed to the creation of the Pap test or Pap smear, in which a health-care provider collects a sample from a woman's cervix--the lowest portion of her uterus--to detect for abnormal cells.

Preeclampsia may be linked to heart disease
Pregnancy-induced hypertension, or preeclampsia, is a condition that only occurs during pregnancy and is characterized by an increase in blood pressure and protein in the urine.

Gum disease linked to heart disease, diabetes
The mouth is the window to the body. It is both an indicator of the body's overall health, and a potential starting point for inflammation of the gums (periodontal disease), which affects three out of four adults age 35 and over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What to do when your child has an ear ache
As many parents know, ear infections are very common in young children. In fact, for preschool children, ear infections are the most common reason for physician visits.

Choosing a Nursing Home
It's never an easy decision to move a loved one to a nursing home. Watching someone lose their ability to live independently can be tough, and it is often overwhelming to figure out the best place for your spouse, parent, or other family member to live.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Symptoms and Treatments
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by excessive worries, doubts, or superstitious beliefs that disrupt everyday life. For the person with this disorder, it may feel like the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
According to studies, nearly one-third of American women have been physically or sexually abused by a spouse or partner at some point in their lives. So whether we aware of it or not, it is likely that domestic violence has affected our lives or the life of someone we know.

'Keyhole' surgery: less pain, faster recovery
Pain, a long recovery, and a big scar are dreaded side effects of going under the knife. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore. Laparoscopic surgery is a way for physicians to accomplish the same or better outcomes in a much less painful fashion.

Peventing Youth Violence
The problem of violence infects our towns, neighborhoods, and schools—every aspect of the daily lives of our children. What strategies can we use to help curb this problem?

Hope for People with Type 1 Diabetes
The estimated 1 million Americans living with type 1 diabetes may have new hope because of recent advances in clinical studies of islet transplants at the University of Minnesota.

Are your child's vaccinations up to date?
The start of the school year is the season of new beginnings, and it's always a great time to make sure your children's immunizations are as up-to-date as their new school clothes.