Zoomer Report

Do you eat yogurt every day? Some research out of Ireland shows that it’s a good idea, especially if you are a Zoomer. Researchers tracked the diet and lifestyle of more than 4000 people over 60. They then measured bone density and joint deterioration, and tested participants’ physical ability. After adjusting for age and factors like exercise and smoking, they found that people who ate yogurt dai...

It’s one of the most common sources of pain for Zoomers and surgery has been one of the major options. An international panel of surgeons and patients has recommended strongly against the use of arthroscopic surgery for patients with degenerative knee problems. The guidelines in the journal BMJ, reviewed 13 studies and found the surgery did not provide lasting pain relief or improve function for m...

Here’s an important finding about sleep as we age. A review from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that some seniors lose the ability to get deep, restorative rest, and this contributes to medical conditions including depression and dementia. People who wake up multiple times during the night can miss out on the deep stages of sleep and that can cause a vicious cycle. Medical conditi...

We’ve known for a long time that there are health benefits to being married. Now there is more evidence In a study published in the Journal of the American heart Association. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta found that people with cardiovascular disease who were not married –- including those who were divorced, separated, widowed or never married –- had 24 percent higher rates of death f...

Here’s an important finding about the importance of social contact and interacting with the outside world. Researchers at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem found that for older people, getting out of the house regularly may contribute to a longer life. They asked people in their 70s, 80s and 90s, how often they left the house and found that those who ventured out frequentl...

For years, we’ve been told that when it comes to losing weight, slow and steady is the best approach. Now an Australian study is casting doubt on that assumption. According to the research published The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. the rate at which you shed excess pounds has no bearing on whether or not you will gain them back. As a matter of fact, if your goal involves losing 12.5 percent of...

The latest report on the dangers of processed and red meat sparked a social media backlash and a flurry of clarification followed the first sensational headlines. It came from an international panel of experts convened by the World health Organization, and it concluded that processed meat definitely causes cancer and red meat probably causes cancer. It made that determination after sifting through...

Here’s yet another reason to count your calories. There’s research showing that Zoomers who eat too much are at risk for memory impairment. People 70 and older who eat between 2,100 and 6,000 calories a day may be at double the risk of these deficits in memory, which can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Investigators from the Mayo Clinic collected data on more than 1,200 people, aged 70 to...

Do you work for someone who’s younger? According to a survey by Torontojobs. Ca, 34% of workers do, and 15% say they work for someone who is at least ten years younger. With that in mind, the job search website has come up with some tips to Minimize Generational Differences in the Workplace: Take time to get to know co-workers as individuals rather than stereotyping them by age. If you have a disp...

Do you have a new grandchild, godchild, niece or nephew? If it’s been awhile since you took care of an infant, it may be a good idea to brush up on baby care practises. For instance, most baby-boomers slept on their tummies in the crib. By the time they had kids in the 1970s, medical wisdom had changed, and family doctors said babies should sleep on their sides. Now studies have found that the ris...

How fast do you walk? That speed may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life, according to researchers in the US. They also say that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke. Brain scans, walking speed and grip strength were recorded for nearly 2500 people who were, on average, 62 years old. The results presented at the Academy of Neurology showed that 1...

Here’s good news for Zoomers who are still hoping to quit smoking. It’s not too late. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, smokers who kick the habit in their 40s or 50s can still reclaim many of the years that would otherwise be lost. The findings show that people who stop by the age of 40 reduce their risk of smoking-related death by 90 per cent, giving them a near-normal...

How annoyed do you get with drivers who cut you off and weave in and out of traffic? According to researchers from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, in Toronto, those are the most irritating drivers, and road rage is a factor in nearly half of all car accidents. The study says identifying the triggers of road rage will help drivers stay calm and prevent dangerous driving. It analyzed tho...

When do you usually eat lunch? If you prefer a late midday meal, you may have more trouble shedding pounds than those who dine earlier. A study of Spanish dieters on a 20 week programme found those who ate their main meal, which is lunch in Spain, before 3pm lost more weight than those who ate it later. This was despite the fact that both groups ate about the same numbers of calories, burned a sim...

We already know that processed meat is bad for us. Now there’s evidence it’s worse than we thought. A study of half a million Europeans in the journal BMC Medicine finds that eating too much processed meat actually increases the risk of dying young. Researchers estimate that 3% of all premature deaths can be attributed to the high consumption of sausages, bacon, ham and salami. People who ate more...

There’s more evidence about how noise can affect your health. A study of more than three and a half million people who live near Heathrow Airport in London finds their location increased the risks of stroke, heart and circulatory disease. The work published in the British medical Journal suggested those risks were 10-20% higher in areas with the highest levels of aircraft noise. And for the 70,000...

The theory is that it’s younger women who are obsessed with the way they look, and highly self-critical. But a study in The Journal of Women & Aging found the majority of women aged 50 and older are still not happy with their shape and size. What’s interesting is that this research is focused on the positive. It concentrates on the mere 12% who are happy with their bodies – in an attempt to discov...

Can you be fat and fit? Over the last few years, there were studies claiming that this was possible. But research from Mt. Sinai Hospital shows that excess weight still carries health risks, including the risk of premature death, even when cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels are normal. The work published in Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at findings from published studies tracking h...

With the growing interest in natural and alternative health supplements, here’s a warning for consumers. A study out of the University of Guelph finds that the majority of herbal products on the market contain ingredients not listed on the label, with most companies substituting cheaper alternatives and using fillers. The study in the journal BMC Medicine, used DNA barcoding technology to test 44...

It’s a testament to the power and importance of preventing smoking – an interesting “what if” to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1964 U.S. Surgeon General’s report on the ills of smoking. A study the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that half a century of anti-smoking campaigning has prevented 8 million premature deaths in the United States, giving those people an averag...

Do you have a high blood pressure? It’s a pretty straightforward question, but new research suggests if you do, you may not realize it. A study of more than 140,000 adults finds about half of people with high blood pressure — or hypertension – have no idea they have the condition. That’s worrisome, according to the study’s authors, because uncontrolled high blood pressure can increase risk for hea...

We’ve all heard about the dangers of trans fats. Now it turns out they can do more than just clog your arteries: they might also be messing with your memory. According to findings presented to the American Heart Association, men who ate large amounts of trans fats showed a significantly reduced ability to recall words during a memory test. The study found those with the most trans fats in their di...

It’s easy enough to get a calorie count on the food we eat. But it doesn’t mean much to many of us according to a new report in the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers say showing people how much activity they would have to do to burn those calories off might be a better way to convince us to change our eating habits. In a novel experiment, they posted different types of signs aroun...

Here’s a finding that won’t surprise anyone who’s dealt with Toronto traffic lately. In addition to making you more fit, walking or biking to work, instead of driving can also improve your mental health. This, according to a study from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School. The researchers analyzed 18 years of data compiled on 18,000 British commuters. They considered their feelin...

Heartache can really be bad for your heart – especially if you’re a woman. According to new research from the University of Utah, women in strained marriages are more likely to suffer the risk factors for heart disease than their husbands. Those risk factors are known as metabolic syndrome, and they include symptoms like hypertension, obesity at the waistline, and high blood sugar. While smoking,...