FitSugar

City Living and Breast Cancer

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0800

October might have been Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the research is not limited to a month. Researchers are persistent, and a new study gives city living women a reason to stay vigilant too.

New research from the UK indicates that women living in cities have much denser breast tissue than their country living counterparts. Combine this data with the previous research that indicates women with the densest breasts are considered four times as likely to develop breast cancer. There is a relationship between breast cancer and breast tissue.

There are three pieces of information to consider here:

Particles commonly found in air pollution, which is more common in urban areas, often mimic hormones that can interfere with the make up of breast tissue, and create denser tissue.
The more dense the breast tissue is the more difficult to detect tumors and suspicious growths with X rays. Mammograms are a specialized form of X-ray and are considered the most effective way of detecting tumors. Early stage cancer is more difficult to detect in dense breast tissue.
This study was performed on women who reside in London, 972 of them, in fact. An English health survey found that women residing in London were the thinnest in the country. This is important since there is an inverse relationship between breast density and body weight: thinner women generally have less body fat and therefore denser breast tissue.

If you live in a city, take heed. Remember to perform your monthly breast exams and take cancer screening seriously. You should also read 5 Things to Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer.

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Catching Up With Biggest Loser Tara Costa

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:47:08 -0800

Even though she is no longer required to pull big numbers at the weekly Biggest Loser weigh-ins, Tara Costa is still working it. She told Life and Style that she's "still battling the last 10 pounds."

Tara currently weighs 164 pounds (down from 294 at the start of the show), but the second runner-up of from last year's season says she'd "love to live at 155-ish." Her plan of attack is twofold. She's headed for a week-long stay at the Biggest Loser Resort and Spa, located in Ivins, UT, where guests can reenact the rigors of the weight-loss reality show: six hours of daily exercise and a healthy diet. Her second method is running. Tara ran in the New York City Marathon last Sunday, completing the 26.2-mile course in 4 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds.

I love keeping up with past contestants from the show and seeing that they are still living healthy lives. Like Tara, are you battling the last few pesky pounds that refuse to go away? Join the Weight Loss Support group, to meet like-minded people who share your goals.

Photos courtesy of NBC and Getty

Looking to Move? Try Burlington, VT

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:13 -0700

After looking at the 100 largest metropolitan areas in America, Burlington, VT, came out on top as Self magazine's "fittest, healthiest, and happiest" city to live in for women. The magazine studied almost 8,000 different pieces of data in 50 categories and consulted a panel of experts to come up with its rankings. Information factored into the creation of this list includes rates of diseases, air quality, unemployment statistics, and health habits such as exercise and smoking.

The New England city boasts some of the lowest rates of cervical and ovarian cancer deaths in the country, and healthy habits prevail: women walk to work regularly and don't smoke. Where Burlington really shines is in nutrition and food - the city has six times as many food co-ops than the national average, and its farmers markets accept food stamps.

What to see how your hometown fared? Check out the entire ranking here.

SATC Helped Tyra Banks Shape Up

FitSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:31:00 -0700

What began as a three-month fitness challenge among friends last January turned into a new lifestyle for Tyra Banks.

Once she began tracking calories, Tyra bought an elliptical machine to amp up her exercise. She explained her cardio regimen on her show recently like this:

I didn't work out like crazy, [but] I would exercise. I actually bought a treadmill and elliptical. I got rid of one of my couches in my living room and I watched Sex and the City episodes on the elliptical and treadmill. So Sex and the City lasted 30 minutes and that's how long I was on the elliptical.

Tyra also mentioned that her modeling career changed as her metabolism slowed. To hear why, read more.

Working out doesn't come naturally to Tyra, she had to train herself to get off the couch - just like most of us. She didn't exercise while modeling and just relied on her metabolism. So when it changed, she moved on. She says,

My career as model changed because my metabolism changed. I didn't do Victoria's Secret because I wanted to. I did Victoria's Secret because my ass was getting big and I couldn't fit in Armani runway anymore.

I'd say that career move paid off, wouldn't you?

Increased Cancer Risk in These Polluted Cities

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:03:42 -0700

If you live in a city, you know firsthand about air pollution. Eighty different cancer-causing pollutants ca be found in the air, and they're increasing many individuals' risk for developing cancer. According to the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment released by the EPA, nearly 600 neighborhoods across the US exceed a 100 in one million cancer risk. That means that if one million people breathe toxic air over the course of their lifetime, 100 people would develop cancer solely because of the pollution.

To find out which city's pollution levels are putting their residents at risk for cancer read more.

The chart below shows which areas have an estimated cancer risk greater than 100 in one million. It's no surprise that the major cities are the ones causing the greatest health risks.

Tell me, does knowing pollution is directly connected to increased cancer risk affect where you live?

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LA Ranks Number One For Dirty Air

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:30:00 -0700

The recently released State of the Air report ranks Los Angeles as the nation's dirtiest city, a spot that LA has unfortunately held for a decade.

The report, commissioned by the American Heart and Lung association, found that 186.1 million people, more than half the US population, live and breathe in areas with dangerously high levels of air pollution. The rest of California did not fare so well either; the report found that the number of estimated premature deaths due to poor air quality, particulate matter specifically, has tripled. It is not surprising that three other metropolitan areas in California - Bakersfield, Visalia-Porterville, Fresno-Madera - rank among the nation's dirtiest.

To see the American cities that have the cleanest air, read more.

Made famous by the Cohen brothers movie, Fargo, North Dakota should also be famous for its great air quality. It is the only city to pass all three air pollution tests: ozone pollution, year-round particle pollution, and short-term (24-hour) particle pollution. Other cities to rank high in at least two out of the three tests are: Billings, MT; Cheyenne, WY; Colorado Springs, CO; and Honolulu, HI. You can check the state of your state's air quality at the State of the Air web site. How did your state rank?

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NYC Installing Treadmills in Subways

FitSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:30:00 -0700

New York City is steadily becoming a healthier place to live for many reasons. Smoking was banned in most indoor work places and restaurants in 2003. Fast food chains and local restaurants ditched trans fat last year. They also have fruit and vegetable stands in both wealthy and low-income areas so folks can buy a healthy snack on the street instead of a hot dog. In 2007, eateries were also required to list calorie counts on their menu boards. To prevent the spread of HIV and other STIs, New York also gives away free condoms in public bathrooms. So it's no surprise that this hip city is doing more to keep its New Yorkers healthy by installing treadmills in subway stations. All that waiting around for the L Train can be time spent burning calories. It's a brilliant idea, really. To hear more about when you should start seeing them, read more.

April Fools! Ha! It is a great idea though, isn't it? I guess if you want to exercise while waiting for the subway, you can always jog in place. Since it's New York City, people won't think you're crazy!

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Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

FitSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Almost wiped out after World War II, bed bugs are back with a vengeance. Recent bed bug infestations have been reported in a wide variety of locales, from college dormitories to hospital wings, homeless shelters to swanky hotels in the big apple and the windy city. The resurgence of these little brown bugs has become so problematic in parts of the nation that the Environmental Protection Agency held a two-day summit on the issue.

While bed bugs do not transmit diseases, their bites often cause discomfort from swelling and itching. Creepier still: bedbugs excrete a numbing agent in order to not wake their slumbering victims. The small bugs, about a quarter of an inch in length, live in sheet folds, couch crevices, and mattresses.

The resurgence of these little buggers is international and the problem is worse in densely populated areas. One reason for the rise is that there are few pesticides approved for use on mattresses that kill bedbugs. Since the approval process of pesticides is lengthy, the EPA is considering approving some pesticides for emergency use. There is also a push to study the effectiveness of alternative removal solutions, like heating, freezing, or steaming to remove the bedbugs. Have you dealt with bedbugs? Are you itchy after reading this? I know I am!

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And the Healthiest City For Women Is . . .

FitSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:06:30 -0800

Although Burlington, VT, was recently named the healthiest city by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Self magazine determined that Bethesda, MD, scores highest when it comes to women's health, the lists don't end there. Now Men's Health and Women's Health magazines have come up with their own versions. The duo rated 100 of the largest US cities and ranked them from best to worst. Top on their list for women is Salt Lake City, UT. For men, the healthiest place to live is Madison, WI.

Curious to know which cities are worst according to these magazines? Then read more.

Unfortunately, Bakersfield, CA, was ranked the unhealthiest city for women to live. As for men, Charleston, WV, was last on the list. To create the rankings, the magazines looked at factors including cancer rates, air quality, and the number of gym memberships held by the community. To see the complete list and find out how your city ranked, check out the Women's Health website.

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Healthiest and Unhealthiest Cities For Women

FitSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:00:00 -0800

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control released its list of the healthiest cities in the US. Using gender-specific stats, Self magazine has created its own list of the healthiest and unhealthiest cities for women. The magazine uses almost 8,000 bits of data in 50 categories to create its ranking system. Some of the criteria are public health stats like death and disease rates, but it also measures elements of healthy living like access to parks, trails, and fitness centers, as well as air quality, commuting practices, and availability of farmers markets. This year Bethesda, MD, home of the National Institutes of Health, takes the top spot pushing my beloved San Francisco, CA, out of first place.

Here is the list of the other metro areas to make the top 10:

San Francisco, CA
Honolulu, HI
Nassau-Suffolk counties (Long Island), NY
Cambridge, MA
Stamford, CT
New York City, NY
Santa Ana, CA
San Jose, CA
Seattle, WA

To see where the fittest women in the US live, as well as the least healthy cities, just read more.

Fittest women: Santa Ana, CA
These ladies exercise vigorously nearly 30 percent more than the average woman included in the survey.

Healthiest hearts: Minneapolis, MN
Women in the mini-apple have low levels of hypertension.

Healthiest eaters: San Francisco, CA
Close to the some of the best farmland in the country, women in SF eat an average of 52 servings of fruit a month.

Most health clubs: Springfield, MA

Most likely to walk to work: New York City, NY

Now for the metro areas where women's health was considered the worst:

Detroit, MI
Gary, IN
St. Louis, MO
Toledo, OH
Oklahoma City, OK
Indianapolis, IN
Tulsa, OK
Kansas City, MO
Cincinnati, OH
Wichita, KS

If your hometown didn't make either list, you can check the stats of your town using a interactive map created by Self. I am going to go eat some fruit and map out my new bike route to work. What about you?

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