That's Fit

An eye-opening study from the University of Miami revealed that by ages 12 to 14, half of obese children have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predicts type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

This information is cause for concern, as the numbers of obese children has continued to rise steadily since the data for this study were collected (between 1999-2002, at which time more than 17 percent of chidldren aged eight to fourteen were obese).

As these children age, their chances of facing a lifetime with a chronic illness escalates if they're weight is not reined in. As one researcher from the University of Miami study states in a WebMD article, "If a kid is age 8 with metabolic syndrome, it will take 10 years or less for that child to become a type 2 diabetic or develop heart disease."

The study analyzed data data on some 1,700 children as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Perhaps I'm being a bit presumptuous, but I think it's safe to say that most women wouldn't exactly mind having a body like Jessica Biel. Similarly, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a guy that would scoff at having Jason Statham's physique. Well, in order to build a Hollywood-worthy hard body of your own, you have to be willing to enter into the iron age.

While cardiovascular exercise is a must for people looking to reduce their BMI, adding a weightlifting program to your weekly workout is vital for movie star muscle. My suggestion is to focus on calorie-torching compound exercises that target major muscle groups, rather than trying to isolate individual muscles with detailing exercises. For those of you who fear becoming big and bulky, you truly have little to worry about. By using light weights and performing a high number of repetitions (anywhere from 12 to 20) per set, you'll be able to stick to your goal of looking slim and toned.

In addition to the aesthetic benefits of resistance training, it also offers a number of benefits to your overall health. Not only have studies shown that it can help cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but Harvard researchers found that lifting weights can greatly improve the mood of a person experiencing depression.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be interested to know that there may be something you can eat to help keep your blood glucose levels under control. Just don't get grossed out when you find out that something is tree bark.

A new study published in the May 2008 edition of the journal of Nutrition Research shows Pycnogenol, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, reduces blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients. What's more, this somewhat magical bark also showed promise for people with other diabetes-related health risks, such as cardiovascular disease.

A breakthrough of this kind, provided further testing also produces similar results, could affect the lives of the estimated 20 million people in the U.S. living with type 2 diabetes, serving as a potent adjunct to prescription medication.

Can you remember the last time you had a candy bar? If you can't, it may be due to the fact that you've eaten too many of them. That's because spikes in blood sugar can have damaging effects on your short-term memory.

A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when adults were given memory tests after consuming a sugary drink, those with the highest resulting blood glucose levels exhibited the worst recall ability.

High blood sugar has also been linked to a number of other health complications, including obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Thankfully, it's often possible to avoid blood glucose-related issues by limiting your diet to foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, and by following a regular exercise program.

There's new evidence the childhood obesity epidemic may be leveling off. The past three decades have been an utter disaster in terms of childhood obesity, with the percentage of obese six-to-11-year-olds rising from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 16.3 percent in 2002. Currently, 32 percent of American schoolchildren are overweight or obese.

After analyzing 1999-2006 survey data, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the level of overweight and obese schoolchildren in America has plateaued at around 32 percent. The rates have remained constant for the first time in 45 years. It's not clear whether kids have simply gotten as heavy they're going to get under current lifestyle habits or if family, school and community interventions to eat right and exercise are making a difference. Some wonder whether a 'fat ceiling' could be a false ceiling -- researchers acknowledge more time and data are required before the obesity rate is definitively deemed stable.

As a fan of fitness and nutrition, I'd like to think advocacy for healthier living is strongly pushing back against obesity's four-decade rising tide. But that's the optimist in me. The hearts of advocacy organizations such as The Alliance for a Healthier Generation must be enjoying a lighthearted moment right now -- AHG's immediate goal was to halt the rise of childhood obesity by 2010. But the moment must be brief as our nation has an immense amount of work to do -- 32 percent is no number to celebrate. In the 1960s, childhood obesity stood in the single digits.

Investing in fitness and healthy eating habits now may deliver a big payoff later. New research reveals group-based diet and exercise interventions over six years can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes for up to 14 years. The study was published last week in a Diabetes Special Issue of The Lancet.

This study started way back in 1986, randomly assigning 577 adults with impaired glucose tolerance across 33 clinics in China to a control group or one of three lifestyle intervention groups incorporating diet, exercise or diet plus exercise. Interventions actively continued for the following six years until 1992, then participants were assessed in 2006 to determine long-term impacts of each intervention.

Compared to control participants, the combined lifestyle interventions reduced diabetes incidence by 51 percent during the six-year active intervention, and by 43 percent over the 20-year study span. Average annual incidence of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes was seven percent for intervention participants compared to 11 percent in the control group. By 2006, 80 percent of the intervention group had diabetes compared to 93 percent of the control group. Additionally, the intervention group spent an average of 3.6 fewer years with diabetes than controls.

Red wine is known for its heart-healthy compounds, but a glass a day may hold promise for people with type 2 diabetes, say researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

According to the UMass scientists, blood glucose levels rise sharply in people with type 2 after they finish a meal high in carbohydrates. But, the natural antioxidants found in red wine may slow the passage of glucose through the small intestine and eventually into the bloodstream, thus prevent this spike.

The researchers also tested other popular drinks for their affect on blood sugar, finding that red wine was clearly the most successful in preventing a spike. However, though not as effective as red wine, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white wine had some effect.

For guys out there who may be putting on less-than-stellar performances in the bedroom lately, there may be more at risk than your pride.

As men grow older, there is a natural decline in testosterone production that begins to occur at or around the age of thirty, dropping precipitously as decades pass. This can be partly to blame for erectile dysfunction in some cases, but in others it may be a sign that you are at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Of course, many other factors can cause a man to have problems getting and maintaining an erection, such as bad diet, smoking, lack of exercise, and being forced to watch a "Golden Girls" marathon. Still, if you're having trouble, it's worth checking in with your doctor.

Researchers have found that, in patients with type 2 diabetes who require insulin treatment, a new formulation that only has to be injected once daily controls blood sugar as well as the more typical three-shots-a-day formula. Not surprisingly, patients in the study were more satisfied with the once-a-day formula. (Seriously... who would want three shots each day if they could have only one?) There was no added benefit in insulin control, however.

For many patients with type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar with diet, exercise, and oral medications. But for those that require insulin treatments a once-a-day treatment could be a welcome change.

Obesity and couch potato living have contributed to a rapid climb in US diabetes cases. According to the American Diabetic Association approximately 20.8 million Americans are affected -- and the number is only getting larger. It's estimated that by 2050 as many as 48 million Americans could have type 2 diabetes.

Recently a primary drug for diabetes control, Avandia, was found to increase risk of heart disease. But perhaps the best intervention is what you can do now -- take control of your health and avoid the risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Maintaining a healthy weight through good lifestyle choices -- balanced nutrition and plenty of exercise -- will reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Learn more about diabetes on AOL Body.

Believe it or not, skin secretions from a South American frog stimulate insulin release. Scientists are hard at work on a synthetic version of the secretion. The synthetic version, called pseudin-2, may be useful in creating medications to treat type 2 diabetes. In fact, the synthetic version has been more effective than the natural form and there are no toxic effects on the cells. The concept isn't new. Another diabetes medication called exenatide was created from a saliva hormone from Gila monsters (a lizard).

Type 2 diabetes is where the body doesn't produce sufficient insulin or the body doesn't respond properly to insulin. The medication could help people with type 2 diabetes by generating more insulin production so glucose in the blood stream could be processed more efficiently.

A recent study found that type 2 diabetics (who did not take insulin) who consumed 500 mg of caffeine a day had blood sugar levels that were 8% higher than those who took a placebo. This would suggest that caffeine consumption may make it difficult for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Five hundred mg of caffeine is the equivalent of four cups of coffee.

But some are poking holes in this study already, saying that researchers only looked at the results for a very short period, not the long term, and that caffeine capsules don't necessarily affect the body the same way as caffeine in coffee might.

That being said, at least one scientist from the Harvard School of Public Health said that, if you have diabetes, it might be worth reducing or quitting coffee (or drinking decaf) for a while to see if it has an effect on your blood sugar.

According to a new U.S. study released this last week, the development of type 2 diabetes in adults can be predicted in childhood.

Somehow, that's comforting, since recognizing problems in childhood would appear to make it much easier to design and integrate treatments into the lifestyles of those who need it.

In the study, it was found that a parental history of diabetes, as well as the presence of metabolic syndrome in childhood were major predictors of type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Those are two areas that are easily checked in kids (and their parental histories), although the presence of metabolic syndrome in any child is disconcerting. Metabolic syndrome sounds like a collapsing of good health: high blood pressure; high triglycerides; high body mass; high blood glucose; and low levels of "good" high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. You must have three of the five to qualify.

If you're an American Idol fan, then you probably took notice of judge Randy Jackson's dramatic weight loss a while back. But what you may not realize is that the celebrity lost those 110 pounds because of an alarming diagnosis: type 2 diabetes. Nearly 1/3 of people who have type 2 diabetes don't even realize they have it, and Jackson has teamed up with the American Heart Association to raise awareness. In addition to spreading the word about the disease, Jackson also wants everyone to know the heart risks associated with diabetes. Though many people think of kidney and eye problems when they think of diabetes, heart disease is actually a bigger problem.

To learn more, visit the campaign's website The Heart of Diabetes. If you or someone close to you has diabetes, you can also submit your story for a chance to be on a televised public service announcement with Jackson.

Selenium is a mineral found in soil and in foods such as wheat germ, shellfish, liver, sunflower seeds, and mushrooms. Selenium aids in metabolism. Selenium supplements have been recommended for a broad range of things from cold sores to arthritis. It was previously thought that selenium may be helpful in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Recent research, however, uncovers that the exact opposite is true. Long-term use of selenium supplements can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

50% of the 1,202 participants in a long-term study took selenium supplements. Over a period of 7.7 years, the people who took the supplements had a 50% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes.

Some multivitamins or supplements contain up to 200 milligrams of selenium. While the recommended dose depends upon your age, for most adults the recommendation is around 55 milligrams. A healthy diet can provide all the selenium most people need.