TUESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Forget about regular, scheduled exercise for a minute. If you just drop your average daily activity level -- by taking elevators instead of stairs, by parking your car in the closest space, or by never walking to do errands -- you increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and premature death, according to new Danish research.

And, those changes begin in as little as 14 days after you start to reduce your activity level, the researchers say.

The team found that when healthy men cut their daily activity, their insulin levels spiked dramatically, as did levels of blood factors such as C-peptide and triglycerides -- suggesting an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

"It is amazing that only two weeks of reduced stepping can induce numerous metabolic abnormalities," said the one of the study's authors, Dr. Rikke Krogh-Madsen, from the Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism in Copenhagen. "It is of special interest that impaired metabolism occurred without a total weight gain," she added.

"The message here is that a lot of significant changes can occur without a huge change in weight, so if your only barometer of success and health is weight, you're missing out," said exercise physiologist Polly deMille, from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Results of the study were published as a letter in the March 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study included 18 young, healthy men with no family history of diabetes. None of the men smoked, and none participated in a regular exercise program for more than two hours each week.

The study volunteers were divided into two groups. The first group included eight men with an average age of 27 and an average BMI of 22.9, which is well within the normal range (obesity starts at a BMI of 30).

Prior to the study start, the men wore pedometers and averaged 6,203 steps each day. To reduce the amount of steps, the researchers asked the volunteers to take cars on short trips instead of walking or bicycling, and to take elevators instead of stairs. During the study period, the men reduced their daily steps to an average of 1,394 daily steps. After two weeks of reduced daily activity, the amount of insulin circulating in the blood increased by about 60 percent, suggesting that the body was no longer efficiently processing glucose (energy) from food and needed to increase insulin production to metabolize the sugar in food.

The second group included 10 men with an average age of 23.8 years and a BMI of 22.1. At the start of the study, their average daily number of steps were 10,501. After two weeks, they had reduced their average daily steps to 1,344 -- an almost 90 percent reduction in daily activity. In this group, insulin levels also rose by nearly 60 percent after two weeks of inactivity.

In this group, the researchers also measured additional effects and found levels of heart disease risk factors had also increased with reduced activity. For example, triglyceride levels increased and the lack of physical activity was associated with a 7 percent increase in abdominal fat, even though there was no overall weight gain, according to Krogh-Madsen.

"Reduced daily activity can induce metabolic changes, which can be associated with the progression of chronic disorders and premature mortality," the researcher said.

The good news here, deMille added, is that the flip side is also true.

With just a couple of weeks of increased physical activity, you can start to reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease, even if you don't notice a big difference on the bathroom scale.

"Just get some movement in. Even if it's not what you think you should be doing, every lit bit helps in terms of keeping metabolism healthy," she said. DeMille recommended getting a pedometer to see how many steps you're already taking in a day, and then working toward adding to that each day.

"Ten thousand steps a day is recommended as a goal, but if you could get up to 5,000 a day, that's a big gain in terms of becoming a more active, healthy person. If you can do more, that's great, but every little bit counts," deMille said.

More information

For tips on beginning an exercise program, visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons  .

MONDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- There was a significant increase in the proportion of food-borne illness outbreaks in the United States linked to leafy green vegetables from 1973 to 2006, but the rise can't be completely explained by increased consumption of leafy greens, researchers say.

"During the 1986-1995 period, U.S. leafy green consumption increased 17 percent from the previous decade. During the same period, the proportion of food-borne disease outbreaks due to leafy greens increased 60 percent. Likewise, during 1996 to 2005, leafy green consumption increased 9 percent, and leafy green-associated outbreaks increased 39 percent," researcher Michael Lynch, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a prepared statement.

Lynch and his colleagues decided to conduct the study after high-profile spinach and lettuce-related E. coli outbreaks in 2006.

Their analysis of more than 10,000 food-borne illnesses from 1973 to 2006 revealed that leafy greens were involved in a total of 5 percent of all food-borne outbreaks. Most of the leafy green outbreaks were caused by norovirus (60 percent), while others were caused by salmonella (10 percent) and E. coli (9 percent).

"Given recent experiences, that was not a total surprise. What was interesting was when we compared the numbers to consumption data," Lynch said.

He said further investigation is needed to determine why the rate of leafy green-related food-borne illness has increased more than consumption. Many food-borne disease outbreaks can be traced to a problem in food preparation, he said. However, some outbreaks were fairly widespread, which suggests that contamination occurred either on the farm or in the processing plant.

"The proportion of outbreaks due to leafy greens has increased beyond what can be explained by increased consumption. Contamination can occur anywhere along the chain from the farm to the table. Efforts by local, state and federal agencies to control leafy green outbreaks should span from the point of harvest to the point of preparation," Lynch said.

The study findings were presented Monday at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, in Atlanta.

In a three-part series published in January, HealthDay detailed the problems with tainted foods plaguing the U.S. food system. In little less than a year and a half, nationwide recalls of tainted products formed their own peculiar food pyramid: meats, vegetables, salads, snacks, fast food, even dessert items. The various pathogens in those products killed at least three people, sickened more than 1,300 others and touched almost every state in the country as well as Canada.

More information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has more about food safety.

FRIDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- There may be a link between rising rates of carbohydrate intake and obesity and the increasing number of esophageal cancer cases in the United States, a new study says.

Researchers noted that cases of esophageal cancer increased from 300,000 in 1973 to 2.1 million in 2001, which closely mirrors increases in carbohydrate intake and obesity over the same time.

Obesity is a major risk factor for many types of cancer, and a diet high in calories from refined carbohydrates is a common contributor to obesity, the researchers noted. They also said no other studied nutrients were found to correlate with esophageal cancer rates.

"If we can reverse the trends in refined carbohydrate intake and obesity in the U.S., we may be able to reduce the incidence of esophageal cancer," study senior author Dr. Li Li, an assistant professor in the department of family medicine and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Health System, said in a prepared statement.

The study was published in a recent issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The causes of esophageal cancer are largely unknown, and despite recent advances, patients with this type of cancer have a poor prognosis. The five-year survival rate is less than 20 percent.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about esophageal cancer  .

SUNDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Taking the time to investigate food labels not only can improve your heart health, but also your overall wellness.

"Reading the labels is a great way to be guided toward healthier choices for your heart, and for general reduction of all chronic diseases today," Cathy Fitzgerald, registered dietitian with MFit, the University of Michigan Health System's health promotion division, said in a prepared statement. "So think about using the front of the package as well as the nutrition facts on the back when you are out shopping."

Start by educating yourself on what food label language truly means. Fitzgerald offered these tips:

• The claim, "May reduce the risk of heart disease." A company can only put this statement on a food if scientific evidence exists that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided is strong enough to support it.
• Nutrient content claims. The government regulates how a company can use terms such as "high," "low" or "reduced." For example, a food must have 3 grams of fat or less to be considered low fat, and a product that is high in a certain nutrient provides 20 percent or more of the daily value suggested by the FDA.
• Foods with fiber. Fiber helps the digestive system and lowers cholesterol. Look for the claims "high in fiber" or "excellent source of fiber," as these products have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. A food listed as a "good source" of fiber has 2.5 grams of fiber or more.
• Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats have been shown to benefit the heart. Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and trout are good sources of omega fats and are low in saturated fat.
• Sterols and stanols. Plant sterols and stanols are cholesterol-lowering substances often added to products like margarine and salad dressings. Review the label carefully to make sure a product states it offers the cholesterol-lowering benefits of plant sterols and stanols.
• Sodium. Look for phrases like "low sodium" or "reduced sodium." This is especially important in processed and canned foods. If a food is labeled as "reduced" in sodium, it has 25 percent less salt than the regular product.
• Trans fats. Eat trans fats sparingly, as they raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Fried foods and processed foods that have a long shelf life are often loaded with them. The term "partially hydrogenated oil" on an ingredient's list indicates the food contains trans fats.
• Saturated fat. Butter, fatty cuts of red meat, and cheese made from whole milk are among foods with the highest amount of saturated fat -- a main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Opt for low-fat or non-fat dairy products, lean meats such as loin or round cuts, and liquid margarines instead of butter.

More information

The American Heart Association offers has more about how to read food labels  .