U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
April-March 2003
Table of Contents
Topics in This Issue:
If you are a woman and your waist measures more than 35 inches, or if you are a man and your waist is more than 40 inches, you are more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers than people who maintain a healthy weight.
But what exactly is considered a "healthy weight"? The answer is on a Web site run by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. There, you'll find a handy chart that matches up your weight and height to determine if you weigh in as healthy, moderately overweight, or severely overweight. According to the institute, if you are overweight, losing as little as 5 percent to 10 percent of your body weight may improve many of the health problems linked to being overweight, such as high blood pressure. Also recommended is an increase in physical activity, which can be done, the site says, "in short spurts--10 minutes here, 20 minutes there."
The site also functions as a clearinghouse for ordering useful publications that can help you better understand weight control and begin a program of weight loss.
You're working at your computer keyboard, trying to ignore the numbness you've had for some time in your wrist and hand. Suddenly, a sharp pain shoots through your wrist and up your arm. What gives? It could be a cramp, but it's also likely to be carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by compression of a key wrist nerve.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has converted one of its helpful fact sheets into a Web site that reviews the symptoms and causes of carpal tunnel syndrome and offers a detailed explanation of diagnosis and treatment of the condition. The site gives tips for preventing the syndrome and summarizes research and experimental treatments that are in progress.
If you still have questions, the site includes a lengthy list of additional resources and contacts, such as the American Chronic Pain Association and the Association for Repetitive Motion Syndromes.
Caring in the home for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be a major challenge. It requires creative solutions to ensure freedom and safety for the person with AD and peace of mind for the caregiver. With an estimated 4 million Alzheimer's patients in this country, most over age 65, many Americans are placed in this caregiver position daily. To help smooth the way, the National Institute on Aging has created an online brochure called "Home Safety for People with Alzheimer's Disease."
In it, you'll find a list of general safety concerns, along with a room-by-room checklist to help make the home a safe environment for the AD patient. Also included is a checklist to help decide if it is safe to leave the patient alone.
The site reviews how to increase safety when the patient displays behaviors such as wandering, hiding things, or rummaging. Another list gives warning signs to look for to help determine if an AD patient can no longer drive safely.
The site also poses the question, "Who would take care of the person with AD if something happened to you?" and advises caregivers how to form a plan to ensure that the patient has continuing care in such an event.
Though they are used widely to nab speeders, send electronic communications, and treat muscle soreness, microwaves are most commonly used to heat and cook foods in the nation's microwave ovens. Ever wonder how safe these products are? Or how they work their magic? On a site called "Microwave Oven Radiation," the FDA gives the lowdown on the ovens and how best to use them.
You'll learn how microwaves are formed, what happens when microwaves cook foods, and the best materials to use in the ovens. The site explains that microwaves made after October 1971 must have a label stating that they meet a standard for microwave safety that the FDA enforces. Also on the site is a list of tips for safe microwave operation.