all Frank B. Hu stories

Low-fat dairy may help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes

50443248 — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:52:45 -0400

The consumption of low-fat dairy foods may reduce men's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the May 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) - the first large-scale, prospective examination of a relationship between dairy intake and diabetes risk - analyzes data from the HSPH-based Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Study finds that both weight and exercise are key to longevity

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:38:51 -0400

Over 115,000 participants who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer, who were between the ages of 30 and 55 and had filled out biennial health and lifestyle questionnaires between 1976 and 2000, were chosen for the study from the Brigham and Women's Hospital-based Nurses' Health Study. The women answered questionnaires that asked on average how much time was spent per week on moderate physical activities and vigorous physical activities. Women who spent 3.5 hours per week or more exercising were considered physically active. The researchers found that both obesity and physical activity significantly and independently affected mortality. A high level of physical activity did not eliminate the risk of premature death associated with obesity and leanness did not counteract the increased risk in mortality conferred by inactivity. Compared to physically active, lean women, there was nearly a two-and-a-half- fold increase in risk of death for inactive and obese women. The researchers estimated that excess weight (BMI over 25) and physical inactivity accounted for 31 percent of all premature deaths among the study participants with 59 percent of the deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease and 21 percent from cancer among the non-smoking women. "It is clear that both weight and exercise are important for health and longevity," said Frank Hu, lead author of the study and an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Coffee cuts diabetes risk

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:33:49 -0400

More than 125,000 study participants who were free of diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease at the start of a study were selected from the on-going Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Brigham and Women's Hospital-based Nurses Health Study. Some 41,934 men were tracked from 1986 to 1998 and 84,276 women from1980 to 1998 via food frequency questionnaires every two to four years to assess their intake of both regular and decaffeinated coffee. During the span of the study, 1,333 new cases of type 2 diabetes were diagnosed in men and 4,085 among the women participants.

Generous portions of TV make women fat

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:29:10 -0400

The first study to compare the effects of inactivity on obesity and diabetes concludes that being a couch potato significantly raises the risk of both diseases. "Our data provide strong evidence that sedentary behaviors, especially prolonged TV watching, are directly related to the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes," reports Frank Hu, leader of a team from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School that did the research. "In contrast, even light to moderate activity, such as walking and housework, substantially lowers the risk." Previous studies have shown that children who watch too much TV gain too much weight. A different Harvard investigation, called the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, found a positive link between heavy TV viewing and type 2 diabetes.

Specific types of exercise can significantly reduce risk of heart disease among men

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:24:12 -0400

A pool of 44,452 men from the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study were monitored via questionnaire every two years from 1986 to 1998 to determine potential coronary heart disease risk factors and type and intensity of leisure time activity. While studies have been conducted on the beneficial relationship of exercise and risk of CHD, there is a scarcity of information on what role exercise type and intensity level play in reducing CHD risk. Researchers found that men who trained with weights for 30 minutes or more per week reduced their risk for CHD by 23 percent compared to those who didn't train with weights.

Eating fish may reduce risk of sudden death

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:20:40 -0400

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health have been following the health of more than 22,000 male doctors since 1982. They examined fatty acids from fish in the blood of 94 of these men who died suddenly and compared the results with 184 living men matched for age and how much they smoked. Those with the highest levels of fatty acids from fish in their blood had an 81 percent lower risk of sudden death than those with the lowest levels. "Overall, the higher the amounts of omega-3 fatty acids climbed in blood samples, the greater sudden-death-risk was reduced," said Christine Albert, leader of the study. The results were reported in the April 11, 2002, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Another study, conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health, followed 84,688 female nurses. "Our research suggests that women can reduce their risk of heart disease by more than 30 percent by eating fish two to four times a week," said Frank Hu, leader of the study and an associate professor of nutrition and cardiovascular disease. Hu's team reported their results in the April 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Study links Western dietary pattern with greater risk for type 2 diabetes in men

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:19:00 -0400

About 16 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, which can cause blindness, kidney failure, and heart disease. Now researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have linked a diet high in consumption of red meat, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and refined grains, combined with obesity and inactivity, with a high risk for type 2 diabetes in men. Frank Hu, co-author and an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health said, “The implications of the study are straightforward.

Sharp declines in heart disease in women

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:06:43 -0400

During the course of a 14-year study, female participants' consumption of red meat dropped by nearly 40 percent, intake of trans fats dropped by more than 30 percent, and use of high-fat dairy products decreased by more than 40 percent. These changes were complemented by increases in consumption of cereal fiber, folic acid, and fish. Simultaneously, the women's smoking rate declined by 41 percent and the proportion of postmenopausal women using hormone therapy increased almost two-fold. Researchers found that these changes led to a 31 percent decline in coronary heart disease in the group of nearly 86,000. A thorough analysis of the group's diet, lifestyle, and medical history indicated that most of this improvement is due to improving diets, quitting smoking, and using postmenopausal hormones. However, these gains achieved through healthy behaviors were somewhat offset by gains in weight: the number of overweight participants increased by 38 percent.

Physically active women reduce risk of stroke

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:07:41 -0400

A Harvard study followed 72,488 nurses for eight years and concluded that the more a woman exercises, the lower the odds she will suffer a stroke. Two large Harvard studies of men also show that exercise reduces their chances of getting strokes. However, the more-is-better association has not yet been proven for men as it has now been done for women. "Previous research demonstrated that increased exercise may substantially reduce a person's risk of heart disease, but the role of exercise in the prevention of stoke has been less well studied and not very conclusive," said Frank Hu, assistant professor of nutrition and cardiovascular disease at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Another important finding of our study is that sedentary women who become active in middle and later adulthood have lower stroke risk than those who remain sedentary," Hu added. "This implies a relatively prompt effect of physical activity. Older people can enjoy the benefit of exercise even if they were sedentary for a long time."