Health Tip: Understanding Adult Dehydration

HealthDay – 2 hrs 57 mins ago (HealthDay News) -- Dehydration occurs when the body doesn't have enough fluids to continue working properly.

If you don't drink enough fluids or have diarrhea, your risk of dehydration rises. This can be especially dangerous for older people or those with weaker immune systems.

The U.S. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse says anyone with these warning signs should see a doctor as soon as possible to be evaluated for dehydration:

Feeling thirsty.Not urinating often or noticing that urine is very dark.Having dry skin.Fainting or feeling dizzy.Being tired.Having skin that doesn't quickly return to normal after being pinched.

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Thin as a baby, obese as an adult -- a diabetic in old age?

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — Small babies had significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels and a higher risk of diabetes at the age of 75 and older. The risk of diabetes in old age was five-fold among those born small but who were obese in midlife compared to those with higher birth weight and low body mass index in adulthood.

See Also:Health & MedicineDiabetesObesityDiet and Weight LossHealthy AgingInfant's HealthDiseases and ConditionsReferenceDiabetes mellitus type 2Birth weightBlood sugarGlycemic index

- Studies have shown that small body size at birth is associated with diabetes in adulthood. However, little is known about the effect in old individuals. In our study, the association between birth weight and glucose metabolism in old age was strong in spite of the long time between the exposure and the outcome as well as the age-related changes that occur in the glucose and insulin metabolism, says Dr. Mikaela von Bonsdorff from the University of Jyväskylä.

The Finnish researcher worked with an Icelandic dataset at the National Institute on Aging, NIH, US. Iceland has one of the highest average birth weights in the world and also one of the lowest rates of diabetes. High birth weight has been attributed to the high protein nutrition and the universal use of cod oil which is known to lengthen gestation. In spite of these unique features, the present findings are in line with earlier studies conducted in the Western countries.

- In terms of identifying risk factors for diabetes, it is important to consider body size at birth along with the traditional risk factors as low birth weight seems to yield a lifetime risk for diabetes. The present findings are concerning while obesity is increasing in all age-groups, says Dr. Mikaela von Bonsdorff.

The 1682 participants belonging to the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility – Reykjavik (AGES-Reykjavik) Study were born between 1914 and 1935. They had taken part in the follow-up as middle aged and in old age and these data were linked with anthropometrical birth data extracted from medical records in Iceland. The international study group included researchers from the US, Iceland, the Netherlands and Finland.

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Childhood Obesity May Raise Odds of Adult Liver Cancer

HealthDay – 13 mins ago FRIDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Adults who were obese as children are at increased risk for liver cancer, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the birth weight and body-mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight commonly called BMI) of more than 165,000 men and 160,000 women in Denmark born between 1930 and 1989.

Of those participants, 252 developed hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer in adulthood.

The study authors calculated that at age 7, the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma increased by 12 percent for every one-point increase in BMI. By age 13, that risk increased to 25 percent. Therefore, as units of BMI increased into adulthood, so did the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. This was consistently similar across both genders and all ages.

Other factors associated with liver cancer include alcoholism, infection by hepatitis B and C, and other liver diseases. But the study results did not change when participants with these factors were removed from the study, which indicates that childhood obesity was the major factor in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the researchers said.

The study was slated for presentation Thursday at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona.

"Childhood obesity not only leads to the development of many adverse metabolic conditions -- such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease -- but also fatty liver disease, which may subsequently result in liver cancer," Dr. Frank Lammert, a scientific committee member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, said in an association news release.

"The importance of maintaining a healthy childhood BMI cannot be underestimated," Lammert said in the release. "These alarming study results point to a potential correlation between childhood obesity and development of liver cancer in adulthood."

Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The American Liver Foundation has more about liver cancer.

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More adult kids living with parents and in no rush to depart

Next Stop’: Aging out of special-needs network and navigating the futureWage gap for mothers of autistic children, study showsStories By DateFull Monthly Archive Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 03/21/2012TheWashingtonPostBy Janice D'Arcy

Parents of graduating seniors might want to postpone turning their child’s bedroom into a guest room. A new study finds that young adults are not only moving back home at higher rates than ever before, they also don’t seem in a rush to move out.

“Large majorities of young adults ages 25 to 34 living at home say they’re satisfied with their living arrangements and upbeat about their future finances,” according to The Boomerang Generation report from the Pew Research Center.

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