Harvard Health Content API

People who are fit at midlife not only live longer, but live better, with less illness, a new study suggests. The research included more than 18,600 men and women. They were all part of another long-term health study. When the study began, their median age was 49. Fitness levels were measured using a type of treadmill test. Researchers kept track of people for about 26 years. Once people reached age 65, researchers tracked their health with Medicare claims information. People who were most fit at midlife not only lived longer, but spent less time being sick. The fittest group had slightly over half the rate of chronic (long-lasting) diseases as people who were least fit. Diseases included coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s, heart failure, diabetes and others. About 2,400 people died during the study.

The benefits of circumcising baby boys outweigh the small risks, the largest group of U.S. children’s doctors says. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published the new policy statement in its journal, Pediatrics. The statement does not urge circumcision for all newborn boys. It says the decision is up to parents and doctors. The old statement said risks and benefits were equal. The new one cites recent evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. It also reduces the risk of urinary tract infections in babies. Risks include bleeding and infection, but these are rare. Circumcision does cause pain. The AAP says baby boys should get medicine for pain before the procedure. The AAP report comes amid efforts to ban infant circumcision in some places. Opponents say it violates a boy’s rights because he is unable to consent.

Weight-loss surgery can sharply reduce the risk of diabetes in very obese people, a new study finds. The study included more than 3,400 obese people. Just under half of them had so-called bariatric surgery to help weight loss. These procedures reduce the size of the stomach, bypass part of the colon or both. The other people in the study did not have surgery. They just received usual care and advice on weight loss. Nobody had diabetes when the study began. Within 10 years, 110 people in the surgery group developed diabetes. This compares with 392 people in the other group. The diabetes rate was 78% lower for those who had surgery. Two studies released this year showed that weight-loss surgery could reverse diabetes. This study showed that it also could help prevent the disease.

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell told her fans this week that she is “lucky to be here” after not recognizing signs of a heart attack. O’Donnell wrote on her blog August 20 about nausea, aches and other symptoms the week before. She said she did an online search for “women’s heart attack symptoms” and was concerned enough to take aspirin. This can help to prevent blood clots that cause heart attacks. But O’Donnell did not go to the emergency room. She went to see a cardiologist the next day. O’Donnell said one of her arteries was 99% blocked. Doctors inserted a stent, a small tube, to open the artery. She urged her female fans to know the symptoms of heart attacks and not ignore them if they occur. The Associated Press wrote about O’Donnell’s illness.