Health briefs: Yoga, meditation found to slow age-related brain decline

Some weakening in mental function appears to be inevitable as we age. But emerging science suggests that we might be able to slow and mitigate the decline by whether and how we move our bodies. Past studies have found that people who run, weight train, dance, practice tai chi, or regularly garden have a lower risk of developing dementia than people who are not physically active at all.

In a new study, published in April in the Journal of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, divided volunteers into two groups. One began a well-established brain-training program that involves an hour a week of classroom time and a series of mental exercises designed to bolster their memory that volunteers were asked to practice at home for about 15 minutes a day.

The others took up yoga and meditation for the same amount of time each week for 12 weeks. All of the men and women were able to perform significantly better on most tests of their thinking. But only those who had practiced yoga and meditation showed improvements in their moods, and they performed much better on a test of visuospatial memory, a type of remembering that is important for balance, depth perception and the ability to recognize objects and navigate the world.

Would U.S. teens be any slimmer if Katy Perry hawked kale?

New research doesn't prove a link, but its authors think music stars popular with teens may be contributing to the obesity epidemic by endorsing fatty fast food, snacks and soda.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that 20 of the hottest teen-music heartthrobs have done TV ads or other promotions for products nutritionists consider unhealthy.

Of 107 food and drink endorsements included in the study, few were for nutritious foods, the researchers said. About 80 percent of celebrity-endorsed food ads were high-calorie products including snack chips and chocolate, or fast-food restaurants. Most of the beverage ads were for sugary sodas.

Hearing loss is a growing public health problem that can leave older adults socially isolated and even increase their risk for dementia -- yet getting treated is a pricey hassle, declares a prestigious government advisory group that's calling for change.

One proposal: Allow simple devices for mild hearing problems to be sold over the counter to those who can't afford or aren't ready to make the leap to full hearing aids.

Only a fraction of older adults who might benefit from hearing aids use them, and one reason is the price — averaging about $4,700 a pair including all the fitting services, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine reported. Most patients largely cover the costs out of pocket, as insurance coverage is very limited and standard Medicare doesn't pay for hearing aids, just the diagnostic tests.

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