Weekly Health Digest: Healthy Waist – Healthy Heart, Stop Buying Masks

Your waist size may be more important than weight for multiple heart attack risk

By: Katie Hunt

A study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology found a link between belly fat and the risk of recurrent heart attacks or strokes. The study tracked several patients after their first heart attack and looked at the link between their waist circumference and events like fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and stroke. The patients were followed for almost four years. Most patients who experienced a heart attack or stroke also had abdominal obesity (defined as a waist circumference of 37.6 inches or above for men, and 32 inches or above for women). Maintaining a healthy waist circumference is important for preventing future heart attacks and strokes and the authors promoted regular exercise and healthy diets as preventative measures.

The surgeon general wants Americans to stop buying face masks

By: Leah Asmelash

The US Surgeon General has urged people to stop buying face masks stating that they are not effective in preventing people from getting Coronavirus. Instead, he has recommended that people engage in preventive measures such as handwashing, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, and avoiding contact with sick people. He also highlighted that by purchasing masks and causing shortages, the people who most need the masks such as health professionals and sick individuals lose access to the masks. “The coronavirus is coming, and we feel rather helpless,” he said Saturday. “By getting masks and wearing them, we move the locus of control somewhat to ourselves.”

When your child vapes, what’s a parent to do?

By: Michael Nedelman

What should a parent do if they found out that their kid had tried vaping. When Sonya Kennedy found out that her 12-year-old son had tried vaping, she started printing out t-shirts with the message “athletes don’t vape”. Not long after, parents and students who shared that message began asking for their own t-shirt.  She realized that many parents were unaware of their kids were vaping. Many kids as young as middle schoolers have tried vaping and agree that it has become a normalized social behavior. And while it can be frightening for parents to admit that, the first thing they can do to help their kids is by educating themselves.