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TUESDAY, March 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- You're about to hop on an exercise bike and peddle your heart out, but will having to wear a face mask make it harder to breathe while you work out?Not according to new research that suggests healthy people can safely wear a face mask while doing vigorous exercise.The scientists assessed the breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels of 12 volunteers as they worked out on an exercise bike while wearing and not wearing a mask. There were six women and six men, average age 40. None had health problems.There were a few minor differences in some measurements when the participants wore or didn't wear a mask, but no indication of any risk to health, according to the study published March 8 in the European Respiratory Journal.The...

TUESDAY, March 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- School-based dental care cut cavities in half among thousands of elementary students, a new study says."The widespread implementation of oral health programs in schools could increase the reach of traditional dental practices and improve children's oral health -- all while reducing health disparities and the cost of care," said senior author Dr. Richard Niederman. He's chair of the department of epidemiology and health promotion at New York University's College of Dentistry. Dental cavities are the most common chronic disease in children. One in five elementary school children has at least one untreated cavity, Niederman and his colleagues noted.Cavities can be prevented with dental visits and good at-home oral hygiene. But some parents...

TUESDAY, March 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The pandemic's spring lockdowns last year triggered an unwelcome side effect: New research shows more Americans turned to tobacco and nicotine as they struggled with boredom, anxiety and the disruption of regular routines. Between April and May 2020, the study authors conducted telephone interviews with U.S. adults who use cigarettes or e-cigarettes. During the survey period, nearly 90% of Americans were under some form of state lockdown. At the time they were interviewed, all the respondents were voluntarily isolating at home unless they had to go out for essential reasons. Nearly all of the study participants reported increased stress due to the pandemic -- citing fears about the virus, job uncertainty and the mental health effects of...

MONDAY, March 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Yet another study confirms what doctors have long known: Being obese greatly raises the odds that if you contract COVID-19, your case could be a severe one.The study, from researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supports calls for obese Americans to move to the head of the line for protective vaccines."These findings highlight clinical and public health implications of higher BMIs, including the need for intensive management of COVID-19-associated illness, continued vaccine prioritization and masking, and policies to support healthy behaviors," wrote a team led by Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team. In the study, researchers pored over data on more than 148,000 patients treated for COVID-19 at...