U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Refuses to Play on Turf

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After more than a year of arguments with FIFA about the safety of turf fields, the U.S. women’s national soccer team is taking a stand against what they call FIFA’s sexist policies on playing on fake grass.

The team refused to take the field in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday after assessing the conditions of the field and deeming them dangerous.

“We have become so accustomed to playing on whatever surface is put in front of us,” the team wrote in an open letter posted Monday on the Players’ Tribune. “But we need to realize that our protection — our safety — is priority No. 1.” Goalie Hope Solo shared a photo with her 1 million Twitter followers of the unsafe conditions, and star Alex Morgan, who struggled with an injury last year and risks millions in endorsement deals if she gets hurt again, told Fox Sports that the women finally asked “whether we should be playing on it if the men wouldn’t play on it.”

Our loyal fans: Thanks for standing with us against unsafe field conditions & standing tall for #equal treatment http://pic.twitter.com/abn560Kitw

— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) December 6, 2015

It’s a war that’s been waging between the players and FIFA for over a year. While women are often asked to play on turf, including in this summer’s World Cup where the champion U.S. women’s team played eight of their 10 games on turf, men’s teams rarely are told to do the same. And when the men’s national team does schedule a game at a stadium that has turf, the maintenance crew lays down sod before the game, regardless of the cost.

Some of soccer’s biggest stars have protested about the playing conditions on faux grass which can cause bad rug burns when pellets lodge in players’ legs, deter players of diving or sliding for fear of burns, or tripping on uneven surfaces, and even cause serious injuries. Male soccer and football players have backed up their claims.

This is why soccer should be played on grass! http://pic.twitter.com/fsNGi27oRY

— Sydney Leroux Dwyer (@sydneyleroux) April 15, 2013

Now retired all-star Abby Wambach led an international group of women in a discrimination lawsuit against FIFA a year ago asserting that men have never had to play a World Cup on turf. But the female players never boycotted the games, and FIFA waited out the fight until the women had no choice but to compete.

Now, with a World Cup championship under the belts, the women have more notoriety and thus more leverage to fight against the unequal conditions. The protests are a long-term measure — all of the 2016 Olympic matches will be played on grass since men will be sharing the same field. Whether FIFA will listen is still to be seen.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Every Change Weight Watchers Just Made: Explained

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Weight Watchers revamped its program with a plan that shifts the focus away from weight loss as the ultimate goal.

The new program, called “Beyond the Scale” is in response to both changing science about nutrition and consumer sentiments, says Gary Foster, Weight Watchers’ Chief Scientific Officer. “The way we think about it is that we used to have a very narrow focus on weight, and now weight is one of things we focus on but it’s not the only thing,” he says. “The consumer sentiment is, ‘I still want to lose weight but I’m thinking about in a more holistic way.”

The rollout of the new program had some bumps, with some customers taking to Twitter to complain that the app, which is popular with Weight Watchers members, was not working. Some users also reported that their daily “points”—a figure Weight Watchers allots users that, if followed, is designed to help with weight loss—changed without very much public explanation. Indeed, the points for certain foods have changed, with a new points program called SmartPoints.

TIME asked Foster to explain the changes—and the reasoning behind them.

Food calculations: The brand has always taken complicated nutrition information and used an algorithm to turn that food into one simple number. In the past, the algorithm was based in part on broad categories including calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates. Now, Weight Watchers is using a new formula that looks at the type of fat in a given food, for instance, with saturated fat pointed more heavily. Lean protein, too, has fewer points that other meats. And while the old formula lumped sugar in with carbohydrates, they’re now calculated separately.

Roughly 40 to 50% of the foods in the system remain relatively the same points-wise, while the rest goes up or down. Fruits and vegetables still get zero points.

Daily points: Weight Watchers customers may also notice that their own personal daily and weekly allotments have changed. That’s because of another formula tweak based on a new way to calculate a person’s resting metabolic rate. “The old formula was more based on folks that weren’t overweight, and the new formula is more accurate for folks who are overweight,” says Foster.

Weekly points: Members may notice changes to their weekly points, which is a cache of extra points that can be used if a person thinks they are going to exceed their daily points. In the past, everyone got 49 extra points a week, regardless of their resting metabolic rate. Now, the weekly allotment is specific to individuals’ metabolic rates, and ranges from 14 to 42 points, says Foster.

Exercise points: “In the past, we framed physical activity as something that was nice to do. It wasn’t necessarily a core part of our program,” says Foster. Under the old system, every exercise point translated into extra food points. Now, users have both an intake goal, and a physical activity goal. (If members want to use their activity points as food points, they can go into the program and change their settings.)

Inner strength: Weight Watchers is also encouraging members to do non-food related things that make them feel good. This will become a greater aspect of Weight Watcher meetings.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Mom-to-Be’s Smoking Tied to Poorer Fitness in Sons

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Young men may have reduced aerobic fitness if their mothers smoked during pregnancy, a new study suggests.

“It’s well established that smoking and breathing in secondhand smoke are harmful for both mother and baby. Our study adds to the existing evidence base of the negative and longstanding impacts of maternal smoking,” said study author Maria Hagnas, of the University of Oulu, Finland.

The research included just over 500 young men, average age 19, in Finland, whose aerobic fitness was assessed on a running test as part of the military service assessment.

The 59 men whose mothers smoked at least one cigarette a day during pregnancy had lower aerobic fitness than those whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy, the study found.

Having a mother with a higher body mass index (BMI — an estimate of body fat based on height and weight) before pregnancy or a mother who gained too much weight during pregnancy was also associated with worse aerobic fitness in the young men.

And the sons’ aerobic fitness was also influenced by their own smoking habits, weight and physical activity levels, according to the study published Dec. 9 in BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

“Women must receive advice and support to help them stop smoking during pregnancy, as well as guidance on how to maintain a healthy weight to minimize the risks to their unborn child,” Hagnas said in a journal news release.

Previous research has shown that smoking during pregnancy greatly increases the health risks to mothers and their babies.

“Stopping smoking is one of the most important things a pregnant woman can do to improve their baby’s health, growth and development, and this study demonstrates the negative effect smoking in pregnancy can have on a child’s long-term health, too,” said Geeta Kumar, chair of the patient information committee at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about smoking during pregnancy.

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Breast Cancer Drugs Battle Disease’s Return

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A pair of drugs already on the market appear to reduce the recurrence of breast cancer in women who’ve already undergone treatment, two new clinical trials show.

The chemotherapy drug capecitabine (Afinitor) seems to reduce by nearly a third the risk of breast cancer recurrence if women receive the drug following surgery to remove their cancer, researchers were to report Wednesday at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

In addition, an osteoporosis medication called denosumab appears to reduce recurrence risk by 18 percent in women who have HR-positive breast cancer, a second study reports.

Denosumab (Xgeva) is usually given to women undergoing breast cancer treatment because hormone therapy for their disease can make their bones brittle, explained lead researcher Dr. Michael Gnant, a professor of surgery at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria.

This new study suggests that denosumab might also hold breast cancer at bay, Gnant said.

For the capecitabine study, Japanese researchers enrolled 910 patients who had HER2-negative breast cancer that did not fully respond to chemotherapy prior to surgery.

Some have suspected that these patients have breast cancer that is somehow resistant to chemotherapy, and that chemo following surgery might not do them any good, said study author Dr. Masakazu Toi, a professor at Kyoto University Hospital in Japan and founder and senior director of the Japan Breast Cancer Research Group.

These patients underwent standard treatment for their breast cancer, and then were randomly assigned post-treatment to take either capecitabine or a placebo. Capecitabine is an oral chemotherapy drug that is now available in generic form, at a cost of about $3 per 300-milligram tablet, Toi said.

The 455 patients assigned capecitabine received eight cycles of therapy, each lasting 21 days. They took the drug twice a day for the first 14 days, followed by seven days with no treatment.

Two years later, the researchers found the patients assigned capecitabine had a 31 percent reduced risk of disease recurrence compared with those assigned the placebo. Disease-free survival was slightly more than 87 percent for those assigned capecitabine and 80.5 percent for those assigned placebo.

Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said, “It is exciting to see that some success is seen with capecitabine because it offers hope to women whose tumors persist” despite preoperative chemotherapy.

However, the drug did not appear to significantly impact overall survival, which at two years was just over 96 percent versus almost 94 percent.

The study was funded by a grant from Specified Nonprofit Corporation-Advanced Clinical Research Organization and other donors to the Japan Breast Cancer Research Group.

The denosumab study focused on women with HR-positive breast cancer. About seven out of 10 patients have HR-positive breast cancer, which means that growth of their cancer cells is stimulated by female sex hormones.

Nearly all postmenopausal women with early stage, HR-positive breast cancer are treated with drugs that stop the production of estrogen, Gnant said.

Because low estrogen can cause osteoporosis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved denosumab as a post-therapy treatment to protect the women’s bone health, Gnant said. Denosumab is a monoclonal antibody that blocks the action of osteoclasts, which are cells that break down bone.

Previous studies have shown that denosumab reduces bone fractures by half in women following breast cancer treatment, but researchers suspected that the drug might also improve their chances of remaining cancer-free.

Researchers enrolled 3,425 postmenopausal patients with early stage, HR-positive breast cancer and randomly assigned 1,711 to 60 milligrams of injected denosumab once every six months. The rest received a placebo.

After an average follow-up of four years, patients assigned denosumab had an 18 percent reduced risk of disease recurring compared with those assigned placebo, researchers found. Amgen Inc., which makes denosumab, funded the study.

Denosumab is not cheap — it costs about $1,650 per injection, according to The New York Times, though the price could vary depending on where the drug is obtained.

But there appeared to be no significant side effects between the treatment group and the placebo group, Gnant said.

Gnant said denosumab likely helps reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence by keeping dormant tumor cells from becoming active. “It’s not a direct anti-cancer effect, but it makes it more difficult for them to cause a relapse,” he said.

Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, a medical oncologist with North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute at Lake Success, N.Y., said the results of both trials “are intriguing, but, ultimately, longer follow-up and mature data are needed and eagerly awaited.

“Additionally, it is important to recognize that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to breast cancer and subset analyses will be helpful in determining which patients may benefit most from these interventions,” Teplinsky said.

Research presented at medical meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

For more on hormone therapy for breast cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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What to Do If Your Orgasms Are Actually Painful

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My orgasms feel painful. Is something wrong with me?

Although the reasons are not always clear, some women develop painful cramps in their lower abdomen either during or after orgasms. Because your pelvic muscles contract during an orgasm, the pain could simply be from a muscle spasm. Or hormonal changes may be playing a role. Research has shown a link between the use of birth control pills that contain lower amounts of estrogen (less than 20 micrograms) and pain during orgasm. Some women begin to have pelvic pain during sex when estrogen production declines during menopause.

Taking an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug before sex may help, and some find relief with anti-depressants. Pelvic floor physical therapy is another option. You should also see your doctor to make sure you don’t have an underlying gynecological condition that’s causing the pain, such as an ovarian cyst, endometriosis, or an infection.

Health‘s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine and co-founder of Tula Skincare.

RELATED:

10 Ways to Deal With Painful Sex

15 Everyday Habits to Boost Your Libido

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How to Get Janet Jackson’s Showstopping Abs

 

 

When it comes to whipping your body into shape, we can all take a lesson from Janet Jackson. In fact, the 49-year-old singer, who is currently on her Unbreakable world tour, is proof that a flat, toned stomach is not just a trait of 20-somethings. Her secret: the Cross-Legged Reverse Crunch. “This is one of Janet’s favorite lower ab exercises,” says her longtime trainer, Tony Martinez. It works the hips and core and gets her the definition in those sexy abs she’s known for.” Do it 2 to 3 times per week to see results in as little as 2 weeks.

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Sluggish During Workouts? Three Nutrients You Might Be Missing

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Have you been feeling sluggish at the gym lately? Even if you’re doing everything right with your diet (that is, fueling up appropriately before and eating well after your workouts) you might benefit from focusing on a few key nutrients.

Here are three to zero in on, why they can help you build a leaner, fitter figure, and how to make sure you’re striking the right balance.

Vitamin D

There are numerous studies about the benefits of vitamin D for athletes, including a reduction in injury risk, and improvements in muscle function and power. One study found that compared to those with deficiencies, athletes with adequate blood vitamin D levels fared better on tests related to muscle force and velocity. Another found that supplemental vitamin D significantly curbs the amount of time cells need to replenish energy after muscle contractions, which means better muscle efficiency, and delayed fatigue. And a brand new study from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh concludes that vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease. Researchers gave 13 healthy adults either 50μg (2,000 IU) of vitamin D or a placebo daily for two weeks. Those who received the real deal had lower blood pressures, lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and were able to cycle 30% further in the same amount of time with less exertion.

RELATED: 21 Worthless Foods a Nutritionist Will Immediately Cut From Your Diet

How to get enough

Vitamin D’s nickname is the “sunshine vitamin,” because exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays triggers its production in the body. But where you live, the time of year and day, cloud cover, smog, sunscreen, and clothing all affect UV exposure and vitamin D production, so you can’t rely on the sun as your sole source. Unfortunately, there aren’t many foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D. The top sources include salmon, tuna, whole eggs (the vitamin D is found in the yolk), and mushrooms.

Because you may not eat these every day, or eat enough of them to meet your needs, a supplement is often needed. But more isn’t necessarily better. Too much vitamin D from supplements has been linked to high blood calcium levels, which can cause kidney and heart damage, and mental confusion. Another recent study also found that excess vitamin D upped the risk of dying from a stroke or heart disease.

To determine your proper supplement dosage have your blood vitamin D level tested. Depending on your level your doctor may recommend anywhere from 400 IUs, to 2,000, or even more for a short period of time to build up your stores. In my experience with athletes, correcting a deficiency can have a huge impact on how you feel.

RELATED: 10 Best Foods for Your Heart

Magnesium

This vital mineral, the fourth most abundant in the body, is involved in more than 300 metabolic reactions. In addition to helping maintain muscle and nerve function, heart rhythm, blood pressure, and blood sugar regulation, magnesium is needed to make DNA, so its crucial for building stronger muscles and bones. In other words, it’s crucial for optimal health as well as athletic performance—yet most people can’t name the top sources.

Among athletes, a higher intake of magnesium has been shown to significantly improve strength, oxygen uptake, energy production, and electrolyte balance, and even a marginal shortage can interfere with sleep, which is crucial for exercise recovery.

Unfortunately about 75% of Americans consume less than the recommended intake of magnesium, so there’s a good chance you’re falling short, and testing for magnesium status isn’t as easy as testing the same for vitamin D, since less than 1% of total body magnesium is found in the blood. Symptoms of a serious deficiency are usually noticeable, like poor appetite, nausea, numbness, tingling, and abnormal heart rhythm, But the signs of a more subtle shortage are a bit harder to pin down. Things like fatigue, may be attributed to exercise, or too little sleep, which is why magnesium shortfalls are often “invisible.”

RELATED: 11 Ways to Boost Your Energy With Food

How to get enough

Too much caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can all reduce magnesium absorption, or cause it to be excreted from your body, so curbing this trio is just as important as upping your magnesium intake. Few foods supply a significant portion of your daily magnesium needs in just one serving, so a healthy, varied diet is key.

Good sources include almonds, avocado, beets and beet greens, brown rice, buckwheat, cashews, dark chocolate, millet, pulses (beans, peas, and lentils), pumpkin seeds, quinoa, sesame seeds, spinach, and sunflower seeds.

If you’re considering a supplement don’t go much above 350 mg daily, unless your physician has prescribed a higher dose. Your body has a built-in mechanism to prevent overdosing on magnesium through food, but a high supplemental intake can lead to an excess, and trigger side effects, including diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, or in very high doses dangerous toxicity. In other words, you can get too much of a good thing!

Vitamin C

You’ve heard about the immune supporting benefits of vitamin C. But this essential nutrient also supports exercise endurance and recovery. A higher blood level of vitamin C Vitamin has been shown to boost fat burn, both at rest and during exercise, which can delay fatigue and lengthen workouts. And vitamin C is required to make tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bones, so it plays an important role in healing the wear and tear exercise puts on your body. Getting the right amount means you can make the most of your sweat sessions.

How to get enough

Citrus fruits and bell peppers, especially red, are top sources, in addition to broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kiwi, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Taking in at least five servings of produce a day that includes rich sources is enough to saturate your body’s tissues (meaning any more will be excreted).

But if you do opt for a supplement don’t go overboard. Too much vitamin C, from high dose supplements, can have a pro-antioxidant effect, which increases exercise-induced stress. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level, or UL (essentially the maximum advised daily intake) for vitamin C it’s 2,000 mg a day. While some people may be fine consuming more than this amount megadoses have linked to bloating and digestive upset, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, headaches, insomnia, and even kidney stones.

RELATED: 3 Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym

What’s your take on this topic? Chat with us on Twitter by mentioning @goodhealth and @CynthiaSass.

Cynthia Sass is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she’s Health’s contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the New York Yankees, previously consulted for three other professional sports teams, and is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics. Sass is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, and her brand new book is Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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People with Type 2 Diabetes May Be Overtested

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Dec. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Many Americans with type 2 diabetes may be getting unnecessary blood sugar tests — and, in some cases, needless changes in medication, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that in a large group of U.S. adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes, 60 percent were undergoing too many hemoglobin A1C tests.

The test, which gauges a person’s average blood sugar control over the past three months, is routinely used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes. But guidelines say it should be done only once or twice a year if a patient has been showing good blood sugar control, according to the study.

All of the patients in the current study fell into that category. Yet nearly 55 percent underwent A1C tests three or four times per year. Another 6 percent had at least five tests per year, according to findings published online Dec. 8 in the journal BMJ.

“I think part of the problem is that we often think more testing is better,” said lead researcher Dr. Rozalina McCoy, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn.

But, as in other areas of medicine, that is not necessarily true in diabetes care, McCoy explained.

If someone is unlikely to benefit from frequent A1C tests, she said, the downsides — like extra costs and inconvenience — can’t really be justified.

Plus, there are potential risks to patients’ health, McCoy pointed out. In this study, frequent A1C tests raised the odds that patients would be started on additional medications to control their blood sugar.

The worry, McCoy said, is that those more-intense regimens would boost patients’ risk of dangerously low blood sugar.

The study’s findings are based on insurance claims made between 2001 and 2013 for more than 31,000 type 2 diabetes patients age 18 and older.

All of the adults in the study had A1C levels that were consistently below 7 percent within the previous two years — which meant their blood sugar was under good control.

In general, McCoy said, there’s little chance that such patients would benefit from having A1C tests more than once or twice a year. Yet, most patients were tested more often than that over the study period.

Controlling blood sugar is key to preventing long-term diabetes complications, such as damage to the nerves, kidneys and blood vessels, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

But at a certain point, tighter control has “diminishing returns,” said Dr. Rodney Hayward, a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.

According to Hayward, who wrote an editorial published with the study, clinical trials have found that lowering A1C from 8.5 percent to 7 percent can “modestly” lower heart attack risk. But there’s also evidence that tight blood sugar control can shorten people’s lives, he noted.

And it’s not recommended for elderly adults, who face increased risk of heart attack or stroke if they have a severe blood sugar low, according to the ADA.

So what should people with type 2 diabetes do? McCoy said that when your doctor orders blood work, feel free to ask: “What tests am I having? And how will it improve my care?”

Hayward stressed the importance of asking questions when your doctor wants to add a new diabetes medication. “Discuss what kind of benefit you can expect to get from taking more medication,” he said.

He also cautioned that blood sugar is not the only thing that matters. Getting high blood pressure under control and taking a statin are actually the most effective ways to cut the risk of diabetes complications like heart disease and kidney failure.

“The importance of blood pressure control and statins cannot be overstated,” Hayward said.

The study couldn’t uncover the reasons for overzealous A1C testing. It’s possible, McCoy said, that many doctors, or patients, prefer close monitoring.

“One of the hardest things for doctors is to do less,” she said.

“Fragmented care” could be another reason, McCoy added. Study patients with multiple doctors were more likely to receive three or more tests a year, the research revealed.

Still, the researchers did find a positive trend: After 2009, excessive A1C testing started to decline, the study said.

“That’s encouraging,” McCoy said. “We don’t know what’s driving the change. But it may be related to growing awareness that tight blood sugar control may not benefit patients.”

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on A1C testing.

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Talk Therapy, Antidepressants Offer Similar Results for Major Depression

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Dec. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Talk therapy and antidepressants could both be equally effective as stand-alone treatments for major depressive disorder, new research indicates.

A review of 11 previously conducted studies that collectively tracked treatment outcomes for more than 1,500 patients found no difference in how well patients responded to treatment.

“We don’t think this finding is particularly surprising, because each treatment has its own evidence base that shows they’re effective in treating major depressive disorder,” said study lead author Halle Amick, a research associate with the Research Triangle Institute-University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“But this is one of the few studies to actually compare them head to head. And the finding is important because many doctors don’t have an understanding of cognitive behavioral therapy, and often don’t feel fully comfortable prescribing it,” Amick added.

The take-away message from this study may be that if a doctor doesn’t talk about psychotherapy as a treatment option, patients really should be encouraged to ask about it, she said.

The study findings are in the Dec. 8 issue of BMJ.

Major depression is a mood disorder where feelings of sadness, loss or frustration may be severe enough to interfere with daily life, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The study team points out that major depressive disorder now affects more than 32 million Americans, making it the most common form of depression in the United States.

Still, only about one-fifth of patients actually get appropriate care, the study authors said. Appropriate care can either take the form of two months of prescription antidepressants (coupled with four-plus visits to a physician), or a minimum of eight half-hour psychotherapy sessions, the researchers said.

To see if one approach bested the other, the current study looked at research done between 1990 and 2015. All included patients 18 years or older. The studies looked at the benefits of talk therapy alone versus drug treatment, or a combination of the two versus drugs alone.

The talk therapy used in the study was cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a psychologist-led intervention designed to help patients identify, and ultimately change, harmful ways of thinking and behaving, the researchers said. Medications used in the study were known as second-generation antidepressants. This class of medications includes drugs such as Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor and Wellbutrin, the study said.

Many of the studies turned out to have methodology problems, and the study authors said many findings were “low strength” in terms of reliability. They also noted that drugs were reviewed as a class of medications, not by individual drug.

Nevertheless, Amick said there was “no statistical or clinical difference between the two treatments.”

“We’re not saying that one treatment is better than the other. All we can say is that both seem to be equally effective,” she stressed.

She also pointed out that there are generally more costs involved with CBT, including the costs of the sessions that aren’t covered by insurance and time away from work.

“On the other hand, medications might have a higher risk for adverse side effects. Our data didn’t explore these issues, though they need to be considered when choosing between the two,” Amick added.

Dr. Mark Sinyor, a psychiatrist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, said, “This study certainly adds to a body of work showing that both are good treatments.” He co-authored an editorial accompanying the study.

“However, there may be circumstances where a patient would benefit more from one intervention than another,” said Sinyor, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

“For example, CBT is a treatment optimally delivered to people who are able to notice and name their thoughts and are open to running behavioral experiments. For some people this is much more attractive than the idea of taking a medication,” he explained.

“For others, particularly those unable or unwilling to make the time commitment and wishing for relatively rapid relief of symptoms, antidepressants may be a better option,” Sinyor said.

More information

Learn more about depression from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

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3-D Video Games May Boost Brainpower, Study Finds

TUESDAY, Dec. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Playing 3-D video games can improve your ability to form memories and may benefit your brain as you age, researchers report.

“It’s often suggested that an active, engaged lifestyle can be a real factor in stemming cognitive [mental] aging. While we can’t all travel the world on vacation, we can do many other things to keep us cognitively engaged and active. Video games may be a nice, viable route,” study co-author Craig Stark, from the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine, said in a university news release.

The researchers tracked non-gamer college students who played either a 2-D or 3-D video game 30 minutes a day for two weeks.

Before and after the two-week period, the students were given a memory test designed to engage the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with complex learning and memory. Those who played the 3-D game showed improvement on the memory test, while those who played the 2-D game did not, the investigators found.

Memory performance among those who played the 3-D game improved about 12 percent, the same amount it normally declines between ages 45 and 70, according to the study authors.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and published Dec. 9 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

“First, the 3-D games have a few things the 2-D ones do not,” Stark said.

“They’ve got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they’re much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus,” he explained.

Further research is required to determine whether the hippocampus is stimulated by the large amount of information and complexity, or the spatial relationships and exploration in the 3-D video game, said Stark, a professor of neurobiology and behavior.

He and his colleagues will examine if environmental enrichment through 3-D video games or real-world exploration experiences can reverse age-related declines in hippocampus function. The research is funded by a $300,000 Dana Foundation grant.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about healthy brain aging.

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