Lindsey Vonn Made SI’s Most Fashionable Athletes List—Here’s How to Steal Her Gym Style

The fashion and fitness worlds are merging (hello, athleisure!), and Sports Illustrated has taken notice. For the issue that hits newsstands tomorrow, SI editors teamed up with style experts to choose the 50 most fashionable athletes. Some of our favorite fit ladies, including Serena Williams and Misty Copeland, topped the rankings, but we were especially psyched to see Health cover star Lindsey Vonn celebrated for her killer fashion sense.

It turns out Copeland is a fan of Vonn’s eye too: “Just like I am aware of my lines as a dancer, Vonn must have the same understanding as a professional skier. She knows her body and how to dress it,” the ABT ballerina told SI. “I love following her looks on Instagram, from her menswear-inspired Dolce & Gabbana suit to a simple tee and distressed jeans when she’s headed to the airport.”

Vonn’s off-duty wardrobe is definitely cool, but we’re even more into her cute workout looks. Here, we’ve rounded up bright sports bras, sexy crop tops, and flattering leggings that look a lot like the gear Vonn rocks at the gym.

This outfit is simple and slick. The vibrant sports bra is a bold choice with Vonn’s classic black leggings, and gives the outfit a colorfully confident vibe. Not to mention, a bright bra draws attention to all that core progress you’re making at the gym. (If only we could buy Vonn’s abs online as well.)

Under Armour Seamless Plunge ($35; underarmour.com)

Photo: Under Armour

Nike Pro Indy Sports Bra ($40; nike.com)

Photo: Nike

Athleta Serenity Bralette ($50; athleta.com)

Photo: Athleta

UA HeatGear Leggings ($45; underarmour.com)

Photo: Under Armour

C9 Champion Black Leggings ($24; target.com)

Photo: Target

Old Navy Go-Dry High-Rise Compression Leggings ($20; oldnavy.com)

Photo: Old Navy

The army green colors give off a strong, sexy vibe. With color-blocked leggings and a cut-out crop top, you’ll sweat through any workout in style.

UA ArmourVent Trail Capri Leggings ($60; underarmour.com)

Photo: Under Armour

Forever 21 Active Mesh Capri Leggings ($13; forever21.com)

Photo: Forever21

Athleta Energy Chaturanga Capri ($45; athleta.com)

Photo: Athleta

Bandier Gidget Crop Top ($45; bandier.com)

Photo: Bandier

Athleta Structure Sport Bra ($64; athleta.com)

Photo: Athleta

Athleta Movement Bralette ($49; athleta.com)

Photo: Athleta

Outdoor Voices Athena Colorblock Tank Top ($55; nordstrom.com)

Photo: Nordstrom

This fun pairing shows the athlete isn’t one to shy away from eye-popping hues. Here she combines a teal bra with hot pink leggings—the perfect energizing colors for a brutal TRX workout. With spring upon us, what better time to break out the bright gear?

Women’s UA Eclipse ($40; underarmour.com)

Photo: Under Armour

Athleta Up Tempo Microstripe Bra ($31; athleta.com)

Photo: Athleta

C9 Champion Seamless Strappy Cami Sports Bra ($20; target.com)

Photo: Target

Under Armour Heat Gear Leggings ($30; amazon.com)

Photo: Amazon

Zela ‘Live In’ Slim Fit Leggings ($52; nordstrom.com)

Photo: Nordstrom

Under Armour Printed Leggings ($34; underarmour.com)

Photo: Under Armour

Adidas by Stella McCartney Sport CLIMALITE Leggings ($60; nordstrom.com)

Photo: Nordstrom

 

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Study: Many Vets Struggle With Suicidal Thoughts, Need More Help From VA

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Almost 14 percent of U.S. veterans surveyed during a two-year Veterans Affairs (VA) study reported having suicidal thoughts.

More than 2,000 veterans were surveyed in 2011 and again in 2013. Each time they were asked whether they’d had suicidal thoughts in the past two weeks.

Nearly 4 percent reported suicidal thoughts in the first survey, about 5 percent reported such thoughts in the second survey, and about 5 percent reported suicidal thoughts in both surveys — called chronic suicidal thinking. Overall, 13.7 percent reported suicidal thinking in one or both surveys, the researchers said in a VA media release.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in 2011 found that 3.7 percent of American adults reported suicidal thoughts in the previous year.

The VA’s findings show the need for ongoing monitoring of suicidal thoughts among veterans, not just a one-time screening, the researchers said. They were led by Noelle Smith, who conducted the study while with the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She is now at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

Among veterans who reported suicidal thoughts in the second survey, 65 percent had never gotten any mental health treatment. That finding shows the need for more outreach, the study authors said.

Mental distress, physical health problems and drug and/or alcohol use were associated with chronic suicidal thinking, while social connectedness was linked with a reduction in suicidal thoughts.

The results underscore the need to treat veterans’ mental and physical health problems and increase their sources of social support to prevent and reduce suicidal thoughts, the researchers said.

The study is available online and is to appear in the June print issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

More information

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has more on suicide prevention.

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Allergy Med Might Also Fight MS-Linked Eye Damage

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — An over-the-counter antihistamine used to fight allergies may have an important new role: reversing the vision loss sometimes caused by multiple sclerosis.

That’s the finding from preliminary research that found that clemastine fumarate partially reversed optic neuropathy in people with MS.

Optic neuropathy is damage to the nerve that relays information from the eye to the brain.

The study is to be presented April 19 at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Vancouver.

“While the improvement in vision appears modest, this study is promising because it is the first time a drug has been shown to possibly reverse the damage done by MS,” said study author Dr. Ari Green, assistant clinical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

The study was small, involving only 50 people averaging 40 years of age. All had been diagnosed with MS for an average of five years and were also diagnosed with optic neuropathy.

For three months, patients received either the antihistamine or a placebo. The groups were then switched for the last two months of the study.

While taking the antihistamine, patients showed a slight improvement in terms of the delays in time it took for visual information to travel from the eye to the brain, Green’s team said.

The findings “are preliminary,” Green stressed in an academy news release. “But this study provides a framework for future MS repair studies and will hopefully herald discoveries that will enhance the brain’s innate capacity for repair.”

Another expert said the findings are “exciting” for patients.

“This is the first study showing possible reversible damage from multiple sclerosis,” said Dr. Paul Wright, chair of neurology at North Shore University Hospital, in Manhasset, N.Y., and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“The study is however small and further investigation is warranted,” he added. “Nevertheless, this is an exciting new avenue in the treatment of this condition.”

Experts caution that studies presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on multiple sclerosis.

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As States Raise Speed Limits, Road Deaths Rise, Report Finds

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Increasing speed limits may be to blame for an increase in road deaths on America’s highways and byways, a new study suggests.

Over the past 20 years, an estimated 33,000 additional fatalities occurred as states kept raising speed limits, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, released Tuesday.

In 2013 alone, there were 1,900 additional deaths, canceling out the number of lives saved from front airbags that year, the institute’s report found.

“Since 2013, speeds have only become more extreme, and the trend shows no sign of abating,” Charles Farmer, vice president for research and statistical services at the institute, said in an institute news release. “We hope state lawmakers will keep in mind the deadly consequences of higher speeds when they consider raising [speed] limits.”

But the report did not prove that higher speed limits actually caused those additional fatalities.

In the study, Farmer examined the effects of speed limit increases in 41 states between 1993 and 2013. He found that each 5 mile-per-hour increase in the maximum speed limit was associated to a 4 percent increase in road deaths. That increase was 8 percent on interstates and freeways, the roads most affected by state speed limits, the findings showed.

After accounting for a number of other factors, Farmer calculated that higher speed limits led to 33,000 additional deaths over those two decades. However, the actual number is likely higher, he added.

Farmer said the study did not include speed limit increases over the past three years. In 2013, only Texas and Utah had speed limits above 75 mph, but five more states now have limits over 75 mph, and other states have raised their limits from 65 mph to 70 mph.

The findings are troubling, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).

“Speeding is often a forgotten issue in highway safety. But the truth is that excessive speed contributes to a tremendous proportion of all traffic fatalities,” Erik Strickland, director of federal relations at GHSA, said in a statement.

“Increasing speed limits has the potential to exacerbate this problem. We know that crashes are more deadly as speeds increase. In addition, most drivers treat maximum speeds as a minimum target,” Strickland said.

“This new research reinforces earlier studies and provides clear evidence of the negative safety implications from increasing speed limits,” he added.

More information

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more on driving safety.

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I Run By a Busy Highway. Is That Bad for My Lungs?

Photo: Getty Images

Q: I run by a busy highway with a lot of pollution. Is that bad for my lungs?

Air pollution is a health issue even when you’re not exercising, and a worse one when you are. The reason is pretty straightforward: During aerobic activity, such as running, you typically breathe in more air. The more air you breathe in and the more deeply you do so, the more pollutants reach your lungs. (Car and truck exhaust contains toxic substances like carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which contribute to smog.) Also, normally people breathe through the nose, which acts as a filter to trap inhaled particles that may be harmful to other parts of the respiratory tract. But while running, you’re probably taking in a lot of air through your mouth, so those pollutants don’t get filtered out.

RELATED: 10 Fun Ways to Get Fit Without a Gym

Air pollution can potentially damage the airways in your lungs and even increase your risk of lung cancer and heart disease. It can also worsen lung conditions you might already have, like asthma. We don’t know for sure how much exercise in a polluted area it takes to pose a serious health problem—and I still recommend hitting the great outdoors for a sweat session, unless your doctor has instructed you not to.

Your best bet is to find a less polluted route (try staying at least 500 feet away from the road) and avoid jogging through construction zones or during rush hour. And if there’s ever an air pollution alert in your area, settle for the treadmill.

RELATED: 6 Habits All Healthy Women Share

Health’s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine.

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What Women Should Do to Guard Against Vision Loss

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Women are a majority of the 4.4 million Americans over age 40 who are visually impaired or blind, Prevent Blindness says.

The national organization has declared April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month, and has outlined several things women need to know about vision and eye health.

The group said women are at greater risk than men for vision loss from such eye diseases as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration, as well as a condition called dry eye, which is more common after menopause.

Pregnancy can cause dry eyes, puffy eyelids and refractive changes that may show up as blurred or double vision. Pregnant women’s vision may also be affected by migraine headaches, diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Prevent Blindness.

The organization also warns that some glaucoma medications may harm a fetus, and advises pregnant women to discuss all medications and any vision changes with their doctor.

Eyes benefit from a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, good nutrition and not smoking, the experts said.

Periodic dilated eye exams are the best way to track eye health, and can also detect conditions that affect overall health, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Prevent Blindness.

More information

The U.S. National Eye Institute has more about healthy eyes.

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Teenage Girls Now Try Alcohol Before Boys Do: Study

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — It’s probably not a milestone that will do many feminists proud, but teenage girls in the United States now start to drink alcohol sooner than boys do, a new study shows.

“This is becoming a public health issue,” said lead researcher Dr. Hui Cheng, an adjunct assistant professor at Michigan State University.

“We really don’t know why girls are surpassing boys — that’s the next question we want to answer,” she said.

Among the possible explanations, according to Cheng: drinking has become more socially acceptable. Also, because girls typically reach puberty sooner, some start engaging in risky behaviors such as drinking earlier. It might also be that younger girls are spending time with older boys, “so there is more exposure to drinking,” she added.

Cheng also pointed to advertising that targets girls by promoting sweet, fruit-flavored drinks, such as wine coolers, which are popular among underage girls who drink.

Most strategies to curb underage drinking are aimed at boys, Cheng said. But given these new findings, more policies are needed to reduce underage drinking among girls, she said.

For the study, Cheng and her colleagues collected data on about 390,000 U.S. teens and young adults aged 12 to 24 who took part in government surveys on drug use and health from 2002 to 2013.

The researchers found that in mid-adolescence, girls are more likely to start drinking than boys. After age 19, boys went on to drink more than girls, the researchers added.

However, a 2015 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found adult women are catching up to men when it comes to using and abusing alcohol.

“We found that over that period of time, differences in measures such as current drinking, number of drinking days per month, reaching criteria for an alcohol use disorder and driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year, all narrowed for females and males,” report author Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the director of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said at the time.

“Males still consume more alcohol, but the differences between men and women are diminishing,” White added.

One expert agreed.

Drinking is no longer largely a male problem, said Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry and medical director of the alcohol and substance abuse program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in Chapel Hill.

“For years it has been ‘known’ that men are more likely to drink and have alcohol problems than women,” he said.

However, Cheng’s study reveals that girls are more likely than males to start drinking at an earlier age, “so there is no female protective factor at work,” Garbutt said.

The new findings suggest that efforts are needed to educate adolescent girls as well as boys about the risks of starting to drink at a young age, Garbutt said.

“This will need to be done in a smart way, as most adolescents tend to ignore warnings offered by adults,” he said.

“We do know that starting to drink early is a risk factor for developing alcohol use disorders as one gets older. So, if we can figure out good strategies to address this for both girls and boys we could potentially reduce the number of folks with alcohol use disorders — a very positive thing for all of us,” Garbutt said.

The new report was published online recently in the journal Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research.

More information

For more on underage drinking, visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Prediabetes May Damage Nerves More Than Thought

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Prediabetes may cause more nerve damage than previously believed, researchers say.

“The results of this new study add urgency to the need for more screening of those with the condition and faster intervention,” said senior study author Dr. Michael Polydefkis, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study included 62 people, including 52 with tingling and pain in their hands and feet — a condition known as neuropathy. Diabetes is a common cause of neuropathy, the researchers said.

Thirteen participants had prediabetes, meaning their blood sugar levels were higher than normal but not yet at the point of diabetes.

Over three years, the researchers found that those with prediabetes had damage over the entire length of small sensory nerve fibers, rather than just at the longest ends first. The findings challenge current understanding of prediabetes-related nerve damage, the researchers said.

The study was published online April 11 in the journal JAMA Neurology.

“I liken small-fiber neuropathy to the canary in the coal mine,” Polydefkis said in a university news release.

“It signals the beginning of nerve deterioration that with time involves other types of nerve fibers and becomes more apparent and dramatically affects people’s quality of life,” he explained.

According to the American Diabetes Association, you can reduce your risk of progressing from prediabetes to diabetes by losing 7 percent of your body weight (for example, 14 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds) and by exercising moderately 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about prediabetes.

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Doctors Often Overestimate Promise of Newly Approved Drugs

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Use of the word “breakthrough” in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expedited approval process could mislead doctors about the new drugs’ actual benefits, researchers warn.

The U.S. Congress in 2012 gave FDA the power to designate a drug as a “breakthrough therapy” if preliminary clinical evidence suggests an advantage over existing medications.

But a survey of nearly 700 doctors revealed that many tended to misinterpret “breakthrough.” Doctors often believed the drugs were supported by stronger evidence than the law requires to achieve that designation, said lead author Dr. Aaron Kesselheim. He is a faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“When people hear ‘breakthrough,’ it gives them an inappropriately elevated sense of what the drug might do,” Kesselheim said. “It may give physicians false reassurance about the outcomes they might expect to receive when they prescribe it.”

In the survey, nine out of 10 doctors chose one hypothetical drug over another identical one solely based on the “breakthrough” designation, even though both were taken on the same schedule, had similar side effects, and were equally covered by the patient’s insurance.

In addition, 52 percent incorrectly believed that strong evidence from randomized trials is needed to earn the breakthrough designation, the researchers found.

“They thought when a drug is labeled as a breakthrough therapy it actually is a breakthrough, and that’s not necessarily the case,” Kesselheim said. “Many drugs labeled as breakthrough therapies are not true breakthroughs, because they don’t provide substantially advanced treatment over what’s already available.”

The results were published April 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The FDA designated 76 drugs as “breakthrough therapies” through April 2015, the researchers noted, but very few have had a major impact on the health of Americans.

“It would be great if all of those drugs actually were breakthroughs, but the likelihood of that is very small,” Kesselheim said.

Dr. Robert Wergin, chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, agreed there can be confusion over the use of the word “breakthrough.”

“A lot of times when drug companies send me advertisements that say ‘breakthrough,’ I’m skeptical,” Wergin said. “When I first hear it, I think it’s marketing. But if the FDA is using it, I don’t think it’s marketing. I think they should be cautious with it.”

The survey also revealed a widespread lack of understanding about the meaning of FDA approval for a new drug, the researchers reported.

For example, about seven in 10 believed FDA approval meant comparable effectiveness to other approved drugs, and statistically significant and clinically important effects.

“When a drug is approved, it’s not necessarily tested against other available drugs,” Kesselheim said. “It may be tested against placebo. Just because a drug is approved doesn’t mean it’s better or safer than other drugs already out there.”

Congress and the FDA should revisit the use of the term “breakthrough” in the expedited program, Kesselheim said.

“I wouldn’t be averse to calling true breakthroughs ‘breakthroughs,’ but that’s not currently what we’re doing,” he said.

The FDA released the following statement in response to the study: “In general, the FDA does not comment on specific studies, but evaluates them as part of the body of evidence to further our understanding about a particular issue and assist in our mission to protect public health.”

Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, said the survey did not capture one important piece of the puzzle — that doctors often learn a lot about new drugs before they get to FDA approval, either through their medical societies or by talking among themselves.

Brawley also said he is “convinced there are still some doctors who still tend to think the new drugs are better than the old drugs.”

He noted the case of Prilosec, a heartburn medication made by AstraZeneca. When it came time for Prilosec to go generic, AstraZeneca marketed a new heartburn drug called Nexium for which it could still charge premium prices.

“They never said that Nexium simply contained the same active ingredient as their old drug Prilosec,” Brawley said. “If you’ll recall, Nexium became one of the best-selling drugs for years. There are people who are surely prescribing it because it is newer.”

More information

For more on “breakthrough” therapies, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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