0 From the Consumer Reports labs: Bodyguard 260P treadmill lets you run workouts with your iPad

The Imagine app for the Bodyguard 260Pbrings exercising into the high-tech realm. We're currently reviewing the Bodyguard 260P treadmill ($3,399, shown below), the first such piece of exercise equipment we've tested with iPad integration, in this case via the Imagine by Bodyguard fitness app. To use the feature, you'll need at least an iPad 2 running iOS6 and the free app. You can use the fourth-generation iPad and iPad Mini, with the Lightning adapter. This iPad integration is also available on the following Bodyguard treadmills: T280P, T460XC, T520P, and T560X; we are not testing any of those at this time. (Explore our buying guide...

0 As the flu spreads across the country, Boston declares an emergency

Boston already has 700 confirmed cases of the flu, 10 times as many as this time last year, and the state has 18 reported deaths from the virus. Nationwide, nearly 6 percent of Americans have already contacted a health care provider about the flu. To combat the problem, Boston declared a public health emergency and will offer free vaccines this weekend. We think everyone in the city and across the country should take that and several other preventive measures, including hand washing. The flu is now widespread in 41 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 29 states are experiencing higher than average hospitalizations....

0 Avoidance of HPV vaccine may contribute to increase of some cancers

While the overall death rate from cancer has dropped in recent years, more people than ever are being diagnosed with anal cancer and certain cancers of the throat and mouth. Both are linked to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease. That's frustrating, since a relatively new, but underused, vaccine can help prevent the infection. Two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, can prevent HPV infection. Both are recommended for girls and women ages 11 to 26 to help prevent cervical cancer. But Gardasil also protects against most genital warts and possibly other cancers, including anal cancer,...

0 What works for knee arthritis? Not vitamin D

If you're taking vitamin D pills to ease arthritis in your knee, you might want to reconsider. The supplement didn't stand up to rigorous testing in a clinical study out this week. In the 2-year study, 146 men and women with painful symptoms of the disease received at least 2,000 international units a day of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplements, or a placebo. The recommended daily intake is 600 to 800 IU for adults. People who took vitamin D did not report less pain than those who got the placebo. And MRIs taken of their knees showed no significant differences in the cartilage volume. The study appeared in the January 9 issue of...

0 FDA cuts dose of Ambien and related insomnia drugs

If you take a sleeping medication that contains zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Zolpimist, or generic), you could still have levels in your body the next morning that are high enough to impair driving, even if you feel wide awake. That's according to the Food and Drug Administration, which said Thursday it was requiring manufacturers to lower the recommended dose of the insomnia drugs by half to help reduce the risk of traffic accidents. Women are especially at risk because they clear the drug slower than men. The FDA said the move was prompted by data from clinical trials and driving simulation studies that showed that both the...

1 New federal mortgage rule aims to protect you from risky home loans

Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new "ability to pay" rule aimed at protecting you from such risky home loans by requiring lenders to ensure you have the ability to repay your mortgage. A key element of the housing crisis and meltdown was lenders making high-risk, and sometimes deceptively packaged, home loans without any real regard for whether borrowers would be able to repay them. The new rule will take effect a year from now. "In the run-up to the financial crisis, we had a housing market that was reckless about lending money," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Lenders thought they could make money...

0 Financial elder abuse by relatives: There is help

An episode of "Dr. Phil" this week that focused on elder abuseboth financial and physicalstruck a chord with a number of people, if the show's comments section is any indication. Numerous commenters reported abuse of their own parents by professionals in nursing-home settings and by relatives in the elderly people's own homes. Our own investigative report on financial exploitation of older people underlines how widespread such abuse is. Financial exploitation of elders is broadly defined as the illegal or improper use of the funds, property, or assets of people 60 and older. In one national study, 5.2 percent of older Americans said they'd...

0 America's health: we're not number one

The United States spends twice as much per person on health care as the rest of the developed world, with little to show for it except shorter and unhealthier lives than citizens of its peer nations enjoy. That's the depressing conclusion of a study, just released by a panel of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine, comparing the health of Americans with that of residents of 16 other wealthy nations. The dire state of health in the U.S. surprised even the scientists who worked on the study. "I expected we would find some problems in certain areas and good news in other areas," said the panel's chairman, Dr. Steven H. Woolf...

0 What color is your drug today? Changing appearances may make you less likely to take your medication

A change in the shape or color of a drug can make you less likely to take it, according to a new study. It found that people who regularly took generic antiseizure drugs but who were given pills with differing appearances at each refill appeared less likely to take their medications as prescribed. The finding, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is important because it highlights a serious problem with how generic drugs are sold in this country. While the FDA stipulates that generic medications must have the same active ingredients in the same strength, be absorbed in the body the same way and at the same rate, and be as...

0 CES 2013: HAPIfork tells you when to slow down and chew your food

Think you eat too fast? A new, high-tech utensil, the HAPIFork, will let you know. It tracks how fast you eat, with the idea that the information will help you slow down so you lose weight and control acid reflux, among other health benefits. The HAPIFork is just one product in the booming field of electronic health devices that monitor your eating and exercise habits, as well as your heart rate and blood pressure. The smart fork tracks your forkfuls per meal and per minute and times the interval between each. It will light up and vibrate if you take more than one forkful every 10 seconds. The $100 HAPIFork, on sale this spring, is...

0 Video: Prepaid phone service can save you money

Are you looking to cut down on your cell phone costs? Some prepaid cell plans could help you cut your bills considerably. In a survey of subscribers, we found that the average American household spends over $1,500 a year on phones and services. Some even spend twice as much. But two-thirds of survey respondents who switched from a contract to a prepaid service were able to reduce monthly phone expenses by $20 or more. Find out which services might save you money in our video. And check our story, Smart ways to save on smart phones, for more dollar-saving tips....

0 Fisher-Price recalls Rock 'N Play infant sleepers due to mold risk

Fisher-Price Inc., of East Aurora, N.Y., has "recalled to inspect" 800,000 Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleepers for mold that can develop between the seat cushion and frame when it remains moist or is infrequently cleaned. The recall was announced today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Fisher-Price received 600 reports of mold on the product, and 16 consumers have reported that their infants were treated for respiratory issues, coughs, and hives after sleeping in the product. The recall is being done to ask owners to inspect the Rock N' Play infant recliners for mold. If you own one of the recalled sleepers, check for mold under...

0 Many patients unaware of radiation risks from CT scans

Last time you had a CT scan did your doctor tell you that it would expose you to radiation? Probably not, according to a study out this week. And even if you were told, you might underestimate the radiation dose, too. Researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine's radiology department in Seattle surveyed 235 patients who had undergone non-urgent computed tomography (CT) or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) cardiac scans from February through December 2011. About a third of the patients said they did not know that the scans exposed them to radiation. And of the 154 patients who did understood that,...

0 Flu season is a bad one, but it's not too late to get vaccinated

This year's flu season is coming on fast and strong, especially in the South and Southeast. The extra bad news: Only about a third of people got vaccinated early this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The good news: This year's vaccine seems to very effective, there are no reported shortages, and it's still not too late to get it. The number of people hospitalized by the flu this season is up sharply compared with this time last year, as are the number of children who have died of it, with 16 pediatric deaths reported from October to the end of December. The disease appeared first in states like Texas, Alabama,...

0 Tougher safety rules will curb foodborne illnesses, FDA says

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed food-safety rules to help prevent contamination. One will target produce and the second would raise standards for food processors. One in six Americans suffer from a foodborne illness every year. Of those, nearly 130,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die, according to the FDA. The first proposed rule would require makers of food to be sold in the U.S. (whether produced abroad or domestically), to develop plans for preventing products from causing foodborne illness and for correcting problems when they occur. The second rule proposes enforceable safety standards for the production and...

0 The mindful dieter

Mindfulness training is becoming a common part of psychological therapy, although you may still not fully understand it. That's a shame, because it's a useful method for aiding behavior change, such as that involved in weight loss, and something that people can practice on their own. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, psychologists who provided therapy for weight management reported that 'mindfulness training to tolerate, and accept hunger, weight, and exercise-related thoughts and urges' was among the more effective weight loss strategies. As a clinical psychologist, I have incorporated mindfulness strategies into my therapeutic...