Fermented milk containing Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010 improves gastrointestinal well-being and digestive symptoms in women reporting minor digestive symptoms: a randomised, double-blind, parallel, controlled study.

The ability of probiotics to improve bowel habits or transit time has been shown in healthy populations. Additional data are required to support the use of specific probiotics to improve gastrointestinal (GI) well-being. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of consuming fermented milk (FM) on GI well-being, digestive symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) amongst women without diagnosed GI disorders.

Physical activity and insulin sensitivity: the RISC study.

Objective: Physical activity is a modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes, partly through its action on insulin sensitivity. We report the relation between insulin sensitivity and physical activity measured by accelerometry.

Research Design And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 346 men and 455 women, aged 30-60 years, without cardiovascular disease and not treated by drugs for diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or obesity.

Habitual physical activity and vascular aging in a young to middle-age population at low cardiovascular risk.

Background And Purpose: Regular endurance exercise has been shown to reduce the age-related increase in arterial stiffness that is thought to contribute to cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age and habitual physical activity on carotid artery wall thickness and stiffness in a population of young to middle-age subjects at low cardiovascular risk.

Methods: The study population consisted of 432 healthy subjects (166 men; mean+/-SD age, 43+/-8 years; range, 30 to 60 years) free of carotid atherosclerosis and with low coronary heart disease risk, as determined by the Framingham prediction score sheet.