The study, which followed over nine thousand women for more than a decade, compares the women in regard to the amount of exercise they should be doing for their ages.

The results showed that women who did less than 85% of the physical activity they were capable of performing according to their ages had double the risk of dying of any cause, and had more than two and a half times the risk of dying of cardiac disease.

The data for the standards was drawn from the asymptomatic group, which was mostly formed by white women, and the comparison group was more racially diverse, and with a stronger black women sample. Therefore, the authors concede that standards drawn from a more diverse group might produce different recommendations. But the news is still the same: exercise for your own heart!

Although some studies have suggested that certain chemical byproducts in tap water raise a woman's risk of miscarriage, new research suggests that the threat is small, if it exists at all.

Tap water chemicals and pregnancy

City of Longmont

A latest study about chemicals in tap water found that there is no association between overall exposure to trihalomethanes and the risk of miscarriage, but there was an increased risk of miscarriage and impaired fetal growth among women with the highest exposure to one type of trihalomethane called bromodichloromethane (BDCM).

The trihalomethanes are chemicals that are byproducts of the chlorination process. Some of those chemicals have been shown to cause cancer and reproductive problems in lab animals when the doses are high. Also, some population studies have found an association between low level exposure to these chemicals and higher risk of miscarriage and poor fetal growth.

This is a very contested issue, since studies have shown evidences of both outcomes. A report on this latest study was made public by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, which provided funding for the study, as did the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Painkillers and hypertension linked

Women who take daily non-aspirin painkillers should keep an eye on their blood pressure, because a new study showed a link between these drugs and hypertension.