For the first time, an iphone app is being used in clinical research to investigate the efficacy of using it to treat depression. A study approved by the Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Institutional Review Board is currently being conducted with the assistance of a network of therapists. These therapists are monitoring daily use of the Live Happy iPhone app in addition to their therapuetic treatment and medication management.

Live Happy is a positive psychology iPhone app based on the happiness research of University of California psychology professor and author of The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky. In my review of this app, I suggested that it would be helpful for there to be an option for push reminders to remind users to use the app each day. A Fairleigh Dickinson University psychology professor, Robert McGrath, concurs that “for it to be most effective it takes dedication and a conscious decision to work at it on a daily basis. This isn’t always easy, especially for people battling depression, so it will be interesting to learn the results and see how effectively Live Happy works in improving symptoms of depression.”

If you have ever used yoga to calm a racing mind or deep yogic breathing to tame a frenzied situation, the intention of a new study underway investigating the connection between heart disease and this ancient mind-body practice won’t surprise you.

Yoga My Heart is a study coordinated by the University of Kansas Hospital to show how yoga may affect atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that affects 2.2 million Americans. Usually triggered in response to a stress-provoking situation, atrial fibrillation causes chest pains, dizziness, palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath. Those with the condition may frequently require medication and invasive treatment.

The study’s lead investigator, Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, sees the calming effects of yoga as a possible formidable medication-free treatment option for those who suffer from it.

How is this for horrifying health news: Sitting in a chair for most of the day puts you at risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and an early death. And, it’s more than one new study that has validated these claims.

I know what you’re thinking: “Well, I work out and eat right, so I have nothing to worry about.” If that’s all it took, then this news would not be particularly horrifying. The shocking part of the findings is that this applies to everyone.

The first reason for this is the most obvious. Sitting down, aside from sleeping, is about the most passive thing you can do. Even little things like chewing gum will increase your calorie burning. Standing in place can also burn calories, as you will tend to tense your leg muscles, shift your legs, and engage the muscles in your upper body.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rise in obesity has hit a plateau. Now, that’s the kind of plateau we can celebrate.

Of course, it couldn’t continue on a constant upward trend. Nevertheless, it is cause for some reserved celebration. But only a little.

“This is not a cause for complacency or celebration,” says Dr. William H. Dietz, director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the CDC, “but it is cause for modest optimism.”

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined height and weight data from a national sample of 5,555 adults collected in 2007 and 2008. In the sample, about 34 percent of the subjects were obese.

Add yet another long-term health issue to the list of risks of being overweight. Previous studies have connected middle age obesity to dementia in late adulthood. Now, scientists may have found a link between Alzheimer’s and a hormone that helps control appetite. Leptin tells your body when you are satiated and reduces appetite. It is a hormone that is produced by fat cells. Research conducted during 12 years at the Boston University Medical Center found that those participants with the lowest levels of leptin had a 25% chance of developing Alzheimer’s, while those with the highest levels of leptin had only a 6% chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease.