THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Most teenagers think they're invincible, and that goes double for talented teenage athletes. They're young, immortal, at the top of their game, the envy of their friends.

So when news hits that an apparently healthy, high school or college athlete has dropped dead in the midst of playing his or her favorite sport, millions of parents get...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Americans who have health insurance through large, employer-sponsored health plans will see a number of plan design changes in 2011, and they'll be paying more for that coverage, employers and benefits consultants say.

"You're going to see higher premiums and higher contributions from the individual members of the plan,"...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity caused by heavy drinking can add to brain damage caused by drinking itself, says a new study.

Researchers examined the findings of different types of brain scans conducted on 54 men in an alcohol treatment program and compared them with each man's body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measurement that takes into account a person's height and...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Different risk factors contribute to indoor and outdoor falls among the elderly and these differences need to be incorporated into fall prevention programs, a new study suggests.

U.S. researchers studied 765 people, aged 70 and older, in the Boston area. Over two years, the participants reported 598 indoor falls and 524 outdoors falls. After...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Mexican-American stroke survivors with a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation are more than twice as likely to suffer a second stroke compared to white patients, a new study finds.

It also found that even though these strokes are more likely to be severe among Mexican-Americans, they don't have a greater risk of death after a second...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- About one in 10 athletes who competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics suffered an injury and about one in 14 became ill, according to a new study.

Researchers analyzed reports from the 82 national team doctors who looked after a total of 2,567 athletes and found that there were 287 reported injuries and 185 illnesses. That works out to 111.8 injuries...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Here's yet another reason to avoid obesity throughout your life: Doing so may improve your chances of survival if you're diagnosed with colon cancer.

Women past menopause who are obese and diagnosed with colon cancer appear to face a greater risk of dying from all causes than those who are at a healthy weight or merely overweight, a new study...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Obese women who have weight loss surgery before they get pregnant are three times less likely to develop gestational diabetes and are also less likely to require a cesarean section, a new study finds.

Weight loss (bariatric) surgery limits the amount of food a person can consume or digest.

U.S. researchers compared rates of gestational...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- People who live in poor neighborhoods experience far more injuries than those in more wealthy areas, a new study has found.

Researchers looked at 17,658 patients, aged 18 to 84, who were injured and were admitted to the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center in Memphis, Tenn., between Jan. 1, 1996 and Dec. 31, 2005.

Compared to people in rich...(click link above to read more)

THURSDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies provide evidence that smoking can harm sperm - both in smoking men who may become fathers, and in sons born to women who smoked during pregnancy.

The research also suggests that both men and women who hope to conceive should kick the habit.

"The results of the present study suggest a negative biological effect of smoking on...(click link above to read more)