Your Health: Stick to that New Year's resolution

New year's fit tips

With the new year almost upon us, exercise equipment maker Life Fitness offers the following simple tips for sticking with your resolutions:

• Train for the finish line. If you run, sign up for one race a month - knowing you have a specific challenge to meet will help you keep going.

• Use the buddy system. Find a friend who will agree to train and diet with you, and you can help keep each other accountable and motivated.

• Keep it fun. Find whatever interests you, and you'll likely stick with it. A nice walk, yoga or a favorite sport can make you forget you're exercising.

Is one H1N1 dose enough?

One dose of one type of H1N1 vaccine appears to be enough to provide protection to children against swine flu, a new study has found.

Australian drugmaker CSL conducted the study on its own vaccine.

The study of 370 children, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found at least 92 percent of children tested who received a 15 microgram dose of vaccine had sufficient antibodies to the virus, also known as swine flu.

The size of the dose was twice as much as now recommended for children age 6 months to 3 years, but side effects were reported to be mild to moderate.

After a second dose, 100 percent of children were protected.

Public health officials continue to recommend two doses for children under 9, because other studies have shown children need two doses to trigger a strong immune response.

Birth control shot hurts bones

Nearly half the women who took a birth control injection suffered bone mineral density loss in the hip or lower spine within two years, a new study has found.

The study, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, looked at an injected contraceptive known as DMPA or Depo-Provera, which more than 2 million American women use, including 400,000 teens.

The study's lead author at the University of Texas at Galveston said bone density loss is not a significant concern for all women who get the shot, but it poses highest risks for those who smoke, have low levels of calcium intake and have never given birth.

Another study found that bone density appears to recover in adolescents after they stop getting the shot, but the long-term effects of its use during this critical period of bone development are not known.

The University of Illinois recommends using DMPA for no more than two years unless other contraception methods are inadequate.

Apple cider a day?

Apple cider vinegar is touted as the latest miracle cure for detoxifying the body, boosting the immune system and curbing appetite.

But the Harvard Medical School reports that the only decent studies of acetic acid show only that it may help people with Type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar.

A synthetic cousin of acetic acid, which gives vinegar its distinctive smell and sour taste, is used in what the Harvard Health letter calls a nonscientific and "dubious" practice of chelation therapy to clean arteries.

A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar may be good on food, but it isn't medicine.