Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. Life Expectancy, Disease Prevention and Wellness Assessment -- Introduction -- Life Expectancy -- Major life expectancy risk factors -- Miscellaneous life expectancy risk factors -- Race and socioeconomic status -- Depression and suicide, heart disease, stroke -- Personal longevity traits -- Maximum Lifespan -- Major longevity determinants -- Genetics -- (1) Family Longevity -- (2) Accelerated Aging Syndromes -- (3) Finite Doubling Potential -- (4) Telomerase -- (5) Aging Genes -- Free radicals/antioxidants -- (1) Observational Studies -- (2) Antioxidant Enzymes -- (3) Antioxidants ("Free Radical Scavengers") -- Immunity -- Hormones -- Lifestyle -- Wellness Assessment and Health Promotion -- Complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies -- Physician counseling -- Expenditures: disease treatment and health promotion -- Health assessment and disease susceptibility -- Wellness Assessment Tests -- Oxidative stress -- Arteriosclerosis (coronary heart and cerebrovascular diseases) -- Tests for arteriosclerosis -- (1) Blood Lipid Profile -- (2) Total cholesterol/HDL-C Ratio -- (3) Fibrinogen -- (4) Homocyst(e)ine -- (5) Uric Acid -- (6) Hematocrit -- (7) Leukocyte Count -- (8) C-Reactive Protein (C-RP) -- (9) Serum Albumin -- (10) Serum Iron Levels -- Cancer -- Thyroid dysfunction -- Type 2 diabetes (NIDDM) -- Hemochromatosis -- Immune function -- Metabolic syndrome (syndrome X) -- Miscellaneous disorders/laboratory tests -- Prostate specific antigen (PSA) -- Chemistry profile -- Magnesium, zinc and selenium -- Chapter Summary -- References -- Chapter 2. Overweight and Obesity: Associated Health Risks and Economic Costs -- Introduction -- Definitions of Overweight and Obesity -- Body mass index (BMI) -- Body fat distribution -- Waist circumference -- Waist-hip ratio.

Dual X-ray adsorptiometry -- Body Weight, Morbidity and Mortality -- Overweight and Obesity in Adults -- Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents -- Obesity prevalence -- Childhood, adulthood and parental obesity -- Television viewing and body weight -- Breastfeeding and childhood body weight -- Childhood/adolescent obesity and psychosocial problems -- Prevention, Management and Treatment of Obesity -- Caloric intake -- Physical activity -- Miscellaneous preventive measures -- Professional counseling -- Surgical intervention -- Economic Costs of Obesity and Physical Inactivity -- Diseases and Disorders Associated with Excess Body Weight -- Hypertension -- Coronary heart disease -- Body mass index and CHD -- Obesity and heart failure -- Abdominal adiposity and CHD -- Prevention of CHD -- Blood lipid levels -- Type 2 diabetes mellitus -- Body weight and diabetes mellitus -- Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents -- Prevention of type 2 diabetes -- Cancer -- Breast cancer -- Colorectal cancer -- Prostate cancer -- Endometrial cancer -- Renal cancer -- Ovarian cancer -- Pancreatic cancer -- Cancer incidence and diabetes mellitus -- Miscellaneous obesity-associated diseases/disorder -- Ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke -- Asthma -- Gall bladder disease -- Respiratory disorders -- Gout -- Osteoarthritis -- Cataract -- Maternal obesity and birth defects -- Psychological effects -- Overweight and Alzheimer disease -- Obstructive sleep apnea -- Socioeconomic status -- Oxidative stress -- Chapter Summary -- References -- Chapter 3. Physical Activity: Its Role in Disease/Disorder Prevention -- Introduction -- Physical Activity versus Exercise -- Physician Counseling -- Exercise and Weight Reduction -- Exercise and All-Cause Mortality -- Exercise versus physical inactivity -- Measured indicators of mortality -- Exercise and Aging -- Disuse syndrome.

Sarcopenia -- Disability and functional capacity -- Postural stability (balance) -- Falls -- Fall risk factors -- Balance, flexibility and falls -- Osteoporosis, Bone Fractures and Osteoarthritis -- Osteoporosis -- Fractures -- Arthritis/chronic joint symptoms -- Hypertension -- Hypertension risk factors -- Exercise -- Exercise recommendations to control blood pressure -- Syndrome X -- Serum Lipids and Exercise -- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus -- Exercise and type 2 diabetes -- Physical Activity and Other Endocrine Disorders -- Coronary Heart Disease -- Cardiovascular function and age -- Coronary Heart Disease and Physical Activity -- Coronary heart disease, physical activity and the elderly -- Dose-response: physical activity and coronary heart disease risk -- Physical fitness and coronary heart disease mortality -- Exercise and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis -- Physical Activity and Stroke -- Cancer and Physical Activity -- (1) Individual Guidelines -- (2) Community Guidelines -- Physical activity and colorectal cancer -- Physical activity and estrogen-linked cancers -- Breast -- Ovary -- Uterine corpus -- Prostate -- Lung and bronchus -- Pancreas -- Physical Activity and Other Medical Disorders -- Gallbladder disease -- Gastrointestinal hemorrhage -- Fibromyalgia -- Psychological disorders and physical activity -- Depression -- Cognitive function -- Sleep quality -- Physical Activity for the Very Old and Frail -- Physical Activity and the Immune System -- Intense exercise and immunity -- Moderate intensity exercise and immunity -- Aging, exercise and immunity -- Life Expectancy of Elite Athletes -- Oxidants, Antioxidants and Exercise -- Effects of exercise on antioxidant systems -- Enzymatic antioxidants and exercise -- Non-enzymatic antioxidants and exercise -- Chapter Summary -- References.

Chapter 4. Nutrition: Its Role in Aging, Health and Disease -- Introduction -- Dietary Guidelines -- Essential Vitamins and Minerals -- Aging and Malnutrition -- Total caloric malnutrition -- Protein-energy malnutrition -- Measurement of Nutritional Status -- Antropometric measurements -- Laboratory tests for protein-energy malnutrition -- Albumin -- Transferrin -- Cholesterol -- Total lymphocyte count -- Amino acids -- Protein Supplementation in Protein-Energy Malnutrition -- Economic Costs of Hospitalized Malnourished Patients -- Nutrition Counseling -- Free Radicals and Antioxidants -- Free radical formation -- Antioxidant enzymes -- Miscellaneous antioxidant pathways -- Aging, caloric restriction and antioxidants -- Diseases/Disorders and Nutrition -- Aging, Disease and Micronutrients -- Common vitamin deficiencies -- Folic acid -- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) -- Iron -- Trace elements -- Arteriosclerosis: Coronary Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke and Peripheral Vascular Disease -- Antioxidants and experimental atherogenesis -- Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) -- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) -- Carotenoids -- Miscellaneous antioxidants and atherogenesis -- Antioxidants: basic, epidemiologic and clinical studies -- Mediterranean diet -- Vitamin E (tocopherols) -- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) -- Vitamin A/carotenoids -- Flavonoids -- Non-antioxidants and arteriosclerosis -- Cholesterol and saturated fatty acids -- Dietary fiber -- Unsaturated fatty acids -- Folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 -- Magnesium -- Nut consumption and coronary heart disease -- Sodium and congestive heart failure -- Summary -- Cancer -- Colorectal cancer -- Dietary fiber -- Fats, fatty acids and red meat -- Folic acid and methionine -- Calcium and vitamin D -- Green tea -- Anti-inflammatory drugs -- Summary -- Stomach and esophageal cancers -- Cereal fiber -- Vegetables and fruits.

Micronutrients -- Cancer of the lung and bronchus -- Fruits and vegetables -- Micronutrients -- Green tea -- Breast cancer -- Fruits, vegetables and micronutrients -- Dietary fat -- Cooked meat -- Prostate cancer -- Fruits and vegetables -- Micronutrients -- Dietary fat, total energy consumption and body weight -- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- Miscellaneous malignancies -- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- Urinary bladder -- Kidney -- Pancreas -- Ovary -- Micronutrients and cancer -- (1) Vitamin C -- (2) Vitamin E -- (3) Beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein -- (4) Vitamin D -- (5) Other vitamins -- (6) Selenium -- (7) Summary -- Nutrition and the Immune System -- Caloric restriction -- Protein-energy malnutrition -- Micronutrients -- Micronutrient combinations -- Single micronutrients -- (1) Vitamin E -- (2) Vitamin C -- (3) Vitamin A and carotenoids -- (4) Zinc -- (5) Selenium -- (6) Glutamine -- Cataract and Macular Degeneration -- Cataract -- Macular degeneration -- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus -- Hypertension -- Sodium -- Potassium -- Calcium -- Antioxidants -- Osteoporosis -- General -- Calcium -- Vitamin D -- Vitamin A -- Potassium bicarbonate and bisphosphonate -- Miscellaneous minerals -- Neurologic Disorders -- Cognitive function and aging -- Unsaturated fatty acids -- Antioxidants -- Tardive dyskinesia -- Alzheimer's disease -- Oxidative stress and AD -- Dietary antioxidants and AD -- Folic acid, homocysteine and AD -- Dietary fats and AD -- Anti-inflammatory drugs and AD -- Caffeine and AD -- Parkinson's disease -- Nutrition and Miscellaneous Medical Disorders -- Hypercalciuria -- Gallbladder disease -- Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia -- Birth defects and spontaneous abortion -- Folic acid and birth defects -- Multivitamins and birth defects -- Folic acid and spontaneous abortion -- Nutrition and All-Cause Mortality -- Chapter Summary.

References.