(HealthDay News) -- A routine that includes a variety of exercises is important to help seniors stay strong. But balance exercises can help reduce the risk of falling and dangerous fractures.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Tattoos and body piercings are increasingly seen as nothing more than a fashion trend in western societies, but a new study in France found that those with body art tended to drink more alcohol than their peers.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Teens undergoing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse can benefit from the 12-step program used by groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), researchers say.

SUNDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- A large international group of researchers has identified 32 new genetic regions linked to fractures and osteoporosis.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Large differences exist in the levels of salt in foods sold at major fast-food restaurants in the United States and other developed countries, a new study says.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- The number of American women and men having cosmetic chin surgery increased drastically in 2011, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

SUNDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Genes that increase or reduce the risk of certain mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease have been identified by an international team of scientists.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Media multitasking -- the use of more than one type of media or technology at the same time -- may have some positive effects, a new study suggests.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Women with HIV are at increased risk for anal cancer, a new study finds.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- In a new study, about 6 percent of eighth graders admitted they had participated in the "choking game," in which blood and oxygen to the brain are cut off with a rope or belt to produce a euphoric "high."

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Off-label prescribing of medications is common, but the practice varies according to drug, and patient and doctor characteristics, a Canadian study finds.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Surgery for non-melanoma skin cancer in the United States increased substantially from 2001 to 2006, mainly due to the increased use of a specific surgical procedure, a new study suggests.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Little girls from troubled homes are more likely to be obese at age 5 than girls from happier ones, new research shows.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Omega-3 fatty acid supplements don't appear to have any benefit on multiple sclerosis (MS), according a study by Norwegian researchers.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental pill reduced the number of lesions in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers report.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- A bariatric surgical procedure is more likely than medicine to improve or even reverse type 2 diabetes in very obese patients, a new small study indicates.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that epidural steroids provided better relief for some patients with sciatica, a searing pain that shoots from the lower back straight down the leg, than Enbrel, a newer type of anti-inflammatory drug.

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Accidental deaths among children and adolescents have dropped 30 percent since 2000 but still remain the number-one killer of children and teens, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- New long-term research now suggests that fully biodegradable stents are safe to use in heart arteries.