Health
Hoda Kotb reveals daughter's concerning diagnosis influenced her exit from 'Today'
Hoda Kotb, longtime host of NBC’s “The Today Show,” is speaking out about the deeper reasons she decided to leave her post.
Kotb returned as a guest on Wednesday for the first time since her departure from “Today” in January.
During the appearance, she revealed that her younger daughter, Hope, 6, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
WEIGHT LOSS, DIABETES DRUGS CAN CAUSE MOOD CHANGES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BEHAVIORAL SIDE EFFECTS
Kotb, 60, noted that spending more time with both her daughters, including Haley, 8, was one of her motivations for leaving.
She told TODAY.com that Hope’s condition “definitely weighed in.”
Hoda Kotb is pictured with her daughter, Hope Catherine, on Jan. 10, 2025. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“As anyone with a child who has type 1, especially a little kid, you’re constantly watching, you’re constantly monitoring, you’re constantly checking, which is what I did all the time when I was [at ‘Today’],” she said. “You’re distracted.”
“You’re constantly watching, you’re constantly monitoring, you’re constantly checking.”
“You just get a priority check in your life,” Kotb expressed to co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin during the segment. “I can be here and sweating what’s happening to Hope in the morning and in the night, or I can be there and feel relief.”
Kotb stressed that she tries not to “put her worry” on Hope, adding that her daughter is “fine for most of the day.”
DIABETES ‘REWIRES’ THE BRAIN IN SURPRISING WAY, STUDY FINDS
“There are just moments where you have to watch her,” Kotb said. “I was totaling it up — five minutes at breakfast, five minutes at lunch, five minutes at dinner, sometimes overnight.”
“Add that up, that’s a half-hour. So, for 23 ½ hours, she’s every other kid. So, I try to remember that.”
Hoda Kotb is pictured with daughters Hope and Haley Joy on her last day at “The Today Show” on Jan. 10, 2025. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
The Cleveland Clinic defines type 1 diabetes as a chronic autoimmune disease that prevents the pancreas from producing insulin.
This requires daily management with insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Type 1 vs. type 2 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system “mistakenly attacks and destroys cells” in the pancreas, which can happen over months or years, the above source stated.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can include excessive thirst and hunger, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision and slow healing of cuts and sores.
Type 1 diabetes requires daily management with insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring. (iStock)
In comparison, type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance. This can cause the pancreas to not produce enough insulin and the body to not use the insulin as it should.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Obesity and lack of exercise, among other lifestyle and genetic factors, can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, according to experts.
Type 2 diabetes is more common than type 1 and is more likely to occur in older adults, while type 1 is most prevalent in children and young adults.
Hoda Kotb is pictured on “The Today Show” on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Kotb shared with TODAY.com that Hope’s early symptoms mimicked the flu and were so severe that she had to be “raced” to the hospital.
“Let them be kids and give them what they need when they need it.”
Now that Kotb knows how to handle Hope’s condition, she’s offering her space to be a regular kid, she said.
“Don’t put your worry on your kid,” she advised fellow parents.
“Watch them, but don’t put your worry on them. Let them be kids and give them what they need when they need it.”
Health
Katie Couric couldn’t remember the year or the president during frightening brain episode
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
ONE WALKING HABIT COULD SIGNAL A HEALTHIER BRAIN AFTER 80, SCIENTISTS SAY
The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
WOMAN WITH ADVANCED ALZHEIMER’S REGAINED SPEECH AND MEMORIES AFTER TAKING MAGIC MUSHROOMS
At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
Health
One walking habit could signal a healthier brain after 80, scientists say
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
COMMON VITAMIN MAY INFLUENCE BRAIN AGING IN WAYS SCIENTISTS DIDN’T EXPECT
The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
‘LONGEVITY GENE’ MAY PROTECT THE BRAIN FROM ALZHEIMER’S BY BOOSTING DNA REPAIR, STUDY FINDS
The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
Health
I Tried the Viral Gelatin Weight-Loss Recipe—Here’s My Honest Take
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
-
World7 minutes agoCritics say Turkey’s verbal attacks on Israel have crossed into antisemitism
-
Politics9 minutes agoWATCH: Dana White drops 2028 hints while raving about his favorite Trump cabinet secretary
-
Health15 minutes agoKatie Couric couldn’t remember the year or the president during frightening brain episode
-
Sports22 minutes agoJustin Verlander announces he will retire after this season: ‘I’ve realized that time has come’
-
Technology24 minutes agoApple AI security update proves hackers move fast
-
Business29 minutes agoFire-damaged Pacific Palisades shopping center sets reopening date
-
Entertainment37 minutes agoRhea Seehorn celebrates her ‘Pluribus’ Emmy nomination as she waits to hear about Carol and the atom bomb
-
Lifestyle39 minutes agoUrban Jürgensen: Introducing Elite Watchmaking to New Audiences