Dieting
Kids who eat in large groups tend to eat more
|
|
A new study shows that children consume more snack food - almost one third more than usual—when they eat in large groups.
“This observation makes sense in that people—and animals—perform behaviors ‘more’ or ‘more robustly’ when they are doing the behavior surrounded by others,” Dr. Julie Lumeng who led the study told Reuters Health.
100 percent juices found as beneficial to health as fruits and vegetables
|
|
When it comes to some of today’s health issues, 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices do help reduce risk factors related to certain diseases.
This conclusion is the result of a European study designed to question traditional thinking that 100 percent juices play a less significant role in reducing risk for both cancer and cardiovascular disease than whole fruits and vegetables.
Juices are comparable in their ability to reduce risk compared to their whole fruit/vegetable counterparts say several researchers in the United Kingdom who conducted the literature review. The researchers analyzed a variety of studies that looked at risk reduction attributed to the effects of both fiber and antioxidants. As a result, they determined that the positive impact fruits and vegetables offer come not from just the fiber but also from antioxidants which are present in both juice and the whole fruit and vegetables.
Kids at risk: Assessing diet and exercise behaviors in adolescents
|
|
Do adolescents get enough exercise and eat the right foods? Is there too much fat in their diets? In a study published in the February 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers analyzed the behavior of almost 900 11-to-15 year-olds and found that nearly 80% had multiple physical activity and dietary risk behaviors, almost half had at least three risk behaviors, and only 2% met all four of the health guidelines in the study.
Using both physical measurements and surveying techniques, four behaviors were assessed: physical activity, television viewing time, percent calories from fat, and daily servings of fruits and vegetables. In addition, parental health behaviors were sampled.
Too much fish risky for foetuses
|
|
Pregnant women who eat fish more than three times a week could be putting their baby at risk because of higher mercury levels in their blood, according to a study by Taiwanese researchers.
Mercury exposure is especially risky for foetuses when their internal organs are developing, and can result in neuronal, kidney and brain damage, and stunt growth.
Expectant Chinese mothers tend to eat more fish as they believe it is healthier than red or white meat.
Exercise, diet reduce fatty liver in obese teens
|
|
Efforts to help obese children become more active and eat better can help reduce the amount of fatty tissue in their livers.
Known medically as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, this condition is becoming increasingly common as the prevalence of obesity increases, Dr. Ana R. Damaso and colleagues from the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil note in their report. There are currently no drugs available to reverse fatty liver disease, which can progress to cirrhosis, even among young patients, the doctors add.
They set out to determine whether a 12-week program including nutrition education and two one-hour exercise sessions per week would have any effect on fatty liver in a group of 73 obese teens.
Battling bacteria in gut may influence weight gain
|
|
Body weight and obesity could be affected not only by what we eat but also by how it is digested in the gut, American scientists said on Wednesday.
They have discovered that levels of two types of good microbes or bacteria in the gut that help to break down foods are different in obese and lean people and mice.
The finding, reported in the science journal Nature, could lead to a better understanding of why some people may be prone to obesity and help find new ways of preventing or treating it.
Study finds gender differences related to eating and body image
|
|
Researchers have discovered a subtle new difference between men and women – this one occurring in the realm of eating.
In the new study of observed eating behavior in a social setting, young men and women who perceived their bodies as being less than “ideal” ate differing amounts of food after they were shown images of “ideal-bodied” people of their own gender.
Diets may spur unhealthy eating in some obese kids
|
|
For some obese children, dieting may set off an unhealthy preoccupation with weight and eating, a small study suggests.
Researchers found that among obese adolescents, some of those who had tried dieting eventually developed a preoccupation with weight loss and a habit of binge-eating.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, suggest that for some heavy children, dieting can backfire.
New study weighs benefits of exercise, diets
|
|
Those in their 50s and 60s who want to lose weight might consider heading to the cardio workout room instead of counting calories, suggests new research out this month.
Both those who dieted and those who exercised lost a significant amount of weight, according to findings from an NIH-funded study on whether a calorie-restriction diet can extend lifespan. However, while exercisers maintained their strength and muscle mass and increased aerobic capacity, those who dieted lost muscle mass, strength and aerobic capacity.
Lots of sweet food and drink increases risk of pancreatic cancer
|
|
The high consumption of sweetened food and drink increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet.
A heavy intake of fizzy drinks, creamed fruit and sugar in coffee are three common ways of increasing the risk.
Pancreatic cancer is a very serious form of cancer that is possibly caused when the pancreas produces heightened levels of insulin as a consequence of upset glucose metabolism. A well-known way of increasing insulin production is to eat a lot of sugar. Scientists have now, for the first time, shown that the consumption of sweetened food and drink affects a person’s chances of developing pancreatic cancer.
Compound in red wine counters effects of a high-calorie diet
|
|
The results of an international study suggests that a compound found in red wine gave mice longer and healthier lives and also countered some of the effects of a high-calorie diet.
The compound resveratrol is found in grapes and other plants and in earlier studies appeared to have life-prolonging qualities.
It seems fish treated with resveratrol lived 60 per cent longer, and fruit flies and worms 30 per cent longer.
Answers (You May Not Know) About Healthier Cooking
|
|
Pass on the salt. Cut back on the sugar. Some easy recipe adjustments may be in order for healthier cooking. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource answers questions about healthier cooking.
Does adding salt to the water when boiling speed up cooking?
Adding salt can increase the temperature at which water boils, but it doesn’t affect cooking times for foods. It adds unneeded sodium, which may contribute to blood pressure concerns. Another reason to pass on the salt: It draws water out of plant cells and can make some vegetables mushy. It can also make beans and peas tough.
Drinking Cola bad for women’s bones
|
|
If the latest research is to be believed women who drink cola on a regular basis are putting themselves at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
The researchers from Tufts University in Boston, say they have found that drinking cola was linked with low bone mineral density in women, regardless of their age or calcium intake.
Professor Katherine Tucker, director of the Epidemiology and Dietary Assessment Program at the University and her colleagues conducted a study of 2,500 people which compared information from dietary questionnaires with bone mineral density measurements at the spine and three different hip sites.
Low-Carb Dieters Eat More Vegetables
|
|
Are people on a low-carb diet replacing starches and sugars with unhealthy high-fat foods? A new survey suggests they may do something radically different.
A recent study of an internet-based support group (Active Low-Carber’s Forum: http://forum.lowcarber.org/) suggests that the major change in eating patterns for dieters on low-carbohydrate diets has been the addition of large amounts of vegetables and salads to replace carbohydrates removed from their diet. The report was published today in the open access journal Nutrition Journal.
Fruit and vegetable juice may ward off Alzheimer’s
|
|
Drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently could help stave of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals at risk for developing the disease, research suggests.
There is evidence from both lab and animal studies that high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS)—harmful byproducts of normal metabolism—may be involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
While vitamins and polyphenols contained in plant foods exert antioxidant effects and thus blunt the action of ROS, certain ways of preparing these foods can deplete their nutrient content. Juicing, however, can preserve much of the antioxidant content of fruits and vegetables.
