Reports from a study conducted at the University of Granada in Spain revealed two important correlations pertaining to childhood obesity: Children who eat meals at home prepared by their mother have a better nutritional outlook. And children with sedentary lifestyles are much likelier to have an unhealthy BMI.
Using standard measurement methods, researchers assessed the BMI of 718 children between the ages of 9 and 17 from various schools in Granada, and also determined the consumption frequency of specific foods and daily exercise habits. Their research showed that there is a noticeable relationship between sedentary leisure habits and high BMIs. And that it is “extremely important” for healthy habits to be promoted and encouraged within the family.
This only further confirms what experts have taught us all along: Daily exercise is crucial to overall health. Meals prepared at home are are likelier to be made with healthier, fresher ingredients and served in the proper portions. And it’s crucial that healthy habits be modeled in the home.
So how do we apply this research if we struggle in this area? Consider the following problem areas and tackle them head on.
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If you are looking to find a partner, men, you now have more of a reason to eat right and exercise. New research suggests women may lust after a man’s immune system more than a hot bod or smoldering face.
Men with high levels of testosterone are seen as more attractive to women, and the same men have stronger immune responses, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications. Testosterone is responsible for more “manly” features, and women are attracted to them because they signal good health, as proved in a recent study.
Researchers gathered 74 Latvian men in their early 20s and took blood samples immediately before and one month after their first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine which triggers the immune system to create antibodies against the virus. The researchers recorded these levels of antibodies as well as testosterone levels and cortisol, the stress hormone that negatively effects the body.
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Scientist have made some tall claims before, but this newest one may top the list. A recent study shows that starving or fasting off and on can boost brain power, help weight loss, and ultimately help one live longer.
This research was performed by the National Institute for Aging. They based their study off of an animal study. In the animal study, lab animals were given the bare minimum of calories required to sustain them. Results showed these animals lived twice as long as those fed more calories.
After the animal study, humans were tested. This type of diet was found to protect the heart, circulatory system, Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases.
Another angle of the study showed how the diet effected insulin production, the regulator of sugar. In the animal test, regular lab mice were compared to fasting lab mice. Those who fasted on alternate days needed to produce less insulin. Higher insulin production is associated with lower brain power and the risk of diabetes.
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By Arleigh Aldrich
The debate over obesity in today’s society roars on. Three Canadian medical doctors, two public-health professors, and a cardiologist suggest in an article published in The Canadian Journal of Cardiology that “junk food” may be too soft a term. They suggest labeling food that has too much sugar, salt or saturated fats should be labeled as “pathogens,” a term normally reserved for strands of E. coli or Listeria. Their argument? Junk food is far more pervasive in our diet and should be considered just as deadly if not more than pathogens that occur in more concentrated, special cases like E. coli.
The discussion about regulating the amount of these “pathogens” is nothing new. The counter argument is to let the public make their own decisions. Dr. Norm Campbell, a cardiologist from the University of Calgary in Canada and co-author of the study, is all for regulating such foods. He justifies it this way:
“Why regulate crime? ‘Oh, it’s a murder, they shouldn’t be allowed a second chance.’ Well, the food industry kills many thousands more than that murderer ever had a hope of doing.”
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The Cambridge University Press and The Nutrition Society have partnered to launch an open access online journal, called Journal of Nutritional Science. The goal of the journal is to publish peer-reviewed research articles on a number of nutrition related subjects, including public health, epidemiology, metabolic studies, body composition, microbiology, nutritional requirements, obesity, appetite and aging.
The journal’s open access platform means that both readers and authors will be better served. “The value of open access journals is that they make their content immediately available on the Internet for free,” comments DietsInReview’s resident dietitian Mary Hartley. “Copyright is retained by the author, and the articles can be distributed and cited so long as the original authorship is properly attributed.”
Founded in 1941, The Nutrition Society is well-respected in the scientific community and is the largest society for nutrition in Europe. “Because The Nutrition Society is behind it, we should expect the new journal to retain the high standards and high quality they bring to their other scholarly publications,” says Hartley. The Nutrition Society also published on behalf of the society: British Journal of Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society and Nutrition Research Reviews. Professor Philip Calder, the Editor-in-Chief of British Journal of Nutrition will also take on that role at the new publication.
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