Tag Archives: research studies

Is There a Correlation Between Blogging and Weight Loss? Help Us Find Out.

Martinus Evans is a man on a mission, to get healthy, lose weight, run his first full marathon in October and blog about every step of the way. Known by his popular online moniker “300 Pounds and Running,” Martinus recently attended FitBloggin to mingle with fellow fitness fans and flash his infectious smile. In one short year he’s gone from sedentary college student with muscle aches and fatigue to a grad student writing his master’s thesis on social media/blogging and weight loss.

If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, he could use your help.

300 Pounds and Running

Martinus is currently conducting a short survey to aid in the collection of data for his thesis. If you’re a weight loss blog writer or reader, he’s looking for you!

Click here to take the online survey about why you write or read blogs about weight loss. You’ll be part of the very first social media study of its kind and just for playing along, you’ll automatically be entered in a drawing to receive one of three $100 gift cards to the store of your choice.

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Posted on July 10, 2023 by Dani Stone

INFOGRAPHIC: Will Smoking Pot Make You Skinny? New Research Says Maybe

why are pot smokers skinny

As seen at Number 1 on Visual.ly! Embed This Graphic!

Are people who use marijuana thinner than those who don’t? Though scientists can’t say conclusively that smoking pot makes you thin, a recent study shows a correlation between smaller waist circumference and marijuana use. Users not only seem to be thinner, but also somewhat healthier than their non-using counterparts. An exact reason for the trend hasn’t been discovered, but scientists are still intrigued by the results of the study.

More than 4,600 people participated in the study. Waist circumference and other weight-related factors were assessed in those who currently are marijuana users, those who used but don’t anymore, and those who never used. Other studies had found lower prevalence for obesity and diabetes in marijuana users, but this was the first study to also include tests for insulin, glucose and insulin resistance. (more…)

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Elizabeth

‘Grazing’ Fad Being Put Out to Pasture with New Type 2 Diabetes Study

The six meal a day diet fad may be on the outs. In recent years, it’s been suggested that eating six small meals throughout the day, colloquially referred to as “grazing,” is a better approach to weight loss than the more traditional three squares. The American Diabetes Association has released a study confirming that eating two meals a day led to more weight loss than six small ones.

The study is by no means supremely revelatory—the sample size was a meager 54 people and they all had type 2 diabetes—but it has sparked debate over how many daily meals is appropriate for weight loss. Additionally, the researchers lowered the participants’ usual daily caloric intake by 500, which would lead to weight loss either way you slice it.

Empty Plate

In the ADA study, 27 people ate six small meals a day, and 27 ate just breakfast and lunch, skipping dinner entirely. Both control groups lost weight—an average of 0.82 BMI points for the grazers and 1.23 points for the minimalists—but there are flaws with both schools of thought. The average person is too busy to prepare and eat six meals a day, and refraining from eating entirely after lunch is just silly.

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Posted on June 25, 2023 by Patrick

4 Reasons Your Diet is Doomed to Fail

Diets don’t work. It seems like such an obvious, undeniable statement. But if it is true, why does the diet industry continue to thrive? Well, because people always want to lose weight. So when one diet fails to achieve the desired results, it’s off to the next one. In some cases like with major commercial diet brands, they’ve created such a strong brand loyalty that people will often go back to their approach over and over again.

depressed diet

While pondering this simple but important question of why diets fail, I asked two health authors and advocates to chime in.

“In my experience, the key question isn’t ‘Why do diets fail?’, but instead ‘Why do experts keep telling us to eat in ways that we can’t keep up?’,” said Jonathan Bailor, author of The Smarter Science of Slim.

In simplest terms, it’s a matter of supply and demand. It’s just that in this case, the consumer continually goes back to a product that fails them. Could you imagine any other industry this logic would work for?

View Why Your Diet is Doomed Slideshow

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Posted on June 13, 2023 by Jason

Gastric Bypass May be a Better Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

A year-long study regarding the connection between weight loss surgery and curing type 2 diabetes was released this week. The study showed that surgery seemed to be more effective than lifestyle change and medication for treating the disease. However, the tradeoff was that those who had the surgery were at a very common risk for complications. Is this just a one step forward and one step back scenario?

surgeon

The Associated Press reported that a new publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association is stating that gastric bypass surgery can effectively treat type 2 diabetes in patients with mild to moderate obesity. This means people who are about 50 to 70 pounds overweight.

While the glowing light of the words “treatment for diabetes” seems impressive, it was also stated that of those in the study who received surgery, a third of them developed serious problems during the first year after surgery. The typical complications include infections, intestinal blockage, and bleeding. And then there was a much smaller percentage who experienced much more severe complications. (more…)

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Lacy

Experts Agree, Sitting in a Sunlighten Sauna Offers Vast Health and Weight Loss Benefits

Is it possible to sit perfectly still and manage to lose weight and even improve your health? A 2024 study from the University of British Columbia* says it’s so, specifically with the use of a Sunlighten sauna. This 2024 study found that when the Sunlighten sauna was used three times a week in 20-minute sessions, the user lost weight and reduced waist circumference (which is often a better determination of overall health than scale weight).

sunlighten logo

Another study conducted at the University of Missouri at Kansas City** found that 30-minute sessions three times a week in a Sunlighten sauna even lowered the user’s blood pressure. And still, more research hails the benefits of consistent sauna use.

“One study showed that using a sauna every other day for two weeks was associated with increased fat metabolism and lower cholesterol,” reported Dr. Jessica Wu, Daily Glow’s Dermatology Expert. She explained that the heat produced by the sauna will obviously make you sweat, and that if you sweat enough, “you will temporarily lose water weight.” As well, since heat reduces appetite, she explained that some people may have less of an appetite after a session in the sauna.

So what is this Sunlighten sauna that seems to be changing the health of its users? It’s not your typical sauna, as the results clearly show. There are no hot rocks or steam, instead, Sunlighten uses Solocarbon far infrared heat – which is the same type of energy that is naturally produced by the sun. (more…)

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Natalie K

Obesity Makes Career Success Difficult, Particularly for Women

When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie revealed he underwent Lap-Band surgery last month, it instantly fueled speculation that it was at least in part about his 2024 presidential aspirations. True or not, there are valid reasons to consider that weight loss as a powerful tool in helping him to the highest office in the land.woman

All you have to do is look at the people who hold the highest positions in private companies. According to a 2024 study, just five percent of CEOs in the U.S. were obese (with a BMI over 30).

If you drop down to the overweight classification (a BMI between 25 and 29), there is a dramatic difference, but only for male CEOs. The 2024 study estimated between 45 and 61 percent of top male CEOs are overweight. Only five percent of overweight CEOs are women.

What would account for such a major gender gap? Women already fight an unfair uphill battle for wage equality, so one can probably safely assume a significant double standard in how men and women with weight issues are perceived.

“It appears that the glass ceiling effect on women’s advancement may reflect not only general negative stereotypes about the competencies of women, but also weight bias that results in the application of stricter appearance standards to women,” said study co-author Mark Roehling, Michigan State University associate professor of human resource management. (more…)

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Jason

Exercise in Moderation, Not in Excess to Prevent Heart Disease

In all dietary and fitness pursuits, moderation is key. Socrates put the concept of practicing moderation into our consciousness 2,500 years ago when he proclaimed, “Everything in moderation, nothing in excess.”

One hundred years ago, Oscar Wilde blew the lid off the whole thing when he said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

runner

But Socrates and Wilde didn’t live in a polarizing world of both obesity and extreme exercise. We live in a dangerously unhealthy society, and with the recent release of studies condemning grueling exercise, it’s important to strike a healthy balance.

Endurance athletes—the people who compete in triathlons, Ironman events, and marathons—are an intense bunch. They continually push their bodies to the brink of exhaustion, and then keep running. The small community of endurance athletes around the world are an understandably prideful group, and they feed off the narcotic high of extreme athletic accomplishment. So anyone who introduces a study claiming to have found damning evidence against radical fitness better have a hell of a case.

Various new research shows that there is such a thing as “over exercise,” and it can lead to many external and internal damages. (more…)

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Patrick

Eat Garlic and Live Forever: Your Guide to the Stinking Rose

The study of hieroglyphics and ancient scrolls reveal that ancient Egyptians and Greeks were perhaps the first people to realize the benefits of garlic. These peoples used the stinking rose for culinary and medicinal purposes, religious offerings, and warned never to order the garlic-stuffed chicken breast on a big date.

For the longest time, Anglos were hesitant to jump on the garlic wagon, using the vegetable (yes) only to ward off vampires and other supernatural creeps. While modern folk are still obsessed with vampires, everyone seems to have discovered the benefits of the magical flower, as planet Earth produces nearly 30 billion pounds of garlic annually.

Garlic

Garlic can add a pungent and delicious flavor to nearly any dish, but recent studies suggest it also has a profound positive affect on human health. In 2024, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that a garlic rich diet stimulates hydrogen sulfide production, a natural antioxidant that increases circulation. The researchers, who made this discovery by injecting garlic juice into red blood cells, say the findings shed light on why people who eat a diet high in garlic are much less prone to breast, prostate, and colon cancer. (more…)

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Patrick

Current Food Trends Include Fresh, Fast and Dining Alone

There are major changes coming to the food industry, or at least for those companies that want to stay economically viable. That’s because, according to various studies on consumer trends, there are significant lifestyle changes that are impacting the way we eat.

Dr. Elizabeth Sloan, contributing editor and consumer trends columnist for Food Technology Magazine, has put together a report illustrating what she feels are the top trends in the food industry. Here are some of the highlights:

foodie

Eating Out is Not On The Menu for Millennials

Restaurant dining is dominated by older generations, with the biggest spenders being in the 55- to 64-year-old age group. During the last five years, baby boomers and older have seen a six percent increase in restaurant visits while millennials’ visits dropped by six percent. (more…)

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Jason

Mushrooms May Help You Skip Vitamin D Supplements

While many of us will probably get plenty of vitamin D in the summer sunshine, there’s some potentially welcoming news for those who prefer to get theirs from dietary sources (which is always a wise idea anyway). According to new research, mushrooms produce enough vitamin D without the need for supplementation.

mushrooms

There are many reasons vitamin D is important to our health. For instance, adequate vitamin D levels are necessary for promoting healthy bone development, muscle strength, and reducing the risk of bone fractures. Vitamin D is also essential in helping strengthen your immune system and reduces the risk of certain types of cancer, depression and diabetes.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine examined 30 healthy adults who were randomly given capsules of 2,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin D2, 2,000 IU of vitamin D3, or 2,000 IU of mushroom powder (with vitamin D2). They took these daily for 12 weeks in the winter months. (more…)

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Jason