John Gunstad, an associate professor in Kent State University's Department of Psychology, and a team of researchers have discovered a link between weight loss and improved memory and concentration. The study shows that bariatric surgery patients exhibited improved memory function 12 weeks after their operations. Included in this report is a video interview with John Gunstad. ...

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center found that Parkinson’s patients who walked on a treadmill at a comfortable speed for a longer duration (low-intensity exercise) improved their walking more than patients who walked for less time but at an increased speed and incline (high-intensity exercise). The investigators also found benefits for stretchin ...

Fish has long been considered in myriad cultures to be “brain food,” but only recently has bona fide science begun to support this deep-rooted belief. Researchers now know that the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as salmon and herring may play a critical role in both development and maintenance of the brain and nerves. Although sufficient amounts of these long-chain fats can be synthesized endog ...

There is increasing evidence from human and animal studies that offspring of parents who were physically or psychologically stressed are at higher risk of developing obesity, and that these offspring may in turn "transmit" that increased risk to the next generation. Now research conducted at the University of Minnesota and Georgetown University suggests that a mother's nutritional or psychological stress du ...

Research conducted at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas suggests that it is never too late for women to reap the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a 3-month study of 16 women age 60 and older, brisk walking for 30 to 50 minutes three or four times per week improved blood flow through to the brain as much as 15%. ...

Everyone has heard the old adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” We all know we should eat more fruit. But why apples? Do they contain specific benefits? According to Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University, apples are truly a “miracle fruit” that convey benefits beyond fiber content ...

New research shows that pomegranate juice may help to reduce blood pressure. Researcher Dr. Emad Al-Dujaili from Queen Margaret University will present the findings at the 2011 Society for Endocrinology conference in Birmingham, UK. ...

Drinking 100 percent fruit juices could have protective health benefits similar to those of whole fruits, according to research presented in a literature review yesterday at the 2011 Experimental Biology (EB) meeting. Research examined in the review, which was completed at the University of California - Davis, a range of study types from in vitro to clinical trials (60 papers total), all published in 2005 o ...

Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student in Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, has been fascinated with a phenomenon known as “the halo effect” for some time. Psychologists have long recognized that how we perceive a particular trait of a person can be influenced by how we perceive other traits of the same individual. In other words, the fact that a person has a positive at ...

A large cohort study following 37,000 teenagers for 17 years found that an elevated, yet normal range Body Mass Index (BMI) constitutes a substantial risk factor for obesity-related disorders in young adults (age 30-40). The study showed that elevated BMI in adolescence has distinctive relationships with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease in young adulthood. ...