A healthy diet and the right amount of exercise are key players in treating and preventing obesity but we still know little about the relationship both factors have with each other. A new study now reveals that an increase in physical activity is linked to an improvement in diet quality. Many questions arise when trying to lose weight. Would it be better to start on a diet and then do exercise, or the other way around? And how much does one compensate the other?
A survey of more than 33,000 Italian high school students reveals that both underweight and overweight teens consume 20 to 40% more illegal drugs than their normal-weight peers. The work, led by Sabrina Molinaro and Francesca Denoth of the Italian National Research Council, is reported in the Nov. 16 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. Check the end of this report for a link to download the full-text article.
The lack of evidence on multivitamin health benefits is no impediment to their widespread popularity, with over half the U.S. population popping such pills. This translates into a $27 billion industry, which lures consumers with the illusory promise of better health. But shocking new research suggests taking multivitamins might have the opposite effect – not simply on the metabolic level, but on a metaphysical one: promoting a false sense of invulnerability that actually leads users to engage in riskier behaviors.
Long-term coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are linked to obesity, estrogen and insulin.
A team of Johns Hopkins researchers has uncovered further evidence of the benefits of a balanced diet that replaces white bread and pasta carbohydrates with unsaturated fat from avocados, olive oil, and nuts — foods typical of the so-called “Mediterranean diet.” In a report prepared for the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions in Orlando next week, the Johns Hopkins investigators say swapping out certain foods can improve heart health in those at risk for cardiovascular disease, even if the dietary changes are not coupled with weight loss.
Obese patients enrolled in a weight-loss program delivered over the phone by health coaches and with website and physician support lost weight and kept it off for two years, according to new Johns Hopkins research. The program was just as effective as another weight-loss program that involved in-person coaching sessions. A report on the research was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Daily exercise improves a teenager’s chances of a good night’s sleep, while excess computer time has the opposite effect, according to a national survey reported in the latest issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Earlier research has had similar findings, but this is the first large, nationally representative study to connect physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep in high school students, explained Kathryn Foti, M.P.H.
A recent study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people. The research, supported by the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), was conducted by a team of scientists that has spent more than three decades investigating links between psychological stress and immunity.
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