Category Archives: Weight Loss

Obesity Increases MS Risk, According to Kaiser Permanente

Teenage girls who are classified as very obese – defined as having a body mass index in excess of 35 – may also have a heightened risk of developing multiple sclerosis, or MS, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation. In fact, the girls involved in the study were four times more at risk for MS over the course of the study period than girls with a normal BMI. Interestingly, the association between BMI and MS was only detected in girls, not in boys. It should be remembered that MS is not the only risk of childhood obesity. Children that are severely overweight during childhood have a much higher risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prediabetes and sleep apnea. Of course, there is also the unfortunate possibility of stigmatization and low self-esteem.

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Posted in Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, Health Facts, Medical, Mental Health, News, Nutrition, Parenting, Studies, Weight Loss, Women | 1,042 Comments

Want to Stop Overeating? Take Smaller Bites

Dieticians offer many different strategies for kicking an overeating habit, many of which are fairly simple. For example, it’s been suggested by the British Journal of Nutrition that people who regularly eat breakfast in the morning eat less throughout the day. Eating a balanced breakfast of at least 250 calories each day could help reduce your ongoing appetite. Preparing breakfast before bed might ensure this for people that have busy mornings. Also, studies have suggested that people tend to overeat when they’re distracted. Luckily, taking tinier bites of food during a meal could offset the effects of distracted eating, according to a new study by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. If you plan to watch a movie or your favorite reality show while you’re eating dinner tonight, it might be wise to choose a smaller fork if your goal is to stop overeating.

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Posted in Diet, Food, Health, Health Facts, News, Nutrition, Studies, Weight Loss | 241 Comments

Exercise After Eating Reduces Heart Attack Risk

A new study – albeit a small one – indicates that exercising shortly after eating a meal high in fat could reduce the negative impact that meal has on your cardiovascular system. According to the study, engaging in walking and light strength training approximately one hour after a meal mitigates the elevation of fat cells known as triglycerides in the blood. The researchers found that post-meal exercise does a better job of this than before-meal exercise. People with high triglyceride levels also have a higher heart attack risk. Despite the limits of the study, it may be worth giving the strategy a try. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 600,000 Americans die of a heart attack each year. That amounts to around 25 percent of the annual deaths in the country.

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Posted in Body Building, Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, Health Facts, Medical, News, Nutrition, Studies, Weight Loss, Weight Training | 675 Comments

Calories in Soda: “Just Calories?”

One of the most common and basic pieces of advice given to people trying to lose weight is “cut out the calories in soda.” It’s true that eliminating a 20-ounce pop from your diet each day will save you about 270 calories. Multiply this by 7, and you get about 1,900 calories per week. This means you could lose more than half-a-pound per week simply by cutting out a 20-ounce soda from your daily diet, since 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound of body weight. Although the logic works and applies to the lifestyles of many who are overweight or obese, Coca-Cola doesn’t want you associating drinking soda with packing on the pounds. As a result, the company is preparing to launch an ad campaign with a pretty simple message: it doesn’t matter where your calories come from – if you consume too many, you’ll put on weight.

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Drinking Diet or Regular Soda Could Boost Depression Risk

You might opt for diet soda instead of regular pop to save a few calories, but a new study by the National Institutes of Health indicates that you could be doing your mental health more harm than good in either case. The results suggest that there may be a link between diet soda and depression (and other diet beverages). The study, almost 20 years in the making, included nearly 264,000 adults from various parts of the United States. The study could be very relevant to many Americans, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that around 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. report suffering from depression. People between the age of 45 and 64 seem to be the most likely to have the condition. Other groups that have high depression rates include women, people whose highest education level is lower than high school, and those that have been divorced.

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