A recent survey conducted by the UK-based international healthcare firm BUPA revealed that while Brits can name dozens of simple activities that make them feel great, an alarming number don’t frequently experience moments of wellbeing.
Survey reveals Fast Food Still Sold in Hospitals
While disappointing although perhaps not surprising to see patients chowing down on fast food pre- or post-op, it is disconcerting to learn that dozens of well-established hospitals continue to hold contracts with fast food retailers such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, Chik-fil-A and more. A survey of 200 US hospitals and a recent article in the British Journal of Medicine reveals a disturbing accessory to our global health population management challenges.
Visual Cues Can Contribute to Weight Loss
Can the mere absence of stimulus lead to measurable changes in eating behaviors? A Harvard professor of economics believes so and headed to Google’s employee micro-kitchens in Boulder, Colorado, and New York to help “lend weight” to his theory. The results? When the stimuli of tempting snack foods are merely removed from sight, eating patterns can change dramatically. Read more to see how visual cues affect casual grazing patterns.
Use It or Lose It—New Study on Twins Reveals Big Impact of Exercise on Health
Identical twins, of course, share the same genes (and typically backgrounds), so medical studies on them allow researchers to more precisely isolate the impact of a behavior on health. And a very interesting new study from a Finnish university reveals that when one adult twin exercises—and the other doesn’t—the result is a major difference in their bodies and brains.
Finnish Study Indicates Frequent Sauna Usage May Boost Longevity …Heart-warming new data on the relationship between saunas and heart health
A large, long-term University of Eastern Finland study revealed that frequent time spent in saunas was associated with a longer life and less cardiac-related deaths. Analyzing 2,300 middle-aged men over two decades, the researchers found that men who visited a sauna 2-3 times a week had a 24 percent lower risk of death, while those who sweated it out 4-7 times weekly had a 40 percent mortality reduction, compared with only one sauna session a week.
RESEARCH STUDY ON WEIGHT LOSS
New Study: Gain in Body Mass Index (BMI) Carries Risks—Even if You Stay Within Normal Weight. Numerous studies have confirmed that being obese/overweight means a higher likelihood of cardiovascular (and other) diseases. But now a new study on 12,000 subjects revealed that even people who gain weight within acceptable BMI limits up their risk for cardiovascular disease and other adverse metabolic changes. The research is notable for studying such a large population, which was able to isolate the impact of BMI increases independent of factors like exercise, smoking and eating fatty foods.
