Health aNd Fitness Guide » Uncategorized

Obese Impact Climate?

Aziz — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:31:52 +0000

Obesity contributes to global warming and food shortages. Obese people consume 18 per cent more calories than lean people, and require more fuel for transportation, which contributes to demand for food and fuel, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. This in turn drives up prices and leads to shortages and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

‘Fast’ Way To Beat Jet Lag

Aziz — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:31:20 +0000

Fasting during a long flight could help beat jet lag. The body’s primary functions are regulated by a biological circadian clock, which responds to daylight, but a study on mice published in journal Science notes that a second ‘feeding clock’, which responds to mealtime patterns, may take over in the absence of food, keeping the person awake till he finds food. (more…)

Mentally Taxing Jobs Help

Aziz — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:31:14 +0000

Mentally challenging jobs keep your brain sharper and help ward off dementia. It will help preserve cognitive abilities through retirement, regardless of one’s intelligence, age or education. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center looked at the IQ scores of 1,036 male twins when they joined the US army and compared them with the scores they got after retirement. (more…)

Wealth Lowers Stroke Risk

Aziz — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:31:43 +0000

Greater wealth is linked to lower risk of stroke among men aged 50 to 64, reports journal Stroke. A study observed around 20,000 stroke-free participants for a period of 8.5 years; 1542 of them suffered stroke during the study period. Ten per cent of the participants with the least wealth were three times more likely to suffer a stroke, compared with the wealthy ones. Researchers feel “wealth may increase individual’s sense of control over their lives, reducing psychosocial stress and subsequently stroke risk”.

Testosterone & Traders

Aziz — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Highly successful stockbrokers have high levels of the male hormone testosterone. Researchers at Cambridge University followed 17 male traders in London for eight days and took their saliva samples at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Later, tests showed that the testosterone levels of these man were very high on days they had a higher-than-average success in the stock market. High testosterone levels boosted their confidence and energy, leading to risk-taking and winning. However, high testosterone levels for prolonged periods can induce hasty risk-taking.

Keyboards Dirtier Than Than Toilets

Aziz — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:31:48 +0000

There could be more harmful bacteria on a computer keyboards than on toilet seats. British microbiologists James Francis took swabs from 33 keyboards and compared them with those from a toilet seat and toilet handle. The keyboards tested positive for a host of germs and bugs that could cause serious health problems like stomach flu and skin infections. One of the keyboards had bacteria 150 times more than the recommended limit, making it five times filthier than a toilet seat. Dropped food crumbs and poor hygiene were the main culprits.

Fat As A Kid, Fat Always

Aziz — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:31:23 +0000

If you are obese as a child, you will probably be obese as an adult. The number of fat cells in one’s body is set in adolescence and remain unchanged through adulthood, says a study in journal Nature. (more…)

What Motivates Men

Aziz — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:31:47 +0000

The part of the brain associated with reward and addiction is more activated in males than in females when both genders play a game whose object is to acquire more territory. Researchers at Stanford made 22 undergraduates, half of them men and half women, play a video game that dealt with territoriality. The game involved gaining space by clicking on balls on the computer screen.
Although both genders clicked on the same number of balls, men quickly acquired more space than women, apparently because men were better at identifying which balls would give them the most space when clicked. According to the researchers, most computer games that males like to play involve territory and aggression, explaining why men are more likely to get hooked. The study could offer insights into what motivates human behavior.

Feet Facts

Aziz — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:31:06 +0000

* Ill-fitting shoes don’t cause bunions, that painful swelling on the first joint of the big toe. High heels and toe-squishing footwear might contribute to the condition, but these abdominal bony growths form because of a laxity in the joint at the base of the big toe.
* A stress fracture in the foot is often one of the first signs of osteoporosis.
* Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue running from your heel to the base of your toes. It becomes more common with age. A doctor can suggest a regimen of pain medication and stretches.
* Cutting away corns, the painful area of thickened skin on the foot, or removing them with medicated pads at home can lead to infection.Most corns are caused by ill-fitting shoes, or by rolling your feet inward or outward while walking.
* Broken toe bones that don’t heal properly can lead to arthritis and deformities later in life.

Saliva Test For Cancer

Aziz — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:31:38 +0000

Breast cancer, like any other cancer, secretes certain proteins for its survival. This protein can be detected in saliva or blood. Scientists from the University of Texas have identified certain proteins unique in patients with breast cancer. A study of the saliva of 30 women — 10 with no cancer, 10 with benign breast disease, and 10 with breast cancer — showed a definite difference in the saliva of each group. Now we depend on mammograms (X-rays of the breast) for diagnosis of breast cancer. But the tumor has to grow about half a centimeter to be detected. In about 15 per cent cases, mammograms failed to detect cancer. Also, the method is not very expensive and not very common in the developing world. Non-invasive molecular tests looking at the protein expression in the tumor can detect the cancer early on.