Press Releases from Business School of Happiness (37 total)
Lack of Sleep Could Contribute to Weight Gain, Researchers Conclude
A study published May 1st, 2012 in the journal Sleep concluded that insufficient sleep might contribute to weight gain. The researchers examined sleep and body mass index (BMI) in twins and found that sleeping more than nine hours nightly might suppress genetic influences on body weight. After looking at 1,088 pairs of twins, they found a correlation between sleeping fewer than seven hours a night with an increased…
Researchers Predict 11 Percent of Americans Will Be Severely Obese by 2030
A recent Duke University study predicted that the percentage of severely obese Americans—100 pounds or more overweight—will double to 11 percent by 2030. Obesity is closely connected with diabetes, heart disease and other ailments, and is a major factor in America’s rising health care costs.
And according to a recent 400-page report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), over 65% of American adults are overweight. The report estimates that…
Harvard Researchers Find Link Between White Rice Consumption and Diabetes
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health recently found a link between high intake of white rice and a significantly elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, especially among Asian populations. The Chinese eat an average of four portions of white rice daily while those in the Western world eat less than five portions weekly.
After analyzing results of two studies in China and Japan and two in the US…
Obese Women Risk Having Children With Lower Cognitive Function, Study Claims
A large study conducted at Ohio State University recently found that women who were obese before they became pregnant were at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function than mothers with a healthy pre-pregnancy weight. Adjusting for all other variables, the study showed pre-pregnancy obesity was associated with a three-point reduction in reading scores and a two-point reduction in math scores on a common children’s test.
“Previous research…
Annual Cost of Obesity is $300 Billion, Experts Estimate
A March 2012 report by a consortium of health experts known as the Campaign to End Obesity, estimates that the annual cost of obesity is $300 billion. Obesity is a risk factor for most modern chronic diseases and is ultimately responsible for almost 10% of all medical expenses. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that obesity-related spending will increase an average of 3.6% a year on a per-person basis,…
Eating Berry Fruits Is Beneficial for the Brain, Research Suggests
What do berries, avocados, nuts, seeds and deep-water fish like salmon have in common? They are all-natural foods delivered by Mother Nature and have been shown to be very healthy foods for our brains.
“Strong scientific evidence exists that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes,” report researchers in a recent article in…
Choice of Words When Dieting Might Determine Success, Researchers Claim
A recent study conducted by Vanessa M. Patrick of the University of Houston and Henrik Hagtvedt of Boston College looked at different self-talk phrases used by individuals on diets. They concluded that what we say or think in times of decision or temptation can make a huge difference in one’s rate of success.
Patrick and Hagtvedt looked at three different word strategies for testing refusal of foods: “I can’t,” “I…
Does Popcorn Have More Antioxidants Than Fruits and Vegetables?
A recent University of Scranton study concluded that popcorn has more antioxidants than fruits or vegetables. According to an article on the study, the idea that popcorn is “actually good for health popped up a few notches as scientists reported that it contains more of the healthful antioxidant substances called ‘polyphenols’ than fruits and vegetables.”
“We’re sure this finding will be quickly embraced by grain and low-fat diet lovers,” say…
Weight-Loss Surgery Can Potentially Reverse Diabetes, Researchers Claim
Two recent studies at Rome’s Catholic University and the Cleveland Clinic suggest that weight-loss surgery can reverse and possibly cure diabetes. The studies compared results of drug therapy and stomach-reduction surgery on obese diabetics. Since both studies showed some dramatic results from the surgery, doctors are now saying that the operation should be performed on more people sooner and not considering it a last resort.
In one study, most…
BMI Is Faulty Indicator of Body Composition, Recent Study Claims
A recent study by two New York physicians concluded that BMI is a faulty indicator of body composition. The BMI scores of over 9,000 people were compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. A DXA scan provides a very accurate measure of body fat, muscle mass and bone mass. They found that according to BMI results, only 26% of participants were classified as obese, while 64% were…
Adopting Healthy Habits Reduces Cancer Risk in Males, Say Japan Researchers
According to a recent study conducted by the National Cancer Center in Japan, the adoption of only one of five healthy lifestyle habits, such as not smoking and drinking moderately, can lower the cancer risk in males by 14 percent.
The NCC identified five cancer risk factors: smoking, excessive drinking, excessive salt intake, lack of exercise and high body mass index. The risk of cancer increases with each of these…
Researcher Suggests It’s Okay to Be Fat If You’re Fit
A recent New York Times article asked, “Is it okay to be fat if you’re fit?” According to Duck-Chul Lee, a research fellow at the University of South Carolina who led the study cited in the article, “Both fitness and fatness matter, separately and together, for heart health.... So much attention gets focused on weight reduction, but reducing body fat is very difficult for most people. Our study…
Benefits of Antioxidant-Rich Diet Documented Yet Again
New York, NY – May 21, 2012 -- Recent research conducted at Fordham University points to the importance and potential benefits of consuming a diet high in nutrients and particularly antioxidants.
Working with a strain of mice prone to age-related blindness, researchers fed one group a normal diet, another group a lutein-rich diet derived naturally from marigolds, and a third group a diet fortified with freeze-dried grapes. Grapes are a…
Overeating Might Increase Risk of Memory Loss, Study Suggests
In a recent study, researchers found that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. MCI is in between normal age-related memory loss and early Alzheimer’s disease.
“We observed a dose-response pattern which simply means; the higher the amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of MCI,” said study…
Sweetened Beverages Endanger Health of the Young and Old Alike
New York, NY – May 15, 2012 -- One in four high school students drinks soda every day, according to a national study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control. When counting other sugary drinks as well, the number increases to about two-thirds of students consuming a sweetened beverage daily.
“Consumption of sugary drinks is widely considered a problem and has been linked to the growing childhood obesity rate,”…
Proper Diet and Activity Can Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure in Children
A recent study by researchers at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock found that as many as 25% of teenagers may be at risk of high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. For teens, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines high blood pressure as a reading of 140 over 90 or above.
“Findings like this could be used to justify pharmacologic therapy for…
Link Found Between Healthy Heart and Clean Teeth
A study conducted at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan has found a link between clean teeth and a healthy heart. Researchers followed more than 100,000 people for an average of seven years and presented their findings at a recent American Heart Association meeting.
The researchers found that those who had their teeth scraped and cleaned regularly by a dentist or dental hygienist had a 24% lower risk of…
We’ve Been Fishing for 42,000 Years Researchers Find
Fish appeared in the human diet around 1.9 million years ago, usually from lakes and streams that didn’t require some kind of boat. Now a recent study by archaeologists from the Australian National University provides evidence that humans were not only eating plenty of fish 42,000 years ago, but were highly skilled in ocean fishing, often catching large fish like sharks and tuna.
Finding more than 38,000 bones from almost…
Risk of Macular Degeneration Can Be Reduced with Fish, Study Finds
A recent study focused on the diet of nearly 40,000 female health professionals over a 10-year period. It found that those who ate fish—like canned tuna, salmon and sardines— once a week had about 40% lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than those who did not. The result suggests that one can reduce one’s chances of developing AMD by eating just one serving of dark-meat fish…
Back Problems Can Be Linked to Diet, Say Experts
New York, NY – May 7, 2012- More than 65% of adults are thought to experience back pain at some point in their life. This can be caused by inactivity, sitting too long, lifting something incorrectly, carrying something improperly or being overweight.
“Most bouts of back pain will usually go away after a couple of weeks. However, if you suffer from chronic back pain, you really need to…
Breastfed Children Exhibit Fewer Behavioral Problems
New York, NY – May 4, 2012 -- In a recent study, British researchers investigated the incidence of behavioral problems in children who were breastfed vs. those fed formula. Using a “strengths and difficulties” questionnaire completed by parents, they found that abnormal scores were less common in children who were breastfed for at least four months.
The study used a survey of British babies born in 2000-2001 including data from…
All Soda Is Hazardous to Our Health Say Experts
New York, NY – May 3, 2012 -- A recent report by nutrition specialist Joseph Mercola, MD, concerns the hazards associated with drinking soda. If you have switched to diet varieties to save on calories or just to eliminate sugar, you are still making a huge health mistake, he says. Mercola equates soda consumption with smoking and makes a case for it actually being worse.
“Most soda is sweetened…
Rise in Women’s Heart Risk Linked to Sugary Drinks
New York, NY – May 2, 2012 -- A recent study suggests that drinking as little as two sweetened beverages a day may raise women’s risk for diabetes and high cholesterol. University of Oklahoma researchers followed over 4,000 individuals ages 45 to 84 over five years and monitored their sugar-sweetened beverage intake, along with weight, waist circumference, cholesterol and diabetes markers.
Women who drank two or more sugary drinks a…
Avoid Regular Soda to Lower Diabetes Risk, Study Suggests
A recent study by Harvard researchers found that consumption of regular soda is associated with a 24% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than that of those who never drank regular soda. This higher risk was observed with only one can, glass or bottle per day.
The researchers also found that drinking artificially sweetened drinks did not increase the risk. Although there has been association in the past between…
To Avoid Snacking and Lose More Fat, Walk During Breaks
New York, NY – April 30, 2012 -- UK researchers at the University of Exeter recently found that people who walked for 15 minutes as opposed to resting before returning to assigned tasks of varying difficulty snacked less. In the study, participants all had a bowl of chocolate on their desks; regardless of the task assigned, the walking group averaged half the amount of chocolate consumption as the other…
Hormone Linked to Onset of Dementia in Women, Study Finds
New York, NY – April 27, 2012 -- Tufts University researchers recently analyzed blood samples from 840 participants in the Framingham Heart Study. They found high levels of the hormone adiponectin in the 159 participants who subsequently developed dementia. The correlation was higher in women; although a link was found in both males and females, there were not enough men in the study to draw a definitive conclusion.
Adiponectin…
Organically Grown Produce Is Better for Environment, Researchers Say
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden recently released results from a study that suggests organically grown produce is beneficial for the environment.
The researchers looked at the rate of pollination of strawberry plants between organic and conventional farming methods. They found that 45% of the organic strawberry flowers were fully pollinated while only 17% of the conventionally farmed flowers were fully pollinated.
There were no pesticides or a non-organic…
Diet Seen As Powerful Determinant in Heart Attack Risk
Last year, Canadian researchers recently announced the results of a study that looked at whether it was genes or environment (diet) that had the greater effect on risk of heart disease. They studied data on more than 27,000 people who had a genetic predisposition for an increased risk of heart disease. They found that those who ate a typical western diet were twice as likely to have a…
Obesity Epidemic Among Children Triggering Numerous Ailments
I-Newswire (February 22, 2012) Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona recently stated, “Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.”
Carmona’s statement reflects findings that nearly one in three children is overweight or obese. Children are developing obesity-related diseases, previously considered primarily adult…
Unhealthy Food Stays Popular Among “Health-Conscious” Diners
According to a survey from food research firm, Technomic, many people claim they want healthier food choices at fast food and other restaurants, but when they actually order, they go for the burgers and fries...and many even opt for the mega-size option. The government is pushing for restaurants to publish calorie counts and nutritional information. Some have adopted this measure, but with little in the way of significant…
Fruit & Vegetable Pesticide Risk to Consumers Possibly Overblown
Last summer, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its annual “dirty dozen” list of fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues. This year, the list includes apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, domestic blueberries, lettuce and kale/collard greens.
The report also included the “clean 15”—fruits and veggies with the lowest levels of pesticides: onions, sweet corn, pineapples, avocado, asparagus, sweet peas, mangoes,…
Evidence Grows Against Value of Multivitamins
A slew of recent studies question the health benefits to be derived from daily multivitamin and mineral supplements. For example, 182,000 older men and women taking multivitamins lived no longer and were no less likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or cancer than those who didn’t take them, according to a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Meanwhile, out of 161,000 postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative…
Walk For Longevity and Superior Health
In 2003, researchers at the Graduate School of Public Health at University of Pittsburgh found that walking for 30 minutes a day cut the risk of diabetes, regardless of whether they were fit or overweight. Seven years later, other researchers at Pitt found that walking at least six miles a week might keep our brains from shrinking as we age, and in turn preserve memory. And last January,…
Health Needs to Be Top Priority for Parents With Busy Schedules, Say Experts
This year has been a successful one for Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy. But one thing continues to be a constant struggle for the star of Mike & Molly and Bridesmaids: her weight.
“I’ve been up and down,” McCarthy told Anderson Cooper during an appearance on Cooper’s daytime talk show, Anderson. “I’ve been much thinner since my second baby. I’m still working on it. It’s a…
Strokes Rise with Weight of Pregnant Women
Over the last 12 years, the incidence of strokes during pregnancy or shortly after has significantly increased, according to a recent study in the journal Stroke. Researchers found that the number of strokes reported in 2006-07 was 54% higher than reported in 1994-95. “We were alarmed [by these findings],” said lead author Elena Kuklina, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in Atlanta,…
Skip the Diet Pills and Supplements for Your Health, Say Experts
Autopsy results for ex-NFL player and film star Bubba Smith, who died on August 3, have recently been released and the cause of death was an overdose of the diet pill phentermine, as ruled by the L.A. county coroner.
“Diet pills and supplements are responsible for many deaths and serious complications annually,” say boomer generation health experts Dian Griesel, Ph.D., and Tom Griesel, authors of the new book TurboCharged: Accelerate Your…
Cancer Risk Shown to Rise in Those Who Sit for Long Periods
A recent study presented at the American Institute for Cancer Research’s annual meeting suggests that every year, over 80,000 new cases of cancer can be attributed to inactivity and sitting for too long.
“Even people who get 30 minutes a day of exercise have a higher risk of cancer if they spend the majority of their waking hours sitting,” say boomer generation health experts Dian Griesel Ph.D., and Tom Griesel, authors…
