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Why that New Year's weight loss resolution could be more important than ever this year

04/01/2022

It's 2022 and for many that means starting a New Year's resolution or three. And this year, with the threat of different coronavirus variants a distinct reality, losing weight could be significant. That's because data shows people who are overweight and obese have a greater chance of being more severely impacted should they catch COVID. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), being obese increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19. In fact, obese individuals are not just 46% more at risk of contracting COVID-19, they are three times more likely to be hospitalized because of COVID-19 than their average weight peers. More worryingly, obese people also face a 74% higher risk of needing to be treated in the ICU and, perhaps most troubling of all, have a 48% increased risk of death. "The risk goes up and up and up with each increase" in body mass index (BMI), said study co-author Barry Popkin, a distinguished professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dozens of studies have shown similar results. So, if you ever needed an incentive to lose some of that festive fat, the threat posed by COVID should provide all the motivation you need. Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

Avoid fad diets and ‘party drips’ this New Year, says UK’s top doctor

07/01/2020

It’s now 2020, the start of a New Year, and for many people that means following a set of resolutions, one of the most common of which will be to lose weight over the next 12 months. But if you’re keen to shed some pounds in 2020, don’t try to do it using fad diets because they don’t work and can even be harmful, says NHS England’s top doctor. Speaking about diet pills, "tea-toxes" and appetite suppressant products, Prof Stephen Powis, NHS medical director, said they are not quick fixes. Furthermore, they can even cause side effects, such as diarrhea and heart issues, he added. How to spot a fad diet? Well, according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA), any diet that promises rapid weight loss of more than 2lbs (0.9kg) of body fat a week should be viewed with caution. If it sounds too good to be true, then it more than likely is – despite any celebrity recommendations it might have. The best way to get in shape safely is through sensible eating and regular exercise. Professor Powis also warned the public against using so-called ‘party drips’ as quick fix hangover cures. These nutrient therapy IV drips are usually made up of saline solution, magnesium, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C. But some individuals can react badly to them and, in the most serious cases, death can occur due to a toxic overdose.

Mediterranean diet Linked to healthy brain aging

03/01/2019

The New Year is here and for many that means attempting to stick to one or a bunch of resolutions. Eating more healthily, doing more exercise and quitting smoking will be at the top of the list for many people. If one of your goals for 2019 is eating more healthily, perhaps you should consider following a Mediterranean diet. While it varies depending on where you go, a Mediterranean diet, in a nutshell, is one that incorporates all of the healthy eating habits of people who live in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including France, Greece, Italy and Spain - so more vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, grains, cereals, fish, and unsaturated fats such as olive oil. And less meat and dairy foods. As well as being linked with better health, including a healthier heart, a Mediterranean diet also promotes healthy brain aging, according to new research. A recent study involving 116 healthy adults aged 65–75 years, conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, found that participants who ate a Mediterranean diet performed better in memory, general intelligence, and executive function tests. “Our study suggests that diet and nutrition moderate the association between network efficiency and cognitive performance,” said Aron Barbey, a psychology professor at The University of Illinois.

More exercise could be the key to quitting smoking

02/01/2018

It’s January 2 and for many people that means it’s time to start thinking about those New Year’s resolutions. The inevitable over-indulgence during the festive period will have triggered many of us to consider eating more healthily and exercising more this year, while others will be looking to give up smoking. The problem is that nicotine is a very addictive drug and many people struggle to give up cigarettes easily. But new research shows how exercising may reduce tobacco withdrawal symptoms. So, if you’re planning to try and quit, exercise could be the answer. Irritability, trouble sleeping and even depression are all withdrawal symptoms associated with giving up smoking. However, it’s been shown that exercise can reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms. In fact, some older studies have discovered that even 10 minutes of exercise can immediately reduce the effects of tobacco cravings. A team from St George's, University of London, led by Dr. Alexis Bailey, a senior lecturer in neuropharmacology, found that mice addicted to nicotine who undertook two or 24 hours a day wheel running displayed a significant reduction of withdrawal symptom severity compared with the sedentary group. Furthermore, in the group of mice that exercised, researchers were able to see an increase in the activity of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine, a type of nicotine brain receptor. Most startling of all was the fact just two hours of exercise daily had as much effect on relieving the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal as exercising continuously for 24 hours. SO, if you really want to crack your smoking habit and give up this year, maybe more exercise could be the key to your success.

Dopamine could be to blame for people's reduced motivation to exercise

05/01/2017

The New Year is here and for many of you that will mean a new exercise regime designed to get you into shape and improve your overall health. For some people, though, sticking to a disciplined program of physical exercise is one of the hardest resolutions they can make because a lack of motivation gets in the way. But now new research sheds some light on why many people, despite understanding the benefits of regular exercise, find it hard in practice to stay physically active. Researchers from the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), led by Alexxai V. Kravitz, focused on why obese animals also have a hard time carrying out physical activity. They found that a dysfunction in obese rodents' dopamine systems might help explain why. Mice fed on a high-fat diet started gaining significantly more weight than mice fed on a normal diet. They were also observed to have fewer movements; spend less time moving; and were slower when they did move, compared with the lean mice. Most interesting of all was that the overweight mice's changes in movements did not correlate with body weight gain. Instead, the researchers found that a deficit in striatal D2R explained the obese mice's lack of activity. "In many cases, willpower is invoked as a way to modify behavior. But if we don't understand the underlying physical basis for that behavior, it is difficult to say that willpower alone can solve it," said Kravitz.

Exercise Could Cancel the Harm Associated with a Week's Overeating

08/11/2016

Christmas is just around the corner and for many people that means gorging themselves on all manner of delicious food and drinks. But all that festive feasting can play havoc with people's waistlines, which is why so many individuals make dieting one of their New Year's resolutions. However, the effects of overeating might not be as disastrous for a person's health as we may think, as long as people keep exercising. That's the findings of research presented at the American Physiological Society (APS) Integrative Biology of Exercise VII meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. For their study, researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, wanted to find out what would happen to people's fatty tissue if they continued to exercise while undertaking a week-long food blowout. The researchers got study participants to consume 30% more calories over the course of a week than they would usually. The participants also exercised for at least two and a half hours spread over at least 6 days of the week. What the study team found was that the participants' fatty tissue showed no signs of inflammation and no change was witnessed in their glucose tolerance or chemical breakdown of fat. In people who do not exercise, the markers of inflammation in fat tissue would normally increase after a week of overeating.

The Secret to Keeping a New Year’s Resolution

05/01/2015

The New Year is finally here and many of you will have undoubtedly made New Year’s resolutions for 2015. And whether you’ve set yourself the goal of giving up smoking, eating better or going to the gym more, they’re all objectives that are very much health-related. But why is that? Maybe it’s because we’ve gorged ourselves over the festive period and the subconscious guilt that we’re all feeling urges us to make some changes to our lifestyle going forward. No matter what the reason for our sudden urge to improve our health, it remains our greatest wealth and asset and so taking good care of it is in all our best interests. However, New Year’s resolutions often fail and people who make them without the right intentions will find them extremely difficult to adhere to. That’s why, when it comes to adhering to your newly set goals, intention is critical. For example, being more specific about the reasons behind your New Year resolutions will see you more likely stay the course. The trick is to constantly remind yourself why you’ve quit smoking, stopped eating chocolate or started exercising more – all of which are to improve your overall health. Write down all the reasons and display them in plain sight, so that they can be used as a constant reminder to keep you on track. Making a few lifestyle changes now could make all the difference to your health in the long-run. It’s all up to you…

Quick fix for weight loss

06/01/2014

This is the time of year when people around the world overindulge with food and drink and usually start regretting both come the New Year. Resolutions to get fit and healthy are very common as the clock strikes midnight on New Years’ Eve, however there are always just as many people who want the same effects without putting in the required effort. For the people who wish to lose weight without hitting the gym or changing their diet there is the temptation to look to surgical techniques such as gastric bands or gastric bypass surgery. These surgical procedures work by either restricting the stomach with a ‘band’ which means the patient becomes full quicker and so cannot eat as much as they did previously, or the route that the food takes is altered in order to bypass part of the digestive system which also means the patient cannot physically eat as much food. These procedures are very effective in reducing weight and can be thought of as an easy way to solve a complex problem. What many people do not realise however, is that there really is no quick fix to weight loss. Any reputable healthcare provider, such as France Surgery, will not entertain completing these types of surgical procedures because the patient is unhappy with their weight. A patient must have seriously tried various weight loss techniques before considering surgery and these efforts must have proved to be ineffective. The patients’ health must also be suffering due to their obesity. Weight loss surgery is definitely not for people who simply want to change the way they look.

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