The Week: Most Recent health

The secret to losing weight: An earlier lunch?

The Week — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 -0500

Want to lose weight? You might want to keep your eye on the clock. Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Tufts University, and the University of Murcia in Spain may have stumbled on a neat little life-hack for helping people drop pounds: Eat lunch early.

In this study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, scientists enlisted 420 overweight participants in a 20-week weight-loss program in Spain. Unlike the United States, lunch in Spain is typically the largest meal of the day, accounting for 40 percent of a person's daily caloric intake. In this case, researchers...

Why do we get so fat during the winter?

The Week — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:45:00 -0500

Your bathroom scale isn't lying: You really are gaining winter weight. Consider it an unmistakable reminder that long before we were regularly bombarded by ads featuring the immaculate abs of celebrities and multi-day cleanses that taste like grass clippings, our ancestors needed those extra couple of pounds to protect them against the season's inclement weather. From an evolutionary standpoint, it's why that extra helping of pasta, that greasy slice of pizza, or even that stale, sprinkled donut all appear extra tempting when the temperature drops a few degrees.

Indeed, Dr. Norman Rosenthal...

Huh? Why does our memory get worse with age?

The Week — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:33:00 -0500

The question: It's no secret that our memories fade with age, but the reason for the deterioration remains a puzzle to neuroscientists. Previous studies have suggested that the prefrontal cortex, which sits just behind the forehead and helps moderate sleep quality, is somehow related because it shrinks as we get older. Other research from the 1970s links stage 4 "slow-wave" sleep to a person's ability to convert new information to memories, but a connection was never explicitly outlined, at least until now. For this new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers sought to...

An Oregon Democrat's doomed plan to require prescriptions for cigarettes

The Week — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:40:00 -0500

It's hard to argue that cigarettes are good for you. But should getting your hands on a cancer stick really land you behind bars? That's the apparent dream of Oregon Rep. Mitch Greenlick, whose latest proposed bill would make cigarettes a Schedule III controlled substance (like LSD and steroids), meaning that it would be illegal to possess or distribute them without a doctor's prescription. Those who get caught under this proposal would suffer a fine of $6,250 and/or up to a year in prison.

Sure, the law may sound extreme — especially coming from a state that nearly legalized recreational...

Can Coke's new anti-obesity ads actually lower obesity rates?

The Week — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:00:00 -0500

In an attempt to reassure consumers that drinking sugary, carbonated beverages is a-okay, Coca-Cola has released two new commercials highlighting the ways the company is helping to reduce obesity. "Across our portfolio of over 650 beverages, we now offer over 180 low- and no-calorie choices," says the narrator of one commercial, titled "Come Together." The ad goes on to say that calories from soda are no different than any other calories we put into our bodies every day, and suggests that it's the consumer's responsibility to burn off what he or she takes in. A second commercial says a can of...

The disgusting weight-loss tool that pumps food from your stomach

The Week — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:43:00 -0500

People who are slightly overweight may or may not live a bit longer — a controversial debate incited by a recent study — but it's pretty universally understood that being obese is bad. The morbidly overweight, though, have few appealing options: Going on extreme diets and trying to exercise away some extra pounds, a bariatric (gastric bypass) operation or other surgical intervention, or just giving up and living with the health risks, social stigma, and general discomfort. So it's good news, perhaps, that Dean Kamen, inventor of the little used but nonetheless technologically impressive...

Are overweight people likely to live longer?

The Week — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:35:00 -0500

The question: Being overweight is, generally speaking, not a good thing. For starters, obese people are more prone to health problems like heart disease and diabetes. Then there's the years of aches, joint pains, and lower quality of life that results directly from carrying around all that extra poundage. However, a new study finds that being slightly overweight is not that bad for you after all, and may even have unexpected health benefits. The study — published by Dr. Katherine Flegal of the National Center of Health Statistics in the Journal of the American Medical Association —...

When did Santa Claus get so fat?

The Week — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 12:10:00 -0500

The plump Santa Claus whom children all over the world will be keeping an eye out for on Christmas Eve is actually a pretty modern creation. The jovial version of St. Nick popular in the U.S. wasn't always so soft and cuddly — in fact, in Europe, Santa is depicted as a much thinner gift-giver who sometimes bucks his reindeer-powered sleigh to travel by foot. Here's what we know about Santa's expanding waistline over the centuries:

Santa wasn't always fat?
Nope. The modern version of Santa Claus is loosely based on St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children who was born around the...

Do cigarettes rot your brain?

The Week — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:00:00 -0500

The question: Smoking cigarettes can do untold damage to your lungs and heart, but what exactly does the bad habit mean for your brain? A new study from Kings College London took a closer look at smoking's little-understood relationship with cognitive decline in an effort to answer that question.

How it was tested: British scientists working on the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing studied more than 8,000 adults — many of whom were smokers — over age 50. Participants had their mental abilities evaluated with basic tests like learning new words or naming as many animals as they could...

Breaking down your Thanksgiving dinner: By the numbers

The Week — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:23:00 -0500

Put your stretchy pants on — Thanksgiving is finally here. It's estimated that the average American consumes over three times the daily number of recommended calories on the unofficial kick-off to the glutinous holiday season (depending on your weight, you can pack on as many as five pounds by the time New Year's Day rolls around). So, what's the best way to avoid overeating on Turkey Day and control your calorie count? Don't skip breakfast, says Kathleen M. Zelman at WebMD. Although many people avoid eating to "save room" for the big feast, eating something small in the morning means you...

Can Pepsi's new soda really burn fat?

The Week — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:15:00 -0500

Diet cola is nothing new, but what about a soda that actually helps you drop weight? Over the weekend, PepsiCo unveiled a fat-blocking drink that it's set to release in Japan. The new beverage, Pepsi Special, contains a proven fat-fighting ingredient called dextrin and is intended to target the country's lucrative market of "young, health-conscious men," says Akito Fujita at ABC News. Here's what you need to know:

What is dextrin, exactly?
In the U.S. dextrin is sold as a supplement called Benefiber, which works by absorbing water as it moves through our intestines, says James Hamblin at The...

The San Francisco suburb with the country's toughest smoking ban

The Week — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:24:00 -0400

California is already among the states least tolerant of smoking, having banned the vice in restaurants, bars, most workplaces, and cars with children. Now, in at least one San Francisco suburb, some smokers will no longer be able to light up in their own homes. Here, a guide to the toughest ban on smoking yet and its chances of catching on.

In their own homes? Really?
In the San Francisco suburb of San Rafael, a township of about 57,000 people, the city council voted unanimously for a smoking ban in all homes that have shared walls, including multifamily units, condos, and duplexes. And the ban...

Does banning jumbo sodas really help people lose weight?

The Week — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:45:00 -0400

On Thursday, the New York City Board of Health approved Mayor Bloomberg's controversial soda ban prohibiting fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, movie theaters, and food carts from selling sugar-filled drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces. The limit, however, does not apply to grocery stores, or to fruit juices and dairy-based beverages like milkshakes. While some 60 percent of New Yorkers oppose the ban, which won't take effect until March 2013, Bloomberg was pleased, tweeting that "[six] months from today, our city will be an even healthier place." But is imposing healthier restrictions...

The Biggest Loser adds teenage contestants: Bad idea?

The Week — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:43:00 -0400

After a two-year hiatus, household-name trainer Jillian Michaels is bringing her tough-love fitness approach back to NBC's The Biggest Loser — in time for a new twist: teenage contestants. On Tuesday, Michaels announced that she agreed to return to the reality TV weight-loss competition after producers committed to addressing childhood obesity. When the show's 14th season premieres in January 2013, it will feature three teams of six contestants, at least one of whom will be a teenager aged 13-17. The controversial move has, predictably, provoked commentators. Here, 5 talking points:...

The skyrocketing popularity of e-cigarettes: A guide

The Week — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:04:00 -0400

It seems like every time you turn a corner, you see a stranger puffing on a glowing electronic cigarette. Well, you aren't necessarily imagining things. In the four years since smokeless e-cigarettes debuted, sales of the battery-powered devices, reputedly healthier and less offensive than standard smokes, have exploded annually. In 2010, only 750,000 e-cigarettes were sold, but the following year, sales more than doubled to 2.5 million. And in 2012, the tobacco industry moved some 3.5 million of the devices, with no signs of slowing growth. But what are e-cigarettes, exactly? And why are people...

Does working the late shift increase your risk of heart attack?

The Week — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 07:37:00 -0400

Working the night shift just doesn't seem to have many perks. In May, Danish researchers found that women who worked the graveyard shift were more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer. Now a British study finds that working while most people are sleeping could mean bad news for your heart. The expansive new study suggests that people who work the graveyard shift are at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke compared with those working normal daytime hours. Here's what you should know:

What did the study find?
Researchers pored over 34 clinical studies for data on more than 2 million...