If you are an avid reader of health and fitness stories, you might have heard about the possibility of your keeping a good health if you own a pet. It has been shown through many studies that a pet does help in getting over some health and psychological problems. However, in what sounds to be counter to these popular assumptions, a new Finnish study has found that people owning a pet enjoy lesser health than their pet-free peers.

It is said that the studies that supported the effects of pets on the health of owners lacked the insight of looking at the effects of pet ownership on the health of the general population. This new study that presents counter suggestions to this belief looks into this matter. The research is conducted by Leena K. Koivusilta, Ph.D., and Ansa Ojanlatva, Ph.D., of the University of Turku, Finland, and they got the detailed health and pet information from more than 21,000 Finnish adults, which were aged between 20 to 54 years. The findings appear in the December 2006 issue of the online journal PloS ONE, and clearly is a really debatable one.

Well, we do can’t rate this research in any way–there are so many things which sound controversial in view to the earlier studies conducted by similar studies. However, if you are a learned scholar and understand what research actually means, then, this is a good one–it is good to have some debatable points to investigate more vigorously in them. It is believed that we can go deeper in truth when we find two contrasting points supported by ample proofs. This is what we get from this study. However, it is clear that we will need to wait and watch how the things progress–more research and study will be needed as i see it.

You have heard about child obesity–the biggest danger to children all over the world. You have also heard that dietary habits are the main cause for this problem among children. and you might also have heard that parents are usually designated as the main reason behind these distorted diet habits–however, you would be surprised to know that children can also make adults to eat fat-filled diet! Yes, it has been researched that children influence the diet habits of adults, and adults living with children are prone to eat more fat-filled diets. These findings have been reported by Helena Laroche, M.D., of the University of Iowa, and colleagues.

It has been reported in the research that those living with children ate high fat food such as cheese, ice cream, beef, pizza, and salty snacks. The study was conducted on through a questionnaire and detailed food survey responses from 6,600 adults aged 17 to 65 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES).

We can easily guess about the vitality of this report, as we as parents or caregivers tend to buy more fast and junk food due to constraints of time, and our avoidance to cook the food by ourselves in the houses. This is where adults also eat more fat-filled diets, though there intention was to fill the bellies of children to avoid them feeling hungry frequently.

We need to assert more control on our attraction towards the fast-food that we tend to buy often–home cooked food has more nutrition and we can also choose the fat content of our diet that way. However, we are not too much learned about the fat-content of the food items that we eat already-prepared in the marketplace. It can be clearly seen that apart from children, adults would also be snared in the problem that obesity is causing.

Many organizations have already joined in the fray of action against obesity, and we have got another one—the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) has announced the release of its “Understanding Obesity” series: a series of three brochures, which are named as “Understanding Obesity”, “Understanding Childhood Obesity”, and “Understanding Morbid Obesity”; and two 18×24 full color posters. You can expect that with such a plethora of documents, general public would be made aware about the obesity problem in a better way and on a larger scale.
The brochures are designed to address the issues of obesity, morbid obesity, and childhood obesity. These brochures deal with many things related to obesity in detail: you would appreciate that these brochures detail the person that can be afflicted with obesity, health risks, causes, treatment options, and other related things.  
Many people who were concerned about the lack of awareness towards the problem of obesity would find it very much appreciable—eventually, “The ‘Understanding Obesity’ series is a first of its kind, and it is clear that this series will serve people better who were not aware about the problem and various aspects involved therein. We can clearly see that children who can understand these things; and their parents would be best benefited by these brochures, as they would be able to decipher and delineate the things they need to sort out in their life-style and eating habits.
Obesity is best avoided through awareness—awareness about the life-style that helps in avoiding it; awareness about the food items that promote obesity; and awareness about the regulations that people need to adopt in their daily life. We hope that with clear description of all these things provided in the brochure, people would be able to know what they need to do and what not. Understanding obesity will surely able to arrest its growth.
  

Following a ban on the use of trans-fats in food items, the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood has also changed its menu on Christmas Eve to cut unhealthy trans fats from many junk food favorites. With this move, Universal Parks & Resorts has become the latest theme park operation to ban artery-clogging trans fats alongwith offerings some other healthier menus at its three domestic attractions in California and Florida.

It is worth noticing here that entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. also announced that it will serve more nutritious kids’ meals and phase out the artificial fats at its resorts, in October. In almost a landmark practice, last week, over 90% food items at Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure in Florida, and Universal Hollywood were cooked with oils free of trans fat. Along with these trans-fat free food items, there were other options available to the customers that had healthier nutrients, and included salads, fruit bowls, etc.

This change is not a direct follow-up, and some home-work has been done by the scientists at Universal Studios. They experimented for months to find trans fat alternatives, which even made them to hold blind taste tests with customers, and with the use of their feedback and comments, menus with more variety were created for serving. 

We can clearly see that after Disney and the New York city banning trans fat oils, others are also appreciating the idea. It has been reported that parents are particularly happy with the options of food types that are now available at these sites, as they are healthier and beneficial for their children’s growth. It can been easily foreseen and forecast that we would see more similar actions from different organizations and states in US, and perhaps elsewhere also. We will have to wait and watch what happens next!

A new study has revealed an old (sort of) thing–being overweight or obese is the most important health issue among children’s problems in the United States, which of course is the talk of all countries world over. Europe, Australia, and many Asian countries are also facing similar problems in their own region.

This particular study was conducted in September–a nationwide telephone survey of 800 adults, wherein 27% of respondents stated that obesity was the top health issue for children. You might not be surprised by these findings, as you might have read it all over the websites again and again, though without any formal declaration. But here comes the seal that points to the same feeling among people and health specialists–obesity is the main problem that children are afflicted with.

Some other general feelings were also reflected in the study which was released on December 13th by Research!America and The Endocrine Society–it suggested that 52% of respondents believed obesity is a public health issue that society should help solve. However, around 46% of them said that it was a private issue and should be solved individually.

The study brings us to our main talk, which revolves around obesity, weight loss, and its impact on general life world over–children are the most affected portion of the society from this troublesome evil. It is clear that it becomes hard to motivate children about their health, and generally, parents are also not too much available due to shortage of time in pursuing them to adopt better life-style and eating habits. However, it has been made clear now that obesity is the main cause of social worry among parents and health specialists, and some good measures are required at the social level apart from the individual practices that people need to adopt to curb the onslaught of obesity among children.

Obesity is the talk of the town! –Or perhaps the world over! Yes, the echoes of obesity being amongst the biggest dangers in today’s time are also heard from India, where it is regarded as one of the major problem for young children. Moreover, diabetologists fear worse, as they believe that childhood obesity can lead to diabetes. 

You would be surprised to know that over 15% of children in the age group of 15 years are found to be overweight in India–almost equal or more than the prevalence rate in the West and the developed countries of Europe and the whole world! It is noticeable here that in the US, obesity in children is lower than 15.8%; while in UK, it is 7.3%.

The experts believe that obese children are at a high risk of contracting diseases like diabetes, heart, and blood vessel disorders. Excess visceral fat or abdominal obesity is more linked to development of metabolic syndrome–a sort of direct gateway to diabetes and attendant cardiometabolic disturbances. Experts maintain that sedentary lifestyles with drastically decreased physical activity are the main causes that are increasing the rate of childhood obesity in almost all parts of the world. This again makes them more susceptible to diabetes and other associated problems.

The old-talk about improper usage of televisions or computers or indoor games, and uncontrolled intake of fast food and soft drinks has prop-up again. It is clear that these diet items contain high levels of fat and energy, but due to lack of physical activity, calories are not expended, which result in obesity. Experts again claim that parents are also somehow responsible for this problem, as they do not motivate their wards about the benefits of healthy life-style and the benefits of physical activities like walking and sports, or some outdoor activities. 

A new research has proposed what could make you adopt a diet, which uses a lot of olive oil. It has been reported by a research that people who use plenty of olive oil in their diets, might be helping to prevent damage to body cells that can eventually lead to cancer.
 
The research is based on a study that was conducted on 182 European men: the researchers found some evidence that olive oil can reduce oxidative damage to cells’ genetic material–a process that can initiate cancer development in the body. It is important to notice from the words of researchers that state that the findings of the research might be able to give some clue about why rates of several cancers are higher in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe, where olive oil is a dietary staple.

Dr. Henrik E. Poulsen, co-author of the study, of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark states that they support the advice to replace saturated fats from foods like meat and butter with vegetable fats, particularly olive oil. The findings of the research were reported in the journal The FASEB.

It is believed that the olive oil contains a large number of compounds that are known as phenols in chemistry, and believed to act as powerful antioxidants. However, those compounds didn’t seem to account for the drop in DNA oxidative damage. 

It can be easily understood that the research’s findings point out that olive oil may be part of the reason that certain cancers, including breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancers, are less common in Mediterranean countries than in Northern Europe–an indication about the benefit of olive oil being used regularly in their diet.

Though we may need deeper research findings to come to a conclusion about these findings; however, the present research has clearly provided us a way to move ahead with this concept.

Till now, you might be fed up by reading the loses and disadvantages associated with being overweight or suffering from obesity. However, here is a serious concern for people who are looking forward to lose weight–losing weight may reduce the risk of prostate cancer: a study conducted by an American Cancer Society of nearly 70,000 men. The study also indicates about the reverse of this fact–obesity increases the risk of more aggressive prostate cancer. It is clear that prostate cancer is one of the major types of cancer among men, and people who are overweight are on more risk about getting this problem.

The study has a comprehensive statistics about the men involved, and the study goes way back to 1982. The men reported their weight in 1982 and again 10 years later, and there men were followed till the year of 2003. And among the 70,000 men that were included in the study, 5,000 of them were diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was noticed that men who lost at least 11 pounds between 1982 and 1992 were about half as likely as other men to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.

It is significantly noticeable here that obesity had been linked to breast cancer very recently. We can clearly gauge the problematic nature of obesity, and why we should keep a health life-style that does not help to accumulate weight. Though more research would be needed to find out the exact relationship between prostate cancer and obesity; but still, the research has provided us some basic points that yes, obesity and being overweight are not very best of conditions for men in the present time. We need to bring about a change in our living and life-style and maintain good health that does not induce unnecessary health problems.