<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Diet &#38; Fitness &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
	<atom:link href="http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://healthland.time.com</link>
	<description>A healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
<cloud domain='healthland.time.com' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
		<url>http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/194a778cd1dd9902e6f9e692b3a53f8f?s=96&#038;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png</url>
		<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Diet &#38; Fitness &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com</link>
	</image>
	<atom:link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="http://healthland.time.com/osd.xml" title="Health &#38; Family" />
	<atom:link rel='hub' href='http://healthland.time.com/?pushpress=hub'/>
		<item>
		<title>Watch: This Week in Health</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 18:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[ADHD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[club drug ketamine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ketamine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[postpartum depression]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=87144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How marijuana contributes to weight loss &#8212; and a reduced risk of diabetes; researchers zero in on the first genes associated with postpartum depression; and ADHD in childhood may be linked to obesity later in life. These are the stories making health news this week; for more, visit TIME Health &#38; Family.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=87144&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/22/watch-this-week-in-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Medicine</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/</primary_category_link>
		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/69fc92d1c4598c5b98d03fde16cdfa74?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Marijuana: The Next Diabetes Drug?</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/marijuana-the-next-diabetes-drug/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/marijuana-the-next-diabetes-drug/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 14:35:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maia Szalavitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabinoid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insulin resistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana weight loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Toking up may help marijuana users to stay slim and lower their risk of developing diabetes, according to the latest study, which suggests that cannabis compounds may help in controlling blood sugar. Although marijuana has a well-deserved reputation for increasing appetite via what stoners call “the munchies,” the new research, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, is not the first to find that the drug has a two-faced relationship to weight. Three prior studies have shown that marijuana users are less likely to be obese, have a lower risk for diabetes and have lower body-mass-index measurements. And these trends occurred despite the fact that they seemed to take in more calories. Why? “The most important finding is that current users of marijuana appeared to have better carbohydrate metabolism than nonusers,” says Murray Mittleman, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study. “Their fasting insulin levels were lower, and they appeared to be less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood-sugar level.&#8221; The research included over 4,600 men and women participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2010. Among them, 48% had smoked marijuana at least once in their lives, and 12% were current cannabis smokers. The authors controlled for other factors like age, sex, income, alcohol use, cigarette smoking and physical activity that could also affect diabetes risk. Even after these adjustments, the current marijuana users showed fasting insulin levels that were 16% lower than those of former or never users, along with a 17% reduction in another measure of insulin resistance as well. Higher levels on both tests are associated with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked with obesity. Marijuana users also had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein, the so-called good cholesterol, which can protect against heart disease. And the regular smokers also boasted smaller waistlines: on average, they were 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) slimmer than the former users and those who had never smoked cannabis. Researchers don’t<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86996&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/marijuana-the-next-diabetes-drug/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diabetes</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/diabetes/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/148983820.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/148983820.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/148983820.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Close Up Of Marijuana Leaf</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/0a5ac57e99124922fa628492ad3db6b2?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">MaiaSzalavitz</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mediterranean Diet Better Than Low-Fat Diet in Keeping Aging Brains Sharp</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/mediterranean-diet-better-than-low-fat-diet-in-keeping-aging-brains-sharp/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/mediterranean-diet-better-than-low-fat-diet-in-keeping-aging-brains-sharp/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 09:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive decline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mediterranean diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive oil]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86989</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thank the olive oil or the nuts, but something about the Mediterranean diet could help older brains act young again. There&#8217;s plenty of evidence that the Mediterranean diet can contribute to a lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, childhood asthma and even cancer. In fact, in a recent study, researchers assessed about 200 traditional Greek Mediterranean foods and reported that taken together, the foods could make 1,024 relevant health claims. (MORE: Mediterranean Diet Improves Memory, but Not in Diabetics) And in May, a team of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Athens found that people around age 64 who primarily ate a Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of memory loss. So perhaps it&#8217;s not that surprising that in the latest study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, researchers reported similar brain-boosting findings. Except this time, the results showed that the Mediterranean diet was significantly better than a low-fat diet in preserving brain function. The researchers, from the University of Navarra in Spain, studied 522 men and women between the ages of 55 and 80 who did not have heart disease, but were at a higher risk of having circulation-based events like a stroke because of diabetes or a combination of risk factors such as high blood pressure, a family history of stroke, or being overweight. The participants were split into three diet groups: one consumed a Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil, another ate a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, and the control group was assigned a low-fat diet. The typical Mediterranean diet includes plenty of olive oil, fruits, vegetables, grains and fish, with moderate amounts of dairy and meat. All of the participants agreed to complete extensive cognitive tests after about 6½ years, in which the researchers assessed their higher cognitive functions such as their language skills, their ability to orient themselves to time and place, their capacity for abstract thinking and their memory. (MORE: It’s the Olive Oil: Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke) By the end of the study, 60 of the participants<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86989&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/mediterranean-diet-better-than-low-fat-diet-in-keeping-aging-brains-sharp/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/diet-diet-fitness/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/142452182.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/142452182.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/142452182.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Bowl of olives</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Not Overweight? You&#8217;re Not Welcome at this Gym</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/20/not-overweight-youre-not-welcome-at-this-gym/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/20/not-overweight-youre-not-welcome-at-this-gym/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Francine Russo</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[downsize fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gyms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[overweight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86924</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you live in Chicago or Dallas and have a few pounds to lose, you might spot Downsize Fitness and think you’ll give this new gym a try. Forget it. This is a club that won’t take you as a member—unless you have at least fifty pounds to lose. And they weigh you to make sure. A gym that rejects the svelte and toned?  Could this work?  When Downsize’s founder Francis Wisniewski got his brainstorm almost two years ago, he couldn’t believe it wasn’t already out there. Weighing 360 pounds, the 39-year-old hedge fund manager wouldn’t set foot in a regular gym. He was all too aware that most clubs were filled with “women in tight clothes running 5-minute miles” while he struggled to do 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. “I was also embarrassed about how I looked,“ he said, “and how much I sweated.” His business partner got him a full-time trainer to work with him at home. In November 2011, a 299-pound Wisniewski opened the first Downsize Fitness In Chicago and in September 2012, another in Dallas. The gym’s program is inspired by the approach used on &#8220;The Biggest Loser&#8221; reality show, which tailors workout regimens to help overweight individuals drop pounds. Downsize&#8217;s stated goal is to help the obese lose weight in an environment where they feel comfortable and free of judgment. A complete membership of $250/month (with a 6-month contract) includes personal training and nutrition counseling in small groups of three to six members.  Most trainers know what it takes to shed pounds since they were formerly obese themselves. And while they won’t judge you, they will hold you “accountable.” Skip a few workouts?  Expect a call or text to check up on you. Oh, and you can also compete for a prize in the $25,000 weight loss challenge. Forest McKinney, a 42-year-old audio-visual engineer in Plano, TX, who recently joined the Dallas gym, may be exactly who Wisniewski had in mind. At standard gyms, neither the machines nor the exercises worked for him. At<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86924&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/20/not-overweight-youre-not-welcome-at-this-gym/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Exercise</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/exercise/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/df-5366.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/df-5366.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/df-5366.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">df-5366</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/69fc92d1c4598c5b98d03fde16cdfa74?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>We Tried This: The First Underwater Cycling Class In The U.S.</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/16/we-tried-this-the-first-underwater-spinning-class-in-the-u-s/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/16/we-tried-this-the-first-underwater-spinning-class-in-the-u-s/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[We Tried This]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aqua spinning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aqua-aerobics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aquaspinning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[underwater spinning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86343</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re looking to revamp your workout, just add water. Trust us, your body will feel the difference. In Europe, “aqua cycling” is already making a splash, and the trend is coming stateside, with the first underwater cycling studio that recently opened in New York City. I&#8217;ve attempted my fair share of hybrid workouts &#8212; from the so-called &#8220;Pilates on crack&#8221; class to trampoline aerobics &#8211; but underwater biking is an entirely novel fitness fad, at least in the U.S. And this is no aqua-aerobics. Originally used as physical therapy for injured athletes, underwater stationary bikes are going mainstream. Former fashion photography producer and French expat Esther Gauthier opened Aqua Studio in New York last month for anyone eager to try something just a little different. It&#8217;s your standard cycling class, with all the rows of stationary bikes, upbeat music and peppy trainers, and submerge the whole set-up in 4-feet of water, and you get the idea. (MORE: We Tried This: With MovNat, Play Like You’re a Kid Again) &#8220;I was visiting my family in Paris two years ago, and I took my first aqua biking class. It was the first time I had even heard about it, and I was so surprised. It is very rare that [a fitness trend] is not in the U.S.,&#8221; says Gauthier. &#8220;I followed the evolution of the trend and I decided to bring the concept here. It started in Italy as a physical therapy, and it became so popular when it was transitioned into a class instead of just one individual in a pool with a bike. It really started to spread in Spain, Portugal and then France.&#8221; There are several aqua bike manufactures &#8212; all of which are located in Europe, and all of whom are claiming to be the first to pioneer the underwater bike. (Gauthier orders hers from Italian bike maker, Hydrorider.) (MORE: We Tried This: &#8220;Pop-Up&#8221; Cardio) As I&#8217;ve said, aqua cycling is not your grandma&#8217;s water aerobics, although I admit to being schooled by an older woman pushing 70 on the bike next to me. Instead<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86343&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/16/we-tried-this-the-first-underwater-spinning-class-in-the-u-s/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>We Tried This</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/we-tried-this/</primary_category_link><letterbox>1</letterbox><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/downloadedfile-1.jpeg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/downloadedfile-1.jpeg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/downloadedfile-1.jpeg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">DownloadedFile-1</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/cycling.jpg?w=320" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">cycling</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Restaurant and Prepared Foods Are Not Much Healthier Than They Were in 2005</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/14/restaurant-food-is-not-getting-any-healthier/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/14/restaurant-food-is-not-getting-any-healthier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fast food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high blood pressure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypertension]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sodium]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86511</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re bombarded with more messages to eat healthier &#8212; cut back on salt, fat, and sugar &#8212; and more products help us do so. But restaurants, fast food chains and food manufacturers aren&#8217;t making it easy to eat smarter. Large restaurant chains have started listing calorie counts alongside their menu items, and fast food outlets now have salads next to the burgers and fries. But the latest analysis of the slat, fat and calorie counts on the most popular items we like to eat shows they aren&#8217;t much healthier now than they were either years ago. Some products have become less salty and lighter, but the pace of change, say the study&#8217;s authors, is too slow to have a meaningful impact of the public&#8217;s health. Last week, a 14-year study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on the menu items at eight popular fast food chains found that the nutritional quality of the meals had improved by a disappointing three points, from 45 to 48 on a 100-point healthy eating scale, between 1997 and 2010. (MORE: Nutrition at Fast Food Restaurants Still Leaves Much to be Desired) Now, researchers leading two additional studies have come to similar conclusions. In the first study, also published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, scientists from the Center for Science and the Public Interest, a nutritional non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group, and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine reported that sodium levels in 402 processed and fast food items have been stubbornly inconsistent and slow to decline. Relying on the nutritional labels of the packaged foods, and on information provided by restaurants on their meas, the investigators measured how much sodium appeared in the same products in 2005, 2008 and 2011. Between 2005 and 2011, sodium in 402 processed foods dropped by 3.5% overall, but that average hid widely divergent fluctuations in salt content in these foods over that time. And the sodium in meals from fast food chains actually went up by 2.6%. The authors write: Although some products showed decreases of at least 30%,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86511&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/14/restaurant-food-is-not-getting-any-healthier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Nutrition</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/nutrition/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/168259273.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/168259273.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/168259273.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">168259273</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nutrition at Fast Food Restaurants Still Leaves Much to be Desired</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/08/fast-food-restaurants-have-not-improved-much/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/08/fast-food-restaurants-have-not-improved-much/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 09:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food & Drink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fast food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutritional quality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86261</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fast food has become ubiquitous in the American diet, with over 25% of Americans eating fast food two or more times a week. So it&#8217;s especially concerning that a 14-year study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows menus haven&#8217;t made much improvement in their nutritional quality. Investigators examined food trends and nutrition profiles of menus from the following eight popular fast food chains between the years 1997 and 2010: • McDonald&#8217;s • Burger King • Wendy&#8217;s • Taco Bell • Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) • Arby&#8217;s • Jack in the Box • Dairy Queen (MORE: How Much Exercise Will It Take to Work Off a Burger? Menus May Soon Tell You) Researchers evaluated the nutritional quality of the restaurants&#8217; offerings using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Eating Index 100-point scale. Disappointingly, the results showed the nutritional quality of fast food improved only by three points from 45 to 48 over the study period. Compared to prior years, scores remained unchanged for fruit, vegetables, grains and oils, but improved for calories from solid fats and added sugars as well as meat and saturated fat levels. Scores were worse for dairy and sodium. An overall score of 48 is discouraging given that it&#8217;s lower than the average American&#8217;s diet score of 55, which the USDA says is far from ideal. &#8220;The [three-point increase] is disappointing, and a bit surprising, given the many pronouncements by companies that they have added healthier menu options, switched to healthier cooking fats, are reducing sodium, and are touting other changes in company press releases and advertising,&#8221; said Margo Wootan, the director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C. in an accompanying editorial. (MORE: Do Calorie Counts on Menus Curb Eating? Not So Much) A handful of the restaurants, including Kentucky Fried Chicken and Jack in the Box, did improve their individual scores by offering more proteins and grain options and lowering sugar and saturated fat levels. However, other restaurants like Burger King headed in the other direction by boosting sodium and saturated fats. Some changes that could improve the nutritional rating for fast-food joints<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86261&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/08/fast-food-restaurants-have-not-improved-much/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Food &amp; Drink</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/food-drink/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/166812479.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/166812479.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/166812479.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">166812479</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pre-Ordering School Lunches Steer Kids To Healthier Meal Choices</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/school-lunches/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/school-lunches/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 20:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[preordering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school lunches]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86116</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Along the lines of advice to avoid grocery shopping when you&#8217;re hungry, new research concludes that children who electronically pre-order their lunch are more likely to make healthier meal choices than students who pick and choose as they make their way through the cafeteria line. The four-week study looked at the choices made by 272 students in grades 1 to 5 in two schools in upstate New York. When the students pre-ordered their lunches, 29% were more likely to pick a healthier entrée compared to 15% when the option to pre-order was unavailable. When students chose their entrée in the lunch line, they were 48% less likely to make a healthy choice and 21% more likely to chose a less healthy entrée. (MORE: Stricter School Lunch Standards Lead To Lighter Kids) In the study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from Cornell University suggest that preordering lunch entrées could prevent distractions like sights and smells that could prompt kids to make hasty and potentially unhealthy choices when picking their meals. Anti-obesity advocates and public health experts continually look for ways to measurably change the food environments for children in schools. In January 2012 the U.S. Department of Agriculture revised school meal guidelines and required more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and stricter calorie limits. The stricter guidelines were met with mixed reviews, with some children complaining the calorie limits didn&#8217;t fill them up. In response, the USDA allowed the schools more flexibility in meat and grain servings. But there&#8217;s still debate about the restrictions. As school lunch nutritional standards continue evolving, research is showing that having healthier options in school cafeterias could effectively curb weight gain and cravings for unhealthy treats. (MORE: More Food for Hungry Students: USDA Tweaks School Meals) &#8220;I think that some of the great things that happened with updating the school meal standards was that there were more fruits and vegetables,&#8221; says Jessica Donze Black, project director for The Pew Charitable Trusts Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Black is unaffiliated with the study. &#8220;We all recognize that kids don’t get enough fruits and<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86116&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/school-lunches/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Nutrition</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/nutrition/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/lunch.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/lunch.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/lunch.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">lunch</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Nation In Need of A Pick-Me-Up: Our Need for Caffeine</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/the-emergence-of-caffeinated-products/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/the-emergence-of-caffeinated-products/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 21:38:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food & Drink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[5-Hour Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[added caffeine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caffeine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy drinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FDA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monster energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monster Energy Drinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wrigley's alert energy gum]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85941</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Energy drinks and soda? Yawn. Now it&#8217;s all about inserting caffeine into other foods, from potato chips to mints. What&#8217;s behind our need for more caffeine? On Thursday, gum-maker Wrigley announced it is temporarily taking it&#8217;s newest product, Alert Energy Gum, off the market. The company says it is halting the production, sale and marketing of the gum due to concerns from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the safety of caffeinated products for kids and adolescents. On Monday, April 29 the FDA announced it will take a closer look at how safe added caffeine is for kids and adolescents, who are often the biggest consumers of buzz-generating products. The announcement came after Wrigley had just released their caffeinated gum, which contains 40 milligrams of caffeine per piece, the caffeine equivalent of half a cup of coffee. And last year, consumers and public health experts sued energy drink makers about the accuracy of the information about caffeine content in their products after the FDA received more than 90 reports of illness, hospitalizations and deaths related to 5-Hour Energy and reports of deaths connected to Monster Energy Drink. Wrigley spokespeople released a statement saying Alert Energy Caffeine Gum is intended for adults aged 25 and older who are looking for foods with caffeine for energy. &#8220;We are exceeding current regulatory requirements on labeling and disclosure because we believe consumers should be informed on the amount of caffeine they are consuming in their food and beverage products so they can make smart choices. Alert competes in the well-established energy category,&#8221; they write. Although the Alert Energy Gum may be the newest such product on the market, it&#8217;s certainly not the first to get the caffeine treatment. Frito Lay&#8217;s Cracker Jack&#8217;d and Jelly Belly Sport Beans are among the more stimulating fare that have emerged on grocery shelves in recent years. And despite public health concerns about the dangers of over-adrenalizing the body, they likely won&#8217;t be the last. But why the need for so many caffeinated products? (MORE: Are Energy Drinks Fatally Caffeinated?) The most common sources of caffeine in the diet include coffee, chocolate, tea<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85941&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/the-emergence-of-caffeinated-products/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Food &amp; Drink</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/food-drink/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/f34dba0a-cfc1-47d3-85e8-5959574b5dfa-big.jpeg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/f34dba0a-cfc1-47d3-85e8-5959574b5dfa-big.jpeg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/f34dba0a-cfc1-47d3-85e8-5959574b5dfa-big.jpeg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Alert Energy Caffeine Gum</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mediterranean Diet Improves Memory, But Not In Diabetics</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/med-diet-and-memory/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/med-diet-and-memory/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive impairment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mediterranean diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[omegea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://timewellness.wordpress.com/?p=85758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The largest study to date on the effects of eating omega-3 fatty acids confirm that foods high in the fats can preserve memory and cognitive functions only in people without diabetes. Health experts hold up the Mediterranean diet as likely the best way to eat to stay healthy into old age. High in fruits and vegetables, as well as grains and oils low in saturated fats, the diet is linked to lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, childhood asthma and cancer. (MORE: It’s the Olive Oil: Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke) A study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Athens, Greece now shows that people around age 64 who primarily ate a Mediterranean diet, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, may also have a lower risk of memory loss. Because there are no pharmaceutical cures or treatments for memory loss or dementia, the researchers say such lifestyle behaviors that can slow or prevent cognitive decline are important strategies for keeping the brain sharp. The 17,478 African-American and Caucasian men and women were part of the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, and they answered questions about their dietary habits, including how well they stuck to the principles of the Mediterranean diet and avoided red meats and dairy products. The volunteers also agreed to take tests to measure their memory and cognitive abilities over an average of four years. Seven percent of the study participants developed cognitive impairments during the study period of about four years. Among the healthy participants, those who most consistently ate a Mediterranean diet were 13% less likely to develop memory and thinking problems. (MORE: Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Child-Asthma Risk) The same benefit did not apply, however, to the 17% of people with diabetes; among those with diabetes, people who followed the Mediterranean diet were 30% more likely to show signs of cognitive impairments during the study than those who didn&#8217;t follow the diet. Among non-diabetics, the participants who ate<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85758&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/med-diet-and-memory/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/diet-diet-fitness/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/200424268-001.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/200424268-001.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/200424268-001.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">200424268-001</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Little League&#8217;s Big Headaches: Helicopter Coaches</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/helicopter-coaches/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/helicopter-coaches/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan Cray</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Childhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coaches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[helicopter coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[helicopter parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[little league]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[over parenting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=83988</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You’re asked a lot of questions when you’re an assistant coach for your son’s Little League team, as I was for two years, but with a new season underway I’m reminded that the two I heard most often last year were also the most important… and they came from the eight-year-old players. “Why do the coaches have to yell at us?  Why don’t they just let us play?” Parents taking meaningless games too seriously is an all-too-familiar Little League problem, but in games involving the youngest children—ages five to nine—it’s now the coaches who are creating an unsettling new offshoot.  The issue, psychologists say, is that “helicopter parents” who are obsessed with winning often join the coaching staff for their child&#8217;s team, becoming “helicopter coaches,” literally perching themselves next to the outfielders or near the batter’s box so they can continually shout instructions to the children. Says Lois Butcher-Poffley, a Temple University sports psychologist and a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s sports psychology registry, “This is a way for the helicopter parent to gain access where they were banned before.” MORE: Mom Hacks Into School Computer System, Changes Kids&#8217; Grades The problem isn’t unique to Little League.  Helicopter coaches shadow players on other youth sports sidelines as well (skating moms are a well known presence at the ice rinks of potential Olympic stars), but baseball’s sporadic action and distant defensive positions make hovering much easier.  How crazy does it get?  During a Little League game in Los Angeles last June, a team had five coaches positioned around the nine kids on the field.  In the final inning, the infielders were so inundated by multiple coaches’ shouted “advice” that they were looking at each other in confusion, unable to understand the competing voices. As anyone who has ever watched a young outfielder gawk at a passing bird knows, some kids have a genuine need for extra coaching. Baseball’s youngest participants tend to be unfocused—which puts them at risk for injury in a game where hard balls are smacked and thrown.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=83988&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/helicopter-coaches/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Parenting</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/family-parenting/parenting/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/970_hlt_parenting_0430.jpeg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/970_hlt_parenting_0430.jpeg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/970_hlt_parenting_0430.jpeg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">970_hlt_parenting_0430</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/69fc92d1c4598c5b98d03fde16cdfa74?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Vitamin E May Boost Return to Healthy Hearts in Former Smokers</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/how-vitamin-e-may-spur-better-heart-health-in-smokers-who-quit/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/how-vitamin-e-may-spur-better-heart-health-in-smokers-who-quit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:08:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supplements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tobacco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vitamin e]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Smoking can harm the heart, and while quitting is the most powerful way to avoid heart disease, taking vitamin E after putting out the cigarettes may speed the process along. Studies show that it can take a decade or more after smokers stop lighting up for their hearts to resemble those of non smokers. That&#8217;s how long it takes for some of the damage due to inflammation to subside, and to return blood vessels back to their elastic, flexible selves so they&#8217;re no longer contributing to an increased risk of heart problems. So in an effort to find ways to accelerate the process, researchers from Ohio State University focused on vitamin E, since it works as an antioxidant to combat damage &#8212; to tissues like blood vessels &#8212; caused by free radicals. &#8220;Vitamin E is regarded as a very effective antioxidant that protects against damage to fats in the body. Smokers are well-known to have oxidation of those fats in the body and based on prior studies, vitamin E has been touted as a nutrient that can help mitigate that damage,&#8221; says Richard Bruno, an associate professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University and senior author of the study. Bruno and his colleagues recruited 30 smokers in their 20s who smoked at least a pack a day of cigarettes for a year. All the smokers quit for one week, and 16 of the participants received 500 mg a day of a vitamin E supplement called gamma tocopherol. At the start and at the end of the study, the researchers measured the participants&#8217; blood for signs of inflammation. They also measured the participants&#8217; vascular function &#8212; the blood vessels&#8217; ability to dilate &#8212; by taking ultrasound images of an upper arm artery before and after circulation was temporarily stopped. (MORE: Walking Cure: Strolls Can Help Teen Smokers to Quit) Vitamin E comes in eight naturally-occurring forms, but the investigators chose to measure gamma tocopherol because it is the most common form of E in the American diet, found in soybeans, canola oil, pistachios, pecans, cashews and peanuts. &#8220;We used the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85239&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/how-vitamin-e-may-spur-better-heart-health-in-smokers-who-quit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Tobacco</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/tobacco/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/80701280.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/80701280.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/80701280.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">80701280</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Latest Tool for Tracking Obesity? Facebook Likes</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/turning-to-facebook-to-address-obesity/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/turning-to-facebook-to-address-obesity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85631</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Obesity is a big problem that needs big solutions, and Facebook may be coming to the rescue. In a way that&#8217;s never been possible before, people can record their interests, habits and daily activities that at first blush might seem to have only trivial meaning. But such data can be accessed by almost anyone (depending on privacy settings, of course), and that includes researchers. Scientists are turning to Facebook as a way to track how obesity trends, for example, correlate with geographically-specific trends in diet and exercise,  and hope that such information can lead to more targeted ways of reversing the obesity epidemic. The researchers, from Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital, aggregated data on Facebook users&#8217; interests and discovered that the higher percentage of people with interests that related to healthy and active lifestyles in a given area, the lower was that region&#8217;s obesity rate. The opposite was true for areas with a large percentage of people with Facebook interests that related to television, for example. To come up with the link, the scientists studied what national Facebook users posted on their timelines, what they &#8220;liked,&#8221; and what they shared with their friends to come up with nation-wide associations.They also looked specifically at users within New York City and found similar trends at the neighborhood level, documenting that communities with more residents expressing interest in healthy lifestyle behaviors and products showed lower obesity rates than those where residents tended to show more interest in television shows. (MORE: Why Facebook Makes You Feel Bad About Yourself) Nationwide, obesity rates were 12% lower in areas where the highest percentage of Facebook users had exercise-related interests. In New York City, Coney Island, which had the highest percentage of users with activity-related interests had a 7.2% lower obesity rate than Southwest Queens, which had the lowest percentage of Facebook users with active interests. The power of the strategy, the scientists said, lay in the social media&#8217;s ability to focus on both national as well as local trends. &#8220;Definitely in public health [Facebook] is a great source<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85631&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/turning-to-facebook-to-address-obesity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Social Media</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/love-relationships/social-media/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/307_facebook.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/307_facebook.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/307_facebook.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">307_Facebook</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How Much Exercise Will It Take to Work Off a Burger? Menus May Soon Tell You</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/are-you-willing-to-walk-for-that-burger/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/are-you-willing-to-walk-for-that-burger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food & Drink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calorie counts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[menu calorie counts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85164</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More restaurants display calorie counts on their menus, but what if they also informed you what it would take to burn off those calories? It&#8217;s one thing to know how many calories are packed into a meal you&#8217;re about to eat, and quite another to fully appreciate what your body does with them. That&#8217;s been clear since cities like New York mandated calorie counts on fast food and restaurant menus so consumers would have a better idea of what they were eating. Despite the added information, studies haven&#8217;t shown that the counts led people to eat less. In fact, some surveys found they prompted people to order more food. So caloric information, it seems, doesn&#8217;t  have much impact on eating behavior. Better strategies are clearly needed, so researchers Dr. Meena Shah and Ashlei James from Texas Christian University tried another approach &#8212; replacing the calorie counts with the number of minutes of brisk walking a person would need to complete to burn off what they just ate. (MORE: Do Calorie Counts on Menus Curb Eating? Not So Much) The researchers chose brisk walking since it&#8217;s a physical activity most people can do, and can easily fit into their day, as opposed to running or jogging. &#8220;We did the study specifically in younger adults. The reason why we chose young adults is because they exercise more than older adults and we felt that they would relate to it more than older adults,&#8221; says Shah. The scientists recruited 300 men and women ages 18 to 30 and randomly assigned them to order lunch from one of three menus: one that was calorie-free, one that included calorie counts and another labeled with the minutes of walking needed to burn the calories in the food. All the menus had the same food offerings, including burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda and water. The participants who were provided the walking information ordered and consumed fewer calories compared to those who ordered off the menu without calorie labels. However, as with some previous<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85164&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/are-you-willing-to-walk-for-that-burger/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/diet-diet-fitness/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/sb10068858b-006.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/sb10068858b-006.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/sb10068858b-006.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">sb10068858b-006</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pushing Teens to Change Their Eating Habits Could Backfire</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/parents-eating-habits-are-passed-to-their-kids/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/parents-eating-habits-are-passed-to-their-kids/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean your plate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food restriction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pressure-to-eat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teens and eating]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84984</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Parents who exert too much control over what their children eat may not be doing their adolescents any favors when it comes to controlling the youngsters&#8217; weight, according to the latest study. Researchers report in the journal Pediatrics that pressure from parents to clean plates or to restrict eating high-calorie foods such as sweets and sugared sodas may not help teens to maintain a healthy weight. (MORE: Want to Live Longer? Don’t Try Caloric Restriction) The analysis included two studies of 2,231 students, with an average age of 14 years old in Minnesota, and 3,500 parents. The scientists assessed how moms and dads influenced their teens&#8217; eating habits by rating their responses to statements such as, &#8220;My child should always eat all of the food on his or her plate&#8221; or &#8220;If my child says, &#8216;I am not hungry,&#8217; I try to get him or her to eat anyway.&#8221; The parents also provided their views on statements such as, &#8220;If I did not guide or regulate my child&#8217;s eating, he or she would eat too much of his or her favorite food.&#8221; Overall, parents of obese children were most likely to report that they needed to make sure their kids were not eating too many high-fat and sugary foods, while parents of nonoverweight kids were more likely to think their adolescents should eat all the food on their plate at each meal. Dads were more likely to pressure their kids to clean their plates, and adolescent boys tended to be pushed more than girls to eat more. While such attention to children&#8217;s eating habits is certainly laudable, and parents are presumably guided by the best intentions, the results suggest that overly restrictive supervision of eating habits could backfire since such excessive control could actually increase, rather than reduce teens&#8217; weight. Changing perceptions of normal weight may be playing a role in some of the parental pressure, while ballooning portion sizes may actually make some of the clean-plate advice unhealthy for adolescents. &#8220;I was surprised at some of the parent behaviors, like<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84984&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/parents-eating-habits-are-passed-to-their-kids/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Obesity</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/obesity/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/91271322.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/91271322.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/91271322.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">91271322</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Food Safety: CDC Report Shows Rates of Foodborne Illnesses Remain Largely Unchanged</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/cdc-food-safety-report-card/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/cdc-food-safety-report-card/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food & Drink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contaminated food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E. coli]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FDA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food safety and modernization act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foodborne illness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prventive controls for human food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salmonella]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[standards for produce safety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84991</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[About 1 in 6 people in the United States gets sick from eating contaminated food, a rate that has not declined in seven years. Despite some improvements in food safety, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that progress in reducing foodborne illnesses have stalled. In the latest issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers analyzed data from FoodNet, a system for tracking food-related illnesses, and found that although the number of infections acquired from food are lower than they were in the 1990s, over the last few years little progress was made in reducing exposure to foodborne pathogens even further. The FoodNet program tracks infections with nine commonly found bacteria in food: campylobacter, cryptosporidium, cyclospora, listeria, salmonella, E.coli 0157 (including both the variety that produces shiga toxin and the strain that doesn&#8217;t), shigella, vibrio and yersinia. The database monitors illnesses among 48 million people from Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee, and selected counties in California, Colorado, and New York &#8212; about 15% of the total U.S. population. In the current report, researchers compared rates of foodborne illnesses to those from 2006 to 2008, to assess whether food safety policies were effective in controlling potential outbreaks. (MORE: After Year-Long Delay, FDA Proposes Major Regulations For Food Safety) In 2012, the FoodNet program identified 19,500 infections, including 4,500 hospitalizations and 68 deaths. The rates of infection from the nine most prevalent pathogens had not changed significantly compared to the previous analysis. The data reveal weaknesses in current food safety regulations, as well as new challenges posed by changing populations of bacteria. For example, while infections due to shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157, found in raw ground beef, have dropped since  the 1990s, in 2012, rates remained unchanged since 2006 to 2008. &#8221;We may need to identify additional ways to reduce contamination as well as heightening awareness among consumers of the importance of properly cooking and handling ground beef in their own homes,&#8221; said Dr. Robert Tauxe, the deputy director of the CDC division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84991&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/cdc-food-safety-report-card/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Food Safety</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/policy-industry/food-safety-policy-industry/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/86081932.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/86081932.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/86081932.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">24901446</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Timing Matters To Make Diet and Exercise Changes Last</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/two-healthy-behaviors-are-better-than-one/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/two-healthy-behaviors-are-better-than-one/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:45:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84976</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, which should come first &#8212; changing your diet or becoming more physically active? Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine report in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine that neither strategy was likely to help individuals meet healthy eating and fitness recommendations and stick with them for a year. For the best results, the scientists found that changing diet and fitness habits simultaneously made the most sense. Previous studies suggested that providing people with too much information about nutrition and physical activity at once can be overwhelming, and tends to discourage, rather than motivate them to improve their habits. That, say the researchers, has led to the popularity of advising people to make incremental changes, and set smaller, more achievable goals to eat healthier meals and to become less sedentary. But, say some experts, continually making new changes can also drain energy and motivation, and lead to a drop in compliance over time. (MORE: 5 Common Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym) So to assess how the two strategies fared in a head-to-head comparison, the scientists recruited 200 inactive participants who were age 45 or older and randomly assigned them to one of four groups that provided nutrition and exercise coaching over the phone. One group was instructed about making diet and fitness changes at the same time, the second group were taught about diet changes first, then fitness changes four months later, the third group changed their exercise habits first and made changes in their eating habits four months later, and the final, control group were not instructed about either diet or fitness changes but about how to manage their stress. The researchers tracked the groups for a full year to determine which strategy was more successful in helping participants achieve the nationally recommended goals of 150 minutes of exercise per week, eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily and keeping saturated fat intake at less than 10%. Compared to the group that did not receive any dietary or<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84976&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/22/two-healthy-behaviors-are-better-than-one/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Exercise</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/exercise/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/157396809.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/157396809.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/157396809.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">157396809</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Working Too Hard? Physically Demanding Jobs Tied to Higher Risk of Heart Disease</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/19/physically-demanding-jobs-are-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/19/physically-demanding-jobs-are-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:01:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[physical activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[physical labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[physically demanding jobs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84913</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease, two studies suggest that jobs involving hard manual labor may harm, rather than help the heart. Presenting at the annual EuroPRevent 2013 meeting, two separate groups report on the potential dangers of physically demanding work and provide deeper understanding of how manual labor may differ from a gym workout or a run with respect to the heart. The first, from researchers at Harokopio University in Athens, involved 250 first-time stroke patients, 250 patients who experienced their first heart event, and 500 healthy controls, all of whom ranked their jobs on a scale of how physically demanding they were. Those reporting more labor-intensive occupations showed higher rates of heart events; for each one unit drop in the ranking of physical intensity, the participants showed a 20% decline in their chances of having a heart event. The association held even after the researchers adjusted for possible heart disease risk factors such as sex, BMI, smoking, diabetes and diet. (MORE: Long Commute? Your Heart and Waistline May Suffer for It) A second study conducted by researchers from the Department of Public Health at the University of Ghent in Belgium found similar evidence that physically demanding labor could increase risk of heart problems, particularly among those who also exercised during their leisure time. The trial, involving a cohort of over 14,000 middle-aged men without heart disease, provided more details about how occupational and leisure activity might interact. The participants answered questions about their jobs, heart health and any physical activity they did for leisure between 1994 and 1998. After following the men for slightly more than three years on average, the researchers found that those with jobs involving lower levels of physical labor who also engaged in moderate to intense leisure-time activity enjoyed a 60% reduced risk of heart events. But men whose jobs were more physically demanding and who also exercised when they were off the clock showed a nearly 70% increased risk of heart problems. After adjusting for other factors that could<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84913&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/19/physically-demanding-jobs-are-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Heart Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/heart-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/104629760-1.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/104629760-1.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/104629760-1.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">104629760</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Brain Exercises Better than Drugs in Preventing Cognitive Decline</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/mental-exercises-are-most-successful-at-preventing-cognitive-decline/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/mental-exercises-are-most-successful-at-preventing-cognitive-decline/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:30:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supplements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain teasers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive decline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental exercises]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84667</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With an aging population, rates of dementia will only climb, yet doctors have few effective strategies for addressing the worst symptoms. Mild cognitive impairment, in which older adults show lapses in memory and other mental functions that aren&#8217;t serious enough to impair their daily activities, affects about 10% to 20% of those over age 70. Each year, about 10% of these people will progress to develop dementia, a more serious form of impairment that can drastically affect their independence and ability to function. But despite the growing proportion of the population that may be affected by these conditions, an analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that there are few effective options for treating the condition. The researchers reviewed 32 randomized controlled trials, in which patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention such as drugs to control cognitive decline, herbal remedies, physical activity or mental exercises including crossword puzzles; or left to continue living their lives without any changes. By comparing the various methods of treating cognitive decline, the scientists hoped to come up with some ranking of how effective the various interventions were. MORE: Heart Disease Test May Predict Dementia Better Than Cognitive Tests They did not find strong evidence to support medications such as donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor designed to help brain chemicals keep neural circuits involved in cognition active. Studies have long hinted that such prescription drugs are only minimally effective in staving off the symptoms of dementia, but with so few medications to treat dementia available, many physicians continue to prescribe the medications since they can help some patients to improve recall. There was also little evidence supporting the effectiveness of natural remedies such as the herbal supplement ginkgo, the  hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or vitamin B and omega-3 fatty acids. The majority of the studies found these remedies had little to no effect on improving scores on memory tests or other evaluations of cognitive functions. (MORE: Brain Aging: What’s Nintendo Got to Do With It?) Studies investigating the role of estrogen and testosterone therapy showed<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84667&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/mental-exercises-are-most-successful-at-preventing-cognitive-decline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Memory</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/memory/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bb4691-002-1.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bb4691-002-1.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bb4691-002-1.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">BB4691-002 (1)</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Want to Lose Weight? Leave it Up to Your Smartphone</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/using-your-smartphone-to-lose-weight/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/using-your-smartphone-to-lose-weight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:32:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diet apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital food diaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[my meal mate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national health service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online diets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online food diaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smartphone apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84630</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s an app for practically everything now, and the latest study shows that when it comes to weight loss, some apps may be more effective than traditional dieting methods.  Smartphones are an ideal way to communicate and remind people of everything from to-do lists to food and fitness goals, so researchers in the UK decided to investigate how effective weight loss apps alone might be in helping people to shed pounds. The University of Leeds scientists, funded by a grant from the UK&#8217;s National institute or Health Research, worked with software developers Blueberry Consultants to create My Meal Mate, an app that helps users track their food intake and exercise as well as set weight loss goals. The app sends users reminder text messages each week about their progress. For the study, published in the Journal of Internet Medical Research, the researchers recruited 128 overweight volunteers and split them into three groups for a six month study period. The first group relied on the My Meal Mate app, the second an online food diary and the final group used a paper version of a food diary. (MORE: The Secrets to Weight Loss: Keep a Food Journal, Don’t Skip Meals, Eat In) At the end of six months, the researchers measured changes inthe participants&#8217; weight, as well as their compliance with their assigned weight loss management tool. On average, participants those relying on the online weight loss website and the paper food diary made entries about once a week, the smartphone app users relied on their weight loss helper every other day. Over the six month study period, the app users lost an average of 10 lbs., the paper diary users lost 6.5 lbs. and the website users lost about 3 lbs. Previous research showed that food diaries can be an effective way of helping people to keep track of what they eat throughout a day in order to remind them of how many total calories they&#8217;re consuming. And numerous apps already help dieters to stay on top of these tallies<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84630&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/15/using-your-smartphone-to-lose-weight/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/diet-diet-fitness/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/156023712.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/156023712.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/156023712.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">156023712</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>