Dieting Success May Depend on Brain Wiring: Study

Can’t stick to a diet? Your brain wiring may be to blame, say scientists who found that the ability to self-regulate body weight may depend on a person’s brain structure. Obesity and dieting are increasingly common in contemporary society, and many dieters struggle to lose excess weight, researchers said. After studying the connections between the executive control and reward systems in the brain, Pin-Hao Andy Chen from Dartmouth College in the US and colleagues showed that dieting success may be easier for some people. This is so because they have…

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Women Face Same Drink-Related Health Issues Like Men

Women face same health related problems from alcohol consumption as men, finds a new study. According to the study, women are catching up with men in terms of their alcohol consumption and its impact on their health. The trend, known as ‘sex convergence’, is most evident among young adults, the findings show. Historically, men have been far more likely than women to drink alcohol and to drink it in quantities that damage their health, with some figures suggesting up to a 12-fold difference between the sexes. In a bid to…

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Muscle Strength May Help to Improve Brain Function

Increased muscle strength may help to improve brain function in adults who suffer from mild cognitive impairment (MCI), shows a new study. MCI defines people who have reduced cognitive abilities such as reduced memory, but are still able to live independently. It is a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings published in the Journal of American Geriatrics show a positive causal link between muscle adaptations to progressive resistance training and the functioning of the brain among those over the age of 55 with MCI. “What we found in this follow-up…

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Jain Opens Health Mela, Urges People to Have Healthy Lifestyle

A five-day health festival, which includes check-up camps and lifestyle-related exhibitions, was inaugurated here today by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain who said a host of diseases can be prevented by making basic changes in lifestyle. “The importance of keeping one’s surroundings clean and living a balanced lifestyle is often underestimated, and as a result, individuals end up becoming prey to several modern-day health epidemics. “By making basic lifestyle changes, a host of diseases can be prevented,” he said. He was speaking at the opening of 23rd edition of ‘Perfect…

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Some Breastfeeding Advice Worth Ditching: US Task Force

A review of scientific evidence on breastfeeding out today found that some long-held advice is worth ditching, including that babies should avoid pacifiers and moms should breastfeed exclusively in the first days after birth. Individual interventions to help expectant and new moms breastfeed are still recommended, but systematic or hospital-wide policies tend to show little benefit, said the report by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts. The benefits of breastfeeding include providing optimal nutrition and an immune system boost for babies, while helping mothers…

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Highly Caffeinated Drinks May Affect Brain: Study

Drinking highly caffeinated beverages mixed with alcohol triggers changes in the adolescent brain which are similar to taking cocaine, suggests a study. Energy drinks contain as much as 10 times the caffeine as soda and are often marketed to adolescents. The results published in the journal Alcohol showed that adolescent mice given high-caffeine energy drinks were not more likely than a control group to drink more alcohol as adults. But when those high levels of caffeine were mixed with alcohol and given to adolescent mice, they showed physical and neurochemical…

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