Eating on the Run May Mean Eating More Later

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Eating “on the go” may thwart people who are watching their weight, new research suggests.

The study, involving three groups each with 20 women, tested the effects of various forms of “distracted” snacking — eating while walking, watching TV or having a conversation. It found that among women who were currently dieting, eating while moving had an undesirable effect: They ate substantially more than other dieters a short time later.

It’s not clear what the findings, from an “artificial” lab study, could mean for weight-conscious people, the researchers said.

“In the real world there are many other factors — such as [food] availability, mood and peer pressure — that influence what and how much we eat,” said lead researcher Jane Ogden, a professor of health psychology at the University of Surrey, in England.

“But,” she added, “the results from this study indicate that for dieters, eating on the go may well lead to them overeating later on in the day.”

Why would that be? According to Ogden, it may be a mental effect: People who eat on the run may not be fully aware of what they’re eating, or they may feel like they “deserve” more food later on because they are being active.

And dieters may be especially prone to that mindset, Ogden said. Because they are habitually denying themselves, she explained, they may overeat when they feel they’ve earned some extra calories.

It’s unlikely that women in this study did actually need those extra calories, according to the researchers. Those who ate on the go simply walked around a corridor for five minutes, so their calorie-burning was minimal.

In contrast, their calorie intake, just a short time later, was substantially higher than that of dieters who’d snacked while watching TV or having a conversation. They were especially fond of gobbling chocolate.

Jennifer McDaniel, a registered dietitian, agreed that dieters who eat on the go might feel they’ve earned the right to indulge.

“We often overestimate how much we burn when we move, and I believe that even walking for a mere five minutes potentially justified the intake of [chocolate],” said McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

But she agreed that it’s difficult to tell whether a lab experiment would translate well into real life. And the big question is whether people who eat on the go are actually more susceptible to weight gain over time.

A long-term study is necessary to answer that question, McDaniel said. Even then, she noted, it could be tough to weed out the effects of eating on the run: People who sit down to eat “mindfully” are also more likely to choose nutritious foods and have other healthy habits, while those who eat on the run may be downing a lot of processed convenience foods.

The findings, reported Aug. 20 in the Journal of Health Psychology, are based on 60 women, about half of whom were dieting.

Ogden’s team randomly assigned them three “distracted eating” groups. In one, women ate a cereal bar while walking around for five minutes; a second group ate while watching TV; the third ate while having a conversation.

A short time later, all of the study participants were offered snacks, including chocolate, chips, carrots and grapes. Overall, dieters who’d walked while eating their cereal bar ate more calories at snack time — and about five times more chocolate — than other dieters.

Eating on the go did not make nondieters indulge in chocolate, however.

It’s unclear why the other forms of distracted snacking did not encourage overeating later on. And the findings do not mean that people should make a habit of eating in front of the TV, McDaniel said.

Other studies, she said, have found correlations between TV time, overeating and obesity — though it’s not clear that TV viewing is the root of the problem.

Despite all the unknowns, it makes sense to eat more mindfully, both Ogden and McDaniel said.

“Focusing on what we eat allows us to slow down, and actually taste the flavors and textures of the food,” McDaniel said. That, she added, may help you feel more satisfied and eat less at that meal — and possibly the next.

Ogden recommended making every meal an “occasion” to take care of yourself.

“It’s important to punctuate your day with breaks so that you can recharge and take stock as a means to relieve stress and work more effectively,” Ogden said. “It’s also important to turn eating into an occasion so that food is registered and eaten mindfully. Putting these two needs together make sense.”

More information

The National Eating Disorders Association has tips on mindful eating.

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9 Factors You Can Control May Be Key to Alzheimer’s Risk

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Up to two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases worldwide may stem from any of nine conditions that often result from lifestyle choices, a broad research review suggests.

Those include obesity (specifically, high body mass index, an indication of obesity, in midlife); carotid artery disease, in which plaque buildup narrows major neck arteries and slows blood supply to the brain; high blood pressure; depression; being frail; being poorly educated; having high levels of a naturally occurring amino acid known as homocysteine; and (specifically among those of Asian descent) being a smoker and/or having either type 2 diabetes.

The implication: Taking steps to minimize or eliminate such conditions might reduce the long-term risk for developing Alzheimer’s, a brain disorder that affects memory and thinking. It is the most common form of dementia among seniors.

“The current evidence from our study showed that individuals would benefit from [addressing] the related potentially modifiable risk factors,” said study lead author Dr. Jin-Tai Yu, an associate specialist in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and senior editor of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

But Yu cautioned that “what is what is seen here is an association rather than a direct cause-and-effect relationship between any one factor and Alzheimer’s risk.” And that, he said, means it’s impossible to determine exactly how much protection against Alzheimer’s would be gained by the elimination of any one condition.

Yu and his colleagues discuss their findings in the Aug. 20 online issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

In all, investigators reviewed the findings of 323 studies completed between 1968 and 2014. Collectively, the studies involved more than 5,000 patients and looked at 93 conditions with the potential to affect Alzheimer’s risk.

The team set out to determine which factors appeared to offer some protection against developing Alzheimer’s.

On that score, the strongest evidence suggested that coffee, vitamins C and E, folate, NSAIDS (anti-inflammation drugs), statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs), blood pressure medications, and estrogen supplementation all appeared to reduce Alzheimer’s risk.

Patients battling several serious health conditions also seemed to see their risk fall, including those with arthritis, heart disease, metabolic syndrome and/or cancer.

Those who were light or moderate drinkers of alcohol similarly saw their Alzheimer’s risk dip, alongside current smokers (apart from those of Asian descent), those struggling with stress, and seniors with high body mass index.

By contrast, a complex statistical analysis enabled the research team to zero in on the nine factors that appeared to elevate Alzheimer’s risk among 66 percent of those who ultimately get the disease.

But Dr. Anton Porsteinsson, a professor of psychiatry and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., suggested that to his mind, “there’s not a lot of surprise here.”

“It’s an interesting paper,” he said. “And certainly this review validates a number of individual studies that have previously shown an association between Alzheimer’s and the factors they’re identifying.” But it doesn’t improve understanding of the causes, he added.

The take-away, Porsteinsson said, is that a healthy lifestyle matters. Paying attention to blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as exercise are all beneficial, and the other factors studied may make a difference, he added, but it doesn’t mean there is a simple way to reduce Alzheimer’s risk. Large clinical trials have looked at behavior modifications that might help, but those kind of simple interventions have failed.

“So reducing risk is probably not going to happen by just taking a pill or a food supplement or a single medication,” he added. “That kind of a shortcut answer just doesn’t have a lot of support.”

More information

There’s more on preventing Alzheimer’s at U.S. National Institute on Aging.

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Eating on the Run Might Mean Eating More Later

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Eating “on the go” may thwart people who are watching their weight, new research suggests.

The study, involving three groups each with 20 women, tested the effects of various forms of “distracted” snacking — eating while walking, watching TV or having a conversation. It found that among women who were currently dieting, eating while moving had an undesirable effect: They ate substantially more than other dieters a short time later.

It’s not clear what the findings, from an “artificial” lab study, could mean for weight-conscious people, the researchers said.

“In the real world there are many other factors — such as [food] availability, mood and peer pressure — that influence what and how much we eat,” said lead researcher Jane Ogden, a professor of health psychology at the University of Surrey, in England.

“But,” she added, “the results from this study indicate that for dieters, eating on the go may well lead to them overeating later on in the day.”

Why would that be? According to Ogden, it may be a mental effect: People who eat on the run may not be fully aware of what they’re eating, or they may feel like they “deserve” more food later on because they are being active.

And dieters may be especially prone to that mindset, Ogden said. Because they are habitually denying themselves, she explained, they may overeat when they feel they’ve earned some extra calories.

It’s unlikely that women in this study did actually need those extra calories, according to the researchers. Those who ate on the go simply walked around a corridor for five minutes, so their calorie-burning was minimal.

In contrast, their calorie intake, just a short time later, was substantially higher than that of dieters who’d snacked while watching TV or having a conversation. They were especially fond of gobbling chocolate.

Jennifer McDaniel, a registered dietitian, agreed that dieters who eat on the go might feel they’ve earned the right to indulge.

“We often overestimate how much we burn when we move, and I believe that even walking for a mere five minutes potentially justified the intake of [chocolate],” said McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

But she agreed that it’s difficult to tell whether a lab experiment would translate well into real life. And the big question is whether people who eat on the go are actually more susceptible to weight gain over time.

A long-term study is necessary to answer that question, McDaniel said. Even then, she noted, it could be tough to weed out the effects of eating on the run: People who sit down to eat “mindfully” are also more likely to choose nutritious foods and have other healthy habits, while those who eat on the run may be downing a lot of processed convenience foods.

The findings, reported Aug. 20 in the Journal of Health Psychology, are based on 60 women, about half of whom were dieting.

Ogden’s team randomly assigned them three “distracted eating” groups. In one, women ate a cereal bar while walking around for five minutes; a second group ate while watching TV; the third ate while having a conversation.

A short time later, all of the study participants were offered snacks, including chocolate, chips, carrots and grapes. Overall, dieters who’d walked while eating their cereal bar ate more calories at snack time — and about five times more chocolate — than other dieters.

Eating on the go did not make nondieters indulge in chocolate, however.

It’s unclear why the other forms of distracted snacking did not encourage overeating later on. And the findings do not mean that people should make a habit of eating in front of the TV, McDaniel said.

Other studies, she said, have found correlations between TV time, overeating and obesity — though it’s not clear that TV viewing is the root of the problem.

Despite all the unknowns, it makes sense to eat more mindfully, both Ogden and McDaniel said.

“Focusing on what we eat allows us to slow down, and actually taste the flavors and textures of the food,” McDaniel said. That, she added, may help you feel more satisfied and eat less at that meal — and possibly the next.

Ogden recommended making every meal an “occasion” to take care of yourself.

“It’s important to punctuate your day with breaks so that you can recharge and take stock as a means to relieve stress and work more effectively,” Ogden said. “It’s also important to turn eating into an occasion so that food is registered and eaten mindfully. Putting these two needs together make sense.”

More information

The National Eating Disorders Association has tips on mindful eating.

---

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The Black Eyeliner Mistake Too Many Women Make

Photo: Getty Images

A little black liner along the lash line creates the illusion of larger eyes and fuller lashes. But do it wrong, or simply overdo it, and you’ll risk looking like Courtney Love circa the nineties.

Source: Giphy

Yikes—not exactly the wide-eyed look you’re going for.

“Eyeliner is meant to frame the eyes, giving them shape and making the whites appear bigger and brighter,” says Troy Surratt, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Surratt Beauty. But it can easily backfire, he warns: “When heavily ringed in black, eyes tend to recede and can appear tired.” For natural-looking definition, steer clear of hard edges and dramatic smudges.

Sharpen your skills with these smart techniques, courtesy of Surratt.

RELATED: 5 Beauty Tricks for Looking Well-Rested Even When You’re Not

Pick the right product

A creamy pencil that isn’t waterproof glides on smoothly and is easiest to blend. One that also has a built-in smudger, like the Surratt’s Smoky Eye Bataan ($35, sephora.com), will come in handy when blending.

Take a seat

Sit, place a mirror on a flat surface and look down when applying liner. This gives you a better angle to see the grove between your lashes and lash line, Surratt says, so you can draw on color with precision.

Connect the dots up top

The upper lash line doesn’t draw as much attention as it’s lower counterpart, but it’s equally important. To apply, create three short strokes as close to the lash line as possible—one on either corner and one in the middle—then connect them. Don’t worry about creating a super straight line, assures Surratt. His trick: Trace over it with black shadow until the line is smooth.

RELATED: 29 Expert Beauty Tips Every Woman Should Know

Go easy on the bottom

“One of my biggest pet peeves is when the lower lash line is too dark or too hard,” confides Surratt. For soft definition, he says, apply a short stroke of color along the outer corner under your lower lashes. (Steer clear of the waterline; liner there can easily migrate, causing dreaded raccoon eyes.) Then use a smudging brush or Q-tip to blend liner in toward the center of the eye. “Color should diffuse into almost nothingness as you approach the tear duct,” Surratt explains.

Always finish with mascara

Liner looks best when paired with lush lashes. Clamp and squeeze a lash curler three times—at the lash line, in the middle and again at the ends—then seal the curl with a few coats of lengthening mascara.

The result: perfectly defined, every time.

Photo: Getty Images

RELATED: Watch 100 Years of Beauty Trends in 1 Minute

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Severe Headache During Pregnancy May Signal Trouble

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A severe headache can sometimes be a warning sign that a pregnant woman and her fetus are in danger, researchers report.

“Headaches during pregnancy are quite common, but it is not always easy to distinguish between a recurring, preexisting migraine condition and a headache caused by a pregnancy complication,” lead author Dr. Matthew Robbins, director of inpatient services at Montefiore’s Headache Center in New York City, said in a Montefiore news release.

“Our study suggests that physicians should pay close attention when a pregnant woman presents with a severe headache, especially if she has elevated blood pressure or lack of past headache history,” added Robbins, chief of neurology at Weiler Hospital. Robbins is also an associate professor of clinical neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

The researchers found that these women may be at risk for preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications.

Preeclampsia tends to occur in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Symptoms can include high blood pressure, headaches, blurry vision or abdominal pain, the researchers said. If the condition is severe, premature delivery may be necessary, they explained.

The investigators analyzed the medical records of 140 pregnant women, average age 29, with headache who were referred for a neurological consultation at Montefiore Health System’s Jack D. Weiler Hospital in New York City over a five-year period. Most of the women were black or Hispanic.

Women who had high blood pressure and experienced a severe headache were 17 times more likely to experience pregnancy complications, while having no history of headaches raised the risk fivefold, the study found.

The findings were published online Aug. 19 in the journal Neurology.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about pregnancy complications.

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The Surprising Reason Lena Dunham Took Down Her Recent Instagram Photo

Photo: Getty Images

Early yesterday morning, Lena Dunham posted a photo of herself in her boyfriend’s boxers, and the body-shaming that followed was swift. Dunham took down the post — but not for the reason you might think.

“I just deleted a pic of me in my boyfriend’s underwear,” she writes in the below Instagram. “Just an FYI, I don’t delete because I’m ashamed of my body- I delete because certain pics become hot beds for negativity. You think I want a teenager visiting my page and seeing a zillion comments about how fat I am? No, because that is hurtful to any person struggling, comparing, contrasting.”

Dunham is clearly being considerate to teens who might project negative comments onto their own bodies, and judging from the feedback on her new photo, fans are thrilled.

“I’m very appreciative of your contribution to young women’s body acceptance and our feminist struggle for equality,” one fan writes. “Thank you.”

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

MIMI Chatter is an endless stream of beauty content. We bring together the must-knows and the how-tos from your favorite sites, beauty influencers, our editors, and YOU.

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The Crazy-Hard Army Ranger Fitness Tests These Women Just Passed

Photo: Getty Images/ U.S. Army Capt. Kristen Griest (R) participates in training at the U.S. Army Ranger School April 20, 2015 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

It’s hard not to be completely inspired by Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, who are set to become the first-ever female graduates of the U.S. Army’s Ranger School tomorrow. But after hearing the details of their grueling training, we guarantee you’ll be even more impressed (by all the graduates in fact), if that’s even possible.

“Ranger School is one of the toughest training courses for which a soldier can volunteer,” according to the U.S. Army’s web site. “For over two months, Ranger students train to exhaustion, pushing the limits of their minds and bodies.”

Both Griest and Haver were required to pass the same physical tests as the men. This means they had  to be able to do 49 push-ups in under two minutes, 59 situps, a five-mile run within 40 minutes, and 6 chin-ups. Whoa.

RELATED: Mix-and-Match Boot-Camp Workout

In addition to that initial test, the soldiers had to march 12 miles in three hours, complete four days of military mountaineering, and spend 27 days doing mock combat patrols, the New York Times reported.

Both women already have notable military backgrounds (Griest was a military police platoon leader and Haver was an Apache attack helicopter pilot), but their graduation tomorrow comes with extra significance, as the military is in the process of expanding combat roles to women.

Ranger School first opened to women this year. As of now, women are still not allowed to serve in infantry or special-operations posts, so despite graduation, neither woman will get to change jobs. However, allowing women to participate in the training was part of the military’s ongoing research into which combat roles should be opened to women, following a 2013 ruling that said they should no longer be barred from combat. Decisions must be made by Jan. 1.

RELATED: What Women in the Military Need to Know About Breast Cancer

The women’s families released a statement Wednesday that read, in part: “Like everyone who will pin the tab on Friday, they are exceptional soldiers and strong teammates. The journey of Class 8-15 has been exciting and exhausting, and just as they trained as a team, they wish to celebrate as a team.”

According to NBC News, 400 soldiers started the training, including 19 women, but only 96 soldiers graduated.

Feeling inspired by Captain Griest and Lieutenant Haver (and who wouldn’t)? Remember these ultra-tough women (and their male classmates, too) when things start to get hard at your bootcamp class this weekend.

RELATED: 4 Feel-Good Veteran Stories That Will Make You Proud To Be An American

 

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Fewer Seniors Fall While Taking Vitamin D: Study

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Delivering vitamin D supplements to homebound seniors might help lower their risk of falls, a new study suggests.

Previous research has found vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining muscle strength, and some studies have suggested vitamin D may help prevent falls, researchers say. Vitamin D is found in such foods as cheese, yogurt, egg yolks and beef liver, and the skin naturally produces the vitamin when exposed to sunlight.

“Falls in homebound older people often lead to disability and placement in a nursing home,” said lead author Denise Houston, associate professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Homebound seniors tend to have poor eating habits and little exposure to sunlight, putting them at increased risk for low vitamin D levels, she and her colleagues noted.

They arranged to have vitamin D supplements delivered to Meals on Wheels clients. Over five months, 68 homebound seniors received either a monthly vitamin D supplement of 100,000 international units or a placebo with their Meals on Wheels prepared-food deliveries.

At the start of the study, more than half of the seniors had insufficient vitamin D levels, and fewer than one-quarter had optimal levels. The supplements increased vitamin D from insufficient to sufficient levels in all but one senior who received the supplements, and to optimal levels in all but five.

Also, seniors who received the vitamin D supplements reported about half the falls as those in the placebo group, according to the study published online Aug. 16 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

However, the study doesn’t actually prove that higher levels of the vitamin prevented falls.

“Although these initial findings are encouraging, we need to confirm the results in a larger trial,” Houston said in a Wake Forest news release.

Every year, about one-third of seniors who live at home suffer falls, and about one in 10 falls results in serious injury, the researchers say.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about falls.

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NYC Declares Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Over

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The source of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City has been identified and the outbreak is over, health officials said Thursday.

Since July 10, there were 124 cases of the illness in the South Bronx, and 12 of those patients died.

The source of the outbreak was the Opera House Hotel cooling tower, officials said in a news release. Strains of Legionella bacteria in samples taken from the hotel’s cooling tower matched the strains in patients with the disease, they noted.

“We eliminated the danger posed by the Opera House Hotel’s cooling tower as soon as it tested positive for disease-causing Legionella. Today, all cooling towers in the affected area have been disinfected, and all cooling towers across the city are being evaluated and disinfected if necessary,” Dr. Mary Bassett, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said in the news release.

New legislation passed by the city “should help prevent tragic outbreaks like this from occurring again,” Bassett added.

No new cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported since Aug. 3, which is longer than the two-week incubation period for the disease. Therefore, officials declared the South Bronx outbreak over.

The city health department is still trying to determine how the Opera House Hotel’s cooling tower became the source of the outbreak.

“Control of Legionella is complex, and disease detection, environmental science and laboratory advance work helped bring this unfortunate outbreak to an end. We hope to advance the science about how to improve control from New York’s experience,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in the news release.

“The quick and thorough reaction from local and state authorities likely prevented many others from developing Legionnaires’ disease. CDC is appreciative of our collaborative work with New York’s public health experts,” she added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about Legionnaires’ disease.

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When Your Spouse Has a Stroke, Your Health May Suffer, Too

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Caring for a spouse who has had a stroke can hurt your mental and physical health, researchers report.

Swedish researchers evaluated nearly 250 caregiving partners of stroke survivors and found they scored lower on tests of mental and physical well-being than people with healthy spouses. Their vitality and social life also suffered, not only in the first years after stroke, but over many years.

“It is important for the society to provide support to the spouses to prevent or reduce the burden of stress and strain,” said lead researcher Josefine Persson of the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

The caregiver’s quality of life declined alongside the stroke victim’s level of physical disability, mental impairment and depression, Persson said. The more care the stroke patient needed, the greater the stress and social restrictions for the healthy spouse.

For younger couples, caring for a spouse after a stroke can mean missing work or juggling responsibilities, which is an added burden, said Persson.

A New York City expert wasn’t surprised by the findings.

“Experiencing a spouse go through a stroke can be traumatic in and of itself for the spouse, and then having to bear the responsibility of supporting the stroke survivor in his or her post-stroke recovery can often be demanding and stressful on the spouse,” said Simon Rego, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center.

“The spouse of the stroke survivor is often forced to manage their own emotional reactions to the event itself, while at the same time aiding in their partner’s recovery,” said Rego, who is also an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

For the study, published Aug. 20 online in the journal Stroke, Persson and colleagues collected data on 248 stroke survivors under 70 years old and their spouses. The researchers compared them with 245 husbands and wives of people who did not have a stroke.

All of the strokes were caused by a blocked artery to the brain.

At the seven-year follow-up, spouses of stroke survivors had more health problems of their own, including pain, than those whose partners had not had a stroke. They also scored lower than the other spouses on all measures of physical and mental functioning. Moreover, 16.5 percent of survivors had suffered another stroke.

High strain on caregivers increases their risk for heart disease, stroke and premature death, the researchers said. “Therefore, it can be assumed that long-lasting strain has an effect on general health,” they wrote.

Persson said that strategies to reduce the stroke patient’s disability and depression might also lessen the stress of caregivers and allow more time for social activities.

Rego added that caregiver support and training can also help.

Buttressing the mental health of the spouses of stroke survivors by educating them on strategies to handle mental impairments, teaching stress management, and increasing their social support have been shown to lower their psychological distress, he said.

“It’s important for medical and mental health providers to focus on the physical and mental health needs, identify signs of stress and depression, and intervene early — not only in stroke survivors but in their caregivers as well,” Rego said.

More information

The National Stroke Association has more on caring for a loved one after stroke.

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