| Consuming high-protein breakfasts helps women maintain glucose control, study finds Posted: 29 Apr 2014 01:21 PM PDT Previous research has shown that extreme increases in glucose and insulin in the blood can lead to poor glucose control and increase an individual's risk of developing diabetes over time. Now, a researcher has found that when women consumed high-protein breakfasts, they maintained better glucose and insulin control than they did with lower-protein or no-protein meals.  |
| Prematurity linked to altered lung function during exercise, high blood pressure in adults Posted: 29 Apr 2014 01:16 PM PDT Some preterm babies have lungs that develop abnormally. While long-term health effects of prematurity are still unclear, researchers have found that adults who were born early may have problems handling the pulmonary demands of exercise. "Healthy young humans have lungs designed to easily handle the increased blood flow from the heart during exercise. However, adults born extremely to very preterm have abnormally developed lungs, which may result in lungs that are unable to handle the demands of exercise," they conclude.  |
| Don't like the food? Try paying more Posted: 29 Apr 2014 01:16 PM PDT Customers paying more at a restaurant buffet perceive the food as tastier than the same food offered at a lower price, suggesting taste perception can be manipulated by price alone. Researchers in nutrition, economics and consumer behavior often assume that taste is a given -- a person naturally either likes or dislikes a food. But a new study suggests taste perception, as well as feelings of overeating and guilt, can be manipulated by price alone.  |
| Information technology can simplify weight-loss efforts; social support still important for success Posted: 29 Apr 2014 12:37 PM PDT According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 69 percent of adults in the United States are currently overweight or obese, which puts these individuals at increased risk for chronic health problems. Although weight loss decreases this risk, statistics show that dieters often fail multiple times before meeting their goals. Now, researchers have found that information technology, such as smartphone applications, can help dieters integrate healthy behavior changes into their daily lives.  |
| Chronic stress heightens vulnerability to diet-related metabolic risk Posted: 29 Apr 2014 11:21 AM PDT Highly stressed people who eat a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food are more prone to health risks than low-stress people who eat the same amount of unhealthy food, new research finds for the first time. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of abnormalities -- increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels -- that occur together, increasing a person's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  |
| 'Feel good' factor higher when you own, not just use, luxury items Posted: 29 Apr 2014 10:38 AM PDT It means more to people to own a luxury product or brand than to have the privilege of simply using one. Just using an affordable luxury item you don't own can, in fact, dampen the feel good factor that normally surrounds such products, suggests new research.  |
| People rely on what they hear themselves say to know what they're saying Posted: 29 Apr 2014 09:57 AM PDT You know what you're going to say before you say it, right? Not necessarily, research suggests. A new study shows that auditory feedback plays an important role in helping us determine what we're saying as we speak. Theories about how we produce speech often assume that we start with a clear, preverbal idea of what to say that goes through different levels of encoding to finally become an utterance. But the findings from this study support an alternative model.  |
| Women's employment, caregiving workloads, effort, health profiled by researchers Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:51 AM PDT A profile of women with the dual responsibilities of full-time paid work and unpaid care for an elderly family member has been developed by researchers. The study is similar to how industry measures the impact of workload (including the time and difficulty of the tasks) and effort (the perceived energy it takes to do the work), researchers said. The results richly described the experiences of 46 women caregivers who work full-time and participated in the researchers' larger mixed-methods study in 2012.  |
| Take a trip down Memory Lane to the gym: Using memories to motivate Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:50 AM PDT We all know that thinking about exercise isn't the same as doing it. But researchers have confirmed what may be the next best thing: just thinking about a past exercise experience can motivate us to actually do it.  |
| Girls make higher grades than boys in all school subjects, analysis finds Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:49 AM PDT Despite the stereotype that boys do better in math and science, girls have made higher grades than boys throughout their school years for nearly a century, according to a new analysis. "School marks reflect learning in the larger social context of the classroom and require effort and persistence over long periods of time, whereas standardized tests assess basic or specialized academic abilities and aptitudes at one point in time without social influences," said lead study author.  |
| Talking to kids about money: Study highlights importance of parents discussing financial matters with children Posted: 29 Apr 2014 06:25 AM PDT A new study finds that children pay close attention to issues related to money, and that parents should make an effort to talk with their children to ensure that kids don't develop misconceptions about finance. The children reported that some subjects were largely "off-limits," including family finances, parental income, investments and debt.  |
| Snobby staff can boost luxury retail sales Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:56 AM PDT When it comes to luxury brands, the ruder the sales staff the better the sales, according to new research. The study reveals that consumers who get the brush-off at a high-end retailer can become more willing to purchase and wear pricey togs. "It appears that snobbiness might actually be a qualification worth considering for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or Gucci," says one marketing professor. "Our research indicates they can end up having a similar effect to an 'in-group' in high school that others aspire to join."  |
| E-games for kids: How to avoid the dangers Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:53 AM PDT Children's access to e-games has increased exponentially in recent years. Diversification of platform; tablets, handheld games consoles, and smartphones give kids opportunity for exposure almost all the time in any setting. In developed countries kids spend a shocking 4-8 hours per day using screen based electronic media. What are the risks attached to such high usage? Are there any benefits? What should parents, health and education professionals and the industry be doing about it?  |
| I don’t deserve to be this happy: Dampening of positive feelings found to predict postpartum depressive symptoms Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:52 AM PDT For the first time, research shows that the dampening or suppression of positive emotions plays an important role in the development of postpartum depression. This has implications for the treatment of depressed mothers. The researchers are currently working to develop a treatment method focused specifically on counteracting dampening. Existing methods, such as mindfulness, may also have a positive effect on dampening they say.  |
| Simply being called 'fat' makes young girls more likely to become obese: Trying to be thin is like trying to be tall Posted: 28 Apr 2014 01:41 PM PDT Girls who are told by a parent, sibling, friend, classmate or teacher that they are too fat at age 10 are more likely to be obese at age 19, a new study by psychologists shows.  |
| Road to fountain of youth paved with fast food ... and sneakers? Exercise may prevent or delay fundamental process of aging Posted: 28 Apr 2014 01:36 PM PDT Unhealthy lifestyle habits can accelerate the process of senescence (cell death) and the release of damaging substances from dying cells. Researchers for the first time demonstrate that exercise can prevent or delay this fundamental process of aging, and that lifestyle choices do play a major role in cell aging and that exercise may help protect against aging by interfering with cell senescence.  |
| Smart home programming: Easy as 'if this, then that' Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:58 PM PDT The idea of a smart home sounds promising enough -- who doesn't want a house full of automated gadgets, from light switches to appliances to heating systems, that know exactly when to turn on, turn off, heat up or power down? -- but how will users make sure all those automated devices are doing what they're supposed to do? Researchers have shown that a programming model quite well for smart home applications.  |
| Cyberspace scholarship nets higher grades, better thinking for class Facebook group Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:58 PM PDT University students who used a Facebook group as part of a large sociology class did better on course assignments and felt a stronger sense of belonging, researchers have found. The study has implications for the challenge of teaching large classes, a growing concern for higher education. "Although some teachers may worry that social media distracts students from legitimate learning, we found that our Facebook group helped transform students from anonymous spectators into a community of active learners -- and this has important consequences for student performance," said a co-author of the study.  |
| Risk of cesarean delivery 12 percent lower with labor induction Posted: 28 Apr 2014 10:40 AM PDT The risk of a cesarean delivery was 12 percent lower in women whose labor was induced compared with women who were managed with a 'wait-and-see' approach (expectant management), according to a research paper. Labor is induced in about 20% of all births for a variety of reasons such as preeclampsia, diabetes, preterm rupture of the membranes, overdue pregnancy and fetal distress. Induction is often thought to be associated with increased risk of cesarean deliveries despite evidence indicating a lower risk.  |
| Using a foreign language changes moral decisions Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:06 AM PDT Would you sacrifice one person to save five? Such moral choices could depend on whether you are using a foreign language or your native tongue. A new study from psychologists finds that people using a foreign language take a relatively utilitarian approach to moral dilemmas, making decisions based on assessments of what's best for the common good.  |
