A study from America has shown that where you live affects how heavy you are. Put starkly: the wealthier your neighbourhood the less likely you are to be overweight. (The figures from the study are that: for each additional $100,000 in the median price of homes, obesity rates in a given post code drop 2 [...]
This question is prompted by a response to a survey released in Australia today. This survey paid for by Subway restaurants was conducted on line, and so it doesn’t represent the Australian population in a balanced way. However the results are thought provoking. Over 90% of those who responded said that they needed to be [...]
Continue reading about Losing Weight and Staying Fit: Does Moralising Help?
Yoga has been shown to be effective in the treatment of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS). The typical symptoms of PMS are, in the week before a monthly period: psychological stress, depression, body aches, and bloating. The study was conducted by Dr Ratna Sharma at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The [...]
Continue reading about Yoga and Evidence (The Good News and The Bad News)
The best indicator for men of cardio-respiratory fitness is their girth. You can find out with a tape measure – that’s all it takes. Forget calculating muscle vs fat and so on (the BMI or body fat index); the waist measurement is easier and more accurate too. This is the finding of Dr Jean-Pierre Després [...]
A hospital in Sydney, Australia, is studying weight-loss for adolescents (13-16 year olds). They have a program called “Loozit” and is run by the Westmead Children’s Hospital (this is the link http://www.chw.edu.au/kids/loozit/). They have what I think is a great approach. They invite the kids to turn up after school “for a snack and a [...]
Qi gong is a health practise engaged in by huge numbers in China. It may well be the reason why some many Chinese people are able to maintain good health well into old age. And you can do it to. But first a little background. What does “qi gong†mean? “Qi†roughly speaking means energy, [...]
Perhaps the simplest and easiest way of staying fit is walking. Our bodies are designed for it, it is low impact and so doesn’t stress your joints too much, it is low risk, can be fairly cheap to do and it is usually possible to make it convenient. From the perspective of Chinese Medicine (TCM) [...]
