women

Some experts believe tuning into podcasts that give advice on diet and exercise help people lose weight, but only certain kinds.

Boring health lectures are a good start, but informative and "entertaining" soap-opera-like podcasts stick with you, and offer better results.

I guess it's like those tapes that teach you another language while you sleep. "Miguel buys fish at la pescaria."

Being overweight or obese was also shown to make asthma more likely - and to worsen the symptoms.

Lots of people think it's okay, normal even, to pack on 10 pounds or more a decade. We call it middle-age spread. But, those extra pounds may decrease a woman's risk of leading a long, healthy life free of chronic disease.

Published in the British Medical Journal, this latest study to tackle the connection between weight gain and life expectancy, found the more weight a woman gained in mid-life, the less likely she was to be healthy and disease free (or even alive) after age 70.

I'm a guy, so I know nothing about menopause--and I don't want to know either--but based on my father's panic and jumpiness, it's bad.

But ladies, if you want to take pity on your husbands, don't gain weight in your 50s.

A new study found women who chub up during mid-life may have worse hot flashes as they approach menopause.

A small study has found women receiving the birth control drug, Depo Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone - DMPA), may see lasting unwanted weight gain.

Depo Provera is a fairly low-cost form of birth control, given by injection every three months.

In college, if my buddies ordered pizza, I ate pizza. If I got Chinese food, they got it too. Someone brought over a bottle of Jager, we all drank Jager.

I think it's human nature. Your friends and acquitances influence what you eat. How many of you have tried sushi because of peer pressure?

Now imagine reeking ALL the time! And I'm not talking about body order. Imagine living your entire life ALWAYS stinking of dead fish! It can happen.

The historical evidence for this is well documented, but I wanted to choose a few quotes from pieces of literature (which are a good reflection of the social conditions during which they're written) to show the sort of women who were considered attractive.

No, it's not just your imagination: men eat more meat than women do. And women consume more fruits and vegetables than the guys.

But who eats the most eggs? Yogurt? Oysters? And who is at most risk for food-borne illness? A recent population survey of 14,000 American adults had at least a few surprises.

I feel sorry for young girls.

I'm not trying to be patronizing or condescending - after all what would a man know about such things?

However the other day as I sat and watched music videos with my daughters we discussed how women were portrayed.

Our conclusions were not good.

When people think of an eating disorder - they usually think of an extremely underweight woman in her late teens or early twenties.

However, new research out of Australia shows a dramatic increase in disordered eating among those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

What's driving this?

For most people, getting ready in the morning is done in a hurry-scurry manner.

If you’re anything like me, and mornings aren't your strongest suite, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about your appearance when you’d much rather be back in bed.

The quotes from these vintage ads (from the 1940s) proclaim: “Every woman has a figure problem!”

These old-fashioned ads (from Corsietere) show great similarities to today's marketing mix. This advertising brainwashing (complete with ludicrous before and after images) assured women that they were not thin enough or appealing enough for the world . Sound familiar?

In the world of the diet industry - it seems that men are the next big "pot of gold". Weight Watchers are campaigning, and even have created "workouts just for men". Perhaps men have some extra muscle groups somewhere that women don't?

I know a number of women who deadlift and bench press, for example. They haven't turned into the incredible bulk - but they do cop some subtle jibes from other women.

Ever wonder why men and women are so different when it comes to dieting and weight loss?

A new book by Karen Miller-Kovach, She Loses, He Loses: The Truth About Men, Women, and Weight Loss explores these differences.

Just this morning I was thinking of the health consequences of severe dieting episodes.

In the quest to follow strict low-fat diets and other extreme fads - many people now find themselves with health issues that may well have resulted from malnutrition. They are less fit, heavily medicated, and most likely are the same weight (or more) than when they started the vicious cycle of dieting.

Here's the good news: there is proof that an overall health and exercise program (without dieting) can have many positive results.

I'm not sure if these are on TV yet, but here are two Dove commercials that are - quite frankly - superbly done.

Researchers at universities must have a lot of spare time on their hands. Recent research shows that men who are hungry (rather than satiated) find heavier women more attractive.

Almost every news report about obesity is presented with an alarmist tone. You would think we're in the midst of an evil epidemic that will result in everyone being the size of a house by 2020. Not so. The CDC studied data from 1999-2004 and showed that, while men and children have been getting heavier, the number of overweight and obese women has stayed the same (source). "I'd like to think this shows women are leading the way in recognizing obesity as a health threat," said Dietz, director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

83 per cent of female college students (aged 18-24) diet... no matter how much they weigh. The research appears in the Nutrition Journal (abstract here).

The chief researcher acknowledges that the figure is up from 70% (in previous research) - but that may be due to how they classify dieting.