Weight Watch - weight loss and slimming news update

THE LATEST UPDATES FROM SANDRA ROYCROFT-DAVIS:

Health risk warning over cans of fizzy diet drink

Those no-cal and sugar-free fizzy diet drinks can increase the risk of a heart attack or a stroke by up to 43 per cent, says new research from America. This Thinking Slimmer Weight Watch news alert tells you more. Plus we show you how Jo's Slimpod beat her addiction to cola in just days. How many fizzy drinks a day do you drink? Should cans carry a health warning like cigarette packets do? What's your view? Read more >>

Is your GP turning you into a drug addict?

Four out of five GPs routinely prescribe drugs to patients even though they believe they are addicted to them. Read more >>

Eating carrots is good for your heart

Research in Holland shows that one of the best ways to protect against heart disease is to eat carrots. They contain higher levels of micro-nutrients and chemicals which help prevent fat clogging up your arteries. Read more >>

Don't be fooled - diets drinks can make you fat

Diet drinks could still make you fat, scientists have warned the American Diabetes Association’s annual conference. Read more >>

How stress is linked to weight loss, U.S. research explains

A new report from the U.S. National Institutes of Health has found a link between weight loss and lack of stress. According to the study, people with the lowest amount of stress have an easier time losing 10 pounds than people with higher amounts of stress. Read more >>

Losing weight can improve your memory

A clear link between losing weight and boosting your brain power, including your memory, has been discovered by scientists in America. Reducing your waistline can also help improve your ability to concentrate, the research shows. Read more >>

Having fat friends is bad for your health

People who have a higher number of fat friends or relatives are at greater risk of becoming obese themselves, according to research by Arizona State University. Read more>>

The day people on diets realise they can't lose weight that way

Our research has pinpointed the day when New Year weight loss resolutions are abandoned because people realise that losing weight that way doesn't work. Read more >>

The sad effects when girls diet just like mum

Teenage girls are more than twice as likely to diet if their mother is constantly watching her weight, regardless of the possible consequences for their health, a survey shows. Read more >>

How you can look as good as Felicity Kendal without becoming a gym addict

I’M sorry to see Felicity Kendal say goodbye to Strictly Come Dancing. For a lady in her early sixties she’s in fantastic shape and a great advert for the benefits of regular exercise. We’d all like to look as good as “Flexible Felicity” one day, wouldn’t we? Read more>>

Sit up straight to make yourself eat less

Want to feel full quicker? According to Australian research, the answer is to sit up straight at the table. They say that slouching forward squashes the abdomen and slows digestion. An upright posture, with shoulders pulled back, not only looks more attractive but allows food to get to the lower part of your stomach quicker, leaving you feeling satisfied much sooner. This means you are less likely to over-eat, they say.

New proof that diets just don't work

“Diet? It’ll last a week.”

That’s the big headline in my morning paper today, although I have to say it’s hardly news to millions of people. We’ve all been there, haven’t we – we know that when losing weight involves willpower it hardly ever works. Read more>>

Eat a pear and keep hunger at bay

You can keep hunger pangs at bay by snacking on pears, a study in Brazil has shown. It’s because pears are rich in pectin fibre, which research has shown can lower blood-sugar levels, making you feel less hungry. In Brazil, a group of overweight women who ate three small pears a day lost more weight than women on the same diet who ate three oatcakes a day instead. After three months, the fruit group lost almost three lbs, while the oatcake group lost less than 2lbs. In Denmark, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that eating horseradish also controls hunger pangs.

Fathers who eat junk food risk giving diabetes to children

Men who eat a lot of junk food could be increasing the risk of passing on diabetes to their children, according to research in Australia and America. It means prospective fathers should be watching what they eat just as much as mums to be do.

 Two million people in the UK suffer from type 2 diabetes, which greatly increases the odds of heart disease and strokes, and another  seven million are estimated to be on the borderline. Much of the rise in diabetes has been blamed on expanding waistlines, not now it appears that genetics could also play a part.

Researchers fed young male rats a diet high in fat then mated them with healthy females and tracked the health of their female offspring. The young developed diabetes before they reached puberty, with blood glucose levels twice as high as those fathered by rats on low fat diets.

The journal Nature reports that the offspring of males reared on junk food also produced half the amount of insulin, the hormone which controls blood sugar levels. Scientists believe a high fat diet  causes subtle changes to the DNA in rats’ sperm, causing problems in the metabolism of next generations.

Margaret Morris of Sydney University says: “If similar effects apply in humans it underlines the need for men to maintain a healthy diet and body weight, not only for their own health but also for that of the next generation.”

Switch off the lights if you want to lose weight

People living in well-lit towns and cities are more likely to become obese than country dwellers – even if they eat the same amount, according to research in America.

Scientists believe the glow of street lights encourages late night snacking and because food eaten close to bedtime is less likely to be burned off it is often stored as fat. It seems all unnatural light produces this effect, including that from computer screens and TVs.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that mice which were exposed to dim light at night put on 50 per cent more weight than those whose cages were left in the dark, even though both groups ate the same amount and had similar levels of physical activity.

Professor Randy Nelson says: “Light at night is an environmental factor that may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in ways that people don’t expect.” A spokesperson for Thinking Slimmer says: “Our experience shows that someone using a Slimpod is less likely to eat carbs at night because their mind knows what it best for them.”

Want to lose weight? Don’t use a credit card!

Paying for your food with cash instead of a credit card may help you to lose weight, says researchers from America’s Cornell University. They analysed the shopping baskets of 1,000 men and women for six months and found that those who paid with cash bought fewer fatty and sugary foods.

Baskets paid for with credit cards tended to be loaded with junk foods, including crisps, biscuits and ice cream, while those bought with cash contained a higher proportion of healthier items.

Writing in the Journal of Consumer Research, the Cornell team say: “The growing obesity problem has been attributed to consumers’ failures to control impulsive urges. The findings that at least some consumers might be able to control their impulses by paying in cash is of substantive importance.”

Being slim “makes a woman happier than any man could”

A woman’s weight has a greater effect on his happiness than her love life does, according to a 24-year study by psychologist Dr Pam Spurr. Her findings, in a new book called How To Be a Happy Human, are that being obese leads to more misery than being single, and that being thin provides more satisfaction than being in a relationship.

Dr Spurr says: “I’ve worked with many overweight women and their weight is always at the forefront of their minds because we live in a society that is constantly evaluating shape, size and attractiveness.

“People who are obese are stigmatised by people thinking they are stupid, lazy or just don’t care. In contrast, being single has become more socially acceptable.”

What weight is an average woman in Britain?

We’re always reading surveys about weight loss, losing weight, dieting and slimming which talk about the average person. But what exactly is “average”?

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average British woman is a working mother to 1.96 children, is 40 years and seven months of age, earns just over £22,000 and puts in a 34-hour week at work.

The average man is slightly younger at 38 years and four months, works a 39-hour week and earns £28,750. His life expectancy is a further 41 years, while his wife can expect to live another 42 years.

The average woman is 5ft 3in tall and weighs just under 11 stone, while the average man is 5ft 9in tall and weighs about 13 stone. On average men consume 16 units of alcohol a week while women drink just eight units.