A newly published (1) review study has found that exercise may help to encourage healthy eating via changes in parts of the brain that have influence over impulsive behaviour.  It seems as though physical activity can help to suppress the hedonic urge to over-eat.  This is an important finding since, in the Western world, we are surrounded by situations where over-eating is common and easy to do without much conscious thought. The finding that physical exercise seems to encourage a healthy diet is really interesting.  It is also known that when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet the treatment of overweight/obesity is more successful with the healthy eating programme adhered to for a longer term. The evidence (1) suggests that regular exercise is needed to change the way the brain works.  One function within the brain which seems to be positively influenced by exercise is the part dealing with ‘inhibitory control’, this part helps us to keep impulsiveness in check and can also help to suppress inadequate, excessive or inappropriate behaviour toward a goal.  It might be that exercise helps us to resist unhealthy food choices.  Exercise can also make the brain more sensitive to signals of fullness, which may be able to help with appetite control. In our current environment where unhealthy food is, maddeningly, easy to get hold of any way to be able to strengthen the intention and resolve to keep healthy is positive. Incorporating exercise into our daily lives need not be hugely difficult.  Personally….

The clocks will go back an hour this weekend and although I enjoy the extra hour in bed there was a report (1) last year which argues the health benefits of not putting the clocks back in winter but still putting them forward in the spring. The report, published in the British Medical Journal says this would be a simple and effective way to vastly improve our health and well-being.   Putting the clocks back means it is lighter by the time most people get up to start their day, however it also means that we are deprived of an hour of daylight in the afternoon and this may impact health by limiting our time for outdoor activities. It is thought that leaving clocks alone as winter approaches would allow an extra hour of daylight in the afternoon and could boost levels of vitamin D as well as encouraging people to exercise more. Many people in the UK have lower than optimal levels of vitamin D and deficiency has been linked to many health problems (please read my previous blog posts for more information about vitamin D).   The author of the report (1), Mayer Hillman, found that switching to Central European Time, which is Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour (GMT+1) in the winter and GMT+2 in the summer, would give most adults around 300 extra hours of daylight a year. Hillman writes that research shows people feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the longer,….

“Eat less and exercise more” is a weight-loss statement that I detest.  It makes individuals feel as though their weight loss journey should be simple and easy.  As a registered nutritionist it also makes me angry since it doesn’t address the importance of the quality of food being eaten, it only mentions quantity.  We need to aim to be ‘healthy at every weight’, healthy throughout a weight loss journey and healthy in order to maintain any weight loss.   A recently published study (1,2) looked at how changes in multiple dietary and lifestyle factors impacted long-term weight gain.  The research took place in the USA at the Harvard School of Public Health and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Scientists found that changes in specific foods, drinks, physical activity, TV-viewing and sleep duration were strongly linked to long-term weight gain, with changes in diet having the strongest associations.   The research is important because in the past much of the focus has been on methods for weight loss after overweight and obesity have developed, this paper looked at specific factors that lead to long-term weight gain.  Looking at the results can help us to make changes now to potentially prevent overweight and obesity.   Dariush Mozaffarian, the lead author of the study said in a press release (2)“An average adult gains about one pound per year. Because the weight gain is so gradual and occurs over many years, it has been difficult for scientists and for individuals….

Getting out, even for just five minutes, into a green environment such as a park or the countryside seems to positively influence self esteem and mood.  This is something that I have always found to be true for me and now research (1) has suggested that the benefits do indeed seem real. The term ‘green exercise’ has been used to describe activity that takes place outside in the presence of nature.  Studies have found that green exercise can lead to positive short and long term health outcomes e.g. Outdoor exercise seems to be linked to a reduced risk of mental illness and improved sense of well-being.  Recently (1) an analysis took place to assess the best regimen of exposure to green exercise required to improve self-esteem and mood, which are considered to be indicators of mental health. The study (1) involved the use of data from 10 UK studies which involved over 1200 individuals.  Every green environment analysed was shown to improve both self-esteem and mood, this included parks in towns and cities.  In addition to this the presence of water had an even greater effect on self-esteem and mood.  Large benefits from short engagements in green exercise was seen in both men and women.  The mentally ill and young people had the greatest self-esteem improvements from green exercise.  The study authors conclude “This study confirms that the environment provides an important health service”. “Green activity” can include things likes walking, gardening, horse-riding, cycling or farming.  Even five minutes of….