Healthy Food Chart

Sitting on the couch, watching a lot of television or staring at a computer screen all day may harm your heart and shorten your life, suggests a new study, even if you get regular exercise.

Inactivity and obesity are two major factors in the development of heart disease, raising risk 39.5% and 33.9% respectively; according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers found TV watchers may have double the risk of heart attack.

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There’s no denying obesity has become an overriding cultural obsession, seen clearly from our insatiable desire for programmes such as The Biggest Loser, I Used to Be Fat, and other such nonsense.

When The Biggest Loser first started airing on our TV screens, I must admit I thought it could be a great way to inspire millions of viewers to get up off the couch and finally lose some weight.

However, there is another side to these programs, which most people don’t even know about… and it’s not a pretty picture.

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There’s a saying, opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one – actually, it’s a different body part, further south. This is especially true when it comes to diet.

I’ve been blogging about health and diet for nearly five years. In the beginning, I blogged from a very bias point of view (regrettably), promoting a “guru’s” vegan agenda. I’m not vegan, never have been.

Nowadays I blog more objectively. Some Diet-Blog readers would disagree, saying I have a vegetarian agenda. I don’t. I’m not even vegetarian. I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, and no meat, poultry, dairy or eggs, but I do eat fish. To be honest, my diet is more Mediterranean than anything else.

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Common sense would dictate that parents are the first line of defence when it comes to preventing obesity in children.

Now there’s a study to back up what most people suspect – approaches that specifically target parents can result in significant weight loss in moderately obese prepubertal children.

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A new report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

And 80% of adults do not control their blood pressure or high cholesterol, despite having health insurance and access to low-cost treatment.

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are major risk factors for heart disease. Every year 785,000 U.S. adults have their first heart attack, another 470,000 have their second (or more) heart attack; according to previous CDC data.

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The government have issued the first update in five years of their “Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

But, despite significant talk about the U.S. obesity crisis, many of the major cornerstones of those previous guidelines have remained intact.

On the upside, the guidelines do emphasize the need for physical activity, and encourage eating more foods like vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, seafood, and also cutting back on sodium, trans fats, sugar, and refined grains.

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Far be it from me to claim any expertise on this subject, but a recent study casts doubts on the long-held belief that the birth control pill causes weight gain.

There is a small catch, however as this was a primate study.

Half the rhesus monkeys were of normal weight at the start of the research and the other half were considered obese. The team administered doses to match the monkeys’ weight so that it would mirror the amount women take to prevent pregnancy.

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The costs associated with heart disease are expected to triple in the United States by 2030, totaling more than $800 billion a year, says a new report by the American Heart Association (AHA).

In 2006, 631,636 people died of heart disease in the U.S. And, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease accounted for 26% of deaths (one in four Americans).

The AHA predicts the number of heart disease cases will grow by 10% over the next 20 years, unless measures are taken to improve national health.

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Kathy Freston’s new book Veganist is about “leaning into” the vegan diet. This is a welcome approach after the almost militant coercion from groups like PETA.

Freston is previously known for the book Quantum Wellness – an holistic detox diet that is also vegetarian. Freston now has the backing of Oprah Winfrey, who has challenged all-comers to go vegan for a week.

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The queen of daytime TV has just issued her latest decree.

Join me and my 378 staffers and go vegan for one week, she declares from her Chicago throne. Oprah was inspired to go vegan after reading Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World by Kathy Freston, which is a brand new book promoting a vegan diet.

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