subject: Is This Weighing Heavily On Your Mind? [print this page] Dieting is hardest at nightDieting is hardest at night. The digital health company Massive Health tracked the eating habits of thousands of people for 5 months. According to its findings, foods we eat for dinner are 16% less healthy than those we eat for breakfast. In fact, for every hour that passes, the healthfulness of the foods we eat drops 1.7%. This is attributed to weakening resolve and the hunger hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin builds up quickly when we skip meals, eat too little or exercise without eating. Interestingly, people who don't eat breakfast eat significantly more during the day. Thus it's important to "break-fast".
Only children are likelier to be overweight. That's according to a study published in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes. The study involved 12,700 children from 8 European countries. The children's body mass indexes were measured and parents were questioned about their children's eating and television habits, as well as the amount of their outdoor play. According to the study, children ages 2-9 with no siblings were 50% likelier to be overweight. These results held even when gender, birth weight and parental weight were considered. Unfortunately, finding out why this is true must "weight on" more research.
The risk of breast cancer reoccurrence increases as a woman's weight increases. In spite of the best treatments, the higher a woman's body mass index, the higher the risk of developing breast cancer again because BMI usually corresponds to the body's fat content. Even being moderately overweight increases the risk. According to the study published in the journal Cancer, extra body fat causes hormonal changes and increased inflammation. These can cause cancer to spread and to recur. Also, fat cells produce estrogen; and thus anti-estrogen therapies might not work as well. Regarding breast cancer, women can't have a "weight and see" attitude.
Nevertheless, apples might help fight obesity. In a study published in PLoS ONE, some participants ate a high-fat diet that included ursolic acid (in apple peels) for several weeks. Although they ate more food than participants who ate the same diet without the chemical and although they didn't exercise more, the ursolic acid participants gained less weight. This was attributed to the acid increasing muscle mass, which burns more calories and to increasing brown fat, which has been linked to lower obesity levels. Although as of June 2012 ursolic acid has been tested only on mice, avoid eating cheese with your apples.
