"One shouldn’t complicate things for the pleasure of complicating, but one should also never simplify or pretend to be sure of such simplicity where there is none. If things were simple, word would have gotten around. "


Posts tagged with 'mortality'

Exercise 5: the recommendation to do strengthening exercises

1st February 2010

This post is also downloadable as a Word format handout. I blogged a couple of weeks ago on "Exercise 3: US Department of Health & Human Services, resources for assessment & advice" and quoted the fine 2008 "Physical activity guidelines for Americans" with its recommendation that - besides regular aerobic …

Recent research: six studies on positive psychology, goals, relationships, caregiving, mindfulness & nature

27th August 2009

Here are half a dozen studies that one could loosely put under the broad umbrella of positive psychology. Zorba the Greek said "Take what you want and pay for it, says God." and Niemiec et al's study, on the effects of achieving different kinds of goal, supports this statement (for …

Recent research: three depression papers that get me thinking

16th April 2009

Looking back over relevant research papers that caught my attention last month, some stand out for me more than the others. Here are three on depression that stood out and got me thinking. The Fergusson et al paper looks at links between alcohol abuse and major depression. There has been …

Recent research: five papers on overweight - mortality, cardiovascular risk, diets, and schools

9th April 2009

Here are five papers mostly looking at aspects of overweight. The first, published recently in the Lancet, is a huge study on the effects of body-mass index (BMI) on subsequent mortality in nearly 900,000 adults. It shows progressive excess mortality above the BMI range 22.5-25 kg/m2. (To calculate your BMI …

Recent research: lifestyle - five papers on sleep, exercise & stress management

26th February 2009

Here are five papers on lifestyle and the benefits of making healthy choices. The first by Cohen et al on sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold, showed increased risk of developing a cold after infection for those with shorter sleep duration. Interestingly the increased risk was even greater …

Recent research: fish and n-3 fatty acids

6th November 2008

Fish, fish oils, and n-3 fatty acids are often in the health news. Here are seven recent papers illustrating the breadth of fish oil relevance. The papers look at treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, the potential of flax as a dietary source of n-3 fatty acids, effects on indicators of cardiovascular …

Vegged out & fruitless: lifestyle & health

18th October 2008

Last month's BMJ published another in the long line of research articles that highlight the huge importance of lifestyle choices for our health: Dam, R. M. v., T. Li, et al. (2008). "Combined impact of lifestyle factors on mortality: prospective cohort study in US women." BMJ 337(sep16_2): a1440- [Free Full …

Recent research: four happiness studies on traditional advice, health benefits, and the particular value of safety & contentment

16th October 2008

It seemed time to post on recent research involving happiness and wellbeing. Here are four studies from the current issues of the Journal of Happiness Studies (the September edition is open access with all full articles freely viewable) and the Journal of Positive Psychology. Ad Bergsma discusses advice on how …

Recent research: a mixed bag of studies on personality, paranoia, burnout, somatization, and relationships

9th October 2008

This week's recent research post is a mixed bag of six studies covering the physiological & psychological changes triggered by being separated from one's partner, why similar levels of anxiety & interpersonal sensitivity can lead to social anxiety in some individuals and paranoia in others, how difficulty identifying feelings is …

Would you like to be 14 years younger – it’s largely a matter of choice!

3rd October 2008

Back in January I wrote a blog post entitle "Does a healthy lifestyle really make a difference? " I highlighted that it makes a hell of a lot of a difference. At around that time another major study was published that hammered this point home even more thoroughly and I've …