Go Healthy For Good: January/February 2016

A review of 61 studies involving more than 6000 people found that people eat more when their plates are bigger or if they are served more food, even though they are no hungrier. So by reducing portion size, drinking from tall, thin glasses or using smaller plates, you can consume fewer kilojoules without you even noticing.

Fertility treatment may be more successful if men lay off the coffee. A preliminary study found that only 20 per cent of couples involved in infertility treatments in which the male consumed three or more cups of coffee a day were likely to fall pregnant, compared to 55 per cent of couples where the man consumed less than one cup of coffee a day.

As omega-3 fats are said to be good for the brain, an experiment was conducted to see how they would affect a group of schoolboys, some with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and some without. Half ate ordinary margarine and half ate margarine fortified with omega-3 fatty acids. After eating the margarine every day for four months, the group supplemented with omega-3 fats had better attention scores, whether or not they had ADHD.

If bullied teens are physically active on four or more days of the week, the incidence of suicidal thoughts or actions drops by 23 per cent. So if your teen is being bullied, don’t just focus on the issue. Get outdoors with them—ride a bike, play football, go for a swim or just walk along the beach. 

University of Queensland researchers have found that if a young woman drinks alcohol right around the time of conception, the risk of her child developing obesity and diabetes is similar to them eating a high-fat diet for most of their life.