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For most people, losing weight and keeping it off involves creating a long-term strategy. Thats because many things besides what you eat can affect the number you see on the scale. Food, health conditions, and even lifestyle factors (like stress and how much sleep you get) can make it harderor easierto lose weight. Juliana Simonetti, MD Endocrinology and Metabolism, General Surgery joined Good Things Utah to talk about the risk factors associated with COVID-19 and obesity.

We know that obesity is one of the risk factors for COVID infection. Those with excess weight, even at a younger age, are having a more severe disease and higher rates of death if they have obesity. It is thought that obesity causes our body to heighten inflammation and with the COVID infection this makes the inflammation worse causing the more severe symptoms.

We tend to eat more and crave foods that are higher in calories and carbs when we are stressed i.e. COVID-19. Those foods physically make us feel better by releasing dopamine into our brains (the feel-good hormone). The problem is, this doesnt last long and the more we have, the more we want. We also have easier access to food when we are working from home. To add to the issue, some are seeing a decrease in physical activity with gyms being closed and/or fear of exercising in public places.

Here are some health tips to follow during COVID-19:

The University of Utah Health has lots of tools to help with their Comprehensive Weight Management Program They have registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, psychologists, mindfulness classes, medical interventions with medications to suppress some hunger and cravings, and surgical interventions. Theirteam works together to create individualized plans for each patient.

Their new facility at Sugar House Health Center was built with patients in mind. It is easily accessible with ample parking, tons of gym equipment and technology to measure resting metabolic rate, a demo kitchen, and even ultrasound scanning to detect fatty liver.

Come visit the newSugar House Health Center to schedule an appointment by visiting the University of Utah Health Weight Management Program now.

This story contains sponsored content.

Link:
Nonsurgical and surgical weight loss options available with University of Utah Health - ABC 4

Alright, ladies, keeping track of our health and wellness is the biggest priority of our everyday lives. Making sure that we are holding ourselves in good hands is one of the many things that we have to worry about each day. Our daily schedule is as busy as making sure the house is clean, taking care of the kids, taking care of significant other or husband, making sure everything is going well with our jobs, and taking care of ourselves.

Whether you single, not married, but dating, a single parent or married, a woman has a lot of responsibility that she has to deal with every day. With all those responsibilities, she could lose sight of whats essential and her mental and physical health and overall wellbeing.

Its essential to take some time out of your day and make a mental or physical checklist for yourself ladies so that you know. There are many health and wellness tips that women should know about, and if you dont, thats completely fine. We are here as women to uplift and help each other when it comes to our health. Here are some tips that women can follow to improve their everyday health and the long run. So, here are some tips

Tip: Stop the hardcore dieting and portion out your meals instead.

A woman living in this world society has put it in our minds that the ideal woman and the only way youre going to be happy is if you are skinny and have a six-pack, and thats not the case at all. Most women who are trying to lose weight or just better their health in general end up getting on these crazydietsthat seem not to even do much for them.

Dieting isnt always what it seems. Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Deanna Dahlinger says, Many diet trends and fads seem glamorous from the outside, promising instant weight loss or whatever outrageous claim its attempting to make. But, lets remember:

Some believe diets have a negative connotation. Jennifer Rollin, MSW, LCSW-C, an eating disorder therapist, talks about this in an article onPsychology Today, When you jump on the latest fad bandwagon, you support a multi-billion dollar industry that profits by convincing us we are inherently flawed.

Portion control is another way you can help yourself if youre trying to better your health ways. Portioning out your food, you will realize how much you usually eat daily, and it can be surprising. It can be difficult, but it will change the way you eat in the long run.

Instead of piling things up on your plate, portion out your food and how much you eat. There are many portion containersonlineand trainers and other online health memberships, likeBeachbody On Demand,that help you with food portions.

Since Ive been working out and trying to better my health overall, Ive been using Beachbody On Demand as a vast resource for my portion control. I know I didnt want to stop eating entirely and lessen my meals, so I found another resource and that portion control.

Its simple to pick out your ingredients to make your meals and portion them out once youre ready to eat, and when you continue to do this, it will become second nature to you. I promise its way better than those hardcore diets you see online.

Remember, its not always what you decide to eat, but how much, says Kelley in an article byfeedyourpotential365. There is room for all foods in a well-balanced, healthy diet, but some should be eaten less often and in smaller portions than others.

See original here:
Womens Health and Wellness Tip Of The Day: Dieting or Portion Control? - Grit Daily

The novel coronavirus has had a jarring impact on society, but one positive outcome Ive seen is a shift in how people think about food and nutrition. Long lines at food banks, combined with rising prices and supply chain issues, have raised the publics awareness of how easily the average American can become food insecure. But Ive also seen a surprising uptick in comments from dietitians saying that the pandemic has changed their clients lives for the better.

One good sign: An April 20 Axios/Ipsos poll found that 45% of Americans said they were cooking more in the previous month while just 6% were cooking less than usual. And, anecdotally, my fellow dietitians are seeing that many of their clients are also developing healthier lifestyle habits and becoming more aware of where their food comes from. I reached out to colleagues to gather some good-news stories. I hope they provide a bit of inspiration during a difficult time.

In my household, we eat dinner together most weeknights. But with school canceled, were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Sure, we argue over whose night it is to load the dishwasher, but were also cooperatively cooking together and trying different foods when our staples arent available. Such experimentation is a good thing especially for children.

It is important for children to try, or at least be exposed to, a variety of flavors and textures in their youth, says Anja Grommons, a dietitian in Kalamazoo, Mich., who tells me that many clients report they are cooking together and trying new recipes. (In fact, Google Trends shows that searches for recipes in early April spiked to holiday season levels.) This allows them to reap the benefits of a wealth of nutrients, and sets them up to be adventurous and balanced eaters in adulthood.

Grommons says that touching and smelling ingredients while cooking may make children more inclined to taste new foods. This can help kids become more interested in foods they once rejected, and provides essential culinary skills that will be useful for life. Grommons is hopeful that the memory of cooking together during quarantine will stay with kids and that theyll want to continue the practice.

Dietitians report that clients are less interested in dieting, and more interested in sustainable eating patterns that enrich their long-term health. The search term weight loss diets fell sharply in March and April, according to Google Trends.

I have definitely seen less talk and fewer questions about fad diets says Melissa Nieves, a dietitian with Fad Free Nutrition based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I think people have rightfully put their attention on their protection, survival and well-being during this pandemic. That also includes eating habits becoming more practical and less centered on what diet culture says we should or shouldnt eat to reach a socially constructed body ideal.

Nieves says her clients have also become more aware of the importance of evidence-based information, as opposed to faddish health advice. She hopes this will lead to clients developing a positive relationship with food, instead of following nutrition fads that have no scientific basis.

Dietitians I talked to say many clients are embracing food, rather than being constantly restrictive and diet-minded.

Nieves says shes seen a rise in baking, coupled with less shame around comfort food during the pandemic. Its a trend she hopes will stay. She works with clients to remove guilt about food, which has no place in health and well-being. After all, it is possible to eat well and enjoy your food at the same time.

Its common for people to see a dietitian for advice, yet not have the time to follow the suggested protocol. The dietitians I spoke with say some clients now have more time to implement new habits, and they are seeing amazing results.

I have one client with high blood pressure who used to travel four days a week for work, says Eileen McMahon, a dietitian with Phoenix Nutrition in Phoenix, Md. I asked him to keep a food record when he was traveling before the pandemic and then I performed a nutrient analysis. I compared it to his food record after the pandemic. His daily sodium intake was cut in half!

When McMahons client began cooking at home, he had greater control over his sodium intake, which ultimately lowered his blood pressure readings. Cooking at home also provides more control over the amount of sugar you eat, and allows you to add more vegetables than whats available on many restaurant menus. Its a big gain for overall health, and one I hope will continue.

At a recent medical appointment, McMahons client learned that his new healthy habits meant his doctor could decrease the dosage of his blood pressure medication by 50 percent. Its rewarding to see so many improvements in my clients health due to just one thing: more time in their own kitchen, says McMahon.

Maya Feller, a dietitian in Brooklyn, has seen similar results with her clients. Since the lockdown, Ive seen an increase in self-monitoring and tracking behaviors, says Feller, who works with people diagnosed with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. Her patients now have time to monitor blood sugar and blood pressure numbers daily. Weve seen those numbers trending down in relation to nutrition and lifestyle modification, such as making time for intentional physical activity, says Feller.

Since covid-19 seems to be more severe in people with chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, its a good time for these clients to make positive changes. Feller says clients who usually put in 14-hour workdays are slowing down and prioritizing their health. They report feeling better, and plan to stick with these changes for the long term.

Consideration for the environment

Nicole Stefanow, a dietitian in Ramsey, N.J., says the temporary inconvenience of not being able to get everything we need from the grocery store is a good exercise in getting back in touch with our food system.

Anecdotally, people have been connecting with farmers, thanking grocery workers and learning more about the food supply chain. Food doesnt magically appear on grocery store shelves, and the workers involved in the process are finally being recognized for their vital role in our overall wellness.

Stefanow says that people in her community are getting fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs from regional farms, which supports local businesses and raises awareness of how food choices affect the environment and our carbon footprint. If people continue to get produce boxes from local and regional farms, they are less likely to buy produce that needs planes, train and automobiles to get here, Stefanow says.

She also says buying local helps decrease the amount of garbage produced from packaging. When you go to the store for produce, you are using a plastic produce bag for each item you put in your cart, says Stefanow. When you get a produce box, everything comes in one recyclable cardboard box.

It will be interesting to follow up in a year to see how many of these positive changes stick around. Im hopeful that when people feel the uplifting outcomes of home-cooking, enjoying food and supporting local businesses, these good habits will continue.

More:
Dietitian sees one positive pandemic outcome: a shift in how we think about food - Longview News-Journal

There are lots of questions about antibody test results, whether we can trust them, and how long people are actively contagious. (We dont really know, but its unlikely people are infectious after two weeks, Hornig speculated.) There are many suggestions for homespun treatments people have tried, including taking vitamin C, electrolytes, antacids, and even eating Dutch cheese. Watson says she and the other moderators are careful to label such recommendations as personal opinion to avoid spreading potential misinformation, and require that members add a disclaimer for patients to consult a doctor before trying any experimental treatments.

The moderators try to keep politics out of the group, an almost Sisyphean task given the myriad ways politics plays into the crisis were in. Watson strongly opposes Donald Trump and backs policies like Medicare for All, and says that conversations about health care access are conversations we need to have. At the same time, Were trying to keep the conversation around recovery, and not, Do you think this is a bioweapon? she said. Its challenging, for sure.

As membership has grown, shes recruited other members to help her manage the group, including approving member requests and categorizing and moderating posts. Still, she spends five to six hours per day on the group. With school out of session and little to do as she continues to rest at home, she has welcomed the distraction. Creating the group has both helped me immensely and has given me a purpose while recovering, she said.

I was beginning to lose hope until I found that others were out there just like me, said Shannon Massa, a grandmother from Stockton, California, and a member of Watsons group. Eight days into her illness, she went to the hospital for chest pain and a cough that felt like I was being hit with a sledgehammer in the chest, she told me. The emergency room doctor was condescending and dismissive. He walked in the room, chart in hand, looked at me and said, I can tell you right now you dont have the coronavirus.

The rest is here:
Will My Covid Symptoms Ever End? - The New Republic

10 June 2020, 15:09

The reality TV veteran opened up about suffering from polycystic ovaries in the emotional post.

Gemma Collins has spoken out about her long-term battle with polycystic ovary syndrome in her newest Instagram post.

The TOWIE star, 39, posted a throwback picture of herself looking "very slim" and went into detail about her struggles with weight gain.

READ MORE: Gemma Collins stuns fans in new videos showing off her slimmed down figure

Polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as PCOS, is often linked to weight gain, and Gemma revealed how it affected her life from her 20s.

The image is of Gemma on holiday in her 20s, where she's sporting a much slimmer figure.

She said: "As you can see guys when I was in my 20s I was very slim then I was told I had PCOS and its been a struggle ever since.

"However I make the most of myself and remain positive because its what in your heart counts the most, sending love to all the PCOS sufferers its not easy and always be kind people people are not always over weight because of all the stereo typical bullying comments !!!

"I CHOSE to RISE ABOVE and continued to promote body confidence even when I had my own personal struggles and the secret to my success was just being ME !

"Lots of people have bullied me taunted me and also early on in the industry loose weight Your too fat to promote my brand !!! Its endless !!!

"Cough cough .... where are you people now. WHERE AM I, RISE HIGHER. Always BELIEVE IN YOU. my heart has always been the same no matter of my size" [sic].

Gemma has been on a weight loss journey since the start of 2019, after she lost a whopping three stone during her time on Dancing on Ice.

The star has since fluctuated, but claims to have steadily shed the pounds since starting courses of the controversial Skinny Jab.

It was revealed last summer that the GC was undergoing courses of the appetite suppressant injections, which act as meal replacement, and she's cited this, plus her new vegan diet, as the cause for her weight loss.

The star recently posted a side by side picture of herself looking a bit heavier last year along with a new snap, to show the effects of the jab in a sponsored post.

It read: "Lots of you been asking me how I am looking so good

"I need to tell about how amazing the team at Skinny Jab have been throughout lockdown.

"I think its safe to say weve all had those days over these past month where weve felt very low with no motivation to do anything. But keeping on track of my weightloss and continuing to stay motivated has never been easier with skinny jab on board. Honestly, Caroline and her team have been the best support!

"Not only have they kept my supply of jabs up to date, theyve also been providing me with meals plans and weekly check ups with how Im getting on. Please go check out their page if youre looking for a real solution to loosing weight! @skinnyjab #ad I have always been body confident no matter of size "

However, she's been slammed by fans who aren't supportive of Gemma promoting the drastic weight loss method, as it isn't allowed by Instagram.

"No no no. Please please dont advocate that young girls and woman need to inject themselves to lose weight and be accepted. This is dangerous." said one concerned fan.

Another said: "I cant believe you're advocating injecting yourself to lose weight!! You have a responsibility to the young girls who follow you......eat less, exercise more"

"What about the young girls who look up to you? Completely irresponsible Gemma. Really disappointed" added another.

Go here to read the rest:
Gemma Collins opens up about polycystic ovaries-related weight gain as she posts throwback snap - Heart

Remember the old saying, Pain is beauty and beauty is pain?Beauty is a driving force in every woman. In this modern generation, we have a wide variety of options to maintain a beautiful appearance such as the skincare products, plastic surgeries, body spas, waxing centres, manicure and pedicure centres, traditional beauty parlours, and the list just goes on and on and on!Heres a fun fact to ponder about. The word beautiful has been redefined over and over again throughout the ages and many women succumb to different ideas to do justice to what beautiful actually means at that time. So, if youre caught onno one is gonna reach the level of beauty perfection.

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Throughout many centuries, women did all sorts of things to maintain and enhance a beautiful physical appearance. So, buckle up girlsthis is going to be a painful ride.

Source: Daily Mail

These neck rings are considered a beauty trend among the Padung women of the Kayan people in Myanmar and Thailand. This is actually a cultural practice to signify beauty in women and this practice starts at a young age! These rings are added as they grow older till it reaches about 20 rings around their neck.Heres the beauty trick to this method. It creates a long neck illusion for everyone who sees but what it actually does is that the weight of the rings pushes the clavicles down and compresses the rib cage.

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Ladies, if youre one of those who is constantly bothered by the size of your feetwell that changes today.

Source: Pulptastic

Were all familiar with the saying looks can be deceiving, right? As cute as those shoes make look, it turns feet into a living nightmare. Foot binding happened to be a common practice many, many years ago in parts of China that represents the status of a woman and to gain attraction from men. Many who went through this agonized over the years not only because of physical pain but also the disability that holds them from doing any labour.There's more bizarre info right here in the video below. Check it out!

Source: Scoopwhoop

Dieting for weight loss by just adding tapeworm pills to your food pyramid. REALLY?!The captivating tapeworm diets were very popular at the time and also led women to have some major side effects and health issues. Apart from the vomiting and diarrhea as one of the symptoms of weight loss, women then need to excrete the tapeworm, which could lead to serious abdominal and rectal trouble. On top of that, there are other troubles like headaches and eye issues to epilepsy, meningitis, and even dementia.

In todays modern era, nothing says about a beautiful smile than having wonderfully clean and bright, white teeth. It doesnt seem to be the case in Japan during the Meji period. Guess whatthis is one trend that went on for hundreds of years. Ohaguro which is also known as teeth blackening was performed by women to prevent tooth decay at an old age. This beauty practice requires multiple applications of dangerous chemicals onto a childs teeth every day.Pheewww, lucky we know that this method was already banned in 1870 by the Japanese government.

Source: The Guardian

In the 19th century, arsenic was consumed to produce a blooming complexion, a brilliant eye, and an appearance of embonpoint" (aka busty). The downside that women may be ignorant about would be the arsenic poisoning and symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, bloody pee, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and convulsions. The harsh reality about this is that if you survive consuming it, you will die if you stopped.

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Source: Pinterest

I know, I knowtattoos are like a norm nowadays. Whats the big deal?Back in the day in Sarawak, tattoos meant a lot more than just a design on skin. Both men and women would get tattooed for different reasons because every tattoo symbolises something different. Traditionally, men from the Iban tribe have tattoos such as the Bunga Terung (eggplant flower) to indicate the coming of age in being a man and also to represent their ability to balance life.Women from the Kayan and Kenyah tribe have tattoos from their fingers to the upper parts of their arms and even on their ankles to the upper parts of their legs. This mainly signifies social status and beauty. For example, if the woman is from the higher class (a.k.a rich family), she is likely to have more tattoos and if the woman is from a lower class, she will have less tattoos.

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FYI, these tattoos are hand-tapped. Check out the video below to see how the tattoo is actually engraved on a person and make a guess how painful it would be.

These are just a few of the many, many bizarre historical beauty practices. Ladies, we now know the long-term agony that may be possible just by wanting to look beautiful for a moment. Yes, each one has their own beauty purposes and we respect thatbut lets also not cross the line and damage what is already naturally beautiful.

As this wise saying goes,

So, you must be in great shock and probably questioning your beauty choices. Well, dont let it get to you. How? Watch thisepisode of What's The Feedwhere they discussbeauty that would lighten up the mood.

Read more from the original source:
Strange Beauty Treatments That Seemed Perfectly Reasonable Back In The Day - Rojak Daily

In the fading days of the Second World War, a German blockade cut off food supplies to theWestern provinces of the Netherlands, a dreadful famine struck.

TheHongerwinter, or hunger winter, as the Dutch call it, killed between 18,000 and 22,000 people.

Yet, even as immediate mortality was concentrated among older men much as it is in the current Covid-19 pandemic the long memory of that winter was imprinted in the cells of the unborn, onlyto manifest years later when they became adults.

As the children of the hunger winter aged, those who werein uteroduring the famine experienced higher mortality rates and a host of health problems later in life, ranging from obesity and diabetes to schizophrenia.

Our bodies, it seems, carry the scars of every injury, and the most harmful are those we suffer before our birth.

This fundamental question of what happens to children who have been exposed to terrible deprivation during their formative years has been intensely investigated over the last two decades in multiple countries and for many types of disasters.

Unfortunately, like with the Dutch population, the (virtually) universal answer is that children in their mothers wombs or under the age of three at the time of a disaster will face life-long disadvantages.

Their health will suffer: They will be shorter, their mental health will be worse, and they will have morechronic illnesses.

Famines in Zimbabwe, the genocide in Rwanda, crop failures and floods have all left their scars on the bodies and minds of the youngest. These losses in terms of health will be further compounded by a further depletion in their schooling, as measured by test scores.

Ultimately, deprivations suffered in early childhood make their way into adult productivity; Dercon and Porter, for instance, have estimated that children who were under the age of three during the Ethiopian famine of 1984 lost 5 per cent of their earnings inevery yearof their remaining lives.

The hidden paradox of disasters,often missedin the immediacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, is that even if those who suffer today are the elderly, those who will pay throughout their lives will be the youngest.

But havent times changed?

After all, when we look at the effect of past disasters on adults today, we are gazing at starlight from a distant past; a time when governments would not, or could not, step in, and the welfare state was non-existent or in its infancy.

Perhaps, even as the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns destroy economic potential and drive millions out of work, extensive measures put in place by governments, ranging from direct cash to expanded social welfare schemes, will allow people to survive in these terrible times and bounce back when the lockdowns are lifted?

To examinethatquestion, we have to look to more recent times.

One illuminating case study is that of the great earthquake that struck the northern reaches of Pakistan (and India) in 2005.

At 08:50 in the morning of October 8 of that year, just as children reached school, the earth shook with one of the most powerful earthquakes ever to have struck the Himalayan region.

Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, the earthquake left more than 80,000 people dead and virtually all physical infrastructure in the affected regions destroyed. Winter came shortly afterwards, and although relief providers and the government made heroic efforts, many were left to fight the elements in makeshift tents and broken houses jury-rigged with tin-sheet roofs.

Over the next year, the government made a heroic effort to help people rebuild their lives. Schools and roads were rebuilt, health clinics and markets came back up, and critically, every family who had suffered destruction during the earthquake received substantial compensation to help them build their houses again.

In 2009, two of us (Andrabi and Das) returned to the region, after having been actively involved in the relief efforts in the initial days. Over 6 months, we visited 125 villages scattered throughout the region, and with our team, interviewed more than 120,000 people with a detailed follow up for 5,000.

In the detailed follow up, we measured the heights of children and tested them in English, Urdu, and mathematics at home. We completed careful measurements of poverty and infrastructure in each village in the sample.

We confirmed through our survey that the distance the household lived from the fault line was a key marker of how affected households would have been.

At 40 kilometres from the fault line, mortality rates were around 0.1pc and 20pc of homes were destroyed in the earthquake, but right next to the fault line, the mortality rate increased 45-fold to 4.5pc and home destruction, at 95pc, was virtually universal.

Further, it turned out that households were essentiallyrandomly locatedwith reference to the affected fault-line. Therefore, by comparing households that were living close to and far from the fault line,four years after the earthquake hit, we could approximate what recovery had been like in theaffected regions.

This is what we found.

Our first finding was the untold and unheralded success of the recovery effort. Political scientists haverepeatedly pointed outthe contradiction of the state in South Asia it does exceptionally well in times of crises that require superhuman effort by going into (what they call) mission mode but it does terribly at maintaining high-functioning institutions over the longer-term.

The earthquake was no different.

We found that four years later, there was no difference in physical infrastructure among villages that were close to, and far from, the fault line and some evidence of a build-back-better programme households close to the fault line now reportedbetteraccess to electricity and were more likely to be living in a permanent, as opposed to a semi-permanent, dwelling.

For a large number of household and adult outcomes (including per-capita consumption expenditure, which is a measure of poverty and adult weight, which is a measure of short-term nutritional deficiencies), there had been full recovery.

Although causality is harder to ascribe, massive aid from the government probably helped the average short-term cash compensation among households living close to the fault line was almostRs185,000, or around 1.5 times the regularannualexpenditures of households.

It is worth emphasising just how amazing this recovery was. The earthquake struck a highly mountainous region, where access is difficult at the best of times. Roads were broken and rebuilding required carrying material from the nearest access point to the villages on foot.

Several villages were in areas troubled by violence and terrorism. Large surveys had to be undertaken to determine who would receive compensation for housing damage and destruction, and property rights (especially within families) were hard to determine. Teams of government inspectors hiked multiple hours to villages, spent nights in every village, and ensured that the new houses that were being built were more resistant to possible future earthquakes.

And all of this was managed by a special institution the Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) that had been set up quickly by the government and was later dissolved when the work had been done.

Those of us who had seen this before, in the Uttarkashi earthquake of 1992 or the Bhuj earthquake of 2001 (both in India), knew that governments in South Asia were capable of literally moving mountains, but to see this in the data, told to us by person after person, reminded us of the enormous ability of states to do good under difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately, this seemingly full recovery hid deep scars.

Figure 1 shows the heights of children in our sample, plotted against their age at the time of the earthquake (they were four years older in 2009 when we measured their heights).

We have shown, for each age group, the average height-for-age in the sample in the group that lived farther from the fault-line (black line) compared to those who lived close to the fault-line (red line).

Children close to the fault-line who werein uteroat the time of the earthquake are three centimetres shorter than those who lived farther away, and although this disadvantage narrows for children who were older, it does not disappear unless they were three years or older at the time of the earthquake.

These are not small effects: This means that children who werein-utero at the time of the earthquake and living close to the fault-line were only at the 16th percentile of the height distribution compared to those who lived farther away. If these differences continue to adulthood, young men/women who lived close to the earthquake will grow to be just 54/411 tall, compared to the average man/woman who is 56/52 tall in these data sets.

We shall discuss below what this implies in terms of adult earnings, but we note that in the US,every 1 inch of a height deficit translates into decreased adult earnings of two per cent.

Turning to education, the signs are initially more encouraging. First, there was no evidence of a decline in enrolment for earthquake affected areas. We will discuss below that the earthquake led to school closures lasting 14 weeks on average, so these data suggest that children being out-of-school for a substantial period of time does not lead to higher drop-outs in this region.

Second, there were no gender effects on enrolment either. Much has been written about gender bias in education in Pakistan, and two of the four districts in our survey are in Khyber Pakhtunwa where gender bias is quite severe.

Although there is a difference in enrolment rates for girls and boys, there is no evidence that being out of school exacerbated these differences further. Third, we also do not find any difference in grade attainment by age. Thus, children remained in the same grade and were promoted at the same rate as their counterparts in unaffected regions.

Test scores, however, tell a different story. Figure 2 shows that even though children were just as likely to be enrolled in school, learning levels had diverged significantly. We have plotted test scores of children between the ages of 7 and 15 at the time of the survey (so, they were between 3 and 11 at the time of the earthquake), again separated by whether they were affected (living less than 20km from the fault-line) or unaffected (more than 20km from the fault line). In both groups, test scores rise as children grow olderchildren learn as they grow.

Note: This figure plots the estimated predicted standardisedtest scores of children aged 7 to 15 at the time of the survey, who were 3 through age 11 at the time the earthquake struck. It adjusts estimates for proximity to the earthquake (<20km) at each age, the distance to the epicentre of the earthquake, the local slope of the village, the nearest potentially activated fault, and the district the child lived in, their gender, and household income levels. Standard errors are not shown for the control group estimates for clarity (N=781); they are shown for the affected group as vertical gray bars (N=1,671).

However,at every age, children who lived closer to the fault line were doing worse than those who lived farther away. These gaps were large and represented the learning-equivalent of around two years of schooling (or 0.4 SD) on average at all school-going ages. Consequently, a child who was in Grade 2 and living close to the earthquake scored as well on our tests as a child living far from the earthquake in Grade 4.

Although these differences vary slightly by each grade in the figure, our multivariate regression specification shows that there is no statistically significant change in the size of the gap depending on the childs age and, on average, children lost between one point five and two years of learning as a result of the earthquake at all school-going ages.

Further, much like the current pandemic where policymakers believe that school closures will disproportionately affect the poor and less educated, we also found that some families were able to protect their children. Our measure of disadvantage is whether the childs mother has completed primary schooling (five years). In our data, 81.5pc of children have mothers who have not, and they come from households who are disproportionately poor, with lower expenditures and assets.

When separated by these two groups in Figure 3, the test scores reveal a striking pattern: The children of mothers who were somewhat educated (labelled Educated Affected Group) werefully protected from the disruption of the earthquake, so thatallthe losses were felt by those whose mothers had no education (labelled Vulnerable Affected Group).

The earthquake not only increased inequality across villages that were more and less affected, but it also sharpened the divide between the have-nots and the have-slightly-mores within the affected villages themselves. A difference of 0.67 grade-levels in test scores between the children of educated/non-educated mothers among villages far from the fault-line increased further to 1.8 grade-levels for children living close to the fault-line.

Note: This figure plots the estimated predictedstandardisedtest scores of children aged 7 to 15 at the time of the survey, who were 3 through age 11 at the time the earthquake struck. It adjusts estimates for proximity to the earthquake (<20km) at each age by maternal education status, the distance to the epicenter of the earthquake, the local slope of the village, the nearest potentially activated fault, and the district the child lived in, their gender, and household income levels. Standard errors are not shown for the control group estimates for clarity (N=1,064); they are shown for the affected group as vertical gray bars (N=1,322).

We note two further results. First, we do not find the same pattern of mitigation when it comes to child height. It seems that households with more educated mothers can mitigate education, but not biological, shocks. Second, like for enrolment, we do not find that the earthquake affected girls differently than boys either in terms of height or test scores; in specifications where we look for differential effects, the coefficients are typically small and always statistically insignificant.

What do these effects portend for the future?

One question we can ask is how these childhood disadvantages will translate into productivity in adulthood. We do not know, but we can make some educated guesses under two (brave) assumptions: (A): that the disadvantages we see in our sample continue to adulthood in relative terms (so a child who is at a given height percentile in childhood will remain there in adulthood), and (B): that estimates on the relationship between wages, schooling, and height from Pakistan are relevant to this sample.

We can then use two estimates from the literature:

So, if the loss of test scores has the same effect as an equivalent loss in schooling attainment 3, children between the ages of 3 and 15 at the time of the earthquake will have 1.5 fewer years of schooling and will therefore earn 15 percent lessevery year of their adult lives.

In addition, children who were in-utero or under the age of 3 will earn 6 percent less per year. Based on a full census that we conducted in the 125 villages in our study, we estimate that at the peak, the affected cohort will constitute nearly 35 percent of the labour force between the ages of 18 and 60 (when the youngest among them is 18). At that peak, total earnings in each village will be a full 5 percent lower due to the earthquake in every year as this affected cohort progresses through their productive lives. This in itself is an under-estimate of the true effects as those who were very young will likely have to endure worse health outcomes all their lives.

A second question we can ask is whether the effects will be anything like this with the current Covid-19 pandemic. Again, we cannot tell, but one insight comes from looking at school closures during the earthquake. Parents told us that the average disruption due to closed schools was 14 weeks, and only 10 percent had to suffer a disruption lasting more than 6 months. Interestingly, there is a dose-response in the data, with children who suffered a longer length of closures reporting lower test-scores. Note though, that if closures were the only channel through which children obtain learning losses, we would have expected losses to the tune of 2 months, whereas actual losses range from 18 to 24 months.

In fact, a formal mediation analysis that we undertook suggests that school closures account for at most 10pc of the test score declines we observed.

Therefore, itmustbe that learningtrajectoriesdiverged and when children returned to schools in affected areas, they learnt less in each year after re-enrolling in school.

This in turn, implies three things. First, had we measured learning losses as soon a schools re-opened, we would have probably found losses of 2 months (assuming zero learning during the period of closure) and this would have been a lower bound of the true losses that we see after 4 years. Second, an intriguing possibility is that the inability of the schooling system to have a large number of children repeat a grade might have slowed learning down if teachers felt compelled to teach according to the grade-level curriculum.

There is now an influential body of research showing that Teaching at the Right Level is critical for learning and that over-ambitious curricula adversely affect learning. A story consistent with the data is that the initial shock to learning interacted with a pedagogical system that rewarded curricular-basedlessons, thus exacerbating the problem.

Third, with the current pandemic, school closures are expected to last between 8 and 12 weeks in many low-income countries. If so, we would expect the effects to be similar, or even larger.

Every unhappy disaster is unhappy in its own way, so it is hard to say with certitude that what we have learned from past disasters will translate in exactly the same way to the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps things will be better because these children will enter labour markets where everyone will have suffered (somewhat) similarly. Or, perhaps not: the world has never experienced a sharp shutdown of the type we are seeing now, and the very fact that this has affected everyone means that it is hard to compensate for losses in one area with business-as-usual incomes from another. The very fact that more than two million children will have been born in India at the time of a complete lockdown, or that educated urban parents can access online classes while the vast majority cannot, puts us in an entirelydifferent realm.

What can we do?

We first emphasise that we have to start thinking of the children. We recognise that governments and stakeholders are fully occupied in dealing with the immediacy of the Covid- 19 pandemic, as they should be. Therefore, it falls to othersthose who work in education, those who work on child health, and those who work on brain development among children to get ready for when the lockdown lifts.

Wemusthave programmes that are ready when children come back to school, wemusthave thousands of trials that can help the community come to a rapid consensus on what is working (and what is not) in countries around the world, and wemustmake governments and aid agencies recognise that the trade-off between investing in human capital and immediate aid is a false one. Simply put, countries will not be able to pay off their debts if we cannot rapidly bring our schooling systems out of this medically induced coma.

Second, we cannot tell whether this disaster is different until we start to systematically track the children who are most at risk. All the previous work tells us that children who are in their mothers wombs at this time or under the age of 3 willbe subject to severe health deprivation, which will affect them all their lives. Our work on the earthquake suggests thatallschool-going children will suffer in terms of their learning.

Although these effects will take a lifetime to become noticeable, there are key leading indicators that governments can start to track immediately. In countries with well-developed and integrated health systems, the length of the gestation period, infant height, and birth weight are viable surrogate measures. Where these data are harder to come by, infants need to be surveyed as soon as possible and tracked till we can determine the extent of deprivation they have suffered.

Similarly, back-to-school tests at the beginning of fall will immediately tell us whether children (and which children) have lost human capital during the pandemic, and tailor educational programmes accordingly. However, the learning losses that we see when children come back to school may be a lower bound on the losses they will suffer if pedagogy continues as usual and children are moved up the grade-levels to accommodate newcomers. Therefore, tracking systems need to be put in place for a longer duration, perhaps up to 5 years or more.

Third, the fact that study after study shows that severe deprivations in early childhood (and for test scores, throughout the schooling years) have longer-term effects, this does not imply that the losses cannot be mitigated. Gunnsteinsson and co-authors have shown that children who were part of a Vitamin-A trial when a typhoon struck in Bangladesh were fully protected in terms of their height losses.

And, in Aceh after the tsunami, so much aid came in that children who lived close to the ocean (and were therefore the worse affected) were able to fully catch-up (and even outgrow) children who lived farther away. The fact that parents are now at home with their children means that the relative price of childcare has decreased, opening up further opportunities for successful programmes that rely on early stimulation in the home. There must be an equivalent effort among researchers to immediately catalogue and document the programmes that can affect child development following an event such as this in a cost-effective manner.

Times are tough and everyone has their immediate needs front and central in their minds. But the debt that countries take on now to help their populations is built on the promise of a better tomorrow. That debt will fall on the children who are in their early years and in school today. If their future productivity is curtailed by anything close to the amount these studies suggest, the loss to our productive capacity tomorrow will be far worse than what we are experiencing today. We have to intervene in an unprecedented fashion to support the continued growth and learning of these children. If there was ever a time to focus on our kids, its now their futures depend on it.

The Analytical Angle is a monthly column where top researchers bring rigorous evidence to policy debates in Pakistan. The series is a collaboration between the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan and Dawn.com. The views expressed are the authors alone.

Head photo by Mahrukh Mansoor

Visit link:
Hidden cost of Covid-19: Long-term effects of disasters and related school closures on children - DAWN.com

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Senna tea is a popular herbal remedy thats often marketed as a laxative, weight loss aid, and detox method.

However, theres little scientific evidence to support the efficacy of senna tea for most of these uses aside from treating constipation.

Still, you may want to know about this drinks benefits and safety.

This article explains everything you need to know about senna tea.

Senna is an herbal medicine made from the leaves, flowers, and fruit of a large group of flowering plants in the legume family (1).

Extracts and teas made from senna plants have long been used as laxatives and stimulants in traditional herbal medicine (1).

Originally from Egypt, senna is now grown worldwide, including countries like India and Somalia.

Most commercial products are derived from Cassia acutifolia or Cassia angustifolio, commonly known as Alexandrian and Indian senna, respectively (1).

Today, senna is most often sold as a tea or over-the-counter constipation supplement, but its also occasionally used in weight loss pills and drinks.

Senna is an herb in the legume family thats often used as a laxative. Additionally, its sometimes added to weight loss supplements.

The most common application for senna tea is to stimulate bowel movements and alleviate constipation.

The primary active compounds in senna leaves are known as senna glycosides, or sennosides. Sennosides cannot be absorbed in your digestive tract, but they can be broken down by your gut bacteria (1).

This breakdown of sennosides mildly irritates the cells in your colon, an effect that stimulates intestinal movement and produces a laxative effect.

Senna is an active ingredient in many popular over-the-counter laxative medications, such as Ex-Lax and Natures Remedy. For most people, it will stimulate a bowel movement within 612 hours (2).

Because of its laxative effects, some people use senna tea to prepare for colonoscopies (3).

Some people may also use senna tea to relieve discomfort associated with hemorrhoids.

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins and tissues in the lower rectum that can cause bleeding, pain, and itching. Chronic constipation is a major cause, and minor bouts of constipation can irritate preexisting hemorrhoids (4).

However, sennas efficacy for relieving hemorrhoid symptoms has not been thoroughly studied.

Senna is primarily used to alleviate constipation, but some people may also use it to prepare for colonoscopies and manage hemorrhoid symptoms.

Senna is increasingly included in herbal teas and supplements that claim to boost metabolism and promote weight loss. These products are often referred to as skinny teas or teatoxes.

Yet, no scientific evidence supports using senna tea for any detox, cleanse, or weight loss routine.

In fact, using senna tea in this manner may be very dangerous.

Senna is not recommended for frequent or long-term use, as it may alter normal bowel tissue function and cause laxative dependence (2).

Whats more, a recent study in over 10,000 women found that those who used laxatives for weight loss were 6 times likelier to develop an eating disorder (5).

If youre trying to lose weight, dietary and lifestyle modifications are your best bet not supplements or laxatives.

Senna is frequently marketed as a weight loss tool, but theres no evidence to support this effect. Due to its long-term health risks, you should not use senna to lose weight.

Senna tea is generally considered safe for most adults and children over age 12. Nonetheless, it comes with several risks and side effects.

The most common side effects are stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. However, these symptoms are usually mild and tend to resolve relatively quickly (2).

Some people also experience allergic reactions to senna. If youve ever had a reaction to a product that contains senna, you should avoid senna tea (6).

Senna is meant to serve as a short-term constipation remedy. You shouldnt use it for more than 7 consecutive days unless otherwise directed by your healthcare provider (2).

Long-term senna tea intake may lead to laxative dependence, electrolyte disturbances, and liver damage.

Furthermore, senna may negatively interact with certain types of medications, such as (6):

If you have heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or liver disease, you should consult your healthcare provider prior to taking any senna product, as it may exacerbate these conditions (6).

Senna is not generally recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding (6).

Common senna tea side effects include stomach cramps, diarrhea, and nausea. More serious side effects, such as liver damage, may occur from long-term use.

A typical dose of a senna-based supplement is 1530 mg per day for no longer than 1 week (1).

However, theres no clear dosing recommendation for senna tea.

Its considerably more difficult to determine a precise dose because the concentration of sennosides varies dramatically depending on how long your tea steeps.

Whats more, many commercial senna teas, especially those that contain a blend of herbs, dont state the exact amount of senna leaves used.

In this case, the safest approach is to follow the package instructions for preparation and consumption. Never take more than directed on the label.

Although no clear guidelines exist for senna tea dosage, you shouldnt take more than directed on the package.

Senna tea is often described as having a mild, sweet, and slightly bitter flavor. Unlike many other herbal teas, it isnt particularly aromatic on its own.

However, many commercial teas combine senna with other herbs that can alter the final aroma and flavor.

If youre using tea bags or a blend, follow the package instructions.

If youre preparing senna tea from scratch, steep 12 grams of dried senna leaves in hot water for 10 minutes. Avoid drinking more than 2 servings per day (7).

You can also add a touch of sweetener like honey or stevia.

Shop for senna tea online.

If using tea bags or a blend, follow the package instructions. When using dry senna leaves, steep 12 grams of leaves in hot water for 10 minutes.

Senna tea is an herbal infusion regularly used to treat constipation.

While some people claim that it promotes weight loss, you shouldnt use it in any weight loss detox or cleanse. Doing so could lead to laxative dependence, liver damage, and other serious health issues.

Senna tea may cause short-term stomach cramps and diarrhea. To minimize your risk of negative effects, you shouldnt drink it for longer than 7 days in a row.

Read more:
Senna Tea: Benefits, Weight Loss, and Precautions - Healthline

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) data for the year 2016, nearly 13 percent of the worlds population was affected by obesity. About 38 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese in 2019.

Long term obesity can make a person prone to various health conditions, including fatty liver disease, heart disease, infertility and mental health diseases.

Now, researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), USA, say that they have found a mitochondrial uncoupler molecule called BAM15, which has been seen to help reduce body weight without reducing food intake and muscle mass in mice.

The findings of the study have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications and is believed to hold promise for dealing with obesity.

Mitochondrial uncouplers

Mitochondria is an organelle that is present inside every cell of the body. It produces energy (ATP) in the body through a process called electron transport chain (ETC) and is hence known as the powerhouse of the cell. ATP is called the energy currency of the body.

The ETC happens in the inner membrane of the mitochondria. Mitochondria have two membranes - inner and outer. To create energy/ATP, the mitochondria have to burn nutrients (which you acquire from food) and create a proton motive force (PMF) across its inner membrane. This PMF is generated due to the presence of a gradient of protons on either side of the inner membrane of mitochondria. Generally, the protons on the outside of the inner membrane are higher than those on the inside. To balance the gradient, the protons pass through the membrane to the inside of the mitochondria. Every time a proton passes through the membrane, the mitochondria use an enzyme called ATP-synthase to make new ATP.

Now, mitochondrial uncouplers (like BAM15) break down this proton gradient by bringing in more protons inside the mitochondria without the use of ATP-synthase. To bring back the balance and make new ATPs, the extra protons have to be pushed out of the mitochondria, for which the cell uses energy.

As the cells use more energy, your calorie intake and expenditure starts to get balanced. Consuming more than the exerted amount of calories is one of the main reasons for higher BMI and, in turn, overweight and obesity.

The plus sides

As per the study, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved many drugs to manage obesity so far. However, most of them target either the absorption of nutrients in the body or the persons food intake. Also, these drugs have various side effects including but not limited to diarrhoea, bloating and gas. Some anti-obesity drugs were banned by the FDA due to their extreme side effects on the cardiovascular system.

BAM15 specifically targets the mitochondria and is effective when taken orally. It does not affect appetite or satiety and has been found to be safe in even high doses.

However, one thing that the researchers pointed out was that the half-life of BAM15 was short - 1.7 hours. The half-life of a drug refers to the time in which the amount of the said drug reduces to half in the blood of a person.

In a news release, Webster Santos, the lead author of the study and a faculty at the Department of Chemistry, at Virginia Tech, said that they might not use the same molecule for human studies but are looking for a similar molecule that can stay in the body for longer periods of time.

For more information, read our article on Weight loss.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

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Researchers one step closer to finding fat-burning molecule that can help in weight loss without... - Firstpost

WHILE many of us are carrying a few extra pounds since lockdown,Adelehas been showing off her super-svelte bod.

Adele showcased her incredible seven stone weight loss in a recent celebratory 32nd birthday snap.

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And her legions of fans, desperate to follow in her footsteps, have been left asking exactly how Adelemanaged to trim down.

The Rolling In The Deep hitmaker has used a combination of weight loss techniques - and has completely overhauled her diet and fitness regime.

In particular, she has been trying something called the Sirtfood Diet, which even allows slimmers to eat dark chocolate and drink red wine.

The Sirtfood Dietencourages slimmers to eat plant foods such as kale and buckwheat.

These foods, known as sirtuin activators, suppress appetite and activate the body's "skinny gene".

A sirtfood is high in sirtuin activators, explains nutritionist Aidan Goggins, co-author of the bestselling bookThe Sirtfood Diet.

Sirtuins are a type of protein that protect cells from dying or becoming inflamed.

"They can also kickstart your metabolism, regulate your appetite, boost muscle tone and burn fat.

For the first three days, you restrict calorie intake to 1,000 calories a day

For the first three days, you restrictcalorie intake to 1,000 calories a day, which includes drinking three sirtfood green juices plus eatingasirtfood-rich meal and snacking on antioxidant-packed sirtfood bites, says Aidan.

For the last four days,you up the calorie intake to 1,500 calories a day by consuming two sirtfood-rich meals and two green juices, cutting out the bites.

You can do this plan for up to two weeks, after which its all about adjusting it to suit your lifestyle.

There are no set rules just try to include as many sirtfoods as possible in your diet, which should make you feel healthier, more energetic and improve your skin, as well as making you leaner, says Aidan.

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Clients who have carried on with the diet have seen continued and sustained weight loss of over two stone.

The Sirtfood Diet allows slimmers to eat dark chocolate and drink red wine, because they are high in sirtuins.

Not only hasAdele used the diet, butPippa Middletonalso follows the Sirtfood Diet.

They are joined by chefLorraine Pascaleand Jodie Kidd.

There is a great seven-day plan that you can follow, if you fancy trying out the diet.

We've put together what you need right here in thisSirtfood Diet plan.

You'll find ingredients plus what you need to do to prepare your daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

As well as the rest of the nation in lockdown,Adele has secretly been following Joe Wicks' high intensity workout videos.

Adele has increasingly been training at home following herhigh-profile split from husband Simon Konecki, 45, in April 2019.

She is also a fan of personal trainer Dalton Wong, who helps actors get into shape for roles, including her palJennifer Lawrence.

On top of this, The Sun revealed last year that thehitmaker had taken up reformer pilates with pal Ayda Field.

I used to drink ten cups a day with two sugars in each so I was on 20 sugars a day

The exercise classes involve a strange contraption to improve posture, flexibility and balance.

Adele has also ditched tea to shed the pounds - after previously admitting sheused to drink about ten cups of tea a day.

She said: "I used to drink ten cups a day with two sugars in each so I was on 20 sugars a day.

"Now I don't drink it and I have more energy than ever."

Tips for weight loss success

Lots of us eat and drink more than we realise and do little physical activity. The result is often weight gain.

To lose weight, we need to change our current habits. Thismeans eating less even when eating ahealthy, balanced diet and getting more active.

Fad dietsand exercise regimes that result in rapid weight loss are unlikely to work for long, because these kinds of lifestyle changes cannot be maintained. Once you stop the regime, you're likely to return to old habits and regain weight.

The NHS' top tips for success are:

Source: NHS

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HEIR RAISINGInside the lavish royal homes, with gold piano & fully-functional Wendy house

GET CRAFTINGDad transforms garden into Love Island villa complete with fire pit & hot tub

PAD PERFECTIONWoman transforms bland pad with simple paint job & its worth thousands more

SHOP TO ITShopper bags 22 bras for 35 in M&S sale & another nabbed 200 wardrobe for 30

DOWN TO A TEAAmerican mum & daughter make worst cup of tea ever with microwaved water

TRUE BEAUTIESThe stars who have stopped retouching their selfies like Helen Flanagan

Adele's life mantra has always been about focusing on happiness first and looks second.

She previously said: "I think no matter what you look like, the key is to first of all be happy with yourself.

"And then you know if you want to try to improve things that you dont like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself."

See more here:
The weight loss plan Adele loves that lets you drink wine and eat chocolate - The Sun

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