Lighting and Music Reduce Fast Food Meal Size

That last finding means that fast food joints, which are accused of contributing to the obesity epidemic, might actually try it. The study was led by well-known eating behaviorist Brian Wansink from Cornell University and appears in the journal Psychological Reports.

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How Computers Could Reduce the Spread of HIV

Scientific American – Fri, Jul 27, 2012 Visualization of computer model showing HIV risk behaviors; red dots are injection drug users that engage in needle sharing or unprotected sex; courtesy of Brandon Marshall/Brown University

Condom use, earlier treatment and increased education have gone a long way to reducing HIV spread in the U.S. Nonetheless, some 4,000 inhabitants of New York City still became infected with HIV in 2009.

Injection drug users make up a small portion of the new infections (just over 4 percent in NYC, and about 9 percent nationally), but they represent a finite and targetable population that can benefit from low-cost and well-vetted programs, such as needle exchanges.

Establishing even better needle exchange programs or more widespread substance-abuse treatment opportunities might help to limit these new infections among drug users. But finding out how effective these prevention programs truly are with scientifically controlled studies can take years and lots of money. If only researchers could run computer simulations to come up with some answers, as they do to model other complex systems

Now they might just be able to, with the help of a high-power, automated version of what you could call Sims for the urban class. The goal of the computer model, conceived of in part by Brandon Marshall, an epidemiologist at Brown University, is to

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Health Tip: Reduce Your Risk of a Herniated Disk

HealthDay – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- The spine is comprised of a series of hard bones called vertebrae. Sandwiched between them are soft, spongy pads called disks, which allows the spinal column to bend.

But if a disk ruptures (herniates) and the center pushes through the outer edge toward the spinal canal, it can put pressure on nearby nerves, causing pain and discomfort.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these suggestions to help prevent a herniated disk:

Avoid lifting with your back. Lift with your leg muscles instead, holding the object close to you.Don't smoke.Shed excess weight, which can strain the back.Avoid strenuous activities that are repetitive in nature.

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Rapid HIV Test Could Reduce Stigma and Curtail Disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an initiative to motivate people to get tested for HIV. A free rapid test is being offered in select pharmacies nationwide, within their small clinics, which involves a swab test that renders results in approximately 20 minutes, the Associated Press reports. If the result is positive, the patient is sent to a department of health or other clinic to have the result confirmed by blood test.

With an estimated 1.1 million Americans infected with the disease and an estimated 20 percent of them unaware, this is a wise move to help to curtail the spread of the disease. So many people are unaware of the facts about HIV and AIDS that perhaps being confronted by the testing center and the information offered there will prompt people to know more. In the back of so many minds is the fear the possibility of infection exists.

Too many people still believe HIV and AIDS are the disease of gay men and drug users. While statistics still confirm these groups are still at higher risk, the truth is the condition is increasing in women, particularly minority women. HIV is more easily spread from man to woman because the virus exists in a man's semen, which can live inside the vagina for several days. But the female bodily fluids from which a man can contract the virus through intercourse with a woman have more limited means to enter the penis and infect a man's body.

In order for this condition to be dealt with, the stigma must decrease. There have been tremendous strides made in regard to treating the disease, making it possible for those infected to live productive and happy lives, to enjoy careers and have families. In fact, with treatment, the chances of a woman passing along the virus to her unborn child are reduced to as low as 2 percent.

Symptoms of the illness often don't appear for nearly 10 years in many patients. It is important to be tested for this virus, regardless of whether any sexual partners "appear" to be ill and whether a person has had few or several partners. It's better to know early. Though there is no cure, treatment is possible to help to maintain a normal life.

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Effective Weight Loss Tips to Reduce Weight

May 22, 2012 by admin 

Obesity is the major concern of people these days and they search for effective ways and methods to lose weight. Losing weight is like a challenge for the overweight people to encounter and try harder to meet all the stringent requirements of losing weight method. It is not easy to change your daily life style instantly but not impossible. There are several weight loss tips whether be it ayurvedic or home remedies.  Moreover, complete weight management videos are the best way to gain best ideas and tips to lose weights and get a slim-trim personality.
 
Weight loss tips:
 
Drinking water is the most effective home remedy for the overweight people. They need to drink as much water as they can per day. Moreover, they can go for the lemon juice as it has properties to burn extra fats. 
Increase your metabolism rate by dividing your meal in several parts rather than eating them one or two times a day. Increasing gap in your meals and eating several times would be beneficial for reducing some significant fat. This is one of the weight loss tips.
Yoga and exercise is the major factor in a complete weight management schedule. You need to exercise daily for 20 minutes or have a mild walk especially after your meal.
Avoid sleeping direct after having meal i.e. spend more 1-2 hours after your meal before going to bed.
Avoid eating late night snacks
Chewing ginger is another best way of reducing extra amount of fat from your body
Increase the intake of vegetables and fruits in your diet especially those foods that enhance your digestion system such as mango, Ginger, Pineapple, and apple
Avoid eating junk foods and other refined foods in excess. 
Avoid sitting idle for too much time instead keep you engaged in physical activities. For more details regarding making daily schedule for weight loss, watch weight management videos.
Alcohol and smoking increase the amount of toxin in body that reduces the positive effects of other nutritive foods. Thus, avoiding them is the way of getting rid of the obesity.
Stress and depression are even affecting the obesity positively and causing the obesity at very rapid speed. 
 
These all are the weight loss tips that could be administered easily at home without any prescriptions. They all are free from the side effects. Moreover, some experts upload their comprehensive weight management video

Weight Loss

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How Friendly Flora Reduce Inflammation

The importance of the healthy balance of foreign inhabitants within your digestive tract to your general health and well being cannot be understated.  New research has shown that a type of friendly flora known as lactobacillus produces an enzyme called lactocepin which can quickly degrade inflammatory messages within your digestive tract.

While the goal of this research is to help individuals improve various inflammatory conditions of the bowels, such as irritable bowel syndrome, the research finding has wide application value to everyone.  It is now recognized that imbalances within your digestive tract start the illness ball in motion based on increasing inflammation.  While such inflammation starts out in your digestive tract the signaling molecules of inflammation can readily communicate to your general immune system, causing widespread confusion and setting off a decline of optimal health.

In fact, an imbalance of friendly flora can have a profoundly negative effect on your metabolism and actually be a primary cause for weight gain and difficulty losing weight.

Antibiotics, high sugar diets, low fiber diets, and too much alcohol are the most common causes initiating digestive imbalance of friendly flora that produce lactocepin.  While it is currently not known which strains of lactobacillus produce the most lactocepin, it is fairly clear they do, since so many people notice significantly improved digestive health from consuming friendly flora, including the intake of yogurt.

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FDA staff: Gilead's Truvada may help reduce HIV risk

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Blueberries and Strawberries Reduce the Rate of Brain Aging

Researchers followed the intake of berries in a group of women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study for more than 20 years.  They observed that women who had higher berry intake, especially blueberries but also strawberries, delayed cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years.

“As the U.S. population ages, understanding the health issues facing this group becomes increasingly important,” said Dr. Elizabeth Devore with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. “Our study examined whether greater intake of berries could slow rates of cognitive decline.  We provide the first epidemiologic evidence that berries may slow progression of cognitive decline in elderly women.  Our findings have significant public health implications as increasing berry intake is a fairly simple dietary modification to test cognition protection in older adults.”

America is facing an aging population and an epidemic of cognitive decline related issues, including Alzheimer’s disease.  Increasing berry intake is relatively easy and should be done by everyone at any age.  Dietary supplements with concentrations of the active components of the berries are another effective and convenient way to boost intake.

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New Drug Might Reduce an Alzheimer's Marker: Study

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