calories

According to a new study out of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, our jobs are contributing to rising obesity rates. According to the study, “Over the last 50 years in the U.S. we estimate that daily occupation-related energy expenditure has decreased by more than 100 calories, and this reduction in energy expenditure accounts for a significant portion of the increase in mean U.S. body weights for women and men.”

I am currently trying to starve a cold (due less to science, and more to a phlegm-induced lack of appetite), so I guess this might count as good news. According to recent research reported by USA Today — "Could 'extreme' low-cal diets bring longer, healthier life?" — living in a state of constant deprivation might help extend your life. (Though it's debatable just how happy you'll be in the meantime if you have to forsake fried chicken, key lime pie and pork belly sandwiches. But maybe I'm just projecting.)

I knew that sitting is bad, but I figured I got a “buy” on this because I’m not overweight and I exercise a whole lot. It turns out I was wrong, because even for the active lots of sitting is terrible for you.

Find out how upping your intensity, whether walking or running, can increase your calories burned.

A May 4 article in the New York Times health section examined recent research on different types of sport drinks and their effects on exercise performance. Although some of the mechanics of the study, ratios, types of sugar used, and performance measurements were changed, it still boiled down to the same basic conclusion: this stuff matters for competitive athletes, and not the average person.