UP: U.S. Obesity Rate Is Higher Than AIDS Rate In Africa

It's no secret that Americans have an obesity problem, but since we're awfully skilled at looking away from the scale and towards our next drive thru, it can't hurt to take a moment to check in with the numbers: According to an annual report from the Trust for America's Health, adult obesity rates have gone up in 16 states between 2008 and 2010 (and gone down in none). Which puts over two-thirds of U.S. states at obesity rates of over 25 percent, while only one state — Colorado — has a rate lower than 20 percent.

You could roll your eyes and tell me you've heard it before; you could question all these studies' definitions of "obese." But if I told you that 25% of the population had AIDS, you'd be frantic. Everyone would freak out. The news would make front-page headlines. We'd be raising funds to resolve an epidemic; in fact, that's exactly the reaction that the world's highest AIDS rates, which hover around six percent in Sub-Saharan Africa according to the most recent report from UNAIDS, have gotten from the media and world organizations.

AIDS, of course, is a far more disconcerting disease. It's contagious, there's no current cure, and treatment is so expensive that it's unattainable for many. Obesity, on the other hand, is curable. It's not contagious, and treatment isn't fraught with the same difficulties of expense or accessibility.

 

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• Battle Against Obesity: Jamie Oliver Takes on Sugary Flavored Milks

But obesity-related death and disease is just as real as AIDS-related death. And, like AIDS, obesity rates are highest amongst the poorest populations: According to the Trust's report, 33 percent of adults who didn't graduate high school are obese; only 21.5 percent of college graduates are. Over 33 percent of adults whose income is less than $15,000 per year are obese; the rate is only 24.6 percent among those who earn $50,000 or more. Racial disparities vary per state, but in Washington, D.C., obesity rates were 34.4 percent for blacks, 18.1 percent for Latinos and 9.3 percent for whites.

Sound depressing? Well, it should. This is the sort of thing that should be setting off alarm bells, and not because people aren't looking good for bikini season, or because I'm on a rampage against fast food.

Six percent of a population with AIDS is considered an epidemic of a sort that's inhumane to ignore, and so should the obesity rate in the U.S.

According to the Trust's report, the overall U.S. adult obesity rate is 21.7 percent. Where are the fundraising galas? Where are the celebrity-studded awareness campaigns? Where are the U.N. councils? Angelina Jolie, where are you?

UNAIDS promotes an inspiring vision:

zero discrimination, zero new HIV infections, and zero AIDS-related deaths through universal access to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support

We should be committed to the same vision for obesity. Rates should be stabilizing and decreasing, not increasing. Everyone should have access to information and tools to enable prevention, treatment, care and support of obesity, as they would of any other disease. And we shouldn't be discriminating against the obese, either.

The emotional and physical challenges that come with obesity aren't unlike the emotional challenges that come with any other life-threatening disease, and we need to help and support each other. What are you doing to support a fight against obesity?

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Could Your Chair Be Making You Pack on Pounds?

Are you sitting down? Well, you might want to stand up for this news. A collection of new studies just published in the  American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that too much sedentary behavior may increase your risk of a number of health problems, including obesity and heart disease. And get this: it's not an issue of not getting enough exercise. Even if you're working out regularly, sitting on your butt is bad for your health.

By Zoe Ruderman

Related: Fat-Burning Foods

And an earlier study found that there's a direct correlation with the amount of time a person spends sitting and the circumference of their waist. Ugh.

Unfortunately, scientists don't know the exact number of hours that leads to trouble so the only advice they give is, "Sit less". Uh, kinda tricky when you are driving to work or have an office job. But here's some good news: people who take frequent short standing breaks are less likely to experience the negative effects of being in a chair all damn day.

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4 Germ Hot-Spots in Your Home

By: Anna Roufos

Startling reports about germs seem to spread faster than the little buggers themselves these days. Your desk is dirtier than a toilet bowl! Your bathroom is cleaner than your desk! But are the millions of germs we're exposed to daily dangerous -- or just disgusting?

So what do you need to worry about? We investigated the following germy claims to find out  what you really need to do to stay clean and healthy.

Icky Spot #1: Unclean Office Objects

Claim: Your office desk is dirtier than a toiler bowl.

True. The average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet bowl, simply because people usually don't clean their desks on a regular basis, says Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Most of these germs are harmless, but in a recent study Gerba and his colleagues found the parainfluenza virus, which causes colds and flu, on about one-third of office surfaces. The germiest object: the phone. Viruses such as the flu can survive for two or three days on desktops, phones, and computer keyboards. They're transmitted when you touch contaminated objects and then put your hands on your nose, mouth, and eyes, says Gerba. (By the way, the door handle on the microwave in the office kitchen is also a very germy place. So be sure to wash your hands after heating up your lunch.) Keep microbe levels on your desk down by regularly cleaning with a disinfecting wipe,particularly during flu season. Don't apply disinfectant directly to equipment, which can damage it. Spray first on a paper towel. If you share a phone, clean it every day. Wash your hands often (with warm water and soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer), and don't touch your face, says Gerba.

Icky Spot #2: Your Toothbrush
Claim: Every time you flush the toilet, your toothbrush gets sprayed with bacteria.

Gross, but true. Microorganisms are ejected when you flush the toilet and land all over the bathroom, even if you close the lid, according to research by Gerba. But you probably won't get sick from this. "When the toothbrush dries, most of the organisms will die anyway," says Gerba. Just keep your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible, or put it in the medicine cabinet, he says. If someone in the house is ill and using the same bathroom as you are, her germs could be spread this way.

Icky Spot #3: Makeup
Claim: Your makeup is breeding ground for bacteria.

True. "Any bacteria on your hands or face contaminates the makeup when they come in contact," says Elizabeth Brooks, a professor of biological sciences at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Two possible problems can result:pimples, which are caused by bacteria trapped inside pores; and pinkeye, a bacterial infection caused by staphylococcus. Avoid infection by washing your hands before applying makeup and cleaning your applicators weekly. Toss makeup after two months. For foundation, instead of touching the tube or bottle with your fingers, pour it on your hand or an applicator to apply. Another tip: Wipe brushes with alcohol when you don't have time to wash them. And never share makeup; you can easily transfer infections this way.

Icky Spot #4: Your Laundry
Claim: Letting wet clothes sit in the washer allows mildew to form.

True. But they'd usually have to sit for 24 hours, says Elaine Larson, PhD, a professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia University School of Nursing. Apart from smelly clothing, this could trigger an allergy or asthma attack. If your clothes have a funky odor, you'll have to run the washing machine again. If they still smell, you may have mildew spores, which can multiply into fungus (mildew) growth in your machine. To clean it out, run an empty cycle with hot water and diluted bleach once a month, and always leave the lid open between loads to let the tub dry out completely. You can also end with a bleach load to clean the machine.Laundry is a significant source of organisms, says Gerba, who swabbed 100 washing machines and found that 44 percent of them contained fecal bacteria. Drying will kill e. coli, but salmonella and viruses can remain. The risk of getting sick is small if you're healthy, but if someone in your home is ill, you may want to wash their clothes separately and then do a bleach cycle. You could transfer a virus by touching the clothes and then rubbing your eyes or nose. It's also a good idea to wash your hands after handling dirty laundry.

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Prevention’s Quick Fix: 8 Ways to relieve poison ivy

If you've ever had a run-in with poison ivy (or its brethren, poison oak or sumac), chances are you remember the encounter all too well. The red, itchy blisters of the accompanying rash are unpleasant at best and unbearable at worst. The only good news is that you're not alone in this misery: More than 85 percent of people react to this pesky plant the same way.

More Natural Cures That Work Like Magic

What most people don't realize is that a poison ivy outbreak is actually an allergy--contact dermatitis, to be precise. And the trigger is an oil secreted by the plants called urushiol. Some people are more sensitive to urushiol oil than others. And a few lucky people are not sensitive to it at all--they can literally roll in the stuff and not get a reaction. But our experts don't advise it. Sensitivity to urushiol can develop at any time. "We're not exactly sure why some people are sensitive to it and some aren't, but it seems to relate to exposure to certain chemicals," explains Richard Antaya, M.D. "If you're not exposed to the oil a lot, your rate of developing an allergy drops dramatically."

Another common misconception about poison plant allergies is that scratching them will actually spread the rash around. In reality, the oil has to make direct contact with the skin to cause the rash. And you can actually get the oil under your fingernails and spread it that way. Still, it's best not to tempt fate by scratching and further irritating your skin. 

1) Know your enemy. Ideally, the best approach is to avoid getting a poison plant rash in the first place. You can try to avoid poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac simply by steering clear--if you know what the plants look like. 

Poison ivy plants have clusters of three shiny leaves, the source of the saying "Leaves of three, let it be." It can grow as a vine or as a shrub, but it always has hair on its trunk. Poison ivy is found throughout most of the country.

The reason that poison ivy claims a lot of victims is that it likes to grow where we like to be: "On the sides of trails, in the rough of a golf course, behind a garage, or at the edge of a forest," says Thomas N. Helm, M.D. "The plants like the transition from forest to open land and are often at the edge of dense tree growth."

Poison oak can be a high-climbing vine or a shrub. Its notched leaves look like those of the common white oak tree. Its berries grow in clusters and are green in summer and off-white in winter. Poison oak grows mostly in the West and Southeast U.S.
Poison sumac stems each have 7 to 13 leaflets. It grows as a tall shrub, sporting green berries in summer that turn yellow-white in winter. The plant can be found in the northern part of the country and sometimes in the Deep South.

Friend or Foe? Find Out Which Plants Hurt or Help

2) Block that Ivy. If you know you're going to be around poison ivy, like when you're about to clear it from your yard, prepare yourself first. IvyBlock is a lotion that actually prevents urushiol from penetrating your skin. The lotion leaves a slightly visible film on the skin so that you can see exactly where you're protected. IvyBlock and similar products are available at drugstores. 

Get The Best Workout Friendly Protection Gear

3) Wash up. If, despite your best efforts, you've been in contact, time is of the essence. "I don't know what the exact breaking point is, but I do know that you can stop an outbreak if you act quickly enough," says Dr. Antaya. If you have access to soap and water, wash any exposed areas as quickly as possible. Or pour rubbing alcohol over your skin immediately. Don't use a washcloth, however, as it just picks up the urushiol oil and spreads it around. 

Tips for Washing The Right Way

4) Use what you have. If you don't have water, soap, or rubbing alcohol at your disposal, opt for several premoistened towelettes (like baby wipes) if you have them. If you have a cooler handy, rub ice on the affected area. 

If you're really roughing it, Dr. Helm has a couple of tips for dealing with the rash. "If you are camping out and not much else is available, I would bathe in a pond or stream every 2 to 3 hours and apply a thin mud layer, which will dry up some of the blisters," he says.

5) Wash everything. These poison plants have a nasty habit of spreading their oil around, so it's not enough to just wash your skin, says Dr. Antaya. "You'll want to wash everything that may have come in contact with it, including your clothes, your pets,everything," he says. "I have patients that have reacquired poison ivy by wearing the same shirt a few days later." 

Is Your Laundry Making You Sick?

6) Pop a pill. It takes a few hours to a few days after exposure to the plants for the rash to develop, along with its maddening itch. Oral antihistamines are high on Robert Rietschel's, M.D., list of poison plant rash remedies. Two popular over-the-counter brands are Chlor-Trimeton, which contains the active ingredient chlorpheniramine maleate, and Benadryl, which contains the active ingredient diphenhydramine hydrochloride. "You even could take your hay fever medicine if it happens to be an antihistamine," he adds. 

7) Use calamine lotion. The time-honored mainstay in poison plant treatment is calamine lotion, a popular skin protectant with a cooling, soothing action that distracts your skin from the itching sensation, says Dr. Rietschel. 

With poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, the blood vessels develop gaps that leak fluid through the skin, which then cause blistering and oozing, he explains. "When you cool the skin, the vessels constrict and don't leak as much," he says.

Most calamine lotions contain only about 5 percent calamine, which is actually a form of crystallized zinc. As the lotion dries on your skin, it leaves a powdery residue that absorbs the oozing, develops a crust, and keeps your skin from sticking to your clothes, Dr. Rietschel says. He recommends applying calamine lotion three or four times a day. To keep your rash from getting too dry and making the itch even worse, stop using calamine when the oozing stops, he says.

No Calamine On Hand? Use This

8) Try a cool dressing or compress. Another simple way to bring relief is to moisten a sheet or pillowcase, and lay it over the affected area. "This produces a cooling, calming effect," says Dr. Antaya. "I tell my patients to leave it there until it dries." 

Dr. Helm recommends adding a bit of tea to your dressing or compress for additional relief. "Any common black tea contains tannins that are very helpful," he says. "Let it cool, dampen a cloth, and apply it for 10 minutes every 3 to 4 hours." 


Tell us:  Have you ever had poison ivy?

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Not losing weight? 3 ways to bust through a weight-loss plateau

By Nicci Micco, M.S., editor-at-large for EatingWell Magazine

When you're trying to lose weight there's nothing more affirming than seeing the number on the scale move steadily down, day after day. But what happens when your weight loss stalls?

You stop feeling so motivated—which can lead to slip-ups and the sort of downward spiral you don't want. Don't let that happen. Instead, give yourself credit for hitting this next level, then change your game plan. Try one of these tried-and-true methods for breaking through a stubborn weight-loss plateau:

Must-Read: 6 Secrets to Losing Weight for Good
What Does a 1,500 Calorie Day Look Like?

Choose single-portion foods: Study after study shows that people tend to underestimate portion sizes and the calories they consume. Remove the guesswork by reaching for foods that make it easy to stop at one portion—we're not talking just 100-calorie snack packs, but rather things like English muffins (versus a loaf of bakery bread), apples (versus grapes), mini soufflés versus a full-size quiche that begs you to take just another tiny sliver.

Switch your snacking habits: One new study suggests that it may not be portion size—or high-cal food choices—that are causing us to consume far too many calories, but rather how often we're eating. Compared to the late-1970s, Americans today are eating 29 percent more calories through snacks. Yes, there's the perception that many mini meals may be better than a few large ones if you're trying to shed pounds—but not if it adds up to consuming more calories overall. One eating pattern that often works well for dieters: three satisfying meals, plus two small snacks—one midmorning and one midafternoon. For ideas, check out these satisfying-100 calorie snack recipes.

Pump up the fiber: Fiber, which helps you to feel full on fewer calories, can help jump-start your weight loss. In one two-year study in the Journal of Nutrition, boosting fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories resulted in losing about 4 1/2 pounds. Shoot for at least 25 grams a day from a variety of vegetables and fruits, beans (and other legumes, such as lentils) and whole grains.

Don't Miss: 7 Fiber-Rich Foods That Do the Weight-Loss Work for You
5 Simple Tricks to Eat More Fiber

How do you jump-start your weight loss when it stalls?

By Nicci Micco

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Should parents lose custody of super-obese kids?

In this July 11, 2011 photo, Stormy Bradley, right, and her daughter Maya, 14, walk their dog Bubbles in their neighborhood in Atlanta. Maya, who is 5'4" tall and weighs about 200 lbs., is part of an anti-obesity ad campaign in Georgia. A provocative article in a prominent medical journal argues parents of extremely obese children should lose custody because they can't control their kids' weight. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

By LINDSEY TANNER - AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — Should parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids' weight? A provocative commentary in one of the nation's most distinguished medical journals argues yes, and its authors are joining a quiet chorus of advocates who say the government should be allowed to intervene in extreme cases.

It has happened a few times in the U.S., and the opinion piece in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association says putting children temporarily in foster care is in some cases more ethical than obesity surgery.

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children's Hospital Boston, said the point isn't to blame parents, but rather to act in children's best interest and get them help that for whatever reason their parents can't provide.

State intervention "ideally will support not just the child but the whole family, with the goal of reuniting child and family as soon as possible. That may require instruction on parenting," said Ludwig, who wrote the article with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and a researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health.

"Despite the discomfort posed by state intervention, it may sometimes be necessary to protect a child," Murtagh said.

But University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan said he worries that the debate risks putting too much blame on parents. Obese children are victims of advertising, marketing, peer pressure and bullying — things a parent can't control, he said.

"If you're going to change a child's weight, you're going to have to change all of them," Caplan said.

Roughly 2 million U.S. children are extremely obese. Most are not in imminent danger, Ludwig said. But some have obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and liver problems that could kill them by age 30. It is these kids for whom state intervention, including education, parent training, and temporary protective custody in the most extreme cases, should be considered, Ludwig said.

                         Related: Factors that increase a child's risk of becoming overweight

While some doctors promote weight-loss surgery for severely obese teens, Ludwig said it hasn't been used for very long in adolescents and can have serious, sometimes life-threatening complications.

"We don't know the long-term safety and effectiveness of these procedures done at an early age," he said.

Ludwig said he starting thinking about the issue after a 90-pound 3-year-old girl came to his obesity clinic several years ago. Her parents had physical disabilities, little money and difficulty controlling her weight. Last year, at age 12, she weighed 400 pounds and had developed diabetes, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

"Out of medical concern, the state placed this girl in foster care, where she simply received three balanced meals a day and a snack or two and moderate physical activity," he said. After a year, she lost 130 pounds. Though she is still obese, her diabetes and apnea disappeared; she remains in foster care, he said.

In a commentary in the medical journal BMJ last year, London pediatrician Dr. Russell Viner and colleagues said obesity was a factor in several child protection cases in Britain. They argued that child protection services should be considered if parents are neglectful or actively reject efforts to control an extremely obese child's weight.

A 2009 opinion article in Pediatrics made similar arguments. Its authors said temporary removal from the home would be warranted "when all reasonable alternative options have been exhausted."

That piece discussed a 440-pound 16-year-old girl who developed breathing problems from excess weight and nearly died at a University of Wisconsin hospital. Doctors discussed whether to report her family for neglect. But they didn't need to, because her medical crisis "was a wake-up call" for her family, and the girl ended up losing about 100 pounds, said co-author Dr. Norman Fost, a medical ethicist at the university's Madison campus.

                                How to tell if your child is at risk for obesity

State intervention in obesity "doesn't necessarily involve new legal requirements," Ludwig said. Health care providers are required to report children who are at immediate risk, and that can be for a variety of reasons, including neglect, abuse and what doctors call "failure to thrive." That's when children are severely underweight.

Jerri Gray, a Greenville, S.C., single mother who lost custody of her 555-pound 14-year-old son two years ago, said authorities don't understand the challenges families may face in trying to control their kids' weight.

"I was always working two jobs so we wouldn't end up living in ghettos," Gray said. She said she often didn't have time to cook, so she would buy her son fast food. She said she asked doctors for help for her son's big appetite but was accused of neglect.

Her sister has custody of the boy, now 16. The sister has the money to help him with a special diet and exercise, and the boy has lost more than 200 pounds, Gray said.

"Even though good has come out of this as far as him losing weight, he told me just last week, 'Mommy, I want to be back with you so bad.' They've done damage by pulling us apart," Gray said.

Stormy Bradley, an Atlanta mother whose overweight 14-year-old daughter is participating in a Georgia advocacy group's "Stop Childhood Obesity" campaign, said she sympathizes with families facing legal action because of their kids' weight.

Healthier food often costs more, and trying to monitor kids' weight can be difficult, especially when they reach their teens and shun parental control, Bradley said. But taking youngsters away from their parents "definitely seems too extreme," she said.

Dr. Lainie Ross, a medical ethicist at the University of Chicago, said: "There's a stigma with state intervention. We just have to do it with caution and humility and make sure we really can say that our interventions are going to do more good than harm."

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Reward and Remind: How to Maintain Weight Loss

Source: Reward and Remind: How to Maintain Weight Loss

As hard as losing weight can be, sometimes the battle begins again when you try to stay at your goal weight. A new study from the USDA shows that the secret may be in the way you think. The study sought to find strategies that would help people maintain their weight in addition to dieting and exercising. After studying 926 people with BMIs 25 or higher (the marker for being overweight) who lost 10 percent or more of their total weight, researchers found that there are two main ways that help them successfully keep the pounds off. The secret? Remind yourself why you need to control your weight, and reward yourself for sticking to a diet and exercise plan. The people who followed these strategies were more apt to stay motivated after they lost weight.

Reward yourself. Scheduling rewards when you are maintaining weight loss is different than when you are losing weight. Going shopping for a cute outfit once you've reached a weight-loss milestone, for example, is easy to justify, but how do you reward yourself for just following your normal lifestyle routine? Don't forget that regularly rewarding yourself for maintaining your fitness regimen is important. Find a way to reward yourself if you hit your target number of workouts for the week or tie in something you love with your exercise plan. Try only allowing yourself to watch mindless TV during or after a workout, for example, or scheduling a fun weekend activity after a long week of gym sessions to help keep you motivated. 

Remind yourself. Once you hit your goal weight, it can be easy to think that a splurge is in order. But the study found that those who reminded themselves about why they needed to control their weight were more successful in keeping it off. While you shouldn't have to forgo all indulgences in order to stay at your goal weight, try reminding yourself of the consequences of straying off track before ordering the most unhealthy thing on the menu or skipping a run in favor of couch time. While these tools can help maintain weight loss, the researchers warn that the secret to weight loss is staying motivated to work out and eat healthy. Regularly and diligently sticking with a challenging diet and exercise plan is the key to most weight-loss maintenance. How do you reward or remind yourself once you've reached your goal weight?

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6 Little Lies That Can Ruin Your Health

By: Sandra Gordon

Is it so bad to have a second piece of cake or to skip a week of exercising when you feel overwhelmed by work, kids, life? The experts say no, as long as you don't convince yourself that it's always okay. "We all need an occasional break from being 'good,'" says Carol Kauffman, PhD, a coaching psychologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "If rationalizing that you can be 'bad' here and there becomes a pattern, though, it can sabotage all your stay-well efforts." To help you counter these "little killers," we've dissected six common self-deceptions. Here's how to defy denial and keep your health on course for the long run.

Related: Find Out Your Daily Caloric Needs

Lie #1: "I can have two glasses of wine a day, research should it's healthy."

Reality Check: One drink a day can slightly reduce your chances of heart disease, but make that two glasses daily and your breast cancer risk can rise 25 percent. Your odds of ovarian and esophageal cancer go up as well, according to the National Cancer Institute. Plus, one study found that women who had two to four drinks a day took in nearly 30 percent more calories overall than nondrinkers. Keep tabs on how much you're pouring: Experts consider 4 ounces to equal one serving -- about one-fourth to one-half of a big goblet.

Related: Cocktails Under 200 Calories

Lie #2: "It's low-carb, so it must be healthy."

Reality Check: Foods labeled "low-carb" aren't lower in calories or fat than the regular versions; in fact, some have more calories than the originals. If you do go low-carb, watch serving sizes and calorie counts. "People lose weight on low-carb diets because they're eating fewer calories," says Holly Wyatt, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver.



Related: I Did It!:"Healthy Carbs Helped Me Lose 145 Pounds."

Lie #3: "My bad cholesterol is high, but I don't have to worry because my good cholesterol is high, too."

Reality Check: "A really high LDL (bad) cholesterol reading can outweigh the benefits of high HDL (good) cholesterol," says Christie Mitchell Ballantyne, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center in Houston. LDL cholesterol should be less than 100 and HDL cholesterol should be higher than 50 -- preferably in the 80s. "The further you are from that optimal LDL cholesterol level, the less likely a high HDL cholesterol level will protect you," Dr. Ballantyne says.

To lower LDL cholesterol, eat lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nonfat dairy, and lean protein. One study found that adding plant foods (salad, vegetables, beans) to a low-saturated-fat diet reduced LDL cholesterol more than simply cutting saturated fat alone. And don't cut out all fats: Eliminating unsaturated fats can cause both good and bad cholesterol to drop. Aim to get about 20 to 25 percent of your calories from unsaturated fats and less than 10 percent from saturated fat.

Related: How to Eat for a Healthy Heart

Lie #4: "I don't have to workout, chasing my kids around is enough."

Reality Check: If you spend an hour or so a day running after your kids, you are getting some health benefits -- a modest calorie burn, an immune-system boost, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. But it's the more intense, sustained movement lasting 30 minutes or more that provides the maximum health and weight-loss benefits, says Heather Fink, RD, assistant director of the Center for Educational Services at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport in Indianapolis. The solution:Transform kid duty into exercise. If you typically stroll in the park with your 2-year-old, for example, pick up the pace and try to log in 30 minutes. And while your child naps or plays, strength-train at home. Build a workout around push-ups, lunges, walking lunges, squats (sitting in a chair, then standing up), calf raises (going up and down on your toes when you're standing on a stair) and triceps dips. "Try to do 8 to 12 reps and two sets of each exercise," advises Fink. You can also use easy at-home equipment such as resistance bands and hand weights, and do exercise DVDs.

Related: 8 Ways to Get Your Kids Fit

Lie #5: "I'm not overweight, I'm just big-boned."

Reality Check: We know it's hard to hear, but if your body-mass index (BMI) -- a measure of fat based on height and weight -- is 25 or higher, you may need to lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight, says Dr. Ballantyne. Unfortunately, bone mass can constitute only 4 to 7 percent of your total weight -- about 6 to 10 pounds if you weigh 150 -- and that's considered too small to affect BMI, says Gregory W. Heath, a professor of health and human performance at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.

Related: Lose 10, 15, or 20 Pounds Now

Lie #6: I can get by on five hours of sleep a night."

Reality Check: Skimping on shut-eye is okay every once in a while, but getting fewer than seven hours a night will make you moody, irritable, and less productive. "Sleep debt makes multitasking and the ability to focus more difficult," says Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD, director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research in Palo Alto, California. The health consequences are pretty steep too: People who typically get five hours a night have 15 percent higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone that can stimulate appetite, than those who get eight hours, according to researchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. Other studies have shown a possible increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and breast cancer.

If you feel like nodding off whenever you've got quiet time -- a train ride or a long movie -- then you need more sleep.

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Green Tip: Healthy Houseplants Increase Happiness

Written by Melanie Kozlan, Four Green Steps

Many believe that singing to your plants will help them grow (possibly because if assumes you've made great efforts to care for your plants) but even more people believe that having plants in your home/office will make you happier. Plants are scientifically proven to increase happiness as well aid those in recovery! Surrounding yourself with plants adds life to your environment and makes us feel more relaxed, similar to how we feel when we are outdoors appreciating nature. Caring for plants also takes us away from our stress and troubles and focus on other things. Some plants even purify our air! From the Gardening Guide: "Studies show more and more that taking care of plants can be the most efficient method to improve the physical and emotional general condition. They have a serene effect, they can reduce stress and relax muscles and therefore improve the mood people taking care of them are in. Different studies have demonstrated that the existence of plants reduce mental exhaustion. When we are overwhelmed with work, we just have to look up for a couple of minutes to a plant and we'll instantly feel more relaxed. In conclusion, plants fascinate and attract people, they break boredom and monotony generated by forced attention. The oxygen generated by plants creates a feeling of mental agility."

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Prevention’s Quick Fix: 7 Easy cures for car sickness

Nothing can dampen the fun of a long family car trip like a bout of nausea. Curvy country roads, stop-and-go traffic for miles, and seemingly endless hours in the car can all induce that unpleasant, queasy feeling in your stomach. Sidestep any tummy troubles while in route with these seven natural tips.

More Natural Home Remedies

1. Keep Your Eyes Steady
Car-ride queasiness often occurs when your brain and body cannot agree if you're moving or not. (For example, you're sitting stationary in your seat but at the same time you're moving forward.) Focusing on a steady point in the distance will allow your eyes to see that you are indeed going forward, matching the movement that your body feels and keeping you from getting dizzy. Try and pick a specific object in the distance to gaze at like a large tree or building, if there's nothing in particular that catches your eye: Focus on the horizon.

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2. Pick the Best Seat in the House
If you are prone to feeling sick in the car, opt to sit shotgun, where you have a clear view of the road ahead (and can easily look out onto the horizon). Backside facing seats will often make you feel extra queasy since you're moving in the opposite direction.

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3. Crack a Window
Fresh air may be all you need to calm your stomach troubles. If you're on the highway: Crack a window slightly and let fresh air soothe you if you start feeling sick.

4. Eat a Light Meal
Avoid going out for a big Mexican chow-down before a long car ride. Large, fatty, spicy, or greasy meals can sit in your stomach like a rock and make you more prone to feeling uncomfortable. Don't head out on your trek on an empty stomach either: a light meal and simple carbs, like a salad and crackers are just what the doctor order. You should also drink plenty of water.

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5. Apply Pressure
Acupressure is an ancient Asian practice of using your fingers to gradually apply pressure to certain spots on the body in order to heal various ailments. To stop nausea, apply tension to the P-6 acupressure point, located above the wrist on the inner forearm. A simple fix:  Try wearing a BioBand if you experience carsickness often. There is a bead sewn into the wristband that applies a constant pressure to this specific point, alleviating feelings of motion sickness. (http://www.biobands.com/order.htm, $11.95)

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6. Suck on Ginger Candy
Ginger is a powerhouse antioxidant when it comes to calming an upset stomach. The herb blocks the effects of serotonin, a chemical produced by both the brain and stomach when you're nauseated. Its also clinically proven to work: A 500 mg dose of ginger was as effective as Dramamine, the commonly used OTC motion-sickness medication. To reap the tranquil tummy effects, suck on ginger candy.

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7. Pass the Peppermint
Peppermint has been used throughout history to stifle feelings of motion sickness and nausea. You could stash a few peppermint candies in the car, sip on peppermint tea during the ride, or you could even use aromatherapy to keep nausea at bay: Dab a few drops of peppermint oil on a tissue and inhale the aroma whenever you start to feel sick. 

Tell us: What do you bring on long car rides?

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