All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

The holidays are here and many Hispanic women can expect to deal with a host of mixed messages when they pass by a table full of festive foods, a new study says. At social gatherings, Hispanic women might be encouraged to eat more on the one hand, while also being cautioned not to overeat on the other, researchers report in a study published in the December issue of the journal Body Image. “You’ll go see your grandma and your grandma is telling you to eat more, eat more, you’re so skinny,” one participant in the study told researchers. “But then when you’re not being prompted by somebody else to eat a lot and you go get a second plate or get a second bowl of something, and they’re [saying], ‘Oh wow, you’re eating a lot.’” For the study, researchers interviewed 19 Hispanic women about their positive and negative body image experiences. The open nature of the research allowed for detailed description of the mixed messages Hispanic women face related to their body image, researchers said. Hispanic women tend to have high rates of body dissatisfaction, which increases their risk of eating disorders, said lead researcher Sarah Johnson-Munguia, a University of Kansas graduate student with the Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors Lab. “There’s a lot of stereotypes in the eating disorder world…  read on >  read on >

Folks who switch to artificial sweeteners in drinks and food may be drawn to other types of unhealthy fare — bringing down the quality of their overall diet, new research suggests. The study, published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, tracked the diets of almost 164,000 people averaging 53 years of age, about four-fifths of who were women. All were enrolled in an ongoing American Cancer Society (ACS) study aimed at cancer prevention. Levels of folks’ intake of artificial sweeteners — in packets, beverages and yogurt — was tracked along with a host of other foods. The qualty of people’s overall diet was assessed using the ACS Diet Score. The research showed that as levels of artificial sweeteners rose, the overall quality of folks’ diets declined. For example, increased artificial sweetener intake was linked to a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables, the study found, but more processed foods. Why might that be so? Although the sweeteners are “used to replace added sugar, our study demonstrates consumers of food and beverages with sugar substitutes are also consuming other foods and beverages that are high in nutrients of concern, such as saturated fats, sodium and added sugar,” said study lead author Allison Sylvetsky. She’s an associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In fact, at the highest…  read on >  read on >

Winter is here, and that can make it difficult for those with asthma to control their symptoms. The cold air that comes with cooler temperatures can contribute to asthma flare-ups, as can increased respiratory infections and seasonal allergies. It’s essential to manage your asthma to keep yourself healthy throughout the season. Some of the strategies mentioned below will help make your winter more enjoyable and ensure your symptoms are better controlled.  Managing Winter Asthma Triggers In addition to medication, managing environmental triggers is vital for asthma control during winter. For my patients with asthma, I recommend finding ways to warm the air they are breathing when outside. Cold air can restrict airways, leading to increased symptoms. Try wearing a scarf or mask over your mouth and nose when you’re outside in cold weather. Indoor air quality can be affected by heating systems, which can circulate dust and allergens. Regular cleaning, using air purifiers, and maintaining appropriate humidity levels can help create a more asthma-friendly environment. Getting a Flu Shot is Vital It’s not too late to get a flu shot. Immunization against the flu is one of the most effective ways to protect against respiratory infections during winter months. If you have asthma, influenza can lead to severe complications, including exacerbations that may require you to be hospitalized. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and…  read on >  read on >

There may be something special about team sports in childhood that helps sharpen a kids’ brain, new research shows. Children who were on soccer or volleyball teams scored higher on tests of “executive function” — thinking skills needed to organize, remember details, make decisions and stay focused — compared to kids who didn’t play sports or played individual sports only, the new study discovered. “Scientific data indicate that playing a team sport like soccer improves executive function skills, which are among the most key life skills of all,” Dr. Alison Brooks wrote in a journal commentary accompanying the new study. She’s professor of orthopedics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The new study was published Dec. 17 in the journal JAMA Network Open. It was conducted in The Netherlands and led by Lu Yang, a graduate medical student at the University Medical Center Groningen. Yang’s team looked at data on almost 900 schoolchildren tracked from 2006 through 2017. The kids were assessed at two age periods: Ages 5 to 6 and then again at 10 to 11. Data was compiled on their daily physical activity (including sports participation), and they were also given cognitive tests measuring executive function at around the age of 11. The research showed that “moderate” levels of overall physical activity in early life had no significant impact on the kids’…  read on >  read on >

Research out of the United Kingdom finds workers often feel overwhelmed by digital technology and the need to always be connected online. It’s a worldwide issue, the study authors believe. “What we have found in our research is that there is a potential dark side to digital working, where employees can feel fatigue and strain due to being overburdened by the demands and intensity of the digital work environment,” said lead study author Elizabeth Marsh, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Nottingham. “A sense of pressure to be constantly connected and keeping up with messages can make it hard to psychologically detach from work,” she added in a university news release. The study was published Dec. 17 in the journal Frontiers in Organizational Psychology. In their research, Marsh and colleagues conducted in-depth interviews with 14 employees about how 21st-century digital workplaces impact their well-being. The biggest factor weighing on workers is what the researchers called “hyperconnectivity” — the fact that texting and emails mean workers can truly never get away from the alerts and requests of clients or co-workers. “You kind of feel like you have to be there all the time. You have to be a little green light,” one worker told the research team. “[It’s] just more difficult to leave it behind when it’s all online and you can kind of…  read on >  read on >

Does a crowded neighborhood make you move more? Yes, says new research that found people who live in highly populated areas walk more than people who live in less densely populated areas.   Since more walking is connected to better health, generally speaking, the extra steps can make a big difference in terms of promoting an active lifestyle and public health, said lead study author Glen Duncan, a Washington State University nutrition and exercise physiology professor. “We have so many people in the U.S. population who don’t get sufficient activity. If we could shift the percentage of the population that just took on more plain old walking, we would see real health benefits,” Duncan said in a university news release. In other words, improving local walkability, and getting more Americans to walk, can potentially boost the health of the entire population. For this study, researchers examined twins’ activity levels by location. Neighborhoods were deemed walkable based on an index that measures the density of people, roads and desirable places to walk to — destinations such as stores, parks, restaurants and coffee shops.  The study analyzed data from surveys of 5,477 pairs of twins who lived in various parts of the United States. Data from 2009 to 2020 — which included information about where people lived, the number of minutes they walked in a typical week and…  read on >  read on >

Can you literally step away from depression? A new global review of data found that “increasing the number of daily steps, even at modest levels, was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms.” The Spanish study found that up to a level of about 10,000 steps per day, the odds for depression decline as daily step levels rise. The findings were published Dec. 16 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers led by Estela Jimenez-Lopez, of the University of Castile-La Mancha, noted there’s already solid evidence that exercise of any kind is a natural antidepressant. But what about something as easy as walking? To find out, they looked at data from high-quality studies on daily step counts and their links to mental health. In total, the new review covered 33 studies involving a total of more than 96,000 adults worldwide. Studies included people who used fitness-tracker devices to calculate their daily steps. Compared to a baseline of 5,000 steps taken per day, folks who took even 1,000 more steps daily saw a 9% drop in their odds for developing depression, the researchers found. Those benefits quickly mounted up: Compared to folks walking 5,000 steps per day or less, those who walked 7,000 steps/day had a 31% lower odds for depression, the study found. “In addition, counts above 7,500 steps/d were associated with a 43% lower…  read on >  read on >

Do parents use Santa Claus to help guide kids to better behavior? It happens often, a new poll shows. One-quarter of parents of kids ages 3 to 5 said they’ve threatened misbehaving kids with no Santa or gifts if they don’t shape up, according to results from the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Many parents also reported threatening to leave a Christmas activity, taking away toys or denying dessert to get their kids to behave, the poll found. What’s more, nearly half of parents polled have resorted to bribes to get better behavior from kids. Unfortunately, these aren’t likely to be winning strategies, Mott pediatrician Dr. Susan Woolford said in a hospital news release. “Discipline helps young children learn what behaviors are safe and appropriate and can play a crucial role in helping them learn the difference between right and wrong,” Woolford said. “Empty threats, however, undermine trust and credibility and aren’t usually effective,” Woolford added. “Positive reinforcement and consistent discipline are more likely to shape long-term behavior.” About half of parents rated themselves as very consistent in disciplining their child, based on poll responses from 725 parents with at least one child between the ages of 1 and 5. But it’s not easy — nearly a quarter of parents said they become overly irritated by their…  read on >  read on >

Close friendships are incredibly important to the mental health of middle-aged folks and seniors, a new study finds. Older adults with worse mental or physical health were twice as likely to say they don’t have any close friends, according to results from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. “With growing understanding of the importance of social connection for older adults, it’s important to explore the relationship between friendship and health, and identify those who might benefit most from efforts to support more interaction,” said investigator Sarah Patterson, a research assistant professor with the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. Overall, 90% of people 50 and older said they have at least one close friend, and 75% say they have enough close friends, poll results showed. But about 20% of those with fair to poor mental health and 18% of those in fair or poor physical health say they have no close friends, researchers found. Another 47% of those in fair or poor mental health said they don’t have enough close friends, results show. The poll also found that 79% of those with at least once close friend felt that they could turn to them for emotional support, and 50% had a friend who encouraged them to make healthier choices like eating better or getting more exercise.  In addition, 35% said a…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. obesity rate declined for the first time in a decade last year, coinciding with the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a new study finds. Data on almost 17 million adults nationwide showed the obesity rate — which has been rising for years — fell from 46.2% of adults in 2021 to 45.6% in 2023, Harvard University researchers report. Obesity was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. At the same time, the use of GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Zepbound has surged, although the researchers said it’s not possible to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between the trends. Still, they noted that, “The most notable decrease [in obesity] was in the South, which had the highest observed…dispensing rate,” for GLP-1 medications. The study was led by Benjamin Rader, an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, and published Dec. 13 in the journal JAMA Health Forum. As Rader’s team noted, “the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has increased for several decades. Some long-term forecasts estimate that this upward trajectory will continue, while others forecast a plateau.” The introduction of GLP-1 meds like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) into the marketplace has been a perhaps unexpected new factor in recent years, however. Sales of the injected medications have soared, and the results in terms of weight…  read on >  read on >