Friday! Time for del.icio.us Friday, the weekly health news update. You can also stay updated with this news as it happens by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed. As a new feature, every week I’ll highlight one “must-read” article of the week in bold (see item #15 below). This week it’s the New York Times’ feature on the Hannaford Grocery chain’s efforts to guide consumers towards healthful foods using a unique star system. Don’t miss it!
Here are the week’s top stories:

1. Is a low-calorie diet the secret to longevity?: We all know that cutting back on calories promotes weight loss, but does it also promote longevity? Several thousand Americans seem to think so.
2. Two fizzy drinks a day increase risk of pancreatic cancer by 90 per cent: Consuming two cans of fizzy drinks a day can double your risk of developing one of the most fatal types of cancer, say researchers. People who add sugar to cups of tea or coffee are also at higher risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study.
3. Low-Carb Diet Doesn’t Up Heart Risk: Critics of low-carbohydrate diets claim that they promote heart disease, but one of the first studies to examine the long-term effects of low-carb eating suggests otherwise.
4. Canadian adults gaining weight but at slower pace: Canadian adults are gaining weight but the pace at which they’re doing so is slowing down, says a new study by Statistics Canada.
5. Control the Cravings: Whether it’s a hot fudge sundae or a steaming order of crispy French fries that call your name, food cravings can fuel a lot of overeating. In a Lean Plate Club column, discover what food cravings mean and how they can differ for men and women; then learn how you can help control them.
6. Women Pack On More Calories When Eating Out: Study: A new study by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing reveals women prone to binge-eating often eat more calories and fats when dining out. Moreover, restaurants present a high-risk environment for them by causing them to lose control and overeat.
7. Health drive puts pupils off school meals: The drive to make school dinners healthier has been followed by a widespread dip in the numbers of pupils taking them, a survey indicated today.
8. Abdominal obesity in children up 65 % over four years: Five-year-olds are developing middle-age paunches — a bleak sign that children are not only getting heavier, they’re packing on the worst kind of fat.
9. Europe Faces Obesity Epidemic by 2010: Europe will face an obesity epidemic by 2010, which will increase health costs and hamper economic development, health experts said.
10. One In Six Americans Have Pre-Diabetes And Most Don’t Know It: Fifty-four million Americans - that’s one in six of us - have pre-diabetes and most don’t even realize it.
11. Exercise Fights Fatigue, Boosts Energy: New research suggests regular exercise can increase energy levels even among people suffering from chronic medical conditions associated with fatigue, like cancer and heart disease.
12. Overweight have more to gain: Just a little bit of exercise will shrink the waistlines of the couch-bound far quicker than it will benefit active people, Australian research proves.
13. Pregnant? Stock Up on Whole Wheat: A study on rodents has shown that offspring’s of rats that feasted on whole wheat were less likely to develop breast cancer.
14. 60m Chinese overweight while 24m are hungry: While 24 million people in China live in abject poverty and suffer malnutrition, 60 million Chinese are obese, a nutritional health expert has said.
15. The Package May Say Healthy, but This Grocer Begs to Differ: The chain, Hannaford Brothers, developed a system called Guiding Stars that rated the nutritional value of nearly all the food and drinks at its stores from zero to three stars.

Enjoy your weekend!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, health news, fitness news, del.icio.us

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With the holiday season upon more and more people will begin to look for the next quick-fix diet to get in shape right before the quintessential family reunion. While regular readers of Fitness Mantra already know that short term weight loss diets are not the solution to a lifetime of fitness, it would still be informative to know what options are out there based on our individual needs. But where do you begin?

TechCrunch, a website that tracks new companies in the “web 2.0″ space, reports on a new site called Diet Television which claims to “help you lose weight and get healthier”. The blurb on their site reads:

we don’t believe in silver bullets and we don’t have a favorite diet.
we just give you unbiased opinions from experts and from people just like you.

DietTelevision is a colorful and easy to use site that allows you to narrow down to a diet that is right for you based on the importance you attribute to a number of factors like how quickly you want to lose weight and whether you are allowed to eat outside. The site uses a system of very intuitive sliders to help you convey how important each of these several factors are and once you make a choice, the right side of the screen automagically updates (cute message alert: “Please weight …”!) and shows you the top five diets for your choice.

Being the fitness freak I am, I gave less importance to losing weight quickly and more to things like feeling healthier, having non-restricitive diets and inclusion of lots of fruits, vegetables and dairy. My results:

Hmmm…. “Whole Grain Diet”. That looked like a diet that seemed to focus on a partuclar food group and made me wary. Clicking on the link, however brought another surprise: A nicely organised tabbed interface that described the diet in detail:

Each tab gives more detailed information including descriptions and nutritional information and why this diet works.
While getting information about diets would likely be the main reason most users will visit this site, the other side of the coin, namely leaving a review of a diet you have tried, is supported too (which in turn forms the basis of narrowing down the choices for the searchers). It looks like the site has been in beta for sometime since there is already considerable information available for a wide variety of diets including some I have never even heard of (Martini-hic!-Diet anyone?).

Clicking on Rate a Diet brings up the familiar, easy-to-use interface, except in this case you are rating the diet rather than your interests:

Overall, I liked the site although the concern with any user-generated site is that it is only as good as its readers. Still, this would be a good first step toward a healthier you and we all know that is always a good thing.

Do check it out and let me know if you found it useful.

Live well!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, diet, website, Diet Television

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