Interesting Links

OK, for years now conventional wisdom has for the most part told us that 'red and processed meats' increase the risk of cancer compared to poultry.  Now some researchers claim that hot dogs have fewer carcinogens than rotisserie chicken.  They can't make up their minds because they bark up the wrong tree.  How about checking on the carcinogenicity of hot dog buns and soda pop?

Research suggests that if you want to get active, you should get a dog, not a gym membership or treadmill.  Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times reports:

If you’re looking for the latest in home exercise equipment, you may want to consider something with four legs and a wagging tail.

Several studies now show that dogs can be powerful motivators to get people moving. Not only are dog owners more likely to take regular walks, but new research shows that dog walkers are more active over all than people who don’t have dogs.

One study even found that older people are more likely to take regular walks if the walking companion is canine rather than human.

Probably because most humans live at the fatigue-inducing effect of hyperinsulinemia.  Which reminds me, dogs, not chimps, behave most like humans (or is it, humans behave more like dogs than like chimps?).

Cooperation, attachment to people, understanding human verbal and non-verbal communications, and the ability to imitate are just a handful of the social behaviors we share with dogs. They might even think like us at times too, according to the paper, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Advances in the Study of Behavior. 

While there is no evidence to support that dogs and humans co-evolved their laundry list of shared behaviors over the past 10,000 to 20,000 years, the researchers believe adapting to the same living conditions during this period may have resulted in the similarities.

In the "duh" department, researchers announce that going on a calorie-restricted diet  will make you irritable and angry.

Research has shown that exerting self-control makes people more likely to behave aggressively toward others and people on diets are known to be irritable and quick to anger.' 

David Gal of Northwestern University and Wendy Liu of the University of California found that people who exerted self-control were more likely to prefer anger-themed movies, were more interested in looking at angry facial expressions, were more persuaded by angry arguments, and expressed more irritation at a message that used controlling language to convince them to change their exercise habits.

In one experiment for the study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who choose an apple instead of a chocolate bar were more likely to choose movies with anger and revenge themes than milder movies.

I think these people have the mechanism wrong.  I don't think these subjects felt angry because they exercised self-control, I think they felt angry and aggressive because they felt hungry.  Do you think those same people would be angry if they had chosen steak instead of either apples or a chocolate bar?  I doubt it.

But these researchers are stuck in the self-control model of weight management.  They think it is all about going hungry and self-discipline.  In contrast, the nature says that appetite regulation and weight management occurs spontaneously when you feed the animal its natural diet.


Nature didn't make a mistake. You don't need much aggression to go for apples.  When you choose to live on apples and go hungry, you get aggressive, because that's what you need to go out hunting for real food, i.e. meat.

On the faith front,  attending religious services apparently makes you fat.

New research finds that people who frequently attend religious services are significantly more likely to become obese by the time they reach middle age.

The study doesn't prove that attending services is fattening, nor does it explain why weight might be related to faith. Even so, the finding is surprising, especially considering that religious people tend to be in better health than others, said study author Matthew J. Feinstein, a medical student at Northwestern University in Chicago.

"It highlights a particular group that appears to be at a greater risk of becoming obese and remaining obese," he said. "It's a group that may benefit from targeted anti-obesity interventions and from obesity prevention programs."....

The researchers found that 32 percent of those who attended services the most became obese by middle age, whereas only 22 percent of those who attended services the least became obese.  Does God give girth, or what?

Levin said one possibility is that those who attend services, along with activities such as Bible study and prayer groups, could be "just sitting around passively instead of being outside engaging in physical activity."

Also, he said, "a lot of the eating traditions surrounding religion are not particularly healthy; for example, constant feasts or desserts after services or at holidays -- fried chicken, traditional kosher foods cooked in schmaltz (chicken fat), and so on."

How about those donuts served after sermons?  The pancake breakfasts used for fund raisers? 

Don't lose any sleep over it.  Researchers found that when sleep-deprived, people increase their food intake by 300 more calories per day.  Note that in the article the authors call ice cream and fast foods "high fat."  Uh, did they forget the sugar?  Just another reason to sleep like a hunter-gatherer: as much as possible, absent artificial lighting, and with family, even if only your dog.