Nibbles: Chronic stomach pain made worse by eating, the science of stretching and owners of fat dogs could be fined
Dyspeptic patients have trouble with meals
People who have the chronic stomach problem known as functional dyspepsia often have more problems when they eat. The condition involves stomach pain, a feeling of fullness, bloating and nausea and is diagnosed when symptoms are present but there’s no known underlying cause such as an ulcer. Research in the journal Gut found that among those who had meal-related problems, issues started within 15 minutes of eating and lasted up to four hours. They first felt bloating and fullness, followed by nausea and belching, and finally pain and burning. Seventy-nine percent of those involved in the study had some after-meal problems.
Exercise may limit preeclampsia for thin women
Recently we told you about a study that showed staying physically active during pregnancy could help limit medication needs during labor and delivery, and another study shows that activity during pregnancy may help lean women prevent preeclampsia, a condition in which the mother develops high blood pressure and excretes protein in her urine. The study from Norway did not show any benefit for obese women, who most commonly have the problem. The women who were most active (moving at least 25 times a month) were 21 percent less likely to have developed preeclampsia while pregnant than those who got the least activity.
Static stretching no help to muscles
If you’re an active person, you might include some old-school stretching as part of your workout routine, but if you’re still doing the stretches the way you learned in junior high school, you could actually be doing more harm than good. Static stretching, where you hold a stretch for 20 or 30 seconds, can actually weaken muscles by as much as 30 percent. Instead, people need to focus on movements that increase range of motion to the joints and actually warm up the muscles, such as jogging to prepare for a run or doing more dynamic sets of stretches designed to warm up the muscles you’ll be using in whatever activity you’re doing after the warm up.
Activity may improve function in people with dementia
Exercise is important for people of all ages, but research from Spain suggests that moving more could help people with dementia improve their physical function. Group exercise classes that focused on strength, flexibility and mobility made patients stronger, gave them great endurance and balance and made them better able to perform daily living tasks independently such as getting out of a chair on their own or bathing or dressing themselves.
Brits could be prosecuted for fat animals
Finally, in news from last month that we somehow missed, a proposed beefed-up code of animal welfare in Britain means that pet owners could be prosecuted for overfeeding their animals. People who fail to put their fat furry friends on a diet could be fined up to £20,000 or put in jail for a year. The draft document is not yet official, but it advises pet owners that they need to be mindful of how they treat their animals, doing things such as pet-proofing upstairs windows so cats can’t fall out and not taking dogs for walks at the hottest part of the day. The Torries say the rules are “absurd” and assume people aren’t smart enough to know how to care for their animals.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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