Happiness and Health: Or is it a question of survival?

Early risers are happier, healthier and slimmer, says study Posted on: 16 Sep 2011, 02:28 PM London: People who get up early in the morning are likely to be happier, healthier and slimmer than those who do not, says a study. The researchers from London's Roehampton University have found those who watch more TV are more likely to skip breakfast. It could be since they snack in the evening when watching TV, making them less hungry when they wake up in the morning, daily reported. In the study, experts quizzed 1,068 adults to see if they were morning or evening people. They found that morning people tend to be happier, thinner and more conscientious than evening people. They are also more likely to eat breakfast. Joerg Huber, the researcher, said: "These findings bear out the consensus that there are morning people and evening people, and that morning people tend to be healthier and happier, as well as having lower body mass indices." (Agencies) Tags: Early risers are slim healthy and happy, Early risers are slim and trim, Early risers are more fit, Early risers are healthier, rise early to look slim and happy, Study done on early risers health, Research on early risers health ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quit smoking to be happier and healthier Posted on: 15 Dec 2011, 01:12 PM Some smokers have concerns that their quality of life may deteriorate if they stop smoking but research shows that those who kick the butt feel more satisfied and healthier than those who continue with the habit. A new research by Megan Piper from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and her team looks at whether quitting smoking can improve psychological well-being. "Our findings suggest that, over the long-term, individuals will be happier and more satisfied with their lives if they stop smoking than if they do not," says Piper. Positive experiences of quitting smoking, including improved well-being, could be used by clinicians to educate and motivate individuals to stop smoking, reports the journal Annals of Behavioural Medicine. The authors assessed quality of health, positive versus negative emotions, relationship satisfaction and stressors among 1,504 smokers taking part in a smoking cessation trial. They were assessed at one year and three years, according to a university statement. The authors found that smokers who quit successfully, long-term, see some noticeable. Tags: Quit smoking, how to quit smoking, effects of smoking, latest on smoking, why should you quit smoking --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Working women have unhealthy children, says survey Posted on: 06 Nov 2011, 04:41 PM ShareThis « Previous Next » Working women have unhealthy children Working women have unhealthy children New Delhi: Most of the working mothers have unhealthy children with problems like obesity, while kids whose moms work part time are better off, a lifestyle study by Assocham said. As many as 56 percent of working women have children with problems such as overweight which may aggravate into lifestyle diseases like cardio-vascular disorder and fatty liver when they grow into adults, it said. The problem was far less with the women who take up part time assignments. Only 28 percent of these women have kids with unhealthy physical attributes. On the other hand, homemakers' kids are a lot healthier as they are less into junk foods like pizza, burgers, pasta and aerated drinks, the study done by Assocham Development Foundation said. The study was done on 2,000 students in 25 schools in different cities, including the metropolis Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. "One in five kids in the metropolitan cities is overweight and they are more likely than normal weight children to grow up to be obese adults and suffer from obesity-related conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease," Assocham said in a statement quoting its Health Committee Chairman B K Rao. Rao, who is also chairman of the Critical Care Medicine Department in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said: "A healthy diet plays a preventive role in relation to nutrition-related conditions such as overweight, obesity and dental disease and osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus, later in life." The chamber said that the canteens in schools have a role to play. "With child obesity levels rising and physical activity declining, it is important that canteens provide healthy and nutritious food," it said. These comments also reflect concerns in a public interest litigation filed recently seeking ban on sale of junk food in Delhi school canteens. Working parents tend to spend more of their food budget eating out and on fast foods. They may also have less regular family meals, the chamber said. Over 67 percent of children mostly eat crisps or sweets between meals and 75 percent mostly drink sweeten drinks, while a total of 81 percent watch television or use the computer for at least two hours a day. Changes in the children's physical activity, time spent unsupervised or watching television, the survey said. The study found that children of working mothers have more freedom to eat unhealthy fast food and watch television for hours and have less time to prepare more nutritious. It also observed that pressure of job leave women short of time to prepare healthy family meals, so their children will have TV dinners more often. Mother who work part-time or are able to work more flexible schedules have children that are more likely to have healthy diet and exercise behaviours. About 60 percent parents liked their children to carry home-cooked food to school on all six days, though 51 percent of them also give Rs 20-40 to their children to buy canteen food. Also, around 46 percent children spend Rs 50 every day at canteens with burgers and noodles selling the most 45 percent and 40 percent, respectively. (Agencies) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Divorced women in dire straits: Survey Posted on: 20 Dec 2010, 08:16 PM ShareThis « New Delhi, Dec 20 (Agencies): Approximately 80 percent of divorced or separated women in India live below the poverty line, with a monthly income of less than Rs.4,000, a survey said. Conducted between October 2008 and September 2009, the survey to determine the economic rights and entitlements of divorced and separated women involved interviewing 405 women across the country. Most of them belonged to middle class and lower middle class backgrounds. Divorces and separations are increasing in India. Yet not much attention is being given to the way separated and divorced women live, often with their children, and what their rights and entitlements are," Advocate Kirti Singh, who headed the survey, said Monday at a conference to share the findings. The survey found that in most parts of India the majority of separated or divorced women belonged to the 23-32 age group. "Seventy-five percent of these women live in their natal homes because they have no economic support, and they are not always welcome there. Eighty percent of them have their children staying with them," Singh said. The survey said that only 1.7 percent of the respondents were earning a "handsome" amount of Rs.35,000 per month. The majority, approximately 80 percent, earn less than Rs.4,000 per month and live below the poverty line. Another significant finding was that almost half the number of women surveyed had not asked for maintenance. The reasons ranged from ignorance to lack of resources for legal action. A shocking 83 percent of those surveyed said they opted out of the marriage because of cruelty or domestic violence in their marital homes. Tags: Divorced, women, dire, straits, Survey ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Nation World States Business Sports Entertainment Lifestyle Special India Vs West Indies Women Home » Lifestyle News » Jobless men, not women more prone to divorce Search Go Jobless men, not women more prone to divorce Posted on: 22 Jun 2011, 08:17 PM ShareThis « Previous Next » Unemployment may doom divorce for men Unemployment may doom divorce for men Washington: It's quite painful even to think about the possibility of losing your job. But for men, the pang of unemployment can be more severe as their wives are most likely to divorce them, a new study has found. However, in the case of a woman, whether she has a job or not has no effect on the likelihood that her husband would decide to leave the marriage, the Ohio State University study found. The study also found that despite more women entering the workplace, the pressure on husbands to be breadwinners largely remains, a Science website reported. In addition to upping the chances their wives would leave them, unemployed men themselves were more likely to initiate divorce - even if they reported being happy in their marriage - than guys with jobs. Unlike unemployed men, unemployed women were less likely to initiate divorce than their employed counterparts, the researchers said. Employed women were more likely to initiate a divorce than women with jobs, but only when they were highly unsatisfied with the marriage. "These effects probably emanate from the greater change in women's than men's roles," the researchers wrote in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Sociology. "Women's employment has increased and is accepted, men's non-employment is unacceptable to many, and there is a cultural ambivalence and lack of institutional support for men taking on 'feminised' roles such as household work and emotional support." A woman's unemployment status or decision to enter the work force is not a violation of any marriage norms. Instead, the researchers found that employment provides women with financial security, which enables them to leave a marriage when they become highly unsatisfied with their husbands. The study, which was led by Liana Sayer of Ohio State University, was based on data from more than 3,600 couples that had been collected from three waves of the US National Survey of Families and Households. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Working moms happier than stay-at-home moms Posted on: 13 Dec 2011, 12:49 PM ShareThis « Previous Next » Working moms happier then stay-at-homes Working moms happier then stay-at-homes Washington: Moms who hold jobs are healthier and happier than those who stay at home during their children's infancy and pre-school years. Researchers analysed the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Study, beginning in 1991 and involving interviews with 1,364 mothers shortly after childbirth, including subsequent interviews and observations for a decade. "In many cases, the well-being of moms working part time was no different from moms working full time," said Cheryl Buehler, professor of human development and family studies, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, who led the study. For example, mothers employed part time reported better overall health and fewer symptoms of depression than stay-at-home moms, The Journal of Family Psychology reports. There were also no reported differences in general health or depressive symptoms between moms employed part time and those who worked full time, the study said. The analysis found that mothers employed part time were just as involved in their child's school as stay-at-home moms, and more involved than moms who worked full time, according to a California statement. Part time mothers appeared more sensitive with their pre-school children and they provided more learning opportunities for toddlers than stay-at-home moms and moms working full time. Particularly in tough economic times, employers looking for cost savings hire part-time employees because they typically do not receive the same level of benefits, such as health insurance, training and career advancement, the authors pointed out. "Since part-time work seems to contribute to the strength and well-being of families, it would be beneficial to employers if they provide fringe benefits, at least proportionally, to part-time employees...," said study co-author Marion O'Brien, professor and Buehler's counterpart. (Agencies) Tags: Working moms are happier than stay at home moms, Working moms are much happier, Working is better for mother’s health, Study done on working moms health ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------