Recent studies have given the answers to these 5 questions about body fat, weight loss, fitness, nutrition and health.
How many will you get right? (Answers appear below the quiz.)
1. Does having a pear-shaped body protect against disease?
A. Yes.
B. No.
2. Which type of cancer has the mango been found to prevent or stop in laboratory tests?
A. Breast.
B. Colon.
C. Lung.
D. Prostate.
E. All of the above.
3. If your doctor approves, how many pistachios should be added to your daily diet to potentially reduce the risk of lung cancer without increasing your body mass index significantly?
A. 1 ounce.
B. 2 ounces.
C. 3 ounces.
D. 3-1/2 ounces.
4. Depressed women are less successful with weight loss programs than women who aren’t depressed…
A. True.
B. False.
5. The more TV you watch, the greater your risk of…
A. Getting a divorce.
B. Having a baby.
C. Developing dementia.
D. Dying from heart disease.
Here are the answers…
1. A.
Yes, under certain circumstances.
Oxford University researchers found that having a pear-shaped body (with more fat stored on the hips, thighs, and buttocks) may actively protect you against heart disease and diabetes.
If you have more fat in the stomach or waist areas, you’ll have more fatty acids released into your body… which can then be deposited in muscles like the heart or organs like the liver… which ultimately leads to more heart disease and diabetes.
But significant weight gain can reduce or even eliminate the protective effect of having a pear-shaped body.
2. E.
Texas AgriLife Research food scientists tested mango polyphenol extracts in the lab. They found that the fruit most effectively targeted certain common breast and colon cancers. But it also affected leukemia, lung and prostate cancer cells, although to a lesser degree.
3. B.
According to a researcher from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 2 ounces per day of pistachios may be added to your diet to reduce lung cancer risk without significantly increasing your body mass index. But you should always check with your doctor before making any changes to your diet.
A form of vitamin E in pistachios may provide this protection.
4. B.
False.
Although researchers at the Group Health Research Institute expected depressed women to eat more, exercise less, lose less weight and attend fewer sessions in weight loss programs than women without depression, it didn’t happen.
5. D.
I have no idea whether A, B or C are true.
But Australian researchers found that each hour per day of sedentary behavior (like watching TV) was linked to an almost 20% greater risk of dying from heart disease, an almost 10% greater risk of dying from cancer, and an over 10% greater risk of dying from all causes.
So stop sitting, get up and move. It could save your life.
