"Why You Shouldn't Exercise to Lose Weight"

In this article featured in Vox the authors examine over 60 articles regarding exercise and weight control.  Read the full article here.

"In general, diet with exercise can work better than calorie cutting alone, but with only marginal additional weight-loss benefits. Consider this chart from a randomized trialthat was done on a group of overweight folks: The group that restricted calories lost about the same amount of weight as the group that dieted and exercised, though the exercisers didn't cut as many calories:

The calorie restriction groups lost more weight than the group who both dieted and exercised.

If you embark on a weight-loss journey that involves both adding exercise and cutting calories, Montclair's Diana Thomas warned not to count those calories burned in physical activity toward extra eating.

"Pretend you didn't exercise at all," she said. "You will most likely compensate anyway so think of exercising just for health improvement but not for weight loss" (Vox).  

Eating your feelings? Sleep on Stress

Researchers from Michigan State University evaluated work related stress and unhealthy food choices.  
"A good night's sleep can serve as a protecting factor between job stress and unhealthy eating in the evening, indicates a new study co-authored by a Michigan State University scholar.

The study, published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology, is one of the first to investigate how psychological experiences at work shape eating behaviors.  

'We found that employees who have a stressful workday tend to bring their negative feelings from the workplace to the dinner table, as manifested in eating more than usual and opting for more junk food instead of healthy food,' said Chu-Hsiang Chang, MSU associate professor of psychology and study co-author."

Read the full article here. 

Exercise and Healthy Habits

In a recent article from The Wall Street Journal  researchers from George Mason University in Virginia looked at interactions between physical activity and socialization in college students.  

The WSJ reports:

"On a given day, students who exercised also tended to participate in more social and achievement activities than on days when they didn’t exercise, the study found, and they engaged in activities that tended to matter to them more.

In addition, exercise on one day predicted positive social activity on the next day, but not achievement activity.

The researchers also found that positive social and achievement activities on one day didn’t predict exercise on the next day.

The results support an approach to treating depression called behavioral activation." 

High Fat Diets and Colorectal Cancer

In a recent study featured in Science Daily, "poor diet is associated with 80% of colorectal cancer cases, but the exact pathways by which diet leads to cancer are not known."

Research from the Cleveland Clinic have identified a specific molecular pathway that links high-fat diets and tumor growth in the colon.  

"In the July 6 issue of Stem Cell Reports, the team showed in pre-clinical models that cancer stem cell growth in the colon was enhanced by a high-fat, Western diet. Cancer stem cells are a subset of resilient, aggressive malignant cells that are believed to be partially responsible for spread and recurrence of cancer.

Furthermore, when the researchers blocked the JAK2-STAT3 cellular signaling pathway, a widely studied pathway known to promote tumor growth, the spike in cancer stem cell growth caused by the high-fat diet declined.

This study provides more insight into how the JAK2-STAT3 pathway is linked to diet-related cancer. Pinpointing the exact mechanism can help researchers develop therapeutics to counteract the negative effects of a Western diet on colorectal cancer" (Science Daily).  

Read the full article here.