Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan Example

Health classes don’t have to focus on just eating right and exercising more, according to the latest study. In fact, they might be more effective if they addressed teens’ mental as well as physical needs.

Researchers led by Bernadette Melnyk, the dean of the nursing school and chief wellness officer at Ohio State University, studied nearly 800 teens aged 14 years to 16 years from varied backgrounds at eleven high schools in the Southwest. Compared to students who received a traditional health class for 15 weekly sessions that focused on topics road safety and infectious disease, those who exercised for 15 to 20 minutes daily and were taught cognitive techniques to reduce stress and anxiety were less a third as likely to gain significant weight. They took an average of around 4000 more steps per day than those in the traditional health class. “Only 2.7% of those [in the program] moved to overweight or obese, whereas almost 9% in the control group [did],” says Melnyk.

The participants receiving the cognitive training also had a 35% drop in drinking by the end of the program. And those who were most depressed at the start of the study moved back into the normal mood range if they received the exercise and coping class.

“These are very exciting findings,” says Patricia Conrod, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, who was not connected with the study, “It’s one of first studies to demonstrate that psychological interventions that were originally designed to improve mental health [may] have beneficial effects on other health indicators.”

The program, called COPE for Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment, was developed by Melnyk and teaches teens to examine the relationships between their thoughts, emotions and actions. It’s based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has repeatedly been shown to be an effective treatment for many mental illnesses. Participants learn to identify “activating events”— for example, being told by a classmate that their art project “sucked” — that triggers emotional crises. In such situations, some adolescents immediately fall into a negative spiral, thinking “I can’t do anything right,” or “No one likes me.”

While in the program, however, the students learned how to examine those thoughts and replace them with more positive ones such as, “That’s just one person’s opinion,” or “Ok, maybe this one didn’t work, but I usually do a good job,” says Melnyk. Doing that repeatedly is an effective way to fight depression and anxiety, research finds. Now, studies like this are starting to suggest that it might prevent those disorders entirely if taught early enough.

But what features of COPE were the responsible for the students’ improved mood and weight loss? The fact that both exercise and mental health skills are part of the program makes it hard to distinguish each factor’s role in the final outcome. However, they may be synergistic. “It’s possible that getting moving kick starts the physiological reactions that improve mood and then allow the other changes,” Conrod says, “[But it’s] equally possible that better cognitive and mental health allows them to make changes in their life,” like eating less and moving more.

Melnyk, for her part, believes that the therapy element is the defining feature of the program, noting that many other wellness strategies include exercise without CBT tactics and do not enjoy similar results. The teens also seemed to support her theory, reporting that this part of the program was most helpful for them.

That supports the idea of incorporating more cognitive behavioral approaches in health-based programs, and moving away from the idea that these strategies are only good for the mind. It turns out the they do both mind and body good, and that these contributions may even feed off of each other.

The research was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Youtube Screen GrabA Brazilian MMA fighter died on Thursday while trying to make weight for his upcoming fight in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

The 26-year old Leandro "Feijao" Souza passed out moments before the official weigh-ins for the Shooto 43 fight card, according to MMAfighting.com

MMA fighters are often known for cutting weight by shedding water right before fights through dehydration tactics.

After the fight they refuel themselves back to their normal weight, which can be 10, 20, or even 30 pounds above the fight weight limit.

Souza fought at the flyweight division, which is the smallest weight division in MMA. The required weight limit is 125 pounds. Authorities have not confirmed the cause of his death yet but his trainer Andre Santos told mmafighting.com that his death is linked to the weight cut:

"We don’t have much information yet but we do know that is related to his weight cut...His sister called me saying that he had passed out so I went to the hospital, but he was already dead when I got there".

According to Santos, Souza was attempting to take the fight on short notice and needed to lose 33 pounds in one week. Not only that, he still had 11 pounds to lose in the last 24 hours right before the weigh-ins. Souza was two pounds short of the weight limit when they found him dead inside a sauna.

When Adam Richman, the stout host of Travel Channels former food challenge series "Man v. Food," announced his retirement in early 2012, the world heaved a hefty sigh. Who now would power through five-pound burgers in greasy diners so we didnt have to?

But our loss has proved Richmans gain. And loss. Richman, now the host of the NBC game show "Food Fighters" and Travel Channels "Adam Richmans Fandemonium," has shed 60 pounds since the "Man v. Food" cameras stopped rolling.

"People expect me to order the biggest, richest dish, but its nice saying no," Richman told People magazine. "Im no human Dyson."

Richman, who has previously hinted that health was a factor in his decision to leave the world of food challenges, told the magazine that his appearance in old episodes alarmed him. “It was unflattering. It sent me into depression," he said.

Richman dropped the weight by cutting back on white flour and dairy and revving up his exercise routine. We imagine that quitting "Man v. Food" helped, too.

Below, check out Richmans amazing transformation. Its incredible what he accomplished in such a short period of time:

Dec. 14, 2011

About a month before announcing his "Man v. Food" retirement, Richman looks much like were used to seeing him.



Oct. 11, 2012

Nearly a year later, Richman is still rocking a large frame. But he looks like hes dropped a few pounds.



May 13, 2013

A few months of Richmans hard work clearly shows, and hes looking sharp.



July 11, 2013

Bam! Richman shows some serious progress here. We dig this slimming suit.



Aug. 15, 2013

Excuse us, has anyone seen Adam Richma... OMG ITS HIM. Richman looks like half of his former self in the below photo, and we couldnt be happier for him. Congrats on your new figure, Adam, and keep up the good work!



And just because, heres Richmans transformation in GIF form.


GIF credit: Joe Satran