A study done by the University of Michigan found that 51% of overweight adults and 33% of obese adults have normal levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides. The study also found that 25% of adults in the recommended weight range have unhealthy levels of at least 2 of those. This means the standard weight/height ratio isn't an accurate predictor of health risks. Waist size is a much more accurate predictor. Both the healthy overweight/obese adults and those in the recommended weight range had smaller waists than their counterparts who had at least 2 or more risk factors. For good health, waist not - want not.
A study done by neurobiologists at Cornell University suggests that humans' ability to speak evolved from the tiny lobe at the base of the brain of grunting toadfish. According to the scientists, toadfish evolved into amphibians, which evolved into mammals, which - millions of years later - evolved into humans. Neurobiologist Andrew Bass says the area of our brain that now controls speech is just a more evolved version of the grunting toadfish's lobe. Maybe, but more study is needed to find out if this finding sinks or swims.
A recent study done by 2 Australian researchers found that pregnancy can cause memory loss, a loss that is subtle and usually involves unfamiliar or demanding tasks. For example, a pregnant woman is likely to forget a new phone number, but is able to remember one she has called many times. Although further research is needed to determine if this memory loss is caused by hormonal changes, life shift or lack of sleep, the loss can continue after the baby's birth. Of course, if lack of sleep is the cause, pregnant women should not expect to get their memories back until their babies are in college.
Finally, E.C. Segar, the creator of Popeye, based his spinach-eating, muscle-popping character on an 1870 German study, which concluded spinach would make big muscles because it contained as much iron as red meat. Wrong. The scientists had gotten a decimal point in the wrong place. Then there was a recent study from Rutgers University that said spinach contains phytoecdysteroids, which speed up muscle growth by 20%. Right, but you'd have to eat 2.2 pounds of spinach a day. Realistically, the only change spinach is going to make in our appearance is when it gets stuck in our front teeth.
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