According to Harvard scientists, women who sat for 10 or more hours during the day had a greater chance of heart attack or stroke, especially if they were also overweight or over the age of 70.

Compared to very active women who sat for 5 or less hours per day, the sedentary women were at 63% greater risk for heart disease.

There were over 70,000 women in the study, which was designed to review a large number of health and lifestyle issues.

Sitting May Increase Heart Attack Risk For Women « CBS Philly

Scientists led by Prof David Ginsburg of the University of Michigan’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute inhibited the action of a gene responsible for transporting a protein that interferes with the ability of the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood in mice. Trapping the destructive protein where it couldn’t harm receptors responsible for removing cholesterol preserved the liver cells’ capacity to clear plasma cholesterol from the blood, but did not appear to otherwise affect the health of the mice.

In the research, scientists found that mice with an inactive SEC24A gene could develop normally. However, their plasma cholesterol levels were reduced by 45 percent because vesicles from liver cells were not able to recruit and transport a critical regulator of blood cholesterol levels called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9).

PCSK9 is a secretory protein that destroys the liver cells’ receptors of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the so-called ‘bad cholesterol), and prevents the cells from removing the LDL.

Study Finds New Way to Clear Cholesterol from Blood | Medicine | Sci-News.com

People complaining of a killer commute may be closer to the truth than they realise.

Research has found that workers with long commutes of over 30 miles die younger than those who live closer to their work.

Social geographer Erika Sandow from Sweden’s Umeå University presented her worrying findings which showed that travelling workers were likely to suffer higher blood pressure, stress and heart disease.

Health trouble: Unfortunate commuters suffer a range of afflictions including higher blood pressure and weight gain

Commuters also take more sick leave and gain more weight over their working lives.

Sandow’s earlier studies also showed the toll that commuting takes on relationships.

People with long commutes die sooner | Mail Online

With some of America’s tastiest, yet unhealthiest food, it’s no wonder that for years, many have deemed people from the South to be amongst the fattest in the nation.

Whether its because so much of the food is fried or simply because access to healthy food and vegetables is hard to come by, or because southerners don’t do much exercise – the stereotype seems to have stuck.

But a new study from the University of Alabama in Birmingham says that the South is not as fat as the rest of the world would have us believe.

Epidemic: Rising levels of obesity is a major problem sweeping the United States

The journal Obesity, says that there’s a higher concentration of obese people in the Midwestern states of Minnesota, Kansas and North and South Dakota.

The northern region of the country appears to have about 41 per cent obesity compared to 31 per cent in the southern states of Alabama and Mississippi.

Just two years ago, the Center for Disease control claimed the two states were the fattest in the USA.

Southerners definitely enjoy their fried chicken (not to mention fried steak, fried onions, fried green tomatoes, fried pickles and fried corn bread) but the northerners of states like Wisconsin and Illinois enjoy their fried cheese curds and deep dish pizzas.

The region famous for its biscuits, barbecue and pecan pies has been struggling with its weight for years.

So what are the reasons for this gut-busting turnaround? The journal believes that truth-telling has something to do with it.

The Obesity journal believes those who took part in the CDC telephone survey in the South were simply more honest about their weight than those in the North.

The University of Alabama conducted their survey in-person using actual recorded weights.

Scales don’t lie: people in the south are NOT the fattest in the country and apparently they’re more truthful | Mail Online

Many of us reach for a biscuit or chocolate bar when we’re feeling a little fed-up.

So small wonder that Sunday evening with its pre-Monday blues is the time we’re most likely to comfort eat.

Nearly half of us (48 per cent) said we’re most prone to munching on unhealthy snacks such as crisps and cake between 7pm and 10pm on Sundays. A further 29 per cent said they were most likely to fall off their diet plans between 3pm and 5pm the same day.

Danger time: You may have been good all week but Sunday evening and the thought of starting another working week may have you turning to the sweet treats

Monday, meanwhile, was the most likely weekday when people reach for foods with high fat and sugar. According to the survey of 750 people, most over-eating happens at or after dinner time.

Fat o’clock? 7pm on Sunday is revealed as the time we are most likely give in to comfort eating | Mail Online

Today’s adults are so unhealthy they are 15 years ‘older’ than their parents and grandparents at the same age, researchers say.

They are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity than previous generations because of poor health, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Looking at 6,000 adults aged 20, 30, 40, 50 over a 25 year period, researchers found younger generations had poorer ‘metabolic’ health – a range of issues including blood pressure and weight.

Today’s adults are so unhealthy they are 15 years ‘older’ than their parents and grandparents at the same age

The study revealed men in their 30s were 20 per cent more likely to be overweight than in previous generations, while women in their 20s are twice as likely to be obese than those 10 years ago.

Blood pressure also increased among the younger generation of both men and women, while younger blokes are more likely to have diabetes than their dads and granddads were.

Author Gerben Hulsegge, from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, said the younger generation are ’15 years ahead’ in terms of ‘metabolic’ health.

He said: ‘The more recently born adult generations are doing far worse than their predecessors.

Why 30 is the new 45: We’re so unhealthy that we’re 15 years OLDER than our parents were at the same age | Mail Online

Shoppers at a Target store in Brooklyn say a label that listed the color of a plus-size dress as “manatee gray” was insulting.

The label for the same dress in smaller sizes described it as “dark heather gray.”

Target apologized for the label.

Michelle Ho, shopping at the store at Atlantic Terminal Mall, told the New York Post that Target was “putting down one set of people over another” with the different labels.

Spokeswoman Jessica Deede called the labeling of the Mossimo-brand “Women’s Plus-Size Kimono Maxi Dress” ”an unintentional oversight.”

She said although manatee gray was a seasonal color, Target was “fixing the discrepancy.” She said the item was removed from the company website.

Target apologizes for ‘manatee’ label on plus-size dress | Fox News

Samoa Air has become the first airline to start charging customers according to how much they weigh.

The company, based in the Samoan capital Apia, is the first to bring in the controversial measure that means overweight passengers pay more for their ticket.

A statement from Samoa Air said: “We at Samoa Air are keeping airfares fair, by charging our passengers only for what they weigh.

“You are the master of your air fair, you decide how much or little your ticket will cost. No more exorbitant excess baggage fees or being charged for baggage you may not carry. Your weight plus your baggage items, is what you pay for. Simple.

“When booking online, customers are asked to enter their details, including the estimated weight of passengers and their baggage, and the fare is then calculated accordingly.

Pay by the Pound: Samoa Air Becomes First Airline to Charge Overweight Passengers More – IBTimes UK

Pharmacy giant CVS has told workers in the Bay Area and around the nation to reveal their weight and other health information, or pay extra for health coverage.

The company announced Wednesday what it called “A Plan for Health,” that features a mix of rewards and penalties for employees.

Among the measures, employees must report their weight, body fat, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Workers must also be tobacco free or enroll in an addiction program by next year.

Employees who refuse will have to pay $50 more for health coverage each month, totaling $600 a year.

In a video released by CVS, a top executive said the plan is progressive and cutting edge. “These changes aren’t just about costs, they’re about us, each of us taking personal accountability for our own health,” said Lisa Bissacia, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.

“(CVS Executives) better get some pretty good legal counsel and decide whether your policy is really legal, because the policy as announced is not legal,” said Richard Schramm, a Bay Area employment lawyer.

Schramm told KPIX 5 the company is trying to tell employees what they can and can’t do on their off time.

CVS Ordering Workers To Reveal Weight, Health Info « CBS San Francisco

The study, conducted at Pennsylvania State University, reportedly found that eating poorly not only worsens moods, it also doesn’t do much to alter moods positively before or during meals.

“There was little in the way of mood changes right before the unhealthy eating behaviors,” said Kristin Heron, Ph.D., research associate at the Survey Research Center at PSU was quoted as saying by PsychCentral. “However, negative mood was significantly higher after these behaviors.”

The negative emotions experienced after treats are said to be primarily connected to concerns regarding body image and maintaining a proper diet.

Researchers reportedly collected data for the study by asking 131 women with unhealthy eating habits and self-image concerns – but who did not exhibit signs of an eating disorder – to travel with handheld computers that prompted the participants several times daily to answer questions about dietary choices and mood at a given time.

Study co-author Joshua Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health, was quoted as saying by PyschCentral, “This study is unique because it evaluates moods and eating behaviors as they occur in people’s daily lives, which can provide a more accurate picture of the relationship between emotions and eating.”

Study: Comfort Food Could Worsen Mood « CBS Atlanta