Health experts at the National Obesity Forum have warned that now is the time to tell your loved ones if they are carrying a little too much weight.

With the evidence piling up as fast as the chocolate wrappings, the message this Christmas is simple: face the flab. Abdominal fat is increasingly thought to be strongly linked to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

A recent survey involving over 2,000 people found that nearly half of 18-24 year olds, one third of 25-44 year year olds and one quarter of over 44 year olds would not tell a loved one if they were fat incase it hurt their feelings.

The poll also revealed that men found it harder to tell their partners that they were fat than women did. Women were fine telling their husbands, but less likely to want to tell a friend.

Experts believe that Christmas, what with all the family gatherings, offers a fantastic opportunity to breech the subject.

Professor David Haslam, chair or the NOF, said: “Suggesting to someone that they should consider losing a few pounds may not be a comfortable conversation to have. But if someone close to you has a large waistline then as long as you do it sensitively, discussing it with them now could help them avoid critical health risks later down the line and could even save their life.”

When the modern commercial icon for Christmas is a chubby old man with a soft spot for mince pies and brandy butter, it would come as no surprise if sometime within the next few decades, a popular global brand unveils a healthier, slimmer version of our old pot-bellied friend.

Weight can be an awkward subject to breech with friends and family members. If you find the idea daunting, you could encourage your loved ones to visit a life coach. Life coaches aren’t there to lecture you, or make you feel stupid or bad – they are simply there to educate, guide and motivate. Life coaches  use expert techniques to make people feel good, change lives for the better and help overweight people become not only slimmer and fitter, but happier, and more comfortable in their own skin. To find out more about how a life coach can help, please visit Life Coaching Areas section.

View and comment on the original BBC article.

With Christmas party season in full swing and festivities about to go up a gear this weekend, alcohol will be flowing leaving many of us feeling less than merry the morning after the night before.

Though Christmas is a time for happiness and cheer, unfortunately alcohol means that tis the season for red faces after we embarrass ourselves in front of friends and colleagues after a few too many.

If you have decided you want to avoid the yearly office party embarrassment or you just don’t fancy a throbbing head or a stomach that’s doing so many turns it could churn butter, then read on for some useful tips on the do’s and don’t of Christmas drinking:

1. Don’t drink on an empty stomach

This is the cardinal rule if you wish to avoid a hangover. Food helps to moderate the absorption of alcohol and also reduces the chances of any stomach irritation.

2. Choose your drinks wisely

According to the brains behind alcohol, congeners – which are impurities produced by the fermentation process are a contributing factor in the severity of a hangover.

Dark spirits such as red wine and brandy contain a higher level of congeners than clear spirits such as vodka and gin, so are preferential if you wish to avoid feeling terrible the day after. The same goes for any alcohols that have been distilled, as they will have been purified to a greater extent meaning lower congener levels.

3. Don’t mix your drinks

Mixing up different drinks with different congener levels and impurities could result in a worse hangover than if you stick to the same tipple all night.

4. Drink water

Alcohol dehydrates the body so stock up before hand so that you will be less dehydrated at the end. Ideally you should also alternate between water and alcohol throughout the night, which not only keeps you hydrated but also means you may end up drinking less alcohol.

It is really important that you know your limits when drinking alcohol, especially when in a working professional environment. If you are concerned about your behaviour when you are under the influence of alcohol then the most sensible option is not to drink at all.

View and comment on the original All About You article.

We’re all guilty of wondering how ‘he’ managed to snag ‘her’, the modelesque beauty hand in hand with the plump, 5ft something ‘beast’.
Now scientists in America think they’ve uncovered the secret, and it’s nothing to do with having a ‘good sense of humour’ or a ‘substantial bank account’.

According to a new study published in the Psychological Science journal, some unattractive men get by purely on the unfettered belief that they are far more attractive than they  really are, making them more likely to approach beautiful women.

Forget protein shakes, forget hair transplant surgery, forget that secret tub of Nivea – the key to dating a beautiful woman is simply unbridled arrogance.

The results come from a study of 96 male and 103 female undergraduate students given 3 minutes to talk to each of 5 members of the opposite sex.

Before the experiment started, they were asked to rate all 5 ‘dates’ on their attractiveness. After the dates, they were asked to rank how attracted they thought their dates were to them.

The researchers concluded that: ‘Essentially, men who rated themselves high on attractiveness were more likely to overperceive women’s interest. The more attractive they actually were to women, however, the more likely they were to underperceive.”

The results also revealed how women tended to underestimate how attracted men are to them. The researchers have speculated as to whether this could be an innate mechanism designed to deflect unwanted sexual interest and appear more choosy in order to single out the best potential mate.

So if you are an attractive woman wondering why the tall dark and handsome men never approach you, it could be because they don’t feel worthy enough!

Of course, physical attraction is subjective and should never determine one’s feelings of worthiness or confidence. As this study demonstrates – your confidence depends more on how you feel than how you look.

If you are feeling particularly unconfident or unable to approach the opposite sex, you may benefit from speaking with a life coach. A life coach can help you build on your qualities and help you to see your worth and merit in order to fulfill your potential. To find out more about how a life coach might be able to help, take a look at our Confidence/Self-Belief section.

View and comment on the original Telegraph article here.  

Scientists have found that yawning may indicate empathy and close relationships as opposed to just tiredness.

An Italian study has found that individuals are more likely to catch on to the contagious effect of yawning in response to a close relative than they are to a friend or an acquaintance.

The action of yawning has long since been known to stimulate blood flow around the brain, a response which is now thought to be a natural way of maintaining alertness within a group situation.

The study in question found that the contagious effect was most likely between directly related family members, slightly less likely between friends, and even less likely still between acquaintances and strangers.

The researchers said: “Our results demonstrate that yawn contagion is primarily driven by the emotional closeness between individuals and not by other variables, such as gender and nationality.”

The findings have been further cemented by results from additional studies involving children with autism. Children with autism are generally less able to express empathy than other children – and were found to be less likely to pick up on the contagious effect of yawning than other children.

Experimental psychologist Dr Catriona Morrison from the University of Leeds has said that this subconscious response could shed light on the evolution of the human brain.

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

Struggling with your Christmas shopping? Instead of the endless pairs of socks and toiletries destined for the back of the cupboard, why not get someone something special this Christmas?

Oxfam Unwrapped is a way for you to give a loved-one the opportunity to change someone’s life. Why spend £5 on a box of chocolates when you could spend £5 on fertiliser that helps to build and sustain a farming community in Africa?

Whether your budget is £5 or £5000, there’s something for everyone at Oxfam Unwrapped. There’s nothing like saying- ‘Happy Christmas, I drilled a bore-hole in Africa for you’- and now you can do just that. For £3,946, you can fund everything it takes (labour, pumps, drilling and maintenance) to provide sustainable fresh water to a whole community.

Next time your eight-year old daughter asks for a pony, get her a goat. Or, for £50, get her two! Healthy, vaccinated and ready to mate, these goats produce milk, fertiliser and offspring, meaning your ‘donation’ will never run out like cash does. No mucking out for you, either.

Once you’ve selected the appropriate gift from the online list of categories- ‘animal lovers’, ‘the business minded’, ‘foodies’, ‘for the girls’ and so on, you then get the option to send a printed gift card. This could either feature a picture of the gift, or an image to suit the occasion. You can then choose to add a ‘little extra’ for a personal touch- whether a bag of chocolate coins or an Oxfam calendar.

Donating or volunteering for charity is a fantastic way to help others. Helping others feels good, too- making you happier and healthier. If you would like advice on how to improve your life, you may benefit from visiting a life coach. To find out more about how life coaching could help you, please visit our Personal Development section.

To find out more about Oxfam Unwrapped, and to change a life this Christmas, please visit their website. 

According to a new survey undertaken by a cosmetic company, having a good gossip can actually have positive health benefits. 

Whether it is whispering about an office romance at the water cooler or discussing a neighbour over the garden wall – it seems that the effects of a gossip are far more far reaching than previously thought.

The survey figures revealed that 85 per cent of respondents enjoy hearing juicy gossip and one in 10 individuals find it difficult to keep hold of a secret.

According to psychologist Dr Colin Gill, the act gossiping can boost positive hormone levels within the body that in turn help to reduce stress and anxiety. Gill puts these effects down to the fact that we are taking an interest in what other people are saying and bonding in the process.

‘Peer referencing’ which is a common aspect of gossiping that involves comparing ourselves favourably to the people we are discussing also seems to have positive effects, again boosting happy hormones within the body.

Although gossiping is generally considered to be largely negative and something which the majority of us feel guilty about after we have done it, in evolutionary terms it actually helped us to gather useful information about the characters of others and their behaviour, and still remains necessary to group cohesion.

“It’s a good way of finding out what kinds of behaviour are socially acceptable in your group. If somebody raises their eyebrows as they tell you something about somebody else, you modify your behaviour accordingly.” Said Gill.

Gill went onto say that as long as gossip is not malicious, unpleasant and untrue and it is started out of a spirit of concern then it is perfectly healthy.

View and comment on the original Telegraph article.

According to new research by Nivea, Brits now hug each other an average of 13 times a day- that’s equal to once every waking hour. 

We’re not talking about the brief, awkward, squashed handshake kind of hugs Brits are used to – these are full-on 10 second cuddles. If we’re to believe such figures, that’s over 2 minutes of solid hugging every day, or 12.5 hours a year.

What ever happened to the 5 metres of personal space Brits used to entertain? Linda Blair, an American psychologist who lived in Britain for 40 years, thinks we’re finally warming to the idea of human contact.

Blair believes this is down to loneliness – a national endemic caused by our extensive use of technology. She argues that activities such as texting, emailing and social networking  have deprived us of the physical human contact we need. She said: “Remember that humans spent a lot of time depending on others when they are little, more than any other animal. Babies recognise other people by smell before they can even see”.

When we lead busy working lives, sometimes all we have time for is a quick text or a Facebook message while we’re on the train before we get home and slump in front of the telly. This goes some way to explaining why an apparent 41% of us would like even more than 13 hugs a day.

So who on earth is doing all of this hugging? According to Nivea’s poll, most turn to their partners, while 14% turn to close friends and a meagre 9% turn to their mothers.

Nivea also found that men would love a hug from Holly Willoughby, Lorraine Kelly and Nigella Lawson. Nothing Freudian about that.

Loneliness can be a serious problem when it leads to depression and social anxiety. Although most life coaches don’t operate a hug service, they will be able to help get you back on track and build your confidence so you can fulfil your potential. If you would like to find out more about how life coaching could help you, please visit our Life Coaching Areas section. 

View and comment on the original Telegraph article. 

Having trouble drifting off when it comes to bedtime but fed up of counting sheep? Try these alternative sleepy time tips to help you into the world of slumber:

1.     Don’t force it

Unfortunately none of us possess the power to ‘will’ ourselves to sleep, so thinking and wishing and praying for it to happen will only result in frustration. If you happen to be having a sleepless night then try not to become stressed. Thinking ahead to the next day about how tired you are going to be during your morning commute and at work will not help matters. Relax – there is plenty of time for sleep tomorrow night, and the one after that etc.

2.     Build a routine

It is all very well setting an alarm each day to wake us at the same time, but we forget that a bedtime routine in the evening is just as important. Try to pick an hour to be in bed by most nights to help your body build a routine.

3.     Shut out the light

Obviously you will turn your light off before bed but bear in mind that other light sources can be a disturbance. If your phone goes off in the middle of the night, even if it’s on silent the light may disturb you without you actually realising.

The light from your computer charger, the hallway light coming in under your door and the light of the street lights seeping through your thin curtains can all act as disturbances on an unconscious level. Turn your phone charger over, shut off the hall light and get some well-lined curtains or a blackout blind.

4.     Choose your pillow wisely

Trying to get a good night’s sleep without a good pillow is akin to trying to get a car to start without an engine, or like going to the gym in stilettos. You need the right equipment. Ensure that your pillow offers support and comfort that is suitable for your sleeping position.

5.     Banish furry friends

As much as the thought of our feline and canine friends snuggled up at the end of the bed is all very quaint – midnight meowing and barking at bumps in the night do not make for a relaxing bedtime. Pets are just as easily woken up as we are so do yourself a favour and pop their bed a little further away (i.e. in another room) from yours.

For the full list of tips please visit the original Women’s Health Magazine article.

Californian scientists have used brain scans to unveil how the brain deals with traumatic memories whilst we sleep.

A research team from The University of California showed a group of participants a series of emotional images and then scanned them a few hours later as they viewed the images for a second time.

Between the two showings half of the participants were allowed to sleep and half were not.

When assessing the results of the scan it was found that the participants who were allowed to sleep between the showings were less active in the amygdala – the area of the brain linked to heightened emotions, and more activite in the prefrontal cortex – a brain region linked to rational thinking.

The group who were not allowed to sleep on the other hand, experienced a much more emotional response to the second round of pictures.

Scientists who worked on the study believe that the changes that occur during the REM period of sleep could help to explain why painful memories seem to be eased by sleeping.

The scientists believe that chemical changes in the brain during REM sleep may help to explain how the body makes this change.

Study leader Dr Matthew Walker has said that during the REM stage of sleep there is a decrease in a brain chemical which is associated with stress – norepinephrine.

He commented, “By reprocessing previous emotional experiences in this neurochemically safe environment of low norepinephrine during REM sleep, we wake up the next day, and those experiences have been softened in their emotional strength.”

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

Love handles, muffin tops, beer-bellies, overhang, middle-aged-spread … all terms favoured by the media for that unwanted belly fat so many of us seem to have.

A survey recently named excess belly fat as the UK’s biggest body hang-up (or hang-over?). So the most logical way to beat the bulge it is to jump on the Swiss-Ball and crack out 100 sit ups a day, right?

Wrong, according to Gareth Cole, head of education at the Third Space gym in London’s Soho. He says by focusing too hard on the ‘core’ muscles, people neglect other important muscle groups integral for fitness and health.

Another fitness expert, Jean-Claude Vacassin, agrees. He says: “There is a place for sit-ups but not for people who spend a lot of time hunched over a desk. If your lower back is often rounded – spinal flexion – you don’t want to create more flexion. To say it is all about core training is like looking at the world through a straw.”

Millions of people in the UK spend all day shackled to their office desks, often hunched over their screens. This only increases the likelihood of injury when they do finally get a chance to exercise.

Although spending 15 minutes in the morning doing sit ups may seem like a good idea, doing isolated exercises can lead to back problems caused by damaged spinal discs.

Sports rehabilitator Christnoel Buhay believes men are more likely to get obsessed about the abs because they tend to only train the muscles they can see. A man’s typical training session focusses on the chest and biceps, whereas he should be looking to open up his posture by strengthening the lower back instead.

So what exercise should we be doing to fight the flab? Gareth Cole suggests trying something called the ‘Plank Matrix’:

Start in the basic plank position, then roll onto your side and lift each of your legs into the air in turn. This will strengthen the muscles around the spine and improve your posture.

Other recommended exercises include lunges, squats, push-ups and dead-lifts.

So the moral of the story? Vary your workout – try not to focus too much on just one area because this could lead to injury.

Some life coaches specialise in personal training. If you would like to find one, simply type ‘personal training’ into the box on the top right hand side of the homepage, titled ‘search entire site’. 

View and comment on the original London Evening Standard article.