12 September, 2015

Depressed?? Eat some fish!

Eating a lot of fish may help curb the risk of depression in both men and women, reveals a pooled analysis of the available evidence. After pooling all the European data together, a significant association emerged between those eating the most fish and a 17 percent reduction in depression risk compared with those eating the least. When the researchers looked specifically at gender, they found a slightly stronger association between high fish consumption and lowered depression risk in men (20 percent).

Among women, the associated reduction in depression risk was 16 percent. ‘Higher fish consumption may be beneficial in the primary prevention of depression. Future studies are needed to further investigate whether this association varies according to the type of fish,’ the authors noted in a paper which appeared online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Several previous studies have looked at the possible role of dietary factors in modifying depression risk, but the findings have been inconsistent and inconclusive.

The researchers pooled the data from relevant studies published between 2001 and 2014 to assess the strength of the evidence on the link between fish consumption and depression risk. After trawling research databases, they found 101 suitable articles, of which 16 were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. These 16 articles included 26 studies, involving 150,278 participants. ‘The high-quality protein, vitamins, and minerals found in fish may help stave off depression while eating a lot of fish may be an indicator of a healthy and more nutritious diet,’ the researchers suggested. Depression affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide, and is projected to become the second leading cause of ill health by 2020.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

12.09.2015

The pressure of looking cool among peers is bad for kids

The pressure to be cool, look good and own the ‘right stuff’ is detrimental to many children and teenagers, psychologists, including one of Indian-origin, have found. The study showed that, while many young people buy into consumer culture believing it will make them feel better about themselves and help them to make friends, often the reverse happens. ‘Our study shows how consumer-culture values are tied up with images of social success in childhood,’ said Robin Banerjee, professor of developmental psychology at University of Sussex in England.

‘Our results suggest that children who have low levels of well-being are particularly likely to become orientated towards consumer culture, and thus enter into a negative downward spiral,’ Matthew Easterbrook, lecturer in psychology at University of Sussex said. ‘Consumer culture may be perceived as a coping mechanism by vulnerable children, but it is one that is detrimental to their well-being,’ Easterbrook noted. In this three-year study of 1,000 children between ages eight and 14, the researchers found that being disruptive, having ‘cool stuff’ and looking good was often seen as the best way to become more popular among peers.

The results, however, showed that valuing these behaviours actually has the opposite effect, with peer relations worsening over time for those kids turning to consumer-culture values. ‘Although friendly and helpful children were ultimately more popular over time, young people mistakenly predicted that the route to being liked was in having a reputation for disruptive behaviour, having ‘cool’ stuff and looking good,’ Banerjee pointed out. The research was presented at the annual conference British Psychological Society’s Developmental and Social Psychology Section in Manchester.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

12.09.2015

Positive anything is better than negative nothing

Elbert Hubbard