Health and diet tips for the holidays

Here are two health tips for the holidays from campuses on the campaign trail I first included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Die, Selfish Gene!).

The University of Alabama at Birmingham goes first under the policy of "if it moves, it leads" with Diabetes study helping save Santa and you.

The GRADE study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a special visitor in November. Red suit. Black boots. White beard. Belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly. A V.I.E. (Very Important Elf) visited this national clinical trial for Type 2 diabetes.

For more, here's the press release: UAB GRADE study for diabetes: Saving Santa and you By Bob Shepard, Wednesday, December 04, 2013.

The GRADE study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a special visitor in November. Red suit. Black boots. White beard. Belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly. A V.I.E. (Very Important Elf) visited this national clinical trial for Type 2 diabetes.

The GRADE study is evaluating four new medications for Type 2 diabetes. Patient confidentiality issues prohibit UAB from confirming anything about the health status of any patient, including our V.I.E. Suffice it to say that the Big Guy has some risk factors for diabetes.

“He has several risk factors associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes,” said Andrea Cherrington, M.D., associate professor of Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine. “He’s overweight, he has a pretty sedentary lifestyle, and he doesn’t maintain the healthiest diet. These risk factors are also related to the development of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke.”

The University of Georgia concludes with advice to avoid overeating with UGA research shows that food portion size and shape can deceive the brain.
Incomplete-looking portions can lead to over-eating
December 4, 2013

Athens, Ga. - As the holiday season gears up, beware of the popular tip that advises dieters to eat only half the food on their plate. According to a new study from the University of Georgia, that advice can play tricks on the brain-and the waistline.

Julio Sevilla, a marketing professor at UGA, recently had research published in the Journal of Marketing Research. That research shows that the shape of objects can fool the brain. An "incomplete" portion of food, like half a sandwich or a snack-sized candy bar, tends to lead viewers to believe that it's less caloric despite its actual nutritional value.

This can lead people to over-consume when their portions look incomplete.

Here's to maintaining a healthy weight over the holidays.