Since the World Health Organization was founded in 1948, it has been measuring and predicting and the life expectancy of people in almost every country across the globe. Over the years, the conditions for life expectancy have evolved from focusing solely on predicted birthrates and infant mortality to include ongoing wars, healthcare systems, and the prevalence of chronic conditions.

We have some alarming news for you, America. Our life expectancy ranking is tanking.

MORE …

Tags: america, expectancy, health, life, obesity, united states, usa, years

What is the first thing you do when you see a model on a magazine cover or a photo of someone’s selfie on Instagram? Let’s be honest. We judge. “That’s pretty!” or “That’s hideous!” It’s a natural filtering of our belief system and cognitive bias (yes, we all have it). Then after judging comes the comparing. It’s hard not to do that as ego-driven beings. “Where do I fall on the scale of the goodness or badness of what I’m seeing?” It’s a trap we all fall into, especially when it comes to weight and body shape.

MORE …

Tags: appearance, body, health, image, movement, obesity, positive, risk, size, weight

There is no doubt that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight benefits your overall health and vitality. Volumes of research confirm its positive impact on reducing the risk of developing over fifty chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and several forms of cancer. Losing weight can limit these risks through improvements to multiple biological systems, such as the endocrine, metabolic and circulatory systems. Your body was designed to work in a specific way, and losing excess weight helps you reach its optimal state.

However, there is one system that doesn’t quite fully align with the natural or automatic benefits of weight loss. The skeletal system – consisting of 206 bones and a network of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage – has an interesting relationship with body weight. Weight loss ultimately benefits the skeletal system’s health, but it takes a little work and thoughtful decision-making to make that happen.

Like we said it’s complicated.

MORE …

Tags: after, before, bone, gain, gout, health, medical, osteoarthritis, skeletal, surgery, weight loss

It seems more Americans are going organic these days. Since 2007, organic food purchases have more than doubled, and have grown at eight times the rate of overall food purchases. It’s a stunning statistic as the cost of organic foods can reach up to 100 percent higher than their non-organic equivalents. So the big question is?

Is organic worth it?

MORE …

Tags: diet, eating, food, grocery, health, healthy, nutrition, organic, weight loss

Maybe it’s because they are easy to remember with their alphabetic ABCDE arrangement, but vitamins always seem to upstage their just-as-critical mineral counterparts. But minerals really are the unsung heroes of good health, and it’s worth knowing how each plays a role in keeping your engines running. When it comes specifically to weight loss, there are five main minerals that are worthy of particular praise.

MORE …

Tags: calcium, health, magnesium, minerals, phosphorous, potassium, vitamins, weight loss, zinc

When it comes to exercise options I recommend for weight loss and maintenance, walking is at the top of the list.

Why? There are many reasons including that it???s inexpensive, easy to do anywhere, perfect for people who haven???t worked out in awhile, and it cuts one???s risk of all types of health conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, insomnia, arthritis, back pain, and more!

MORE …

Tags: exercise, fitness, health, health conditions, lifespan, lifestyle, obesity, walking, weight loss