TresSugar

Weight Impacts Sex Lives of Obese Women More Than Men

Annie Scudder — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:00:04 PDT

Dating site OkCupid created some shiny graphs last month based on its users' profiles and found that women who enjoy exercising have an easier time achieving orgasm. Now a study appearing in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy provides scientific evidence linking fitness with good sex. The study out of Duke University found obese women experience lower sexual satisfaction and a lower sexual quality of life overall.

Using a questionnaire to measure sexual interest, arousal, masturbation, and more, researchers found obesity impacts a woman's sexual satisfaction more than a man's, although both obese men and women have lower sexual quality of life over all. Obese women had lower sexual satisfaction scores than both cancer survivors and the general population, while obese men's satisfaction fell above cancer survivors and below the general population.

In fact, another study conducted last year found some extra weight can be a sexual advantage for men. It concluded the higher a man's body mass index, the longer he lasts in bed. Maybe size does matter.

Do You Know Your Growth Chart?

babysugar — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:31:15 PDT

When the pediatrician rattles off my son's weight and length stats, I typically have no idea where he falls on the growth chart. Concerned about the rest of the visit, I usually wait until I get home to plot his numbers on the map to see his percentiles. Do you know where your child is on the spectrum?
Source

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5 Reasons You Should Eat More Berries

FitSugar — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:25:53 PDT

If someone told me that the only food I'd be able to eat for the rest of my life were berries, I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I absolutely love all kinds of berries including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries - they are a simple, sweet, healthy treat that can be added to a variety of dishes. Just buy them, or pick them, and rinse them up and enjoy. Berries not only taste good, but they are also chock-full of nutritious goodness and deliver a plethora of health benefits. Here are five reasons why you may want to up your berry intake.

They are good for your brain: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston found that the polyphenols in berries help the part of the brain that takes care of regular maintenance and "housekeeping." Blueberries and strawberries were said to contain the most polyphenols.

They may help you lose weight: Berries are loaded with the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin. This antioxidant is said to be able to alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells, making it more difficult to put on weight if you are regularly consuming anthocyanins.
They are good for your eyes: Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, contain lutein in the pigment of their skin, which is important for healthy eyes.
They are anticarcinogens: Christine Sardo, who manages clinical trials on berry consumption and cancer prevention for Ohio State University's College of Medicine, found that rats that ate a diet consisting of 10 percent black raspberries showed reductions in oral, esophageal, and colon cancers of about 50 percent compared to rats that did not eat berries. Sardo concluded that berries contain potent anticancer compounds including calcium, folic acid, fiber, and various phytochemicals. Specifically, black raspberries slow the growth rate of premalignant cancerous cells through a process called apitosis, therefore stimulating those cells to die.
They help slow down the aging process: The powerful antioxidants in berries prevent free radical damage in your body. And less free radical damage means slowing down the aging process and helping you live longer!

Has Natalia Vodianova Grown Major Muscle?

Noria Morales — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:50:57 PST

Natalia Vodianova first won our hearts with her delicate, ethereal presence, personified through her piercing blue eyes and wispy frame. At yesterday's Hakaan show during Paris Fashion Week, a powerful, muscle-toned Natalia strode the runway in a fitted black leather minidress. It looks like she's been hitting the gym when not donning sexy lingerie for photo shoots. What do you think of this new Natalia? Do you prefer her delicate and soft or jacked and fierce?

Have You Gained Weight at Your Current Job?

Emily Co — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:15:52 PST

Sitting around all day staring at the computer screen is inactivity at its best, but it's something that's inevitable once you're working the daily grind. I was clicking through Business Insider's depressing list of 15 Seriously Disturbing Facts About Your Job when I spotted this interesting fact. Almost half of Americans have gained weight at their current job. Out of those who put on weight, 28 percent gained more than 10 pounds and 12 percent gained over 20 pounds.

The working world has a lot of factors that contribute to the extra poundage - work stress, inactivity, less time and energy for working out, eating out for lunch, to name a few. So tell me, have you gained weight at your current job?

Link Time - A Chat With the Editor of a Plus-Size Model Magazine

TresSugar — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:20:19 PST

In her shoes: what's it like to be a plus-size model magazine editor - SavvySugar
Why women date bad boys - The Frisky
How to reach your relationship goals - YourTango
In praise of older mothers - Huffington Post
When you fight with your friends online - College Candy
"Why doesn't my boyfriend pay for anything?" - Glamour
Is it OK to ask parents about fertility issues? - LilSugar
What guys think about jealous girls - GuySpeak
Flickr photos: an ode to MLK - Flavorwire
Today is the saddest day of the year - The Awl

The Week in Weight

Leta Shy — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:00:09 PST

Obesity and health are always in the news, but when it's New Year's resolution time weighty issues reach an all-time high. What do you know about recent news about this number one New Year's goal for 2011? Take this quiz and see if you've been paying attention!

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Group Therapy: Skinny Girls Get Weight Hate Too

Tres Community — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:00:00 PDT

This question comes from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I'm a new grad who has recently started working at a local bookstore. I absolutely love it there - my job is fantastic and my co-workers are wonderful. Lately though, one of my female co-workers has been making some comments about my weight that quite frankly make me feel awkward and uncomfortable. Whenever a customer asks me where the weight-loss section is, my co-worker will say something like, "Oh, don't send her over there; she might try to actually go on one of those diets;" the other day, when I bought a Snickers on my break, the woman said, "Oh, is that yours? Good. Buy five more of them, you're so darn skinny." Added to these incidents are the little remarks like, "Oh, where's [my name]? Look hard for her . . . if you turned her sideways, she'd completely disappear," as well as remarks about my 12+ years of vegetarianism and regular workouts.

I'm 5 foot 5 and weigh about 110 pounds, so I've never considered myself fat, but I don't think I'm so desperately skinny as to be warranting comments like this. I'm a vegetarian because I'm morally opposed to meat; I work out because I consider it part of a healthy lifestyle. I know this might sound like a case of "poor little thin girl," but I'm honestly really embarrassed by my co-worker's comments and feel really awkward and don't know how to react when she says something. My co-worker is somewhat plump and has a few health issues, so I don't know if she considers her words compliments, but either way, I'm tired of being told I'm too thin and am interested about different ways to handle these remarks.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it, anonymously, to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Group Therapy: I Won't Let My Weight Hold Me Back Anymore

Tres Community — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:00:21 PDT

This question comes from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

Hi, I'm at a point where I just can't stand my weight. It's holding me back so much. It hurts my back. I hate clothes shopping because they don't make clothes for short fat women, unless it's a moo moo. I don't even want to attempt dating because I'm really self conscious about how I look, with and without clothes on. I've had boyfriends, but I've also had mean guys tell him how fat I am and that makes me not date worthy. It's very discouraging.

I have a huge tendency to overeat, eat junk food with a lot of fat and/or sugar, and I self sooth with food (I have a history of depression). I don't want to do this to myself anymore. I've tried stupid fad diets in the past and ofcourse they don't work. I want to Weight Watchers which seemed to help some. I lost 25 pounds last year but gained back 15 after some stressful life changes.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to get control of my eating habits? I'm stuck in a vicious cycle here and really want to get out of it.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it, anonymously, to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

The Last Person You Want to Marry

Colleen Barrett — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:45:17 PDT

Nature? Nurture? Mothers from hell? It's hard to say what exactly makes a person prone to misery, but we shouldn't have to wait until we're 54 to be happy. A new study found that genes account for only 50 percent of well-being, with external factors like work, weight, and love filling in the rest.

So what's the most effective way to sabotage happiness? Marry a neurotic person. People with neurotic partners were significantly less happy than those in emotionally stable couplings; however, they were not as unhappy as neurotic people themselves.

As a slightly neurotic person, I worry about this news.