About 10 percent of adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, according to a new four-state study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The data from the four states—Delaware, Hawaii, New York, and Rhode Island—may not reflect national trends. But an additional study conducted by CDC utilizing data from the National Health Interview Study indicated that across all age groups the percentage of adults who, on average, report sleeping six hours or less has increased from 1985 to 2006.
Nationwide, an estimated 50 to 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders. Sleep loss is associated with health problems, including obesity, depression, and certain risk behaviors, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking. [continue reading…]

Eating disorder specialists are seeing more and more women over 50 years old and men in their clinics.
Members of the Mental Health Group of the British Dietetic Association are reporting a change in the type of service users they are seeing. Over the past few years they have witnessed more diagnosed cases of eating disorders in both men and older women.< This is backed up by research which shows that increasingly boys and men are suffering with eating disorders and related body image problems. Some have full-blown conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia or binge eating Eating disorders comprise both psychological and physiological components, and as a result treatments require an integrated understanding of the nutritional, physiological and psychological aspects of these disorders. [continue reading…]