Want to get rid of your flab? Just chew each mouthful for 30 seconds!
Fighting the flab might not be down to what you eat, but how you eat it, according to new research.

Scientists say the secret to beating a bulging seasonal waistline is to chew your food for 30 seconds before swallowing.

Research shows this has a powerful effect on appetite, as it curbs the desire for the chocolates, sweets and snacks that can pile on the pounds.

Volunteers who chewed their lunch in this way during a study carried out by psychologists at the University of Birmingham, ate half as many snacks in the afternoon as those who ate normally.

Although previous studies have shown chewing for longer curbs calorie intake during a meal, researchers wanted to assess how chewing for longer at lunchtime affected "grazing" habits later in the day.

They recruited 43 students, mostly female, and asked them to refrain from eating for two hours before the test. Each student was then presented with a plate of smoked ham and cheese sandwiches, all identical in size and shape.

A third of the students were told to eat as they normally would, another third to pause for ten seconds between swallowing each mouthful and the last group to chew each bite for 30 seconds before swallowing.

Two hours after the experiment, the students were handed a small bowl of Skittles - chewy, fruit flavoured sweets - and a bowl of Minstrels, the candy-coated chocolate treats.

The results showed students who ate at their normal speed and those who stopped for ten seconds between bites ate the same amount of sweets.

However, those who chewed each mouthful of lunch for 30 seconds ate half as many.

"Participants in the prolonged chewing group were less happy after lunch and had reduced ratings of lunch enjoyment, and pleasantness of the texture of lunch, compared with others," researchers said.

"These effects may be due to the novelty of prolonged chewing, or reduced palatability of the food," they said.

One reason it works may be that, by concentrating so much on the process of eating, the brain "remembers" lunch for longer and is less likely to signal the need for more food so soon afterwards, the report said.

Researchers claim to have developed a new controversial `lifespan` test that can tell how long a person will live by determining the rate of ageing.
The blood test estimates how fast someone is ageing by measuring the length of microscopic structures at the ends of each chromosome called telomeres, which keep each chromosome from falling apart when cells divide, they said.

Telomeres shorten after each cell division and animal studies have shown that a high percentage of short telomeres in blood cells is associated with a shorter-than-normal life expectancy, which is why blood tests could provide a guide to ageing and life expectancy.

More than 100 Britons have already taken the revolutionary blood test to see how fast they are ageing, and which might be used in the future to indicate statistically how long they have got left to live, `The Independent` reported.

The company behind the test believes that thousands will further take the 650 pounds blood check in UK next year, and millions more worldwide will be tested by the end of the decade.

It also expects the test to be used as part of the standard medical check-up required by insurance companies, just as they now ask about family history of disease and whether someone is a smoker or obese.

"We consider that this will become as standard a medical diagnostic test as cholesterol testing is now," said Stephen Matlin, chief executive of Life Length, which is based in Madrid.

"If you look at cholesterol testing since the early 1980s, in a period of 15 years testing volume went from nothing to about 100 million a year," Matlin said.

However, some experts have warned that there is still not enough known about telomere testing to provide people with any meaningful medical advice, and one Nobel prize-winner has warned that 99 per cent of people who take the test will not gain any benefit.

"Today there are 500 million cholesterol tests a year. If we do one per cent of this, we are doing well. We hope to be testing millions of people by 2020," Matlin said.

The company plans to lower the price of the test by 20 per cent a year for the next five years so that it costs no more than about 65 pounds by 2017, bringing it within the price range of millions of new customers.

A new Dolphin-assisted therapy that helps treat children with mental disabilities is gaining popularity in China, according to a media report.

The technique for children with mental disabilities has already made a splash in the West, and China is now riding the experimental tide.

Fifteen sessions with a pair of bottle-nosed dolphins at Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park have helped a five-year-old autistic kid become "aware" and "alert".

Zheng Jun, father of the boy, believes the dolphin-assisted therapy has been more effective than any other treatment.

"Now, you can`t tell he`s different from his classmates," Zheng said.
Zheng became a believer of the technique after he visited an Australian dolphin-swim programme few years ago. He says his son is elated when he splashes with the creatures in the park in Jiangsu, capital of east China`s Zhejiang province.

More than 80 parents of children with severe mental disabilities have booked all of next year`s spots in the program, the daily said.

Newcomers must now wait until 2014, says Liu Quansheng, manager of the park`s owner, Zhejiang Aquarium Investment Group.

"People with mental disabilities often have short attention spans. Swimming with dolphins helps them relax and focus," Liu said.

"Dolphin therapy is effective because these animals hold the kids` attention better than even the most engaging human therapist," he said.

While the science of dolphin-assisted therapy`s assortment of purported benefits hasn`t been verified, many believe at least some benefits come from the experience`s emotional magic.

A `Google generation` which relies on the Internet for everything is in danger of becoming `brain-dead`, a leading UK inventor has warned.

Trevor Baylis, who invented the wind-up radio, said children are losing creativity and practical skills because they spend too much time in front of screens.



The 75-year-old from Twickenham, south-west London, said he fears that the next generation of inventors is being lost, with young people often unable to make anything with their hands, the `Daily Mail` reported.

He said children could rediscover vital skills if schools used practical toys like Meccano, a model construction system.

"Children have got to be taught hands-on, and not to become mobile phone or computer dependent," Baylis said.

"They should use computers as and when, but there are so many people playing with their computers nowadays that spend all their time sitting there with a stomach," he said.

"They are dependent on Google searches. A lot of kids will become fairly brain-dead if they become so dependent on the Internet, because they will not be able to do things the old-fashioned way," he said.

Anxiety in "young highly-strung personalities" may cause the heart to palpitate, resulting in potentially life-threatening problems, a leading cardiologist has cautioned.

"Anxiety is one of the important causes in young highly-strung personalities and is affected by the state of mind. Psychological problems can thus induce one to palpitate. It is therefore important to consider the psycho-social aspect before coming to a conclusion," said Dr Upendra Kaul, Executive Director and Dean Cardiology, Escorts Heart Institute and Fortis Vasant Kunj.
Dr Kaul, a Padma Shri awardee, explained palpitation as "an abnormality of heartbeat that ranges from often unnoticed skipped beats or accelerated heart rate to very noticeable changes accompanied by dizziness or difficulty breathing."



"It (heart palpitation) is a common cause of seeking medical attention and can range in terms of seriousness from absolutely benign to potentially a life threatening problem," said Dr Kaul.

Heart palpitations are reported by many persons at all ages and both sexes, he wrote in an article `Palpitations of Heart: What can we do about them?`
Palpitations can be attributed to three major causes, anxiety being one of them, Dr Kaul said.

The other is Hyperdynamic circulation caused by leaking heart valves, disorders of thyroid gland, fever, anaemia and pregnancy.

Disorders of the heart rhythm can also cause palpitations and some of these disorders like a ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation can be life threatening if not recognised in time, warned Dr Kaul.

Depending on the type of rhythm problem, these symptoms may be just momentary or more prolonged. Actual blackouts or near blackouts, associated with palpitations, should be taken seriously because they often indicate the presence of an underlying heart disease, he said.

The most important initial clue to the diagnosis is one`s description of the palpitations. The approximate age of the person when first noticed and the circumstances under which they occur are important, as is information about caffeine intake (tea or coffee drinking).

The diagnosis is usually not made by a routine medical examination and electrical tracing of the heart`s activity (ECG), because most people cannot arrange to have their symptoms to be present while visiting the doctor.

Nevertheless, findings such as a heart murmur or an abnormality of the ECG may be discovered, which could point to the probable diagnosis, he said.

Blood tests, particularly tests of thyroid gland function
are also important baseline investigations (an overactive thyroid gland is a potential cause for palpitations; the treatment in that case is to treat the thyroid gland over-activity).

The next level of diagnostic testing is usually 24 hour (or longer) ECG monitoring, using a form of tape recorder called a Holter monitor, which can record the ECG continuously during a 24-hour period.

For this type of monitoring to be helpful, the symptoms must be occurring at least once a day. If they are less frequent, the chances of detecting anything with continuous 24, or even 48-hour monitoring, are substantially lowered.

Other forms of monitoring are available, and these can be useful when symptoms are infrequent. A continuous-loop event recorder monitors the ECG continuously, but only saves the data when the wearer activates it, Dr Kaul said.

Once activated, it will save the ECG data for a period of time before the activation and for a period of time afterwards.
A new type of continuous-loop recorder has been developed recently that may be helpful in people with very infrequent, but disabling symptoms, he added.

This recorder is implanted under the skin on the front of the chest, like a pacemaker. It can be programmed and the data examined using an external device that communicates with it by means of a radio signal.

Investigation of heart structure can also be important in diagnosis of palpitations.

"There are many gratifying treatment modalities available these days to prevent serious events. These include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators which recognise serious arrhythmias and treat them before a nearly fatal event," Kaul said.

"Healthy lifestyle from a young age can go a long way to keep your heart healthy and prevent palpitations and many serious complications," he advised.

Regular exercising, eating a "heart healthy diet," keeping blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels under strict control would help, he said.