Research reveals
Rounding up science's latest discoveries
PLAY OUTDOORS FOR BETTER EYESIGHT
Researchers from the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, found that giving children an additional 40-minute class of outdoor activities every school day for three years has helped reduce the rate of myopia by 23 per cent. They tracked over 1,900 six-year-olds from 12 schools between 2010 and 2013.
Myopia or short-sightedness is said to have reached epidemic levels in young adults in some urban areas in East and South-east Asia. In these areas, about eight in 10 secondary school-leavers suffer from near-sightedness.
SMALL PLATES STAVE OFF OBESITY
Food portions have been increasing in recent decades, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found.
The researchers are calling for food portions of meals offered in supermarkets and restaurants to be cut down.
The team also concluded that smaller plates, glasses and cutlery would help people eat less. They said that was because people tend to be "reluctant" to leave behind a plate with food on it.
CHECK YOUR POOP FOR STRESS LEVELS
Want to know how stressed out you are? Just look into the toilet bowl.
A team from the University of Florida studied mice and found that the leading causes of imbalances to gut health are conditions such as anxiety and depression. Studies in humans also showed a similar correlation.
So abdominal pain or cramping, gas or bloating, diarrhoea or constipation could all be physical precursors to psychological symptoms.
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