Cake for Breakfast and other healthy tips....

Could Marie Antoinette have been right when she said..."let them eat cake"?  Check out the latest research in the field of Psychology. Maybe one of these tips can help you make a lifestyle change for the better.

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Monitor Magazine
April 2012, Vol 43, No. 4
In Brief - Snapshots of some of the latest peer-reviewed research within psychology and related fields.

Topping off breakfast with a piece of chocolate cake may help dieters lose more weight, according to researchers from Tel Aviv University. In a study with nearly 200 obese, non-diabetic adults, scientists found that participants who added dessert to their breakfasts — such as cookies, cake or chocolate — lost an average of 40 pounds more than a group that avoided such foods. They also kept the weight off longer. Researchers say that such a morning meal staves off cravings and defuses psychological addictions to sweet foods. (Steroids, March)

People eat less when they munch on snacks in pre-packaged segments or portions, according to a study by researchers at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. In the study, 98 college students ate from tubes of potato chips while watching a movie. The control group ate chips that were identical and the treatment group ate from tubes that had colored chips inserted at regular intervals — every fifth chip was red, for example. The authors found that participants in the red-potato-chip group ate an average of 50 percent fewer chips than those whose chips were identical. (Health Psychology, online Feb. 6)

Exercise makes us happy, according researchers at Pennsylvania State University. For eight days, the study tracked the daily activities of 190 college students, who reported on the amount and level of their physical activity and their overall mental states. The participants who were more physically active reported greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than those who were less active. (Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, December)

Children who get more exercise do better in school, according to a study conducted by scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam. Researchers reviewed 14 studies that compared kids’ physical activity with their grades or scores on math, language and general thinking and memory tests. They found that those with higher rates of physical activity did better in the classroom. The authors say this may be because children can concentrate better when they get enough exercise or because physical activity improves blood flow to the brain. (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, January)

Good friends can reduce the effects of stress, according to a study by researchers at Concordia University in Montreal. More than 100 schoolchildren in fifth and sixth grades were given journals to record their feelings and had their saliva tested four times a day for four consecutive days. The authors found that having a best friend present during a stressful experience significantly buffered the children against the negative effects of that experience — cortisol levels and self-worth remained relatively unchanged. When a best friend was not present, researchers saw an increase in cortisol and a decrease in self-worth. (Developmental Psychology, November)