Fitness Factoids: Volume 36
Eating Chocolate Does 
Not Increase Bodyfat in Teens
There’s good news for kids still in recovery from a Halloween candy overdose. According to new research from the University of Granada, eating chocolate does not increase bodyfat in teens. The study tracked 1,458 adolescents between ages 12-17 to determine whether greater chocolate consumption would cause greater body mass and increased abdominal fat. To their surprise, researchers found that the higher levels of chocolate consumption were actually associated with decreases in bodymass and abdominal fat. Recent adult studies have been able to link chocolate consumption with a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease as well.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/uog-rst110713.php
Exercise During Pregnancy Spe
eds Newborn’s Brain Development
A new study conducted by The University of Montreal shows that mothers who exercise during pregnancy are giving their babies the proverbial “head start.” According to the study which was presented at the annual Neuroscience congress in San Diego, exercise during pregnancy boost brain development in babies. Researchers split women into two groups; one who exercised at least twenty minutes, three times per week during pregnancy, and those who did little to no exercise. The babies were monitored using devices that measure cerebral electrical impulses for 8-12 days after birth. The team found that babies whose mothers participated in exercise were shown to have more mature brain activation, suggesting that their brains developed more rapidly.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268651.php
Vegetable Oils 
Increase the Risk of Heart Disease
The mainstream media’s push to replace saturated fats with “healthy” fats from vegetable oils may be placing unknown scores of people at greater risk of suffering a heart attack. For decades saturated fat has been vilified as one of the primary culprits of heart disease; while vegetable oils such as corn, safflower oil, and margarine were pushed as being heart healthy alternatives. According to new research conducted by The University of Toronto increased consumption of vegetable oils has resulted in unhealthy levels of omega-6 fatty acids in the blood, and that those who consumed the most omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils had a 13% elevation in serum cholesterol and a significant increase in rate of death from heart disease.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131111122105.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Health+%26+Medicine+News%29
Men with Low Testosterone at Increased Risk for CVD
A new study in the journal of Clinical Nutrition, Endocrinology, an
d Metabolism has found that men with low testosterone levels are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The study was conducted by Ghent University and found that low levels of testosterone in men elevated their risk of being diagnosed with, or dying from cardiovascular disease. Men, who were given testosterone replacement therapy, but at considerably low doses, still demonstrated increased risk factors for development of CVD. Researchers caution that the findings do not indicate that all men with low testosterone will develop CVD, merely that they may be at greater risk for future CVD development.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/tes-ltm092013.php
Disrupting Circadian Rhythms Increases Inflammation
Researchers at 
UT Southwestern Medical Research Center have discovered that disruption of circadian rhythms (the normal sleep/wake cycle of the body) lead to increased gut inflammation in mouse models. In the study, which is published in the journal Science, researchers tested the effects of circadian rhythm disruption in mice to discover its impact on immunology. The researchers induced symptoms similar to jetlag in mice for several days and then took blood samples for analysis. Upon analyzing the data researchers found elevated levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin-17 (IL-17) and elevated levels of helper T-cells that are typically found in autoimmune diseases. Researchers are unsure if the process is true in humans, but believe they have discovered a direct link between circadian disruptions and autoimmune function.
http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/16818/researchers-identify-how-body-clock-affects-inflammation
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