Ask Our Experts

Live Right Live Well: Expert Q&A Ask Our Experts From the Editors of Live Right Live Well Can cutting sugary beverages really help me lose weight? Q: Can cutting sugary beverages really help me lose weight? A: Yes! A new study found that cutting just one sugary drink a day resulted in nearly 2.5 pounds of weight loss over 18 months with no additional effort. What’s more, experts believe limiting sugary drinks leads to more weight loss than cutting calories from food. Why? Calories consumed from liquids are less filling than calories from solid food, says lead author Liwei Chen, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health. As a result, you’re more likely to have a second soft drink than a second sandwich. Many other studies agree that reducing sugary drinks can make a big difference when you’re trying to shed pounds. At Children’s Hospital Boston, researchers provided overweight kids with calorie-free beverages and asked them to substitute them for sugary drinks. After six months, sugary beverage consumption dropped by 82 percent, and the kids who started out the heaviest reduced their body mass by 2.5 percent (or about 5 pounds for a 200-pound child), reports study author Cara B. Ebbeling, Ph.D., co-director of obesity research at Children’s Hospital. Likewise, Harvard scientists tracking 51,603 nurses for four years found that those who drank the most sugary beverages gained the most weight, according to lead author Matthias B. Schulze, Dr.P.H. of the Harvard School of Public Health. So replace those sugary sodas, fruit drinks, mochas and lattes with low- or no-cal alternatives. Add some exercise and healthy food choices and watch the pounds disappear! Will educational videos and TV programs make my baby smarter? Q: Will educational videos and TV programs make my baby smarter? A: Sorry, but “television viewing in infancy does not seem to be associated with development of language or motor skills,” says Marie Evans Schmidt, research associate at Children’s Hospital Boston and lead author of a new study that followed 872 children from the age of 6 months to 2 years. The findings: At age 3, kids who had watched more “educational” TV fared no better on standardized tests of language and motor skills than kids who watched less. This is not the only research to show no benefit from infant TV viewing. At the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Dimitri A. Christakis, M.D., reviewed several similar studies and concluded, “No studies to date have demonstrated any significant benefits from infant TV viewing.” In fact, “the preponderance of evidence suggests the potential for harm.” Babies should be exploring their world, exercising their muscles and interacting with other people, says Christakis. When you put a child in front of a television set, he's doing none of these things. That's why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 do not watch television at all. Instead, play with your child, read to her, provide interesting toys and set up playdates with other kids. Can cuddling with my spouse improve my health? Q: Can cuddling with my spouse improve my health? A: Absolutely. Cuddling is a form of massage, and dozens of studies show that warm, caring, nonsexual touch reduces stress and boosts immune function. The latest confirmation comes from Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, where researchers asked 34 married couples to either monitor their mutually supportive behavior or enroll in a four-week program that encourages frequent cuddling, and neck and shoulder massage. Before-and-after tests showed that cuddlers had lower blood pressure, lower levels of stress hormones and higher levels of the “love hormone” oxytocin, which is involved in emotional bonding. But the self-monitoring group experienced no such benefits. Other studies agree that massage reduces stress. At the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute (TRI), researchers report that massage reduces the stress of hospital employees, psychiatric patients and women in labor. It also helps relieve stress-related medical conditions, including insomnia, asthma attacks, tension headaches and cancer pain. Massage also enhances immune function by “increasing the number of white blood cells and natural killer cells, which fight infection,” says Tiffany Filed, Ph.D., psychologist and founder of TRI. Studies at TRI also show that the immune-boosting effects of massage help manage HIV, burns, sinus infection and Parkinson’s symptoms. So for your relationship and your health, cuddle with your honey every chance you get. This Live Right Live Well Expert Q&A was written by journalist Michael Castleman.

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