Walk your way to pregnancy

Walking may aid your chance of becoming pregnant, according to a study. Findings of a new research  suggested that while there was no overall relationship between most types of physical activity and the likelihood of becoming pregnant for women who had already had one or two pregnancy losses, walking was associated with higher likelihood of becoming pregnant among women who were overweight or obese. An expert said, lifestyle is definitely relevant to these outcomes because it can have an effect at the molecular level. What we eat and what we do are potential factors we can change to shape our health. The study adds further scientific evidence to general recommendations about physical activity. This is especially true for the results about walking for even limited blocks of time. Walking has great potential as a lifestyle change because of its low cost and availability. For the 1,214 women in the study, the association of walking with the ability to become pregnant, known as fecundability, varied significantly by body mass index. Among overweight/obese women, walking at least 10 minutes at a time was associated with improvement in fecundability. Further, in statistically adjusted models, women reporting more than four hours a week of vigorous activity had significantly higher pregnancy chances compared to no vigorous activity. Moderate activity, sitting and other activity categories were not associated with fecundability overall or in BMI-stratified analyses, the study added. The study appears in the journal Human Reproduction.  

A better life for dementia patients  

Good relationships with family and friends, being included and involved in social activities, being able to manage everyday activities, having religious beliefs, better everyday functioning, good physical and mental health and high-quality care have been identified as some crucial factors linked to better quality of life for people with dementia, according to a study. Nearly 50 million people worldwide are affected with dementia. Factors that are linked with poor quality of life include poor mental or physical health, difficulties such as agitation or apathy, and unmet needs. The study was published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Eating fast food linked to infertility

Women who eat a lot of fast food may take longer to become pregnant and be more likely to experience infertility than their counterparts who rarely if ever eat these types of meals, a recent study suggests.  Compared to women who generally avoided fast food, women who indulged four or more times a week before they conceived took almost a month longer to become pregnant, the study of 5,598 first-time mothers in Australia, New Zealand and the UK found. — Agencies