Eat better, work less and keep moving
Proactive approach helps women age better
WITH International Women’s Day 2019 just over, we look at some of the findings from recent research on women’s health, and the measures all women can take to look after themselves better.
CUT OUT THE JUNK FOOD
New findings from the long-term Women’s Health Initiative study have linked fried food and sugary drinks to a higher risk of death in post-menopausal women. Back in January researchers found that women who ate one or more servings of fried food a day showed an eight per cent higher risk of death from all causes of cardiovascular disease, compared with those who did not eat fried food.
Results published just weeks later showed that women who consumed two or more artificially sweetened beverages each day were more likely to have a stroke, develop heart disease, and experience a fatal or non-fatal heart attack, compared to women who drank diet drinks less than once a week or not at all.
DON’T WORK TOO MANY LONG HOURS
A recent large-scale UK study which analysed data on 11,215 men and 12,188 women found that women who work long hours may have a higher risk of depression. The researchers used a standard working week of 35 to 40 hours as a reference for categorising working hours into less than 35 hours a week, 41 to 55 hours a week, defined as long working hours, and 55 hours a week or more, defined as extralong working hours.
They found that women who worked extra long hours and/or who worked most weekends or every weekend had the worst mental health of all the participants, with significantly more depressive symptoms than women who worked standard hours.
BE AWARE OF YOUR HEART ATTACK RISK
A European study published at the end of last year found that women wait longer than men to get help for a heart attack, and urged women who experience symptoms to seek medical attention immediately.
The researchers said that despite the belief that more men experience heart attacks, they are just as common in women, with ischaemic heart disease the leading cause of death in both males and females.
They also pointed out that although women and men have a similar amount of pain during a heart attack, the location may be different.
Whereas men usually have pain in the chest and left arm, meaning they are likely to think it’s a heart attack, women are more likely to have back, shoulder, or stomach pain.
However, both men and women benefit equally from fast treatment.
TRY AND KEEP MOVING
According to a study published last month, older women who spend most of their day sitting down may be at a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke.
After following 5,638 women aged 63 to 97 for a period of five years, the researchers found that women who had the highest level of sedentary time, equal to 11 hours a day or more, also had the highest risk for cardiovascular disease when compared to those with the lowest level of sedentary time, equal to nine hours a day or less.
However, the good news is that cutting this sedentary time down by just an hour each day appeared to reduce this risk.