A new study confirms what all you dog and cat owners probably already new: pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support in our lives, researchers say.

The study, conducted by Ohio researchers, found that pet owners could be just as close to their animals as to other key people in their lives.  Furthermore, people were able to rely more on pets when their human social support was poorer.

Pet owners also seemed to have a number of other advantages over non-pet owners.  For instance, pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extraverted, tended to be less fearful and tended to be less preoccupied than non-owners.

And all these benefits of owning a pet did not seem to come at an expense of human relationships, the researchers said.

The conclusions come from three separate studies that compared pet owners to non-pet owners.  One study examined well-being, personality type and attachment style, another looked at fulfillment of social needs, and the last observed differences in bouncing back from rejection.

In all three studies, pet owners fared significantly better than their non-pet owning counterparts.

Previous studies have suggested that pet owners are also healthier or better able to bounce back better from disease and injury.

“The present work presents considerable evidence that pets benefit the lives of their owners, both psychologically and physically, by serving as an important source of social support,” the researchers wrote. “Whereas past work has focused primarily on pet owners facing significant health challenges, the present study establishes that there are many positive consequences for everyday people who own pets.”

The research was published by the American Psychological Association.

A new study estimates that eight out of 10 homeless people have at least one chronic health condition and more than half have a mental health problem.

In comparison, people classified as “vulnerably housed,” meaning that they live in unsafe, unstable or unaffordable housing, had equally poor and in some cases, worse health.

The underlying cause of the health problems among both sets of people was poverty, the study researchers said.

“Poor housing conditions and poor health are closely linked,” said Dr. Stephen Hwang of St. Michael’s Hospital. “We need to treat both problems.”

The chronic health problems among the homeless and poor range from diabetes to heart disease, and the majority of the people also suffer from a mental health problem, all of which typically go untreated.

The study, which took place in Canada, found that while 61 percent of the general population reported they were in excellent or very good health, only 29 percent of homeless people felt they were. Furthermore, while 40 percent of homeless people said they were in fair or poor health, only 9 percent of the general population described themselves as such.

The study was published in the International Journal of Public Health.

For better or for worse, in sickness and in health: A new study indicates that like adopting similar music tastes, or turns of phrase, couples also tend to pick up each other’s unhealthy habits as well.

University of Cincinnati researchers found that long-term, intimate relationships can lead couples to emulate each other’s health habits and affect their sense of personal responsibility.

Typically, one partner is seen as a “bad influence” that encourages the other to engage in unhealthy habits – for example, if one person in the relationship buys a lot of junk food, the other person will eat it as well.

“The finding that one partner is a ‘direct bad influence’ suggests that individuals converge in health habits across the course of their relationship, because one individual’s unhealthy habits directly promotes the other’s unhealthy habits,” said Professor Corinne Reczek, a study researcher.

Both gay and straight couples reported a bad influence theme in the relationship. In straight couples, the bad influence was nearly always the male.

However, the partner who was not the bad influence was not necessarily the good influence either. The study indicated that often, this person stood by idly and did not attempt to change his or her partner’s bad habits, indicating that they were complict in sustaining the unhealthy habits.

The study involved 122 people who were in long-term relationships or marriages. Participants were individually asked a series of open-ended questions about smoking, drinking, food consumption, sleep patterns, exercise habits and other health habits.

“Particular attention was paid to how partners shaped each of these habits,” said Reczek.

“While previous research focuses nearly exclusively on how intimate relationships – particularly marriage – are health-promoting, these findings extend this research to argue that intimate partners are cognizant of the ways in which they promote the unhealthy habits of one another,” she added.

The study was funded by the National Institutes on Aging.

Recently, I read a study that claims that fat people can be just as healthy as slim people, as long as they have no chronic health problems.

The study, which followed 6,000 obese people over a 16 year period, concluded that fat can indeed by healthy based on results that indicated that the overweight people lived just as long and had less heart problems than their slim counterparts.

Personally, I wouldn’t put much weight (no pun intended) behind this study. I think it’s sending a terrible message to the public.

Ask any doctor, and they’ll tell you: health-wise, it’s not okay to be obese. Excluding cardiovascular problems, there are still many other chronic diseases associated with being overweight.

People who are overweight are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, which can take many years to develop, or arthritis, among other problems. All of these issues can have a severely negative impact on quality of life and longevity.

The fact is, medically, it is necessary for all humans to strive to be at an ideal body weight. Sure, there are plenty of skinny, sick people out there, but their health issues would probably be compounded if they had excess body weight to deal with as well.

One good thing that the study did recommend was that obese people keep up an active lifestyle. I agree that maintaining a fitness regimen can help in many ways, including aiding with weight loss.

It’s not okay to settle for being above a healthy weight. People should all fight to reach their ideal weight. Trust me, I’m certainly familiar with that fight myself, and I hope my efforts will pay off in the end.

What’s the secret behind living to be 100 years old? Not a healthier lifestyle, apparently.

People who live to be 95 or older are no more virtuous than anyone else in terms of diet, exercise or smoking and drinking, according to researchers at Yeshiva University.

The researchers said results from a new study indicate that “nature,” or genes, may be more influential than “nurture,” or lifestyle, in terms of longevity.

After comparing centenarians, or people who live to be 100 years old, to the general elderly population, the researchers found no significant differences in BMI, smoking habits, physical activity or diet.
And for the most part, the lifestyles in both groups were not particularly healthy. For example, neither group was very likely to attempt a low calorie-diet, while a significant portion of both groups drank alcohol every day. About half of each group engaged in some kind of regular exercise.

One difference, the researchers found, was that centenarians had lower rates of obesity than the general elderly population, though they were equally as likely to be overweight.

Previous research has identified that centenarians may have certain gene variants that exert positive physiological effects such as causing significantly elevated levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol, and the researchers said this new study indicates there may be more, unidentified longevity-related genes that buffer against the harmful effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.

However, the researchers stressed that while these genes may protect centenarians from bad habits, healthy lifestyle choices remain critical for the majority of the population in terms of health benefits and lifespan.

As a final question, the researchers asked why the centenarians themselves believed they had lived so long. The majority cited family longevity (33 percent) while 20 percent believed physical activity played a role. Other answers included positive attitude, busy or active life, less smoking and drinking, good luck and religion.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

A new study recommends that women consume Omega 3 fatty acids during pregnancy to help protect babies against illness during early infancy.

Emory University researchers followed 1,100 women and 900 infants throughout pregnancy and early infancy.  Some women were randomly assigned to supplement their diets with 400 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from 18 to 22 weeks of gestation through childbirth.

The researchers found that the infants of the mothers who took DHA supplements had fewer colds and shorter illnesses at one, three and six months of age than infants on mothers who took placebos.

At one month of age, the infants of mothers who took supplements had a 25 percent reduced occurrence of experiencing cold symptoms, such as cough, phlegm and wheezing.

At three months, the infants spent 14 percent less time ill.

At six months, the infants exhibited shorter durations of fevers, naval secretions, difficulties breathing and rashes.

“This is a large scale, robust study that underscores the importance of good nutrition during pregnancy,” says Usha Ramakrishnan, PhD, associate professor at Emory. “Our findings indicate that pregnant women taking 400 mg of DHA are more likely to deliver healthier infants.”

The infants were also on average 100 grams heavier at birth and3/4 cm longer at 18 months of age.

According to researchers, there are also increased DHA levels in breast milk.  All infants in the study were breast fed.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Pediatrics.