As I drive my children to their after-school activities, I’ve noticed more and more for sale signs along the roads around our house – a sure sign of spring! As we approach house-hunting and moving season, it’s a good idea to look at the evidence on house-hunting. [Read more…]
The evidence on house-hunting
March 31, 2016 By 1 Comment
What we know — and what we don’t — about standing desks
March 22, 2016 By Leave a Comment
If you pay any attention to news stories about health and wellness, you’ve likely read or heard that sitting for long periods of time can harm your health.
There is evidence to suggest that sitting for hours at a time leads to a host of health problems including heart disease, diabetes, bone and joint problems, poor posture, weak muscles and even some types of cancer. [Read more…]
Does fasting work for weight loss and health?
March 16, 2016 By 1 Comment
Every few years, a new diet becomes popular for its promise to help people lose weight and improve their health. Sometimes, these diets are based on sound evidence, and other times they are not. Often when new diets first become popular, there is not enough data to know whether they really work. [Read more…]
Revisiting the evidence on climate change
March 10, 2016 By 1 Comment
It’s 73 degrees in Ithaca, New York today, according to the thermometer on my minivan. My 7-year-old begged to wear shorts to school today, and soon thereafter reminded me, “It’s still winter mom!” Given such an early spring-feeling day in this northern latitude, I thought it’d be a good time to revisit the evidence on global warming. [Read more…]
Transition to kindergarten
January 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment
My middle child is four years old, and will be starting kindergarten in the fall. While that may seem like a long time away, I know from experiencing this transition once before that it helps to start thinking about it early. [Read more…]
New dietary guidelines: Updates on sugar, coffee, and alcohol
January 21, 2016 By 1 Comment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released updated dietary guidlines earlier this month, which include some recommended changes in American diets.
The report is significant because it determines the foods served in school lunches and sets priorities for the food assistance programs. The guidelines also impact labeling, advertising and the advice given by medical professionals.
Everything you need to know about stretching and exercise
January 4, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Happy New Year, and welcome back to EBL in 2016!
Does your New Year’s resolution involve a pledge to exercise more? Mine does. And one of my goals to avoid getting injured as I ramp up my workouts. So I was happy to come across this systematic review on stretching. [Read more…]
The evidence on avoiding holiday weight gain
December 11, 2015 By 1 Comment
It’s the holiday season! With that comes the cocktail hours, cookie-baking, end-of-year celebrations and countless other festivities that include delicious food. Unfortunately, along with that delicious food and festivities, come many extra calories. [Read more…]
The science of giving
December 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It was big news this week when Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder and CEO of Facebook, announced that he would give 99 percent of his Facebook shares, currently valued at more than $45 billion, to charity. Zuckerberg made the announcement on Giving Tuesday, a movement to spark charitable giving in response to the high levels of commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season. [Read more…]
The evidence on giving thanks
November 24, 2015 By 1 Comment
As most of us spend the upcoming week cooking turkeys, gathering with family and friends, and preparing for the holiday season, I found myself returning to a blog post that Karl wrote several years ago about the evidence surrounding gratitude. As my life feels increasingly busy, I find it helpful to remember that giving thanks is not simply a nice sentiment – it’s actually good for you! [Read more…]
Contradicting evidence: How much sleep do we need?
November 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
When we read a systematic review with a strong conclusion, we believe the answer is accurate. Reviews do, for the most part, encompass all of the data we have on a given topic. The evidence is even more convincing when there is more than one review that draws a strong conclusion. [Read more…]
The birds and bees: Talking to your kids about safe sex
November 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
There are conversations that many parents approach with apprehension. Ranking high on that list are talks about sex. But given our modern culture, conversations between parents and children about sex are increasingly important.
