The Christmas holidays are not as endearing as they are painted. At least for our health. Scientists from the University of Pitssburgh and Wunnipiac University have shown that our eating habits change substantially on weekends and holidays . After analyzing the behavior of consumers for two years in a row, Jeffrey Inman and his colleagues have shown that on those days not only does calorie consumption increase but also the nutritional value of the food consumed is reduced. In other words, the food pyramid is totally upset. Scientists say that this happens even to people who follow a strict diet, and in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing they warn that it is impossible to fight the obesity "epidemic" without taking it into account. That is why they have recommended that the US Department of Agriculture include specific guidelines for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in its upcoming healthy eating campaigns.
On the other hand, according to a study published this month in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology , the stress of family reunification exacerbates autoimmune diseases and causes latent infections to emerge during the holidays. ? We need to focus on understanding how two different systems, the immune and the nervous, interact in this way ,? the authors conclude.
