Keep Healthy, Love Fitness

The number of women in England still breastfeeding six to eight weeks after the birth of a child has declined, according to Public Health England (PHE). Just over four in 10 mothers (42.7%) breastfeed their babies when they are six weeks old, according to 2017-18 data. The rate was 43.1% in 2015-16 and 43.8% for 2014-15. However, the figures reveal stark disparities in breastfeeding rates in different regions – eight in 10 babies were being breastfed in Tower Hamlets in east London, compared with fewer than one in five (18.9%) in Knowsley, Merseyside. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mothers should exclusively breastfeed babies for the first six months until the children start eating solids, then supplementary breastfeeding is encouraged up to two years or beyond. The findings suggest policies to encourage breastfeeding and persistent messaging from the NHS Start4Life campaign, the WHO, midwives and other medical practitioners are not having the desired effect. Accord...

As I will have been married for 48 years next month, I was interested to read Elena Ferrante’s piece (Is there a formula for a lasting relationship? A friend, married for 48 years, says so, Weekend, 22 September). However, I didn’t recognise any of her friend’s formula in my happy relationship. There are three things you need to make a relationship work. You have to: (1) like each other (passion is not enough, you need to enjoy each other’s company); (2) respect each other’s views and values (and having similar ones means less argument but more respect); and, most importantly, (3) have the same sense of humour (when life hits rock bottom, and it will, you’ll need to laugh). And as my husband maintains that we both have the ability to laugh at him, all is well. Sue Lister Whitnash, Warwickshire • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters • Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? C...

Traveling can take a toll on your health, said Dr. Douglas Kaiden,  medical director of Priority Private Care, an emergency care facility in New York City. “Flying and being in new destinations makes you vulnerable to all sorts of illness and injuries,” he said. “It’s extra important to be vigilant about your health when you’re on the road.” Before your next trip, consider his tips to stay healthy while you travel.  Be Prepared Going into a trip with a supply of any basic medications you take often, especially prescription medications, is a good idea, Dr. Kaiden said. Depending on where you travel, access to even the over-the-counter medications you often take may be variable, and local laws and regulations complicate things even further.  In addition to any medicines you take on a regular basis, he recommend packing pain killers, anti-diarrhea medication, and, if necessary depending on your destination and medical history, antibiotics. It’s also a good idea to check if y...

A recent report about what makes couples happy versus unhappy leads to some common sense advice about how to minimize stress and maximize your relationship happiness. The report is based upon a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by eHarmony. Respondents ranged from age 18 to over 65. Online interviews were conducted with 2,084 individuals in November to December of 2017. All of the respondents were self-identified as either married or in a committed relationship. Although 15 different issues were identified as “key factors” in creating stress, four of those issues were most commonly reported as key causes of stress for couples. (As you can see by the percentage of respondents who identified each issue as “key,” many respondents did identify more than one key issue.) 1. “Work-Related Stress” was identified as a key factor in relationship conflicts by 35 percent of the respondents. Part of the challenge of work-related stress is being able to identify it as such...

What can I do to get more fit? Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health. The most important thing is that you keep moving! Exercise should be a regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth, eating, and sleeping. It can be in gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind: Stay positive and have fun. A good mental attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to keep with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it's more fun to exercise with someone else, so see if you can find a friend or family member to be active with you. Take it one step at a time. Small changes can add up to better fitness. For example, walk or ride your bike to school or to a friend's house instead of getting a ride. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator. Get your h...

Your lily-white bed linen may, in fact, be less hygienic than the nest of an animal known for throwing its own poo around. According to a new study by researchers from North Carolina State University, chimpanzees have cleaner sleeping arrangements than humans – and that may be precisely because we insist on using the same sheets over and over. More than a third of the bacteria found in human beds is from our own bodies, be it skin, oral or faecal. PhD student Megan Thoemmes, the lead author of the paper, which was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said she and her colleagues “wanted to know how this compares with some of our closest evolutionary relatives”. Chimpanzees build fresh beds from branches and leaves every day. Thoemmes led a team of researchers collecting swabs from 41 such chimp nests in Tanzania and found they contained significantly fewer body bacteria than a bed in the average human household. “We found almost none of those microbes in the chimpa...

Men who fail to match or exceed their parents’ educational achievements suffer levels of psychological distress similar to the impact of divorce, while women are largely unaffected, according to new research. Researchers at the University of Oxford analysed data from more than 50,000 people across the UK and 27 other mainly European countries to compare their psychological states with their educational achievements. They found that for men, exceeding their parents’ educational achievements have a positive effect resulting in reduced psychological distress, while falling short appears to have a damaging effect on men’s wellbeing with an increase in psychological distress. The research, launched on Tuesday at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference at Northumbria University, contradicts earlier studies that found improving on parental academic achievements appeared to have little positive impact on psychological state. The study found that the consequences of doing ...