Good Healthy Advice

Females 'less physically active'

Sourced: BBC NEWS

Females are less physically active at both ends of life than their male counterparts, two studies suggest.

Researchers studied activity levels in school children and the over 70s - and in both cases found males tended to be more active.

The studies are being presented at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine annual conference. Liverpool John Moores University found girls take part in 6% less vigorous playtime activity than boys.

The researchers, who focused on 10 and 11 year-old children in the school playground, found that boys and girls tend to play differently.

Tony Ferguson Recipe of the Week: Lamb and Cherry Tomato Casserole

Serves 2 female or 1 Male

Ingredients

• 220 - 240g Lamb fillet, chopped into strips    * ½ Red onion, finely diced
• 2 Medium mushrooms
• ½ Cup of zucchini, chopped into ½ cm semi - circles
• ½ Medium eggplant, chopped into 2 by 1cm pieces
• 10 Cherry tomatoes
• ½ Teaspoon of chilli paste
• 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
• ½ - 1 teaspoon of rosemary
• ¾ Cup of vegetable stock
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Method

1. Place a medium fry pan on medium and heat the olive oil
2. Add the lamb, zucchini and eggplant, toast until half cooked stirring occasionally and then add the onion, mushrooms, rosemary garlic and chilli
3. Combine well and cook until the onion goldens, then add the cherry tomatoes and stock and simmer until the eggplant is soft and the sauce thickens to desired consistency
4. Serve immediately with a side salad or cauliflower rice.

Temptation toppling tips for smoke free New Year

Sourced: Cancer Council

Giving up smoking this New Year is the single most effective way a smoker can improve their health and the health of those around them.

That’s according to Cancer Council NSW, which today offered some handy tips to help smokers achieve the New Year’s resolution of quitting smoking from midnight tomorrow (31 December).

“There is never an ideal time to give up; you just need to have a go,” Wendy Oakes, Tobacco Control Manager at Cancer Council NSW said.

“The good news for smokers is that it will become a little easier to quit next year, as tempting cigarette displays are banned from shops, vending machines are restricted in pubs and clubs, and smoking with a child in the car is outlawed.

Preschoolers invited to medical check-up

Sourced: The Australian

SOME 800,000 families will receive an invitation this month to take their preschoolers to the doctor, as the federal Government struggles to lift the dismal take-up rate of its new program of health checks.

A spokesman for Acting Health Minister Justine Elliot said yesterday a letter would go to parents of children aged three to five years "to improve awareness" of the $26 million program, trumpeted by Kevin Rudd ahead of the election as a key part of Labor's early childhood plan.

Government statistics reveal that only 5 per cent of the 250,000 checks planned in 2008-09 have been billed to Medicare in the first five months of the program's operation.

In the Northern Territory, the numbers are lower still, with just 16 of the new rebates paid so far at a total cost of $722, despite the appalling state of health of many indigenous children.