Latest news with #badhabits
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vernon Kay hits back ‘how stupid do you think I am' after Tess Daly question
Radio presenter Vernon Kay joked 'how stupid do you think I am' when discussing a segment on his show about people who give their partners the 'ick'. Co-star Tina Daheley posed the question after reading the news on Vernon's BBC Radio 2 show yesterday (Friday, August 8). Vernon's co-star tried to explain the concept of the 'ick' by describing it as bad habits that "drive you mad". Examples included not putting the toilet seat down, eating loudly, laughing at your own jokes and the way they talk to their mum. READ MORE: Michelle Keegan unveils sweet tribute to her 'three' as she heads on holiday READ MORE: Christine McGuinness says Paddy was 'fine' with her 'free spirit' sexuality in love life update But dad-of-two Vernon would not be drawn on whether he finds anything annoying about wife, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly. He said: "How stupid do you think I am? Behave yourself. I'm full of a cold. I've got the flu. I've got a bit icky myself. "I'm looking forward to a nice quiet weekend. I don't want to have a nice, quiet weekend on my own." Tina quickly clarified that she was asking if Tess has any 'icks' about him, with Vernon retorting: "Oh, there's loads." Vernon, 51, and Tess, 56, tied the knot in 2003. They share daughters Phoebe, 20, and 15-year-old Amber. It comes after the TV and radio star admitted he was mocked by staff in a supermarket over a "senior moment" as he was almost "done for thieving'. He was doing some shopping in an unnamed supermarket earlier this week when he was shocked to realise he had not paid for his food. Fortunately for Vernon he had only just left the store and was able to return and sheepishly apologise for his transgression. Vernon told the story on his radio show: 'I had a senior moment this morning, it could have got me into trouble. I went to a very famous supermarket which is in Marylebone Station and I scanned my food, walked out. 'I went, 'Ah!' Could have been horrendous, could have been absolutely horrendous and the lady, when I walked back, she was just absolutely laughing her head off. She went, 'I saw you, didn't say anything because I knew you'd realise'. 'It was so funny, imagine that, shocking, but it was one of those things where I just scanned my food and wondered off, didn't even think about it because I thought I'd tapped, I hadn't. You know you're old when you get done for thieving.' Vernon got his big television break as a presenter on T4 back in 2000. His other major credits include All Star Family Fortunes and as a co-presenter on the short-lived reality TV show Splash! He also came third in season 20 of I'm A Celebrity.... Get Me Out of Here! The series, held in Wales rather than the Australian jungle due to Covid-19, saw podcaster Giovanna Fletcher win with Radio 1 presenter Jordan North finishing runner-up.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Can't stop scrolling or snacking? You're not weak-willed, you're being manipulated by big business... and this is the startling evidence, says top scientist
So why do we form bad habits – and deliberately do so, too, when we are meant to be creatures intelligent enough to know better? As the young Danish scientist Nicklas Brendborg has it, few will opt for plain vanilla ice cream if the alternative is a bowl of ice cream covered with caramel sauce, chocolate chips, brownie pieces and marshmallows.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Super Stimulated by Nicklas Brendborg: The secret super stimuli behind your bad habits
Super Stimulated by Nicklas Brendborg (Hodder £22, 304pp) So why do we form bad habits – and deliberately do so, too, when we are meant to be creatures intelligent enough to know better? As the young Danish scientist Nicklas Brendborg has it, few will opt for plain vanilla ice cream if the alternative is a bowl of ice cream covered with caramel sauce, chocolate chips, brownie pieces and marshmallows. Unerringly, we are drawn to the big, the brash, the shiny – all-you-can-eat buffets, mounds of popcorn. We are less physically active, so burn fewer calories. One consequence is that we are approximately 18kg heavier than we were in the mid-1800s and two-thirds of all adults are overweight. Though our bodies evolved in times of scarcity, and are 'attuned for conserving energy,' we now live in times of abundance and the blubber simply piles on – big bellies, extra chins, wobbly bottoms – resulting in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases 'and general metabolic dysfunction'. Brendborg places the blame squarely on food manufacturers and supermarkets, who 'want to make as much money as possible', and accomplish this by manipulating our 'appetite regulation'. Customers' willpower and a sense of feeling stuffed and replete 'are some of the manufacturers' greatest enemies', so billions – much more than is spent on life-saving medicines – are invested in 'designing super stimuli' in the laboratory. That is to say, emulsifiers, flavour enhancers, artificial sweeteners and colourings, and additives by the bucket. The objective is to get us addicted to ultra-processed food – greasy chips, biscuits, microwave meals, frozen pizza, soda pop, energy drinks, sausages, cereals, packaged snacks, from which natural fibre has been extracted, so we never feel full. Big business is intent on 'the careful optimisation' of the precise shade of yellow for crisps. Though 60 strawberries contain the same number of calories as a single Mars bar, we are steered by advertising away from fresh fruit, organic meat, vegetables and rice, and made to crave anything containing sugar, 'the cheapest source of calories in existence', and which doesn't require much digestion. A sugar rush is instant, 'and the brain screams for more'. Manufacturers disguise the levels of sugar they feed us by giving it a variety of pseudonyms: dextrose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, or evaporated cane juice. As a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, this doesn't alter the fact that 'sugary drinks are one of the most efficient ways to fatten up a human'. The science is cynical: 'identify the pleasurable compound, isolate it and add tons of it in concentrated form'. The same principle goes for cocaine and heroin. Sugar is added to pizza dough, tomato sauce and burger buns. The tobacco industry adds sugar to cigarettes. Sandwiches at Subway contain so much sugar, legally they don't qualify as bread in Ireland. The other component to which we have become addicted is salt. Westerners now 'eat enough salt to make a mermaid feel at home'. Salt increases shelf-life and enhances the appearance and texture of food. Saline solutions are routinely pumped into frozen meat, for example. Yet though our taste buds do enjoy salty tastes – try to confine yourself to a single salted peanut – the upshot is high blood pressure, kidney stones, and 'a host of autoimmune diseases'. Having discussed how one way or another we 'knock out our natural control mechanisms, causing overconsumption,' Super Stimulated turns to other areas where overindulgence causes problems, e.g. modern dating, sex addiction and pornography. 'An abundance of dating options breeds indecisiveness and more unstable relationships.' To try to make themselves more attractive (though in my opinion it looks grotesque), everyone wants plastic surgery – trout pouts, puffy facial fillers, Botox jabs. Brendborg says there were six times more breast-enhancement procedures and 20 times more facelifts in 2022 than there were in 2005. But the villain here is social media, Instagram, TikTok and the rest, with people no longer knowing where the real world begins and ends, what's fantasy, what isn't. 'Once social media has got you hooked, it's dead set on keeping your attention,' the algorithms, having already decided your likes and dislikes, tailoring content. As Brendborg says in his highly readable book, by scrolling on their phones for hours on end, allowing themselves to become completely engrossed, youngsters, in particular, are in the midst of a mental health crisis, everyone dissatisfied, suffused with feelings of inferiority, grief and depression, and with tiny attention spans. Smartphones are another form of endless snacking, and there are more people on the planet with a smartphone than there are with access to a functional toilet. Maybe the frantic search for stimulation has something to do with an avoidance of boredom. We want 'shortcuts to euphoria'. Except they are shortcuts to oblivion. There is too much of everything: too many streaming channels, too many action movies, too many angry people, too much ill health and dementia, too many bombs. Brendborg points out that nuclear warheads today are 1,600 times more powerful than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. It's not going to end well. Looking for tranquillity – somewhere, anywhere – Brendborg is impressed only by innocent jungle tribes and Amazonian hunter-gatherers, who are slim and healthy, with tip-top cholesterol and blood pressure figures. Unfortunately, they die of infections from monkey bites at the age of 34. Nevertheless, their ways can't be emulated, though Brendborg admits, 'your neighbours might look at you strangely if you start hunting for local squirrels for food'. In Denmark, maybe, but in my beloved South Wales, no one will bat an eyelid.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
The 8 common work habits that are actually killing you -‘increasing your risk of stroke and even dementia'
WE each spend around 3,515 days of our lives at work - and that doesn't include the extra hours on emails at home or early starts in the office. With all this time working, it's only natural that we get into a bit of a routine, and potentially pick up some bad habits along the way. 4 Think all-day grazing, sitting for hours at a time and checking our inboxes right before bed. These habits might not seem that bad, but they could actually be detrimental to our health. From diabetes to heart disease and insomnia, the effects can be serious and long-lasting. So if you're guilty of any of the eight following 'bad' behaviours, make some changes today and improve everything from your sleep to your digestion and mood to energy … 1. SITTING FOR TOO LONG IF you're reading this at work, when was the last time you stood up from your desk? If it's been longer than an hour, it's time to take a five-minute stretch. Dr Aarthi Sinha, private GP and wellness expert at Church Crescent Medical Practice, tells Sun Health: 'Sitting for too long can cause poor posture, neck pain, muscle stiffness, cramp and back pain.' More seriously, it can increase your risk of serious chronic health conditions. A study by the University of Arizona found sitting for 10 hours a day "rapidly" increases the risk of dementia. Separate research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found sedentary behaviour exceeding 10.6 hours a day was linked to a 40 to 60 per cent higher risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death. The sleep position that could be a sign of heart failure - plus three other symptoms to look out for Mary Nickel, physiotherapist, orthopaedic specialist and founder of Pilates for Health working with Healthspan Elite, adds: 'Prolonged sitting is associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. 'It increases the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, and the risk of serious illness and death.' Take frequent short breaks, such as five minutes every hour. 'Stand up, walk around, stretch your muscles, drink some water, have some food and go to the toilet if needed,' says Dr Sinha. 2. EATING AT YOUR DESK HAVING lunch at your desk while juggling emails and calls is one thing, but some people even eat breakfast and dinner at their computers too. It's unhygienic, but could also cause you to overeat, leading to weight gain. 'When you're preoccupied with work you're unlikely to realise how much you're eating,' says Dr Sinha. 'You're more likely to be distracted with work and eat too quickly, causing indigestion, heartburn and nausea.' The best thing to do is plan your meals ahead of time, where possible. 'Take some healthy snacks into work and plan your snack and main meal breaks around your work pattern,' she adds. 'Start your meal by drinking some water too, to ensure adequate hydration as well.' 3. GRAZING ALL DAY SHARING packets of biscuits and birthday cake in the kitchen is a big part of work culture, especially if you work in an office. And of course, it's only natural to want to pop over every so often for a little snack. However, all-day grazing isn't doing your health much good. Rob Hobson, registered nutritionist at Healthspan, says: 'If you're eating constantly there's a risk that you'll put on weight, especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle outside of work.' But that's not all. Snacks that contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar also increase your risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol, both linked to heart disease. Dr Sinha recommends leaving large gaps between meals to maintain blood sugar levels, which will help to maintain energy and stop you from overeating. If you do snack, opt for a piece of fruit and some nuts, or a source of protein such as hard boiled eggs, rather than processed foods. 4. WORKING LATE WHEN we have big projects or looming deadlines, it can be tempting to stay in work mode well into the night. But doing so can ruin our sleep - in the short and long term. 'Working late can lead to more disrupted sleep and the irregular production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can keep you awake,' warns Dr Sinha. For good sleep, it's important to wind down before bed so stop working a few hours before hitting the hay. Have a nutritious meal, turn off all tech and relax. Making a to-do list ready for the following day can also help to clear your mind. But sleep isn't your only worry. Working more than 10 hours a day for at least 50 days a year can increase your risk of a stroke by almost a third. And if you do this for more than a decade, this rises to 45 per cent. The mental health disorder you're most likely to have based on your job By Eliza Loukou, Health Reporter YOUR choice of job can reveal several things about you - from your interests, to your education and aspects of your personality. But scientists say it may also shed light on your mental health, indicating your risk for a variety of conditions. Researchers at the JJ Peters VA Medical Center and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found a link between ADHD, autism, depression and schizophrenia and certain professions. They suggested that genes raising the risk of these disorders - which they described as "tiny genetic signals" - may be able to predict which field or profession someone ends up in, from tech to art, healthcare or teaching. ADHD was linked to cleaners, chefs and waiters, factory workers, builders, police officers, bus and train drivers and hairdressers, who were all at higher risk of the condition. People working with computers - such as technicians - were more likely to be genetically predisposed to autism and had a lower risk of being diagnosed with depression and ADHD. Meanwhile, teachers and lawyers were more likely to have genetic traits of anorexia, while those in social work were more likely to have genetic traits of depression. And according to analysis, people working in art and design had a higher genetic predisposition towards anorexia, bipolar disorder, autism and schizophrenia. Being genetically predisposed to a condition doesn't necessarily mean you will get it in your lifetime, but it's thought some mental health disorders run in families. 5. GLUED TO YOUR EMAILS WITH today's tech, you can be contacted any time of day - by friends, family, colleagues and your boss. Just one message can leave you stressed, upset or angry, unable to relax or sleep. 'Our brains are constantly stimulated, affecting the different hormones produced in the body,' says Dr Sinha. 'In the long run, the irregular production of hormones like cortisol, the 'happy hormone' serotonin and the sleep hormone melatonin can lead to poor cardiovascular health, mental stress and even depression and anxiety.' Give yourself an email cut-off time, and stick to it. 'Planning your work, scheduling in a time to stop work, being non-contactable (if possible) and having a set time when you will then recheck emails (not as soon as you wake up) can help,' Dr Sinha says. 6. WORK IN THE DARK DO you find yourself sitting in front of your bright screen in a dark room? This won't be doing your vision any favours. 'Your eyes have to constantly adjust from the bright light on screen to the dark room, and that causes long term eye strain,' Dr Sinha says. 'Plus, your body's natural melatonin production and circadian rhythm can be dysregulated by going into a dark room and then looking at a bright light for a long time.' This then messes with your sleep - which may already be disrupted from working late. 7. SITTING IN THE WRONG POSITION AS we get tired throughout the working day, it's easy to start to slouch. In short bursts, this is unlikely to do much damage. But problems can arise if you hold the same rigid posture for long periods, Mary says. 'The slump position has indeed been shown to reduce abdominal muscle activity,' she says. 'But a growing body of evidence shows that there is no significant association between sitting postures and the development of back pain.' Since our bodies are all different, there is no single perfect posture for everyone. 'In fact, even a comfortable sitting position can become tiring after a period of time,' Mary adds. 'Physiotherapists often advise that 'the best posture is your next posture', which promotes the idea of shifting between many different positions throughout your day at work.' An adjustable sit-stand desk can really help you here as it allows you to mix up your posture throughout the day. 8. SCREEN IS TOO LOW NEXT time you're sitting at your desk at work, assess where your screen is in relation to your eyes. 'The monitor should be placed directly in front of you and adjusted so your vision is level with the top third of the computer screen,' says Mary. 'Keep the mouse close to the keyboard to avoid repetitive overreaching, and you should consider supporting the forearm to keep the wrist in a more neutral joint position and reduce strain on the muscles and joints of the arm.' A forearm desk support could be useful here. Your employer may even be able to provide height-adjustable furniture after an ergonomic workstation assessment. If that hasn't already been offered to you, speak to HR. How slouching could be making you worse in bed By Eliza Loukou, Health Reporter ARE you currently slouched over your desk or curled up around your phone? Well this might have you sitting up straight - poor posture could be making you worse in bed. According to GP Dr Jeff Foster, a bowed back and shoulders can cause your todger to slump. That's right - poor posture could have a number of ramifications on your performance in the sack, causing erectile dysfunction, weak erections and making it hard for you to climax at all, the men's health expert said. Sinking over your desk at work or crumpling into your chair can over time weaken your core muscles. These are connected to your pelvic floor muscles, which can become tighter and weaker as a result of the increased pressure exerted on them by poor posture. Dr Foster said: "When it comes to your penis, having tight pelvic floor muscles can mean these muscles aren't as strong, which can reduce sexual stamina (with weaker erections) and even weaker ejaculation, which can mean a weaker orgasm all round. "Issues with the pelvic floor muscles can lead to problems with the pelvic floor organs which can lead to urine leakage, pain when going to the toilet, pelvic pain and pressure in the penis and testicle area. "You can also have difficulty achieving an erection, and a far less enjoyable climax, if you're able to climax at all." Posture can also reduce energy levels overall, making you more fatigued and less likely to get aroused and achieve an erection during a sexual encounter, Dr Foster added.
