photos courtesy thinkstockDon?t forget to read the fine print! Nutrition facts have been found to help parents make healthier food choices for their children at McDonald?s restaurants. The study also found that overweight parents were more likely to order more calories for their children than parents of average weight. Watching TV can have a direct effect on the number of calories you consume, according to a recent study. Researchers found that people who cut their TV consumption by 50 percent burned more calories and also consumed about 125 fewer calories a day. Advertisement

MOTIVATION TO LOSE WEIGHT FADES AFTER THREE TO SIX MONTHS

Sure, your New Year's weight loss goals may still have you motivated and in the gym. But that motivation will likely wear out soon, a recent study suggests. Researchers from London Metropolitan University say that wanting to lose weight will only motivate people for six months. However, researchers said gym-goers can get a workout high that will keep them in the gym. If you can't find that groove and your only motivation is weight loss, though, chances are your trips to the gym will end in three to six months. To stay motivated beyond that slot of time, researchers said people have to gain something else from exercise. So what will keep you going on past three to six months aside from wanting to lose weight? The study pointed out reduced stress and more energy as two main motivating factors that will keep people heading back to the gym.

REDUCING CARB INTAKE CAN REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE

Need to lower your blood pressure? You might want to try a low-carbohydrate diet. A recent study from the VA Medical Center in North Carolina showed that cutting back on carbs also cuts down your blood pressure. To come tot this conclusion, researchers there studied about 150 people who had either diabetes or heart disease. They split the group in two. One group stuck to a diet that only allowed participants to consume 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. The other group stuck to a typical low-calorie, low-fat diet. While both groups lost a good amount of weight over the course of the study, only one group saw results that showed up on their blood pressure readings. The group that stuck to the low-carb diet saw an average drop of 4.5 points in their diastolic reading on their blood pressure.

Household chemicals can keep women from getting pregnant

Sure, you could point a finger at your spouse if fertility is an issue. However, you could also point a finger at what may seem like an unlikely suspect -- household cleaner. A recent study out of the University of California-Berkeley says that chemicals commonly found in household cleaners can reduce fertility in women. A women faces a 30 percent decreased likelihood of becoming pregnant if there is a 10-fold increase in chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which are commonly used in fabrics, carpets and plastics, among other things. The chemicals enter the bloodstream and can damage fertility. The study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

OMEGA-3 ACIDS HELP FIGHT DENTAL DISEASE

It's well known that Omega-3 helps fight memory loss. But what you don't know about Omega-3 may leave you smiling. That's because researchers from Niigata University in Japan found that increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids can decrease your likelihood of dental diseases. The study, which was published in the journal Nutrition, looked at the correlation between omega-3 levels and dental diseases. The assessment found that people who had low levels of omega-3 had a 1.5 times increased risk of dental diseases

HIGHER VITAMIN INTAKE REDUCES PANCREATIC CANCER RISK

It's never hard to find reasons to take vitamins. A study published in the International Journal of Cancer provided a few more. The study concluded that taking more vitamin C, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids can decrease a person's risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco came to this area after studying the relationship between vitamin intake and cancer. The highest intake of omega-3 in the researchers study group had a 53 percent decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the person with the lowest levels. The highest intake of vitamin C came with a 31 percent decreased risk while vitmain E carried a 33 percent decreased risk.

VITAMIN D BENEFICIAL TO PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA DROP THE INHALER. AT LEAST LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE SOME VITAMIN D. A NEW STUDY SAYS THAT ASTHMATICS CAN BENEFIT FROM TAKING MORE VITAMIN D. THE STUDY, PUBLISHED IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, WAS CONDUCTED BY RESEARCHERS AT DENVER'S NATIONAL JEWISH HOSPITAL. TO COME TO THEIR CONCLUSION, RESEARCHERS STUDIED MORE THAN 50 ASTHMATICS AND MONITORED THEIR INTAKE OF THE VITAMIN. THEY FOUND USING BLOOD TESTS THAT PATIENTS WHO HAD MORE THAN 30 NONGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF VITAMIN D HAD BETTER AIR FLOW. ALSO, THEY WERE LES SENSITIVE TO STEROID THERAPY THAN THOSE WHO HAD LESS THAN 30 NG/ML.

Nutritional facts help parents make smarter choices Turns out nutritional facts can make a difference. A recent study from the Seattle Children's Research Institute shows that people take in fewer calories if the food they eat has nutritional information. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at how parents ordered food for their children. About 100 families were involved in the study. The study took place at various McDonald's restaurants. Half of the parents were given menus with nutritional information while the other half didn't have access to nutritional information.

Researchers were then able to assess what difference the nutritional labels had on food choice. The research concluded that parents who had access to nutritional information chose meals that had about 20 percent fewer calories. On average, that meant 102 fewer calories in the children's meals. Researchers found that heavier parents were more likely than parents of average weight to order more calories for their children.

MEMORY MAINTENANCE AND DEVELOPMENT AIDED BY EXERCISE

Want straightforward proof that exercise helps your brain? Look no farther than a recent study from the University of Cambridge. Their research showed a simple connection -- mice that exercised notched better scores on memory tests than mice which didn't exercise. The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by the Department of Experimental Psychology at Cambridge.

For the study, a large group of mice was split into two. One study restricted the mice's access to an exercise wheel while the other group had unlimited use of the exercise wheel. Over the course of the study, the exercise group of mice ran an average of 12 miles every day. To see if exercise helped memory, researchers set up a simple test. A screen showed two boxes. One of the boxes, when touched by the mouse, released a treat. They found that the mice who exercised scored much better on the memory tests. Additionally, the exercise group developed twice as many new brain cells as the control group over the life of the study.

THE MORE YOU RUN, THE HEALTHIER YOUR HEART GUIDELINES ARE FOR WIMPS. THAT'S THE CONCLUSION YOU COULD DRAW AFTER LOOKING AT A STUDY FROM LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY THAT SAYS ADULTS WILL SEE GREAT HEALTH BENEFITS IF THEY EXERCISE MORE THAN THE NATIONAL GUIDELINES. MANY PLACES RECOMMEND GETTING ABOUT 30-45 MINUTES OF EXERCISE 3 TO 5 TIMES A WEEK IN ORDER TO STAY HEALTHY. BUT THE HEALTHY BUCK DOESN'T STOP THERE.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study shows that you can gain even greater health benefits if you exercise more than that. The study looks at more than 100,000 people who are somewhat competitive runners. The research shows that the more people runner, the greater health benefits they see. For example, someone who runs 50 miles a week will have a healthier heart than someone who runs 5 miles a week. You will continue to see health benefits up to 50 miles a week, the research shows. The study started in 1991 and uses sedentary and regular walkers to compare health benefits against.

RESEARCHERS FIND UNDERAGE DRINKING LEADS TO MORE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS

Underage drinking can create more problems than run-ins with the law, a new study suggests. Researchers at Georgia State University say teens who start drinking at an early age are more likely to attempt suicide. For the study, researchers surveyed more than 150,000 students in the state about their drinking habits, drug use, nutrition and other things. About 15 percent said they started drinking before they turned 13. That 15 percent was also more likely to attempt suicide. Researchers didn't know the exact reason early drinking and increased suicide rates were related. However, they conclude the problems that led to early drinking are the same problems that lead to increased risk of suicide.

LESS TV TIME RESULTS IN FEWER CALORIES CONSUMED

There's a reason they call it a couch potato -- turns out sitting on the couch watching TV really does make you fat. A recent study found that watching less TV had a direct impact on people's weight. Those who cut their TV watching by 50 percent saw a roughly 250 calorie deficit every day. To come to this conclusion, researchers enlisted the help of 36 volunteers.

They placed a device in half of the participants' TVs that shut the television off once they reached 50 percent of their weekly TV allotment. The other half of the group could watch 100 percent of the allotted time. It turns out that the 50 percent group not only burned more calories, but they also consumed less. Less time on the couch, on average, meant participants burned about 120 more calories a day. Also, probably because of less couch-related eating, participants in the 50 percent group consumed about 125 fewer calories per day. Over time, this could lead to losing three-pounds a year.

LOW-CARB MEAL AFTER WORKOUT BEST FOR METABOLISM

In order to get the most out of your exercise, you might want to grab a low-carb snack after you hit the gym. Researchers from the University of Michigan came to this conclusion after tracking how different post-workout foods affected people's insulin levels. For the study, researchers split participants up into two groups. The control group simply ate a specified number of calories each day.

The exercise group randomly went through a series of three exercise sessions where they rode a stationary bike for 90 minutes. After the first session, they ate normal food to replace the calories they burned. In the next session, they ate low-carbohydrate foods to replace the calories they burned. And in the last session, they ate high-carbohydrate foods but ones that were lower in calories. The study showed that the low-carbohydrate meal produced the best results when it came to improving insulin sensitivity. What that means is your metabolism recovers fastest when you take in ample calories but a lower amount of carbohydrates.

FRIENDSHIPS CAN INCREASE LONGEVITY

What good is a long life without friends with whom you can share it? Well, being without friends may actually decrease your chances of living a long life. An Australian study conducted by the Centre for Ageing Studies at Flinders University followed nearly 1,500 older people for 10 years. It found that those who had a large network of friends outlived those with the fewest friends by 22 percent.

Other studies have suggested that companionship can boost self-esteem and make depression less likely, and have shown that people with fewer friends tend to die sooner after a heart attack than people with strong social networks.

The study also found that close relationships with children and relatives had no effect on longevity.

Studies have also found that people with good social support tend to have fewer cardiovascular and immune problems and have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

FACE MASKS, HAND HYGIENE LIMIT SPREAD OF FLU

If you're trying to avoid coming down with the flu this season, wash your hands. And put on a mask.

Vaccination may not always be immediately available to some portions of the population, so scientists are trying to evaluate the effectiveness of other measures such as hand hygiene and ordinary face masks.

A study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases found that face masks and hand sanitizer proved effective in limiting transmission of influenza. Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health recruited more than 1,400 college students living in residence halls during flu season three years ago and divided them into three groups. One group wore face masks, a second group wore masks and used hand sanitizer and the third group received no intervention. All participants were instructed in hand hygiene.

The hand sanitizer/mask group showed significant reductions in incidence of flu-like symptoms.