That's Fit

"For each hour that you're physically active, you can expect to live two hours longer."

I have no idea if that's true or not, but it's one exercise-related rule of thumb I found at RulesofThumb.org. The site's creators hope to eventually collect every rule of thumb -- which they define as somewhere between an mathematical formula and a shot in the dark -- and record it on their website. The results are sometimes helpful, often useful, and occasionally kind of funny.

For instance, consider:

• "To get a "blow" out of a stuffed-up nose, always blow the clearer nostril first."
• "If your earlobes have a diagonal crease, you may have clogged coronary arteries."
• and the unusual: "If your turds float, there's too much fat in your diet."

Check them out. You might just learn something!

A recent survey, by lifestyle website Wanobe.com, revealed that people over 50 are more likely to have sex on a first date than those who are under 40. In addition, 50 percent of the over 50 group rated lust and passion as more important than marriage.

Nearly 40 percent of the over-50s would sleep with a partner on a first meeting – compared with just 18 percent of under-40s.

Wanobe managing director David Noble, 60, said: "Being over 50 doesn't mean you give up on love. The under-30s may feel they invented sexual liberation, but it was the baby-boomer generation that staged the first summer of love – more than 40 years ago."

It's the belief of many (including myself) that the food you put into the body can have a drastic effect on the possibility of developing cancer. A genetic predisposition to cancer can be aggravated by an unhealthy lifestyle. At least, that's my two cents. Agree? Disagree?

What else can affect cancer? Experts said this week that the rate of growth a person experiences also has an effect on the possibility of cancer cropping up. The same report stated that growth rate is actually a larger effect on cancer than pesticides found on foods (like fruits), which was a surprise.

Taller people were found to have a higher risk of cancer than shorter people, and the report stressed the long-term influences are at the root of cancer, not just immediate problems.

Marriage has a bit of a bad rap these days, with lots of people complaining and saying how life and fun are essentially over the minute you take the plunge. But millions of people are still getting married every day, and thankfully research shows that they don't have the wrong idea -- it's not a bad thing! Research has found that married people have the following health advantages over people who aren't married:

• Better general health, and less sicknesses
  
• Less alcoholism
• Fewer suicides
• Less time spent in hospitals, and faster recovery rates
• Stronger immune systems
• Lower risks for depression, along with reduced stress and anxiety

Of course I'm thinking if you marry the wrong person and end up stressed and unhappy then these benefits probably don't apply, but for the average person your spouse may be doing more for you than you think!

Although emergency rooms are required for true emergencies, the number of ER patients without true emergencies -- but who still visit the ER for treatment -- has caused a new trends in some hospitals.

It sounds like something out of a discount store bank branch, but self-serve kiosks are making their way into some ERs. Patients can input their information and really see if what's happening to them is truly an emergency. Pretty neat -- or a waste of time?

Patients with medical concerns but without true life-threatening and immediate needs for assistance can get some advice from a small computer kiosk while helping the information systems in some hospitals rate emergencies with a better and more detailed informational record beyond a patient's spoken words.

The world's oldest man is now Tomoji Tanabe, an 111-year-old from Japan. How did make to such a ripe old age? According to Tanabe, it's because he doesn't drink.

There's undoubtedly some truth to this, but I find it interesting that every time an incredibly old person is interviewed, they tell the world their "secret" for outliving the other 99% percent of the world's population -- "I didn't have sex," or "I never drank alcohol," etc -- when there's obviously no such thing as a "secret" to longevity. While there are a number of lifestyle choices you can make that will improve your health and help you live longer -- achieving this kind of extreme old age has a lot to with luck.

That said, it is worth noting that the world's oldest woman, Yone Minagawa (114 years-old), is also from Japan -- and, in fact, lives on Kyushu, the same island as Mr. Tanabe. So if you really want to reach a ripe old age, maybe you should make a visit.