That's Fit

If your kid has a big neck, he or she may be more likely to develop a sleep-related breathing disorder, say researchers at the University of Virginia. Translation for big: Obese.

Of 215 children, ages 18 months to 18 years, who were referred to a pediatric sleep clinic, 37.3 percent were obese and snored more than not-so-heavy kids, says this Virginia study. Basically, neck size showed a strong inverse correlation with oxygen saturation and was an even better indicator of breathing problems than BMI, weight, or tonsil size.

One implication of this finding, says study author Dr. Pearl L. Yu, is this: "Children with bigger neck sizes for age should be queried about snoring, apnea, excessive sleepiness, and hyperactivity. Neck size should be considered in the clinical evaluation of children with a history of snoring and apnea."

If you think Keira Knightley is anorexic, you are wrong, says her mom who credits her slim figure to genetics and not a restrictive diet.

"She has always been thin," says mom. "She's her daddy's daughter, with his long body."

Apparently, Knightley, 23, eats like a horse to maintain her weight. A diet high in protein and carbohydrates is what reportedly keeps some meat on her bones.

On rumors that she's long suffered from anorexia, Knightley says: "I don't have it. I'm very sure I don't have it."

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hey Fitz. I am 12 years old and am a little chunky. I have love handles and wish to get rid of them, but I don't know what I should do! I was trying sit ups and crunches, but they don't work. Now I want to know what really works and how I can keep my body in shape without body fat . Everyone says that I'm not fat nor skinny, I'm just chunky. I want to get rid of all the chunky parts, but I don't know what I should do. Please help! Jellybean

A. First of all Jellybean, I want you to change your focus. I know it's hard to be young and uncomfortable in your skin. I too, had that issue before I was a teenager and ended up with a traumatic eating disorder. Trust me ... it brought me only bad things, never good. Don't go there. Instead of focusing on your so-called "flaws", find something about your body you like. I bet your body is loaded with treasures.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hey Fitz. Yesterday I did two classes in a row - Cardio sculpt and Extreme training, which are both really tough. Two days before that I ran three miles to the gym, did a class and ran three miles home. For the first time in a long time I did not enjoy the exercise one bit. I have been exercising regularly for a long time now - usually I love it. I have been practicing good nutrition habits with the occasional sweet tooth fix, drinking lots of water and STILL the number on the scale is staying the same. I feel like I am on the verge of burning out. I can't seem to lose the flab around my tummy - particularly under my belly button and backs of my thighs, no matter what I do. Plus, short of starving myself and getting very cranky, I don't know how to actually lose the weight. Funny how a number on a machine, the scale, can be so vital to my state of mind. It's ridiculous, really. PLEASE - do you have any advice? Cindy

A. Whoa there Cindy! You need a break! Sounds odd for me to say this, but put your sneakers away and sit the heck down! Fitness is not supposed to make us insane, fitness is supposed to help us maintain our sanity. You are burnt out to the max, and need to just let it go for a while. I'm not suggesting forever, but take at least a week off. I know what you're going through. You already have an elite fitness level, but particular parts of your body are just not responding the way you want them to. You have incredibly high standards for your body. That often leads to frustration. Especially when you're 'starving' and running a million miles a week!

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, My husband makes a big stink when I give our kids any type of 'sugar candy' like gummy bears or bubblegum. The kids are totally skinny and I don't see what the big deal is. They are kids! What do you think? Christy

A. Hey Christy. Your husband is a freaking genius. That's what I think! He has the insight and thoughtfulness to know that as parents, you should be teaching your children the best habits possible. He knows that your children are less likely to eat nutritious things when they've had a dose of candy. They're more likely to deal with the pain and terror that comes along with having their cavities filled if you give them candy. They're more likely to struggle with their weight and other less than lovely issues later on in life if you don't instill high standards in them today.

All of us, men and women alike, need sleep. But one of us needs it more. Any guesses?

Women.

Doctors are discovering that poor sleep habits make women more vulnerable than men to heart disease and diabetes. Controlling for age, race, and smoking and menstrual status, researchers found there's no changing the the fact that women -- all women -- are at risk for these illnesses when their sleep patterns are disrupted.

Grey's Anatomy star Justin Chambers says he checked in to UCLA's psych ward recently because of a longtime sleep disorder.

"It's an issue that I've had for a while," Chambers told PEOPLE magazine in his first interview since the incident. "It's a biological sleep disorder. Your mind keeps racing, and your body is tired. It wants to go to sleep, but it can't."

At his wit's end, the 37-year-old actor, husband, and father of five says he was sleeping no more than an hour a week during the two months leading up to his hospital stay.

We all know sleep is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It's a topic covered here at That's Fit all the time. To brush up on your sleep smarts so you can get the quality rest -- and the benefits that come from rest -- you so deserve, check out these recent sleepy posts.

Daily Fit Tip: Sleep in total darkness
Lack of sleep may be hindering your fitness progress
Sleep helps you lose the baby weight
Sweet dreams: Americans are actually getting sleep!
Let Mother Nature help you sleep
10 tips for the insomniac

When I was about 35 pounds heavier, I used to think about my body all the time. I was constantly fretting over the parts I didn't like, wondering how I was going to change, stressing over food and agonizing over clothes. I was all-consumed. I spent so much time thinking about my body, that I kind of lost track of the more important things in life. I certainly must have been far less productive and thoughtful to others than I am now as well.

Throughout my fitness journey, which truly began when I started teaching group fitness classes at 15 years old....I have had many great and not-so-great moments with my body. I even enjoyed a few great years in my teens as a bulimic. Whoopee! (That was really the low point.) Having said that. Along the way, I've learned to enjoy a variety of challenging exercises and balance my fitness. I also learned to appreciate and enjoy produce more than Cheetos. I got a grip on eating right and now I never fret at all over what I put in my mouth. I simply make great choices most of the time.

Mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder are very hard for psychiatrists to diagnose sometimes. It's a subjective procedure requiring the patient to tell the professional about his or her symptoms. After that, the doctor must give a judgment which ultimately diagnoses the patient.

But what if medical professionals were able to test the blood and detect whether or not a person had bipolar disorder or depression? This could, theoretically, eliminate the need for subjective judgments on people's mental state. However, some folks believe this is too accurate.

The ethical concerns stem from the fact that ten genes have been shown to reveal a person's mental status. Personality characteristics are controversial in medicine, and a test that can allegedly tell a person if they're unstable could cause a bigger rift. However, if used properly, this seems like a more effective way to treat patients of psychiatry. We'll have to keep an eye on this for future developments!

Thankfully in America, many of us do not know what it's like to be hungry every minute of the day. While there are homeless and hungry people all over the world, we can count our blessings here at home. However, there are some children even in the USA that come from healthy households and cannot feel that sense of satisfaction.

ABC is running a story describing a disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome that can affect children and adults alike. This genetic condition causes a person to be physically unable to satiate an appetite. Therefore, they are always hungry.

It talks about a 5-year-old girl who suffers from this disorder, leaving her to dig through garbage or eat sticks of butter in an attempt to fill herself up. The kitchen is forced to be kept under lock and key at all times. Otherwise, the child could gain access and literally end up eating herself to death with food. Doctors are not able to directly treat this disorder either, so parents must constantly watch their children. However, they can provide a margin of error by increasing their growth with HGH (human growth hormone). Hopefully someday researchers will be able to identify a weak spot in this syndrome and put a stop to it entirely.

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

Kirsten Haglund is the new Miss America. Three years ago, she was anorexic.

Once painfully thin, the now curvy and toned 19-year-old confidently accepted her crown last Saturday after a long struggle with anorexia. Her mission now: To devote her year-long reign to raising awareness about eating disorders and to keep up her regular exercise and healthy lifestyle.

Haglund, who is proud of her new relationship with food and her body, says: "You have to have curves, you can't look like a stick-thin model," she said.

Well said!

Keira Knightley doesn't eat junk food. Maybe that's why she's so slim and trim. Maybe it isn't that she's anorexic at all, as media rumors might suggest.

"I don't eat junk," says the 22-year-old actress. "I cook. I go to farmers markets in London and cook really good sort of organic foods."

Knightley credits her figure to good genes and a good healthy diet. She's no gym rat, though. The roles she plays in period pieces like Pirates of the Caribbean and Pride & Prejudice tend to keep her in shape.

"The corsets are a workout. Heavy dresses and all that," she says.

Do you buy Knightley's explanation for her weight? I tend to trust what she says, but only because I recently stopped eating junk food and sweets and witnessed 15 pounds melt right off my body. Thinness isn't always caused by an eating disorder. Sometimes it's caused by ditching the junk.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the 26-year-old former Sopranos actress who was honored recently at the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) for her work as an ambassador for the group, remembers clearly the day her dad begged her to eat some cake. Knee deep in her own eating disorder, she just couldn't do it.

"I remember rationalizing that if I had that one piece of dessert, the next morning I would wake up and weigh 400 pounds," she says. "It sounds so wild, but for me it was true."

It's hard for Sigler to recognize that person with such a warped sense of reality.

Sigler, who continually works on her recovery, tries to achieve a healthy balance in her life. Once obsessed with over-exercising and measuring the input and output of every calorie, she now strays from any regimen or ritual when it comes to dieting and exercising.

"I have a wonderful friend who does yoga with me," she says. "When I go home to Long Island, my mom and I take the dog and go hiking. It's nice to be outdoors."

Long-term sleep trouble issues plague millions of Americans. Whether it be the lack of sleep ability of even the act of falling asleep when your body is exhausted, stress and anxiety probably play a role somewhere in there outside of sleep apnea issues.

Major stresses like death, illness, divorce or financial woes are all biggies when it comes to daily anxiety -- and problems with sleep.

But, in a long-term twist noted by researchers this past week, anxiety before a major life stress event can cause sleep troubles can even last for up to six months after the stress even subsides.

Bulimia nervosa, like anorexia nervosa, is an eating disorder that centers around control. One of the most common eating disorders, bulimia is characterized by consuming large amounts of food and then ridding the stomach of its contents by way of vomiting, over-exercising, or use of laxatives.

Eating to excess (called the "binge") is comforting to bulimics. But eating too much causes them to feel out of control. They also feel guilt, shame, and a fear of weight gain which causes them to "purge." This "binge and purge" cycle is extremely dangerous and can lead to serious and long-term health problems, like tooth decay, gum disease, loss of tooth enamel, osteoporosis, kidney damage, heart problems, and even death.

Because bulimia is harder to recognize than anorexia -- the symptoms are more subtle and bulimics are not always thin -- awareness is critical. Please consider these symptoms and physical effects of bulimia.