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Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/girija-kaimal-1486183">Girija Kaimal</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/drexel-university-1074">Drexel University</a></em></p> <p>When you think about the word “art,” what comes to mind? A child’s artwork pinned to the fridge? A favorite artist whose work always inspires? Abstract art that is hard to understand?</p> <p>Each of these assumes that making art is something that other people do, such as children or “those with talent.”</p> <p>However, as I explain in my book “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-expressive-instinct-9780197646229?q=the%20expressive%20instinct&amp;lang=en&amp;cc=ca">The Expressive Instinct</a>,” art is intrinsic to human evolution and history. Just as sports or workouts exercise the body, creating art exercises the imagination and is essential to mental as well as physical well-being.</p> <p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C8R2XOYAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">professor of art therapy</a> who studies how creative self-expression affects physical and emotional health. In our clinical research studies, my colleagues and I are finding that any form of creative self-expression – including drawing, painting, fiber arts, woodworking or photography – can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08322473.2017.1375827">reduce stress</a>, improve mood and increase self-confidence.</p> <p>As a sickly child who needed to stay home from school a lot, I found that making art helped me cope. Today, creating art is my sanctuary. I use it as a sounding board to better understand myself and a way to recharge and learn from the challenges of life.</p> <h2>The uniquely human attribute of creativity</h2> <p>Although everyone has their own concept of what defines art, one thing is universally true: Creativity is a defining feature of the human species.</p> <p>How so? Well, human brains are not computers processing data. They are biological prediction machines that perceive the environment through memories and the senses, with the capacity to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2010.00025">use that information to imagine</a> plausible future scenarios.</p> <p>These inherent predictive and imaginative capacities are the wellspring of humanity’s abilities to survive and thrive – because self-expression is a safety valve that helps us cope with uncertainty. No one truly knows the future; they must live each day not sure of what will happen tomorrow. Art can help us all practice this imaginative muscle in a useful way.</p> <p>In our study examining brain activity while using virtual reality tools to create 3-D digital artwork, my team demonstrated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2021.1957341">creative expression is a natural state of being</a>. The brain naturally uses fewer cognitive resources to be expressive and creative, compared with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2021.1957341">brain power needed to do a rote task</a> that requires conscious effort.</p> <p>Seemingly ordinary everyday activities can provide opportunities to tap into one’s natural creativity and imagination: whipping up a meal from leftovers, figuring out an alternate route to work, dancing a little jig in response to hearing a song, or planting and tending a garden.</p> <p>We have repeatedly found in our studies that even a single session of real and honest self-expression can improve self-confidence and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735420912835">reduce feelings of stress</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2019.08.006">anxiety and burnout</a>.</p> <p>This is partly because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.05.004">creativity activates reward pathways</a> in the brain. Using our hands and bodies to express ourselves activates dopamine pathways and helps us feel good. Dopamine is a neural messenger that is associated with feeling a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ajpath.2015.09.023">sense of hope, accomplishment or reward</a>. Our brains are wired to secrete <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-experiencing-flow-feel-so-good-a-communication-scientist-explains-173505">feel-good hormones whenever we move</a>, create something or engage in any type of expressive activity.</p> <p>Tapping into the creative resources within is <a href="https://theconversation.com/drawing-making-music-and-writing-poetry-can-support-healing-and-bring-more-humanity-to-health-care-in-us-hospitals-204684">one of the most underrated seeds of well-being</a> in the world.</p> <p>By comparison, bottling up or <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-secrets-you-keep-are-hurting-you/">denying these feelings can cause distress</a>, anxiety and fear because we have not processed and expressed them. This is probably one of the reasons why every community around the world has its own creative and expressive practices. Even our ancestors in Indigenous communities all around the world intuitively knew that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101879">self-expression was essential</a> to emotional health and social connection.</p> <p>Being unable to share our lives, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-secrets-you-keep-are-hurting-you/">keeping secrets</a> and feeling isolated and lonely tend <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.002">to worsen our health</a>. To our brains, social isolation feels like a chronic disease because it interprets this loneliness and inability to express as a threat to survival.</p> <p>Since creative expression can engage the senses, it can also be a body workout: a sensual as well as emotional and cognitive experience. Being active in expression – be it art, music, dance, drama, writing, culinary arts or working with nature – imparts a sense of confidence and hope that <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-expressive-instinct-9780197646229?q=the%20expressive%20instinct&amp;lang=en&amp;cc=ca">challenges can be navigated and overcome</a>.</p> <h2>The role of art therapy</h2> <p>Given the integral role of art in our lives, it makes sense that making art can help people manage transitions, adversity and trauma, such as the stresses of puberty, the death of a loved one or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2019.08.006">experiencing a serious illness</a>.</p> <p>According to a global study, 1 in 2 people will experience a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00193-1">mental-health-related challenge in their lifetime</a>, whether from life’s challenges, genetic predispositions or a combination of the two.</p> <p>This is where art therapy can come in. Art therapy is <a href="https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/">a regulated mental health profession</a> in which clinical psychotherapists with extensive clinical training offer psychotherapy to patients with diagnosed mental health needs.</p> <p>The origins of art therapy go back to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021448">attempts to treat soldiers struggling with post-traumatic stress</a> during the 20th century’s two world wars. Today there is evidence that traumatic experiences tend to be stored as <a href="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7316-0473">sounds, images and physical sensations</a> in the brain. When someone <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.20825">lacks the words</a> to process these experiences through traditional talk therapy, art therapy can provide an indirect way to express and externalize those feelings and memories.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-IiUcUVAwk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=3" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">The process of making art can help people process feelings that they aren’t able to put into words.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>One of art therapy’s unique strengths is that it provides nonverbal ways of communicating, processing and eventually managing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In fact, in a recent study, my team has found that a personal history of trauma is related to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337927">how people react to evocative images</a>. Images of distress and pain resonate with us when we have known similar kinds of distress ourselves. This implies that our life stories make us sensitized to distress in others and even personalize it more.</p> <p>Creative self-expression is especially relevant in coping with trauma because it provides an outlet through which a person <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735420912835">can regain a sense of agency</a> and control.</p> <h2>How to bring creativity into daily life</h2> <p>For those new to exploring art as a creative pursuit or for well-being reasons, engaging in creative activities begins with letting go of unrealistic expectations. Being creative isn’t about becoming a famous artist or even a mediocre one. It is about allowing ourselves to flex the creative muscle that we all have and enjoying all the sensory and emotional aspects of imagining.</p> <p>Next, think about activities that made you feel free to explore when you were a child. Did you like singing, playing in the outdoors, dancing, making up pretend plays, or writing little tales? Allow yourself to indulge in any and all of these creative pursuits that made you feel relaxed and joyful.</p> <p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101879">cultural tradition</a>, tinkering with electronics, making a gift for someone or simply paying attention to everyday beauty – any of these can be a creative activity. And just like any muscle, the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Over time, you will notice yourself getting more confident and adventurous in your creative practices.</p> <p>Whatever it is, make time for this creative pursuit every week – which is possibly the hardest step of them all. If it seems “unimportant” compared with the demands of daily life, such as work or family, try thinking of it as another form of sustenance.</p> <p>Remember that creativity is just as critical to human health as <a href="https://theconversation.com/helping-children-eat-healthier-foods-may-begin-with-getting-parents-to-do-the-same-research-suggests-225157">eating nutritious meals</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/yoga-modern-research-shows-a-variety-of-benefits-to-both-body-and-mind-from-the-ancient-practice-197662">getting exercise</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-diet-for-healthy-sleep-a-nutritional-epidemiologist-explains-what-food-choices-will-help-you-get-more-restful-zs-219955">good rest</a>. So as the Latin saying goes: “Plene vivere.” Live fully.</p> <p><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/girija-kaimal-1486183">Girija Kaimal</a>, Professor of Art Therapy Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/drexel-university-1074">Drexel University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-art-is-a-uniquely-human-act-and-one-that-provides-a-wellspring-of-health-benefits-219091">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Mind

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Your gas stove might be making your asthma worse. Here’s what you can do about it

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nusrat-homaira-1199433">Nusrat Homaira</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>We may think of air pollution as an outdoor problem, made up of car exhaust and smog. But if the air inside our homes is polluted, this can also affect our health.</p> <p>In Australia, around 12% of childhood asthma can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29642816/">be attributed</a> to gas stoves and the toxic chemicals they release into the air. And while there’s a growing push to phase out gas indoors, some 38% of Australian households <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/208/7/damp-housing-gas-stoves-and-burden-childhood-asthma-australia">rely on natural gas</a> for cooking.</p> <p>Recommended interventions – such as replacing a gas stove with electric – may not be possible for those who are renting or struggling with the cost of living. This is important because, as our <a href="https://ghrp.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41256-024-00361-2">research</a> shows, childhood asthma is more common in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.</p> <p>If you’re living with gas, here’s how it can affect you or your child’s asthma, and what you can do to improve air quality.</p> <h2>What is asthma?</h2> <p>Asthma is the most common chronic condition in Australian children. The respiratory condition affects <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-respiratory-conditions/asthma">almost</a> 400,000 of those aged aged 14 and under – close to 9% of that age group.</p> <p>Asthma narrows the airways and obstructs airflow, making it hard to breath. Many people manage the condition with inhalers and <a href="https://asthma.org.au/manage-asthma/asthma-action-plan/">asthma action plans</a>. But it can be serious and even fatal. Australian emergency departments saw <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-respiratory-conditions/asthma">56,600 presentations</a> for asthma in 2020-21.</p> <p>While there is no single cause for asthma, both indoor and outdoor air pollution play a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38247719/">significant role</a>.</p> <p>Being exposed to small <a href="https://aafa.org/asthma/asthma-triggers-causes/air-pollution-smog-asthma/#:%7E:text=Air%20pollution%20can%20increase%20your,if%20you%20already%20have%20asthma.&amp;text=Small%20airborne%20particles%2C%20found%20in,%E2%80%9Cparticulate%20matter%E2%80%9D%20or%20PM.">airborne particles</a> increases your risk of getting asthma, and can aggravate symptoms if you already have it.</p> <h2>Gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide</h2> <p>The gas stoves commonly found in Australian homes release toxic chemicals into the air. They include carbon monoxide (CO), PM₂.₅ (small particles, often from <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/environmental-information/air-quality/pm25-particles-in-the-air">smoke</a>), benzene, formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). All are harmful, but nitrogen dioxide in particular is <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA656312383&amp;sid=googleScholar&amp;v=2.1&amp;it=r&amp;linkaccess=abs&amp;issn=00220892&amp;p=AONE&amp;sw=w&amp;userGroupName=anon%7E7027bb9f&amp;aty=open-web-entry">associated</a> with asthma developing and getting <a href="https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.200408-1123OC">worse</a>.</p> <p>Gas heaters can also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9731022/">produce</a> nitrogen dioxide.</p> <p>As nitrogen dioxide is a tasteless, invisible gas, it’s difficult to know how much is in your air at home unless you have an air monitor. However one US <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2662932/">study</a> showed houses with gas stoves can have nitrogen dioxide levels three times higher than houses with electric stoves.</p> <p>This is particularly concerning for households with children, given children tend to spend <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11477521/">most</a> of their time indoors.</p> <h2>Banning gas</h2> <p>There is a growing push across Australia to replace gas stoves with electric stoves, which are more energy efficient and can reduce indoor air pollution.</p> <p><a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-victorian-homes-go-all-electric-2024">Victoria</a> and the <a href="https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/energy/canberras-electrification-pathway/preventing-new-gas-network-connections">Australian Capital Territory</a> have announced bans on gas connections in new homes from 2024. Sydney’s Waverley council recently made a similar <a href="https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/environment/climate_resilience_and_reducing_emissions/go_electric">move</a>.</p> <p>But until a ban on using household gas appliances is implemented across the country, the problem persists for children who are currently living in old homes or rented properties with gas stoves.</p> <h2>Do exhaust fans in the kitchen help?</h2> <p>Using a high-efficiency <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24750219/">exhaust hood</a> placed over an existing gas cooktop can be effective. They can <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/208/7/damp-housing-gas-stoves-and-burden-childhood-asthma-australia">capture</a> more than 75% of air pollutants and direct them outside.</p> <p>Cooking on the back burner – rather than the front burner – can also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24750219/">improve their efficiency</a>.</p> <p>However exhaust hoods with lower flow rates, or hoods that don’t vent the air outside, are less effective.</p> <p>And an exhaust hood only improves air quality if you use it. One <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10520075/">study</a> in Melbourne found more than 40% of people didn’t use an exhaust hood regularly while cooking.</p> <p>For many people, installing high-efficiency exhaust hoods will not be practical – especially for those renting or experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.</p> <h2>Natural ventilation</h2> <p>There is a free way to ventilate your home. Keeping windows open during and after cooking will increase air flow and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32970538/">evidence shows</a> this can improve overall air quality.</p> <p>However this is not always possible, especially during cooler months of the year which can be especially chilly in places such as Victoria and Tasmania.</p> <p>Unfortunately, people are also more likely to use gas heaters during those cooler months.</p> <h2>What about heaters?</h2> <p>There are two kinds of gas heaters, flued and unflued.</p> <p>Like cooking with gas, unflued gas heaters release air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide directly into the home. Flued heaters are better for air quality because they use a chimney, or “flue”, to send emissions outside.</p> <p>If you can, replacing your unflued gas heater with a flued one – or even better, an electric heater – can significantly <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15075170/">alleviate</a> asthma symptoms.</p> <p>If you can’t replace your unflued gas heater, <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/unflued-gas-heaters.aspx">do not use it overnight</a> in the room where you or your children sleep.</p> <p>Asthma can’t be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled by managing triggers – and this may be easier to do indoors than out. Improving air quality, even in a rented or old property, can help people with asthma breathe more easily.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/238787/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nusrat-homaira-1199433">Nusrat Homaira</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-gas-stove-might-be-making-your-asthma-worse-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it-238787">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Do mobile phones cause brain cancer? Science makes definitive call

<p>The question of whether mobile phones - specifically the electromagnetic radiation or radio waves emitted by these devices - cause cancer has been debated and researched for a long time, and now scientists have made a definitive call. </p> <p>A new comprehensive review commissioned by the World Health Organization has found that mobile phones are NOT linked to brain and head cancers. </p> <p>The systematic review, led by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa), examined over 5,000 studies, which included 63 observational studies on humans published between 1994 and 2022 and is "the most comprehensive review to date" according to review lead author, associate prof Ken Karipidis. </p> <p>“We concluded the evidence does not show a link between mobile phones and brain cancer or other head and neck cancers," he said. </p> <p>The review, which was published on Wednesday, focused on cancers of the nervous system, salivary gland and brain tumours. </p> <p>They found no overall association between mobile phone use and cancer, even if people have used it for a long time (over 10 years) or spend a lot of time on their phones. </p> <p>“I’m quite confident with our conclusion. And what makes us quite confident is … even though mobile phone use has skyrocketed, brain tumour rates have remained stable,” Karipidis continued. </p> <p>Despite emitting electromagnetic radiation, also known as radio waves, the exposure is relatively low. </p> <p>Karipidis said people hear the word radiation and assume it is similar to nuclear radiation, “and because we use a mobile phone close to the head when we’re making calls, there is a lot of concern.”</p> <p>He clarified that “radiation is basically energy that travels from one point to another. There are many different types, for example, ultraviolet radiation from the sun." </p> <p>“We’re always exposed to low-level radio waves in the everyday environment.”</p> <p>While exposure from mobile phones is still low, it is much higher than exposure from any other wireless technology sources since they are used close to the head, Karipidis said. </p> <p>The association between mobile phones and cancers came about from early studies comparing differences between those with and without brain tumours and asking about their exposure history. </p> <p>According to Karipidis, who is also the vice-chair of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the results from these kind of studies tend to be biased, as the group with the tumour tend to overreport their exposure. </p> <p>Based on these early studies WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) designated radio-frequency fields like those from mobile phones as a possible cancer risk, but Karipidis said "this classification doesn’t mean all that much”.</p> <p>This is because the IARC has different classifications of cancer risk, with some substances classified as  a “definite” carcinogen (such as smoking), and others as “probable” or “possible” carcinogens.</p> <p>Tim Driscoll, a professor at the University of Sydney and chair of the Australian Cancer Council’s occupational and environmental cancers committee, also backed the systematic review. </p> <p>“I think people should feel reassured by this study … but it’s worthwhile just remembering that the studies aren’t perfect, but the weight of evidence certainly is that mobile phones should be considered safe to use in terms of any concerns about increased risk of cancer,” Driscoll said.</p> <p><em>Images: Shutterstock</em></p> <p> </p>

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Paris makes controversial Olympics decision

<p>The mayor of Paris has caused an uproar amongst locals are announcing plans to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower indefinitely. </p> <p>In an interview with Ouest-France, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the iconic landmark will be keeping the Olympic symbol after the conclusion of the summer Games. </p> <p>“The decision is up to me, and I have the agreement of the IOC [International Olympic Committee]. So yes, they [the rings] will stay on the Eiffel Tower,” she said. </p> <p>The giant Olympic rings, measuring 29 meters wide and 15 meters high, were installed on the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris Olympics, which began on July 26th, and were set to be dismantled after the Paralympic Games draw to a close on September 8th. </p> <p>However, Hidalgo is pushing to keep them in place permanently, albeit in a lighter version, replacing the current 30-tonne structure.</p> <p>The plan has drawn mixed reactions from Parisians, with many slamming the idea and calling out the "defiling" of the iconic French landmark. </p> <p>“It’s a historic monument, why defile it with rings? It was good for the Olympics, but now it’s over, we can move on. Maybe we should remove them and return the Eiffel Tower to how it was before,” one local told French publication <em>France Bleu</em>.</p> <p>Descendant of the Eiffel Tower designer Gustave Eiffel even chimed in on the debate, as a family statement read, "It does not seem appropriate to us that the Eiffel Tower, which has become the symbol of Paris and the whole of France since its construction 135 years ago, has the symbol of an outside organisation added to it in a permanent way, whatever its prestige."</p> <p>The SOS Paris group, which campaigns to protect Paris's landmarks and environment, added, "The Eiffel Tower has a history of 135 years and surpasses a sports and media event of 17 days," while the chairman of the association Friends of the Champs de Mars, the park around the Eiffel Tower, said the idea "needed to be the subject of a wider consultation".</p> <p>However, some people were in favour of the rings remaining on the Eiffel Tower, as one local told the publication, “The Eiffel Tower is very beautiful, the rings add colour. It’s very nice to see it like this.” </p> <p><em>Image credits: Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Fans react to band's history-making reunion

<p>Music fans around the world have rejoiced as legendary rock band Oasis announced their highly-anticipated reunion tour. </p> <p>The band, known for their 1990s hits <em>Wonderwall</em> and <em>Champagne Supernova</em>, disbanded in 2009 after founding members and brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher had a falling out. </p> <p>Since then, fans have been begging the musicians to abandon their solo side projects and reunite the band, who were responsible for many number one hits in the late 90s and early 2000s. </p> <p>On Tuesday, those prayers were answered as the band announced they would be reuniting for 14 shows around the UK and Ireland next year.</p> <p>The band will be playing in Cardiff in Wales, Scotland's capital of Edinburgh, and Dublin in Ireland, while also playing four shows at London's Wembley Stadium as well as four shows in their hometown of Manchester. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_KgvakNTN7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_KgvakNTN7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Oasis (@oasis)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“This is it, this is happening,” they confirmed, much to the delight of fans. "The stars have aligned. The great wait is over."</p> <p>The announcement of the tour sent music fans into overdrive, with their tour announcement post on Instagram raking up almost 2 million likes in under 24 hours. </p> <p>Fans, music critics and celebrities were quick to comment on the news, while many media outlets assessed that tickets for the concerts were certain to be some of the most sought after tickets in live music history.</p> <p>While many fans shared their excitement, a lot of social media was quickly awash with people suggesting the tour could be at risk considering Noel and Liam’s tumultuous relationship. </p> <p>“Surely anyone who buys an Oasis ticket for any night apart from the opening night is taking a bit of a risk,” remarked one, with a second adding: “Even opening night is a risk!”</p> <p>“Assume the gig isn’t happening until it starts, and even then keep your fingers crossed,” teased another.</p> <p>The Gallagher brothers have been embroiled in a fiery sibling rivalry ever since their rise to global fame in the 90s, with their falling out coming to a head the night before a concert in Paris in 2009, when Noel announcing he was quitting the band for good.</p> <p>“It is with some sadness and great relief … I quit Oasis tonight,” he said in a statement at the time.</p> <p>“People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram/JM Enternational/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

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Is white rice bad for me? Can I make it lower GI or healthier?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Rice is a <a href="http://www.ipni.net/publication/bci.nsf/0/42A2EA40E95CBD1385257BBA006531E9/$FILE/Better%20Crops%20International%202002-3%20p03.pdf">culinary staple</a> in Australia and around the world.</p> <p>It might seem like a given that brown rice is healthier than white and official <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/eating-well/healthy-recipes/recipe-modification-tips">public health resources</a> often recommend brown rice instead of white as a “healthy swap”.</p> <p>But <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34441728/">Australians definitely prefer white rice</a> over brown. So, what’s the difference, and what do we need to know when choosing rice?</p> <h2>What makes rice white or brown?</h2> <p>Rice “grains” are technically seeds. A complete, whole rice seed is called a “paddy”, which has <a href="https://www.fao.org/4/t0567e/t0567e07.htm">multiple parts</a>:</p> <ol> <li>the “hull” is the hard outer layer which protects the seed</li> <li>the “bran”, which is a softer protective layer containing the seed coat</li> <li>the “germ” or the embryo, which is the part of the seed that would develop into a new plant if was germinated</li> <li>the “endosperm”, which makes up most of the seed and is essentially the store of nutrients that feeds the developing plant as a seed grows into a plant.</li> </ol> <p>Rice needs to be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/87559128509540778">processed</a> for humans to eat it.</p> <p>Along with cleaning and drying, the hard hulls are removed since we can’t digest them. This is how <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">brown rice is made</a>, with the other three parts of the rice remaining intact. This means brown rice is regarded as a “wholegrain”.</p> <p>White rice, however, is a “refined” grain, as it is <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">further polished</a> to remove the bran and germ, leaving just the endosperm. This is a mechanical and not a chemical process.</p> <h2>What’s the difference, nutritionally?</h2> <p>Keeping the bran and the germ means <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cche.10322">brown rice has more</a> magnesium, phosphorus, potassium B vitamins (niacin, folate, riboflavin and pyridoxine), iron, zinc and fibre.</p> <p>The germ and the bran also contain more bioactives (compounds in foods that aren’t essential nutrients but have health benefits), like <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/2/532#:%7E:text=Brown%20rice%20(BR)%20is%20obtained,and%20phenolic%20compounds%20%5B3%5D.">oryzanols and phenolic compounds</a> which have antioxidant effects.</p> <p>But that doesn’t mean white rice is just empty calories. It <a href="https://www.glnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/GLNC_Rice-factsheet_WEB.pdf">still contains</a> vitamins, minerals and some fibre, and is low in fat and salt, and is naturally gluten-free.</p> <p>White and brown rice actually have <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">similar</a> amounts of calories (or kilojoules) and total carbohydrates.</p> <p>There are studies that show eating more white rice is linked to <a href="https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/43/11/2625/35820/A-Global-Perspective-on-White-Rice-Consumption-and">a higher risk</a> of type 2 diabetes. But it is difficult to know if this is down to the rice itself, or other related factors such as socioeconomic variables or other dietary patterns.</p> <h2>What about the glycaemic index?</h2> <p>The higher fibre means brown rice has a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523314862">lower glycaemic index</a> (GI), meaning it raises blood sugar levels more slowly. But this is highly variable between different rices within the white and brown categories.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/carbohydrates-and-the-glycaemic-index#:%7E:text=The%20glycaemic%20index%20(GI)%20is,simple'%20or%20'complex'.">GI system</a> uses low (less than 55), medium (55–70) and high (above 70) categories. <a href="https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=rice&amp;product_category=&amp;country=&amp;gi=&amp;gi_filter=&amp;serving_size_(g)=&amp;serving_size_(g)_filter=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&amp;gl=&amp;gl_filter=">Brown rices</a> fall into the low and medium categories. <a href="https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=rice&amp;product_category=&amp;country=&amp;gi=&amp;gi_filter=&amp;serving_size_(g)=&amp;serving_size_(g)_filter=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&amp;gl=&amp;gl_filter=">White rices</a> fall in the medium and high.</p> <p>There are specific <a href="https://www.gisymbol.com/low-gi-products/sunrice-doongara-low-gi-white-clever-rice-1kg/">low-GI types available</a> for both white and brown types. You can also lower the GI of rice by <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf503203r">heating and then cooling it</a>. This process converts some of the “available carbohydrates” into “resistant starch”, which then functions like dietary fibre.</p> <h2>Are there any benefits to white rice?</h2> <p>The <a href="https://www.realsimple.com/brown-rice-vs-white-rice-8417468#:%7E:text=The%20eating%20experience%20between%20these,chewier%20texture%20and%20nuttier%20flavor.">taste and textural qualities</a> of white and brown rices differ. White rice tends to have a softer texture and more mild or neutral flavour. Brown rice has a chewier texture and nuttier flavour.</p> <p>So, while you can technically substitute brown rice into most recipes, the experience will be different. Or other ingredients may need to be added or changed to create the desired texture.</p> <p>Removing more of the outer layers may also reduce the levels of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10375490/">contaminants</a> such as pesticides.</p> <h2>We don’t just eat rice</h2> <p>Comparing white and brown rice seems like an easy way to boost nutritional value. But just because one food (brown rice) is more nutrient-dense doesn’t make the other food (white rice) “bad”.</p> <p>Ultimately, it’s not often that we eat just rice, so we don’t need the rice we choose to be the perfect one. Rice is typically the staple base of a more complex dish. So, it’s probably more important to think about what we eat with rice.</p> <p>Adding vegetables and lean proteins to rice-based dishes can easily add the micronutrients, bioactives and fibre that white rice is comparatively lacking, and this can likely do more to contribute to diet quality than eating brown rice instead.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/236767/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Dietetics &amp; Food Innovation - School of Health Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-white-rice-bad-for-me-can-i-make-it-lower-gi-or-healthier-236767">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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4 ways to cut down on meat when dining out – and still make healthy choices

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p>.<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-marchese-1271636">Laura Marchese</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p>Many of us are looking for ways to eat a healthier and more <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sustainable-is-your-weekly-grocery-shop-these-small-changes-can-have-big-benefits-234367">sustainable diet</a>. And one way to do this is by reducing the amount of meat we eat.</p> <p>That doesn’t mean you need to become a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-eat-a-plant-based-diet-but-that-doesnt-mean-being-a-vegetarian-78470">vegan or vegetarian</a>. Our <a href="https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(24)00333-X/fulltext">recent research</a> shows even small changes to cut down on meat consumption could help improve health and wellbeing.</p> <p>But not all plant-based options are created equal and some are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30744710/">ultra-processed</a>. Navigating what’s available when eating out – including options like tofu and fake meats – can be a challenge.</p> <p>So what are your best options at a cafe or restaurant? Here are some guiding principles to keep in mind when cutting down on meat.</p> <h2>Health benefits to cutting down</h2> <p>Small amounts of lean meat can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. But the majority of Australians <a href="https://cancer.org.au/about-us/policy-and-advocacy/prevention/obesity/related-resources/meat-and-cancer#consumption">still eat more meat</a> than recommended.</p> <p>Only a small percentage of Australians (10%) are vegetarian or vegan. But an <a href="https://www.foodfrontier.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Food-Frontier-Hungry-For-Plant-Based-Australian-Consumer-Insights.pdf">increasing</a> number opt for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-meat-too-much-to-be-vegetarian-go-flexitarian-73741">flexitarian</a> diet. <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-vegan-and-vegetarian-225275">Flexitarians</a> eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, while still enjoying small amounts of meat, dairy, eggs and fish.</p> <p>Our <a href="https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(24)00333-X/fulltext">recent research</a> looked at whether the average Australian diet would improve if we swapped meat and dairy for plant-based alternatives, and the results were promising.</p> <p>The study found health benefits when people halved the amount of meat and dairy they ate and replaced them with healthy plant-based foods, like tofu or <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/blog/why-you-need-legumes-in-your-life">legumes</a>. On average, their dietary fibre intake – which helps with feeling fuller for longer and digestive health – went up. Saturated fats – which increase our blood cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease – went down.</p> <p>Including more fibre and less saturated fat helps reduce the risk of <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healthy-living/healthy-eating/healthy-eating-to-protect-your-heart">heart disease</a>.</p> <p>Achieving these health benefits may be as simple as swapping ham for baked beans in a toastie for lunch, or substituting half of the mince in your bolognese for lentils at dinner.</p> <h2>How it’s made matters</h2> <p>For a long time we’ve known processed meats – such as ham, bacon and sausages – are bad for your health. Eating high amounts of these foods is associated with poor <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healthy-living/healthy-eating/protein-and-heart-health">heart health</a> and some forms of <a href="https://cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/diet-and-exercise/meat-and-cancer-risk">cancer</a>.</p> <p>But the same can be true of many processed meat alternatives.</p> <p>Plant-based alternatives designed to mimic meat, such as sausages and burgers, have become readily available in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. These products are ultra-processed and can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-looked-at-700-plant-based-foods-to-see-how-healthy-they-really-are-heres-what-we-found-222991">high in salt and saturated fat</a>.</p> <p>Our study found when people replaced meat and dairy with ultra-processed meat alternatives – such as plant-based burgers or sausages – they ate more salt and less calcium, compared to eating meat or healthy plant-based options.</p> <p>So if you’re cutting down on meat for health reasons, it’s important to think about what you’re replacing it with. The <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/n55g_adult_brochure.pdf">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> recommend eggs, legumes/beans, tofu, nuts and seeds.</p> <p>Tofu can be a great option. But we recommend flavouring plain tofu with herbs and spices yourself, as pre-marinated products are often ultra-processed and can be high in salt.</p> <h2>What about when dining out?</h2> <p>When you’re making your own food, it’s easier to adapt recipes or reduce the amount of meat. But when faced with a menu, it can be difficult to work out what is the best option.</p> <p>Here are our four ways to make healthy choices when you eat out:</p> <p><strong>1. Fill half your plate with vegetables</strong></p> <p>When cutting down on meat, aim for half your plate to be vegetables. Try to also eat <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-heres-what-each-colour-does-in-our-body-191337">a variety of colours</a>, such as leafy green spinach, red capsicum and pumpkin.</p> <p>When you’re out, this might look like choosing a vegetable-based entree, a stir-fry or ordering a side salad to have with your meal.</p> <p><strong>2. Avoid the deep fryer</strong></p> <p>The Australian Dietary Guidelines <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_130530.pdf">recommend limiting</a> deep fried foods to once a week or less. When dining out, choose plant-based options that are sautéed, grilled, baked, steamed, boiled or poached – instead of those that are crumbed or battered before deep frying.</p> <p>This could mean choosing vegetarian dumplings that are steamed not fried, or poached eggs at brunch instead of fried. Ordering a side of roast vegetables instead of hot chips is also a great option.</p> <p><strong>3. Pick wholegrains</strong></p> <p>Scan the menu for wholegrain options such as brown rice, wholemeal pizza or pasta, barley, quinoa or wholemeal burger buns. Not only are they good sources of protein, but they also provide more <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/grain-cereal-foods-mostly-wholegrain-and-or-high-cereal-fibre">dietary fibre</a> than refined grains, which help keep you fuller for longer.</p> <p><strong>4. If you do pick meat – choose less processed kinds</strong></p> <p>You may not always want, or be able, to make a vegetarian choice when eating out and with other people. If you do opt for meat, it’s better to steer clear of processed options like bacon or sausages.</p> <p>If sharing dishes with other people, you could try adding unprocessed plant-based options into the mix. For example, a curry with lentils or chickpeas, or a vegetable-based pizza instead of one with ham or salami. If that’s not an option, try choose meat that’s a lean cut, such as chicken breast, or options which are grilled rather than fried.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/236505/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-marchese-1271636">Laura Marchese</a>, PhD candidate at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-cut-down-on-meat-when-dining-out-and-still-make-healthy-choices-236505">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Why IBD is so hard to treat – and how scientists are making progress

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/falk-hildebrand-1490022">Falk Hildebrand</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katarzyna-sidorczuk-1490026">Katarzyna Sidorczuk</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wing-koon-1490274">Wing Koon</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a></em></p> <p>Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478758/">life altering</a> chronic illness that is <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e065186">rising dramatically globally</a>. It is stubbornly difficult to treat, and many people find the treatments we have just don’t work for them.</p> <p>Over the last 30 years, there has been almost a 50% increase in cases – now affecting around 5 million people. Not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is a condition that affects the digestive system, IBD is more serious. It is the term for two severe illnesses called <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/">Crohn’s disease</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/">ulcerative colitis</a>. More women are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9958616/#:%7E:text=Male%20predominance%20in%20IBD.,%2C%202.32%3A1%20in%20CD.">diagnosed with Crohn’s disease</a> while more men are affected by ulcerative colitis.</p> <p>People with IBD can experience a variety of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4106026/">symptoms</a>, ranging from diarrhoea and blood in the stool, to weight loss and belly aches. On paper, this may sound no worse than mild food poisoning, however, this is no normal stomach upset.</p> <p>Experiences are often extreme; people with IBD can suffer excruciating pain and in some cases, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9963331/">require surgery</a> to remove parts of the bowel. This is done by redirecting the bowel to a hole in the abdomen, where faeces are collected in a <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/colostomy/">colostomy bag</a>.</p> <p>However, we still don’t fully understand the cause of IBD.</p> <h2>The impact of inflammation</h2> <p>The main symptom of IBD is excessive and uncontrolled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805548/">inflammation</a> – normally a sign of the body fighting off an infection. Although inflammation is an important aspect of our immune system, in IBD it is happening when the body is not under attack. Since we don’t know what causes this over-the-top reaction, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8720971/">treatments</a> are limited to managing the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964397/">derailed immune system</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8373857/">Inflammation is controlled</a> by cell signalling. Our cells detect bacteria using receptors that attach to parts of bacteria. This activates the receptor, causing it to send a signal to proteins, and each protein sends on more signals, creating a signal cascade. This is what tells the body it’s under attack.</p> <p>Many treatments follow the strategy of intercepting signals and preventing the signal cascade from starting. However, they are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/co-gastroenterology/abstract/2022/07000/management_of_refractory_inflammatory_bowel.6.aspx">not effective</a> for many people.</p> <p>Scientists are trying to target a different protein network, called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2924159/">NOD2</a>, that often goes haywire in people with IBD but is not targeted by current treatments. A protein, called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.650403/full">RIPK2</a>, seems like a promising target since it is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6939834/">only found</a> in this network. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10485824/">European Molecular Biology Laboratory</a> are investigating its structure to help scientists design a new medication that will block the signals from this protein.</p> <h2>Importance of the microbiome</h2> <p>Another inspiration for new treatments comes from the bacteria residing in our guts. This community of bacteria, called the gut microbiome, has been associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6314516/">all sorts of health conditions</a> ranging from asthma to obesity.</p> <p>Gut bacteria work closely with our bodies and play a vital role in digesting food and managing our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0332-7">immune system</a>. In a healthy person, there is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143175/">fine balance</a> between gut bacteria and the immune system. Disruption of this balance can lead to disease, starting from minor discomfort to more severe, long-term conditions.</p> <p>Scientists are trying to understand how our bodies interact with gut bacteria, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8102608/">what changes</a> when people develop IBD.</p> <p>The gut microbiome is an ecosystem. Just like a forest has animals eating different things, microbes can form a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00153/full">food web</a>. Some bacteria will use up one type of food, while others feed off other foods. Some rely on the waste of other bacteria after they’ve eaten. It is now believed that disruption to the gut microbiome is a characteristic of IBD and contributes to its development and progression.</p> <p>It’s a chicken and egg situation. Is there a change in the bacteria and food web that alters our bodies? Or does something else in the body, like our immune system, change the food web, subsequently limiting which bacteria can grow? Scientists aren’t sure of the answer.</p> <p>Instead of trying to figure out what happens first, a team at the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42112-w">Hudson Institute of Medical Research</a> in Australia have focused on investigating which interactions in the food web are the most affected in IBD. This could help scientists to prioritise certain gut bacteria, or their food source, to restore the balance in the microbiome and improve patients’ symptoms.</p> <p>Hopefully, this specialised targeting of the microbiome will lead to more effective and longer lasting treatments.</p> <p>Although we have a long way to go before these ideas for treatments can become a reality, it is a step in the right direction. Targeting a new signalling pathway will hopefully control the inflammation in more patients. And studying the microbiome may reveal how we can reverse changes associated with IBD.</p> <p>Since they are key features of IBD, these developments could allow doctors to stop the disease in the early stages and reduce complications.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218307/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/falk-hildebrand-1490022">Falk Hildebrand</a>, Researcher in Bioinformatician, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katarzyna-sidorczuk-1490026">Katarzyna Sidorczuk</a>, Research Scientist in Metagenomics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wing-koon-1490274">Wing Koon</a>, PhD student in Bioinformatics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock  </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ibd-is-so-hard-to-treat-and-how-scientists-are-making-progress-218307">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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People who are bad with numbers often find it harder to make ends meet – even if they are not poor

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wandi-bruine-de-bruin-275600">Wändi Bruine de Bruin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-slovic-359838">Paul Slovic</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-oregon-811">University of Oregon</a></em></p> <h2>The big idea</h2> <p>People who are bad with numbers are more likely to experience financial difficulties than people who are good with numbers. That’s according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260378">our analyses</a> of the <a href="https://wrp.lrfoundation.org.uk/explore-the-poll">Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll</a>.</p> <p>In this World Risk Poll, people from 141 countries were asked if 10% was bigger than, smaller than or the same as 1 out of 10. Participants were said to be bad with numbers if they did not provide the correct answer – which is that 10% is the same as 1 out of 10. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260378">Our analyses</a> found that people who answered incorrectly are often among the poorest in their country. Prior studies in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02394.x">United States</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5890.2007.00052.x">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2016.02.011">the Netherlands</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12294">Peru</a> had also found that people who are bad with numbers are financially worse off. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260378">our analyses of the World Risk Poll</a> further showed that people who are bad with numbers find it harder to make ends meet, even if they are not poor.</p> <p>When we say that they found it harder to make ends meet, we mean that they reported on the poll that they found it difficult or very difficult to live on their current income, as opposed to living comfortably or getting by on their current income.</p> <p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260378">Our analyses</a> also indicate that staying in school longer is related to better number ability. People with a high school degree tend to be better with numbers than people without a high school degree. And college graduates do even better. But even among college graduates there are people who are bad with numbers – and they struggle more financially.</p> <p><iframe id="yOIiX" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: 0;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/yOIiX/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p>Of course, being good with numbers is not going to help you stretch your budget if you are very poor. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260378">We found</a> that the relationship between number ability and struggling to make ends meet holds across the world, except in low-income countries like Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda.</p> <p><iframe id="RejA1" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: 0;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RejA1/8/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>The ability to understand and use numbers is also called <a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861094.001.0001">numeracy</a>. Numeracy is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/1f029d8f-en">central to modern adult life</a> because numbers are everywhere.</p> <p>A lot of well-paying jobs involve working with numbers. People who are bad with numbers often perform worse in these jobs, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12873">banking</a>. It can therefore be hard for people who are bad with numbers to <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1108/00400919710164125">find employment and progress in their jobs</a>.</p> <p>People who are bad with numbers are less likely <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/39/19386.short">to make good financial decisions</a>. Individuals who can’t compute how interest compounds over time <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2009.01518.x">save the least and borrow the most</a>. People with poor numerical skills are also more likely <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.3.586">to take on high-cost debt</a>. If you’re bad with numbers, it is hard to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747215000232">recognize</a> that paying the US$30 minimum payment on a credit card with a $3,000 balance and an annual percentage rate of 12% means it will never be paid off.</p> <h2>What still isn’t known</h2> <p>It is clear that people who are bad with numbers also tend to struggle financially. But we still need to explore whether teaching people math will help them to avoid financial problems.</p> <h2>What’s next</h2> <p>In her book “<a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861094.001.0001">Innumeracy in the Wild</a>,” Ellen Peters, director of the Center for Science Communication Research at the University of Oregon, suggests that it is important for students to take math classes. American high school students who had to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.51.3.0113-5410R1">take more math courses</a> than were previously required had better financial outcomes later in life, such as avoiding bankruptcy and foreclosures.</p> <p>Successfully teaching numeracy also means helping students gain confidence in using numbers. People with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903126116">low numerical confidence</a> experience bad financial outcomes, such as a foreclosure notice, independent of their numeric ability. This is because they may not even try to take on complex financial decisions.</p> <p>Numerical confidence can be boosted in different ways. Among American <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.3.586">elementary school children</a> who were bad with numbers, setting achievable goals led to better numerical confidence and performance. Among American <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180674">undergraduate students</a>, a writing exercise that affirmed their positive values improved their numerical confidence and performance.</p> <p>Other important next steps are to find out whether training in numeracy can also be provided to adults, and whether training in numeracy improves the financial outcomes of people who do not live in high-income countries.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172272/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wandi-bruine-de-bruin-275600"><em>Wändi Bruine de Bruin</em></a><em>, Professor of Public Policy, Psychology and Behavioral Science, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-slovic-359838">Paul Slovic</a>, Professor of Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-oregon-811">University of Oregon</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-who-are-bad-with-numbers-often-find-it-harder-to-make-ends-meet-even-if-they-are-not-poor-172272">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Is your smartwatch making you anxious? Wearables can lead people to stress more about their health

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/caleb-ferguson-72">Caleb Ferguson</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a></em></strong></p> <p>Wearable trackers and monitors (such as smartwatches) are <a href="https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-report/wearable-technology-forecasts-2023-2033/928">increasingly popular and sophisticated</a>. For people living with heart conditions, they can provide important information, including updates about abnormalities in heart rate and rhythm.</p> <p>But a recent study published in the <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.033750">Journal of the American Heart Association</a> found using wearables to monitor heart conditions like atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat – can actually make people more anxious about their health.</p> <p>It’s a catch-22 situation: the wearable device may help you better manage your chronic heart condition, but wearing it could make you anxious – which is bad for those conditions.</p> <p>So what are the tradeoffs? And how can we get the most out of wearables, without unnecessary worry?</p> <h2>Wearables to monitor heart conditions</h2> <p>Wearables are playing an increasing role in managing and <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1901183">detecting</a> conditions like atrial fibrillation, the <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013408.pub2/full">most common heart rhythm problem</a>.</p> <p>Atrial fibrillation <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-diseases/atrial-fibrillation-in-australia/contents/how-many-australians-have-atrial-fibrillation">affects</a> around 2% of the general population, and about 5% of those aged over 55. Symptoms may include palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath, although some patients may live relatively symptom-free. Self management is important to improve quality of life and prevent complications, such as stroke and heart failure.</p> <p>People with atrial fibrillation also often experience high rates of <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013508.pub3/full">anxiety linked to their condition</a>. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11886-020-01396-w">Psychological distress</a> – including anxiety, depression and worry about symptoms – affects between 25% and 50% of those living with the condition.</p> <p>Wearable devices can help people understand and monitor their condition by providing heart rate and rhythm data and alerts to detect atrial fibrillation episodes. This can be helpful to understand the impact of their disease, particularly for those living with paroxysmal (or episodic) atrial fibrillation.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10800119/">One study</a> found smartwatches were very effective at detecting irregular heart rhythms – and could help manage and even prevent them.</p> <p>But any benefits of using wearables to monitor atrial fibrillation need to be balanced with the high rates of anxiety people with this condition experience, to make sure their use doesn’t exacerbate psychological distress.</p> <h2>Wearables can empower patients</h2> <p>For many people, the sense they are receiving reliable, objective and personalised health data can encourage <a href="https://www.cvdigitalhealthjournal.com/article/S2666-6936(21)00020-7/fulltext">feelings of confidence, safety and assurance</a>, especially when combined with symptom trackers or patient diaries.</p> <p>This may allow patients to self-manage their condition at home with their families, rather than spending time in hospital – reducing anxiety and stress.</p> <p>In a clinical setting, data may also encourage patients to take part in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurjcn/article/16/3/178/5924768">shared decision-making</a>. Interpreting health data together with doctors or other health-care professionals, they can develop goals and action plans, including when to seek help from a GP – and when to go to hospital.</p> <p>Patients who understand their condition <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/JMDH.S19315">tend to report</a> fewer atrial fibrillation symptoms.</p> <h2>But wearables can induce anxiety</h2> <p>The study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association examined the behaviour and wellbeing of 172 people with atrial fibrillation over a nine-month period.</p> <p>It found the 83 people who used wearables to monitor their condition were more worried about their symptoms and treatment, with one in five experiencing “intense anxiety”.</p> <p>Chronic anxiety can contribute to stress, burnout and poor physical health, which in turn can <a href="https://www.jacc.org/doi/full/10.1016/j.jacep.2021.12.008">exacerbate heart conditions</a>.</p> <p>Previous <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12911-017-0486-5">research</a> has also explored the impacts of wearables on patients with long-term conditions, including heart disease. Patients in this study similarly reported increased anxiety while using these devices, as one explained:</p> <blockquote> <p>I am one of these people who do worry about things. I do get concerned about myself […] and I just thought this is silly. This is reminding me every day, […] I wonder what my reading is, how good it is or how bad it is […]. Every time as soon I started thinking about it, I started thinking about my illness.</p> </blockquote> <p>Some people also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10777278/">describe</a> being a “prisoner of the numbers”. They feel they “need to keep checking the device to know how they were doing, leading to the device dominating their lives”.</p> <p>The volume and frequency of notifications, alarms and vibrations from wearable devices can be overwhelming and make people worry about their health.</p> <p>Information overload can also discourage self-management, with notifications instead prompting people to seek health advice more often than they otherwise would. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.</p> <p>For other people, low levels of health or digital literacy – not knowing how to use the devices or interpret the data – may make them feel so stressed or anxious they <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12911-017-0486-5">abandon wearables</a> altogether.</p> <h2>The future of wearables</h2> <p>In the future, digital devices may help paint a holistic picture of health and wellbeing through a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-diagnosis-how-your-smartphone-or-wearable-device-could-forecast-illness-102385">digital phenotype</a>” that combines data like sleep patterns, weight changes and physical activity.</p> <p>But more research is needed to understand the effects of wearables – including their notifications and alarms – on patients’ anxiety levels.</p> <p>If you already use a wearable device for health monitoring, it can be helpful to regularly review the data and notification settings. You may wish to discuss how you are using your device to help you self-manage your condition with your doctor or nurse.</p> <p>With any chronic disease, having a management action plan is important. This includes discussing with your health-care professional when to seek care (such as attending the emergency department or GP).</p> <p>Meanwhile, there’s still work to be done to help make nurses and doctors feel more confident <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10376178.2018.1486943">integrating wearables</a> – and the data they provide – into patient care.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/235596/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/caleb-ferguson-72">Caleb Ferguson</a>, Professor of Nursing; Director of Health Innnovations, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-your-smartwatch-making-you-anxious-wearables-can-lead-people-to-stress-more-about-their-health-235596">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Holiday protesters are missing the big picture – there are ways to make tourism work for everyone

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-canavan-228682">Brendan Canavan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192">University of Nottingham</a></em></p> <p>As tourists sip their drinks at sunny pavement cafes this summer, they may feel slight unease that perhaps their presence isn’t entirely welcome. This season has seen a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c0dm9w2ey7po">renewed wave of major protests</a> against tourists for pushing out residents and homogenising culture in popular destinations.</p> <p>Anti-tourist placards and gatherings have appeared in <a href="https://www.portugalresident.com/sintra-residents-finally-say-enough-to-mass-tourism-traffic-chaos/">Portugal</a>, <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/greek-city-begs-no-more-095204268.html">Athens</a>, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/22/travel/mass-protest-on-spanish-island-mallorca-calls-for-limits-on-tourism/index.html">Mallorca</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-protest-spains-canary-islands-over-mass-tourism-2024-04-20/">Tenerife</a>. Tourists have even been sprayed with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/barcelona-protesters-throw-items-spray-travelers-water-shouting-touris-rcna160883">water pistols</a> by angry inhabitants of Barcelona.</p> <p>Anti-tourism protests are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/aug/10/anti-tourism-marches-spread-across-europe-venice-barcelona">not new</a>, and they do not always share the same <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJTC-09-2022-0211/full/html#sec014">motivations</a>. But one <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJTC-09-2022-0211/full/html#sec014">common grievance</a> is that local economies are not improved by tourism, while the social costs of hosting mount.</p> <p>But are these anti-tourism sentiments justified? Tourism contributes around <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00472875211028322">5% of EU economic activity</a>, supporting jobs and businesses both directly and indirectly. Without tourism many places would be economically poorer. But protesters in <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/your-paradise-our-nightmare-thousands-attend-anti-tourism-protest-in-majorca-13183160">Mallorca</a> have argued that tourists take up space on beaches, put a strain on public services and drive the cost of housing above a level that residents can afford.</p> <p>The economic pros and cons of tourism suggest the protesters have a point. But they are also missing the bigger picture.</p> <p>An estimated <a href="https://studytravel.network/magazine/news/0/30772#:%7E:text=Globally%2C%20there%20were%201.3%20billion,data%20quoted%20in%20the%20report.">1.3 billion</a> international tourist trips took place in 2023. These tourists spent over <a href="https://x.com/UNWTO/status/1796821487971905590">US$1.5 trillion</a> (£1.2 trillion) on their trips. For comparison, that is roughly the size of the Spanish economy. If tourism were a nation, it would be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)">G20 member</a>.</p> <p>What’s more, because international travellers earn money in their home country and spend it in another, international tourism is counted as an export. In 2022 international tourists spent almost <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/urban-rural-and-regional-development/data/oecd-tourism-statistics/receipts-and-expenditure_c4170878-en?parentId=http%3A%2F%2Finstance.metastore.ingenta.com%2Fcontent%2Fcollection%2F2b45a380-en">€370 billion</a> (£312 billion) in the 27 EU countries, for example. This export income helps to balance the cost of imports and pay for things such as food and fuel not available locally.</p> <p>Nonetheless, there remains a concern that such economic inputs come at too high a cost. In January the then head of Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia controversially criticised how the city had <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/30/travel/italy-florence-prostitute-tourism-intl-scli/index.html">sold its soul</a> to tourists.</p> <p>But <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00472875231203395">tourism revenues</a> help provide foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, encourage infrastructure investments and boost tax revenues. In turn these inputs promote economic development and increase welfare, as well as reduce <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ImtQ9YQS7UrYJ_PItcgeFhFUidcxTwkC/view">income inequality</a>.</p> <p>Globally, the tourism industry is a significant source of employment. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism accounted for <a href="https://wttc.org/research/economic-impact">10.5%</a> of all jobs. In some <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/destinations-rely-most-on-tourism-travel/">Caribbean islands</a> more than 90% of all jobs are in the tourism sector.</p> <p>Crossover benefits of hosting tourists are felt in other industries too. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00472875231203395">Food and drink</a> producers sell their products to tourists, for example, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7164">farmers</a> can diversify their incomes by offering tourist experiences such as wine-tasting tours.</p> <p>Tourism generates a large amount of economic activity, therefore. But research shows that the income that remains in a destination is often limited by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-Joensson/publication/293487803_Economic_leakages_in_tourism/links/56b8f33608ae3b658a88b7a4/Economic-leakages-in-tourism.pdf">leakage rates</a>. There are estimates that for every US$1 million spent by tourists in the Seychelles, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738315000468?casa_token=-hjGHa9NHPMAAAAA:irVmwVrFbZvnTNzDPKcE90_dK4mwuwVBIkO4_nPs34IdGM12w9i4r8GCR_1K_0IIrJznxx2b">less than half</a> of this stays in the local economy. This income can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00606.x?casa_token=bentpmB1dE8AAAAA%3A72smahI3xNJB2Y7_PDj-lcZG6nmW7fqPgOv59G4Dr-DBfzWfxjtxRU9qytrdpOWmaLom6oe6dM_U0oA">leak out</a> from the destination because of imports such as food and fuel that are not available locally. Leakage also occurs when tourist facilities are foreign owned.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S-p-YGNXEnY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>There are undoubtedly <a href="https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/07/08/fake-signs-and-hunger-strikes-whats-behind-europes-backlash-against-overtourism">downsides</a> to tourism development. The influx of people into popular destinations can add to issues of crowding in public services and shared spaces.</p> <p>Tourism is also often accused of causing urgent economic problems, such as forcing up the cost of housing for locals. But these are often driven by more complex and alternative factors.</p> <p>Research in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0042098020970865">London</a>, a city facing an extreme problem of supply scarcity and growing numbers of <a href="https://theconversation.com/surging-property-prices-when-will-europes-cities-become-affordable-again-230256">“generation rent”</a>, found that Airbnb plays a relatively insignificant part in increasing housing costs. A study in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13683500.2019.1711027?casa_token=YYKyikeJrXYAAAAA:ktQVCuNoseTdiAC89hl98rdclxE7I68CqkYW6xHUFkzH_TLfabdFOuNfKDQiiIzkOdag7cuQTrho">South Carolina</a> in the US meanwhile showed that short-term holiday rentals can boost hospitality micro-entrepreneurs and help residents to maximise the economic potential of their homes by renting out spare rooms.</p> <h2>What can tourists do?</h2> <p>Ultimately, what unites many anti-tourism protesters is a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240522-the-worlds-revolt-against-bad-tourists">demand for respect</a>. Indeed, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10941665.2020.1768129?casa_token=4DR7vsQpGtcAAAAA:0QIzenTi9LAaVNH8w0JkT46D5_okuotUR5C-wP2NyxxT5bC0UiG2gMBfLHt5G3rveVre7gu8kEIB">research</a> has shown that over-tourism is not merely an issue of overcrowding, but a long-term issue resulting from inappropriate treatment of residents in the process of tourism development.</p> <p>Tourists can demonstrate that they respect hosts and help to alleviate anti-tourism feelings by finding ways to ensure their holiday is as economically beneficial to the destination as possible.</p> <ul> <li> <p>Spending money at smaller-scale and locally owned businesses puts more money into the local economy. Large multinationals can out-compete local businesses and worsen <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ImtQ9YQS7UrYJ_PItcgeFhFUidcxTwkC/view">economic inequality</a>. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1354816616654244?casa_token=YQU0aoDhdP8AAAAA:bX_7TEc0S4zhkl2eduKZqitorJKlbRMMSnaJAZJBPCm8bAk-uQMI518KvZX09oI0iLs13NULXYoX">Foreign-owned businesses</a> typically increase leakage rates as they send profits back to their headquarters.</p> </li> <li> <p>Choosing more sustainable operators, services and destinations tends to bring economic positives. In <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354816616664249?casa_token=vr7pQyvIVAgAAAAA%3ATLHqmXTyGeHpmL8j9K2cNjb4doB4w_0CNH0IspadKHEPSt5PsFLWVngRQsj81tvE3vIJMpPWGm31&amp;journalCode=teua">Mauritius</a>, for instance, the government has invested in sustainable tourism planning, enhancing economic growth and bringing benefits for residents.</p> </li> <li> <p>Visiting places that are less typically touristic spreads economic advantages around. In Scotland, nature tourism supports around <a href="https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/social-and-economic-benefits-nature/tourism">39,000 full-time jobs</a>.</p> </li> </ul> <p>It can be easy to scapegoat tourists and tourism for deeper-seated economic problems. Tourists are a highly visible, and frequently very annoying, presence. But without them destinations would be poorer, while persistent economic problems would likely remain. Challenging governments, policy-makers, corporations or institutions might be a better use of protesters’ energy.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/235614/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-canavan-228682">Brendan Canavan</a>, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192">University of Nottingham</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/holiday-protesters-are-missing-the-big-picture-there-are-ways-to-make-tourism-work-for-everyone-235614">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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TV star charged over making indecent images of children

<p>Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has been charged with making indecent images of children. </p> <p>The 62-year-old, who left the UK public broadcaster in April after 40 years, faces three charges over alleged activity between December 2020 and April 2022.</p> <p>Police claim the offences are claimed to be linked to images shared on WhatsApp.</p> <p>After being arrested in November last year by London's Metropolitan Police, he was charged with the offences on June 26th.</p> <p>A Metropolitan Police spokesman said of the arrest, “Huw Edwards, 62, of Southwark, London has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children following a Met Police investigation."</p> <p>“The offences, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat. Edwards was arrested on 8 November 2023. He was charged on Wednesday, 26 June following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service."</p> <p>“He has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 31 July."</p> <p>Married dad-of-five Edwards resigned from the BBC three months ago after a stellar career spanning almost 40 years.</p> <p>The BBC revealed their star presenter’s resignation in a short statement on April 22nd, writing, “Huw Edwards has resigned and left the BBC."</p> <p>“After 40 years of service, Huw explained that his decision was made on the basis of advice. The BBC has accepted his resignation.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: BBC</em></p>

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Compulsory voting in Australia is 100 years old. We should celebrate how special it makes our democracy

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-strangio-1232">Paul Strangio</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>For nearly 200 years, the notion of American political exceptionalism has had currency in the United States: it is an idea rooted in the nation’s status as the first modern republic. As we watch from afar, disturbed yet mesmerised by the latest chapter of violent political division in America, the country seems less a paragon than a symbol of democratic pathology.</p> <p>America’s certainty in its political uniqueness is symptomatic of a brash national chauvinism. By way of contrast, Australia is prone, if anything, to undue bashfulness about its democratic credentials. How else can we explain that this month marks the centenary of the most extraordinary feature of the country’s democratic architecture, and yet the anniversary is slipping by with neither comment nor reflection. I refer to compulsory voting, which was legislated in the federal parliament in July 1924.</p> <p>Compulsory voting is not unique to Australia. Calculating how many countries abide by the practice is notoriously difficult, since in around half the nations where compulsory voting exists in name it is not enforced. Most estimates, however, put the figure in the vicinity of 20 to 30.</p> <p>If not unique, Australia’s experience of compulsory voting is highly distinctive for a number of reasons.</p> <p>First, its emergence in the early 20th century was consistent with the nation’s larger tradition of innovation and experimentation when it came to electoral institutions and practices. This record is typically traced back to the pioneering in the 1850s of the secret ballot (sometimes called the “Australian ballot”) in a number of the Australian colonies and the embrace of other advanced democratic measures in the second half of the 19th century.</p> <p>These included manhood suffrage, payment of MPs and the extension of the franchise to women, beginning in South Australia in 1894. The innovations continued in the 20th century with such things as preferential voting and non-partisan bureaucratic electoral administration.</p> <p>Second, Australia is alone in embracing compulsory voting among the Anglophone democracies to which it typically compares itself. The electoral systems of Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are all based on voluntary voting.</p> <p>Third, unlike many other compulsory voting countries, Australia does not pay lip service to its operation. Electoral authorities enforce compulsory voting, albeit leniently. It has been strongly upheld by the courts and is backed by a regime of sanctions for non-compliance.</p> <p>Fourth, compulsory voting has been consistently and unambiguously successful in achieving high voter turnout. Though there has been a slight downward trend in turnout at the past five national elections (it hit a low of 90.5% in 2022), it has not fallen below 90% since the adoption of compulsory voting a century ago.</p> <p>This is around 30% higher than the recent average turnout in countries with voluntary voting. It is also well above the recent average in countries with compulsory voting systems.</p> <p>Fifth, the public has strongly and consistently backed the practice. Evidence from more than half a century of opinion polls and election study surveys shows support hovering around the 70% mark.</p> <h2>An impregnable practice</h2> <p>Perhaps the most singular aspect of the nation’s experience of compulsory voting, however, is how seemingly impregnable is the practice if measured by its durability, the dearth of controversy over it, the consistency of its enforcement by authorities and the way citizens have dutifully complied with and supported it. Together these things make Australia an exemplar of compulsory voting internationally.</p> <p>This is not to say compulsory voting has been a sacred cow in Australia. In the final decades of the 20th century and first decade of this century, there was a concerted push to end the practice emanating principally from within the Liberal Party.</p> <p>The torchbearer of the agitation for voluntary voting was the avowed libertarian South Australian senator, Nick Minchin. <a href="https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SGSocUphAUCon/2003/11.html">For Minchin</a>, compulsory voting was anathema:</p> <blockquote> <p>[…] in relation to the most important single manifestation of democratic will, the act of voting, I profoundly detest Australia’s denial of individual choice. It seems to me that an essential part of a liberal democracy should be the citizen’s legal right to decide whether or not to vote. The denial of that right is an affront to democracy.</p> </blockquote> <p>Minchin had a number of like-minded supporters of voluntary voting in the Liberal Party. Among them, importantly, was John Howard, whose prime ministership coincided with the mobilisation to abolish compulsory voting.</p> <p>Howard had been on record as an opponent of the practice since his entry to the federal parliament in 1974. The Liberal Party campaign against compulsory voting manifested in, among other things:</p> <ul> <li>the party’s federal council resolving in favour of voluntary voting</li> <li>shadow cabinet endorsing a recommendation for a change of policy to voluntary voting being placed before the joint Liberal-National party parliamentary room</li> <li>the introduction in the South Australian parliament of two bills to repeal compulsory voting by successive Liberal state governments</li> <li>Coalition members of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters repeatedly recommending the abolition of the practice.</li> </ul> <p>In the end, these agitations achieved nought. The most fundamental reason was that the opponents of compulsory voting failed to generate community resentment towards the system. Howard, while restating his preference for voluntary voting, admitted as much in 2005 when shutting down debate on the issue in his government:</p> <blockquote> <p>As I move around the country, I don’t get people stopping me in the street and saying, “You’ve got to get rid of compulsory voting.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Indeed, election survey data suggests the Liberal campaign coincided with a firming of public support for compulsory voting. In the two decades since, opposition has been dormant. For the foreseeable future, Australia’s compulsory voting regime is secure.</p> <h2>An Australian democratic exceptionalism?</h2> <p>As noted above, compulsory voting has kept voter turnout at elections above 90% for the past century. Kindred democracies marvel at, and envy, this level of participation. It affords legitimacy to election outcomes in this country. Significantly, it also produces a socially even turnout.</p> <p>Compare this to the situation in this month’s United Kingdom election. Turnout <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/12/lowest-turnout-in-uk-general-election-since-universal-suffrage-report-shows">is estimated</a> to have slumped to a record low 52%. There was a clear pattern of the “haves” exercising much greater say at the ballot box than the “have nots”. Those who stayed away from the polls were predominantly less well-off, non-homeowners, the young, the lower-educated and of minority ethnic background.</p> <p>Australia cannot be complacent in this regard. Low and declining turnout in remote electorates with high Indigenous populations is the most worrying chink in the performance of compulsory voting. In 2022, turnout in the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari fell to 66.8%. Even so, the practice largely succeeds in achieving inclusive voter participation across the country.</p> <p>Crucially, compulsory voting is also recognised as one reason the political centre holds better in Australia than in many comparable nations. It exercises a moderating influence because it ensures it is not only impassioned partisans at either end of the political spectrum who participate in elections. This in turn means they are not the chief focus of governments and political parties.</p> <p>Under a compulsory voting system, middle-of-the-road citizens and their concerns and sensibilities count. This inhibits the trend towards polarisation and grievance politics evident in other parts of the globe. It helps explain why Australia has been less receptive to the aggressive conservative populism that has taken root in the United States and Europe.</p> <p>Compulsory voting also goes hand in hand with other institutional bulwarks of the nation’s democracy. While there is plenty of evidence in Australia of increasing disaffection with politics, one thing that helps bolster faith in the democratic system is the politically independent national electoral authority, the Australian Electoral Commission.</p> <p>The AEC’s trusted impartial administration of the electoral system lends integrity to the democratic process. So do the many procedures it manages to facilitate voting. To name a few: Saturday election days, assistance for the ill, aged and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds, mobile polling stations, postal, absentee and early voting, and active and regular updating of registration.</p> <p>Indeed, Australia has been described as “the most voter-friendly country in the world”. Compulsory voting encourages this accessibility: if citizens are obliged to vote, then it becomes incumbent to smooth the path to them participating. The ease of voting in Australia contrasts with what goes on elsewhere, for example, the rampant state-based voter-suppression practices in the United States.</p> <p>Dare we suggest, then, that compulsory voting is a mainstay of an Australian democratic exceptionalism? That we little note, let alone extol, the practice is perhaps not only a product of an inherent national modesty but because it is second nature after 100 years. Habituated to being compelled to participate in elections, we are inured to its specialness.</p> <p>Let’s hope this casual familiarity does not induce apathy rather than vigilance when next the system is challenged.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/234801/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-strangio-1232"><em>Paul Strangio</em></a><em>, Emeritus Professor of Politics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/compulsory-voting-in-australia-is-100-years-old-we-should-celebrate-how-special-it-makes-our-democracy-234801">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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“Great initiative”: Airline's world first move to make female travellers safer

<p>A popular airline has introduced a new measure to help female travellers feel safer on their journey. </p> <p>IndiGo will make the change in August, giving female travellers the option to choose not to sit next to a man on their flight. </p> <p>Prior to booking, women will be able to check the gender of the flyer sitting next to them and select if they don't want a male seat mate. </p> <p>However, this change will not apply to men, as male travellers will not be shown the gender of their seat mate when making a booking and instead will only be able to view available seats.</p> <p>The low-cost carrier is a codeshare partner of Qantas, and Australian passengers travel on-board its planes for destinations such as India, as well as within the country. </p> <p>The idea for the change came from an IndiGo survey where the airline asked females what would make travel more comfortable, and many said they would feel safer to have more power over who they spent their journey sitting next to. </p> <p>“IndiGo is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature that aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers,” the airline said.</p> <p>“We are committed to providing an unparalleled travel experience for all our passengers, and this new feature is just one of the many steps we are taking towards achieving that goal.”</p> <p>There has been a mixed reaction on social media to to IndiGo’s attempt to make female flyers feel safer, as one commenter wrote on X: “Why can’t they allocate left side for one gender and right side for another gender?"</p> <p>There was also concern about how the good seats could be snapped up, writing, “Almost all seats available will be the middle ones”.</p> <p>Meanwhile a man protested, “What if I don’t want to sit by her? It works both ways”, while many simply praised it as a “great initiative”.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

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For a century, it’s been illegal to swim in the Seine. Will Paris’s clean-up make the river safe for Olympic swimmers?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-a-wright-5162">Ian A. Wright</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a></em></p> <p>Five eagerly anticipated events in the Paris Olympics will be the mens and womens 10 kilometre marathon swimming races, as well as the 1,500 metre swimming section of three triathlon events. Why? Because all will be held in the Seine River in the centre of Paris. The swimmers – including <a href="https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/trio-complete-an-historic-australian-olympic-marathon-swim-team-for-paris-2024">four Australians</a> – will pass famous landmarks such as the Musee d'Orsay as they swim through the historic heart of the city. This will have enormous scenic appeal for spectators.</p> <p>But will it be safe for swimmers? Rivers running through large cities are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00026-w">often polluted</a>, whether from stormwater, chemical pollution or wastewater spills. As the marathon swimmers pass the <a href="https://musee-egouts.paris.fr/en/">Paris Sewer Museum</a>, they may well wonder if they’re in clean water.</p> <p>For more than 100 years, swimming in the Seine has actually been illegal, due to concerns over what the water could do to human health. Authorities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/may/24/olympic-games-clean-up-aims-to-leave-parisians-swimming-in-the-seine">have been working</a> to clean up the water, spending A$2.2 billion (€1.3 billion) on improving water quality. The goal: cut bacterial contamination by 75% before the first swimmer touches the water. These measures are having an impact – but recent heavy rains have seen bacteria levels spike.</p> <p>While officials have put on brave faces, there’s now a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/paris-2024-sets-up-reserve-site-marathon-swimming-if-seine-unsuitable-2024-07-05/">contingency plan</a> in case the Seine isn’t safe.</p> <h2>Why swim in the Seine at all?</h2> <p>Urban rivers have a questionable reputation. But this isn’t the first time the Seine River has been used for Olympic swimming.</p> <p>In the 1900 Paris Olympics, <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/paris-1900/results/swimming">seven swimming events</a> were all held in the river. These games were the first modern Olympics where <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-origin-of-the-games/when-did-women-first-compete-in-the-olympic-games">women could compete</a> in some sports, but swimming was not one of those permitted.</p> <p>The Australian swimmer who competed, Frederick Lane, had to swim under the United Kingdom’s flag as Australia did not have a flag until Federation the following year. He won two gold medals. One was for the 200 metre freestyle race, and the other for a bizarre race never held again: the 200m <a href="https://www.olympedia.org/results/4433">swimming obstacle race</a>, where swimmers had to climb over poles and boats. These Olympics also saw the first and last underwater swimming race, which was also in the Seine.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=378&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=378&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=378&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=475&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=475&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/606823/original/file-20240715-17-kajph6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=475&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="historic photo swimming seine river paris" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Swimmers took to the Seine’s waters at the 1900 Paris Olympics, when the river ran cleaner.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swimming_1900.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Back then, the waters of the Seine were cleaner. That’s because there was a great demand for human waste on farms – and cities were the main source. Back then, “night soil” (human waste) had a <a href="https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/11/1757/2007/hess-11-1757-2007.pdf">real market value</a>. No one would think of dumping it in rivers.</p> <p>But as time went on, sewerage systems developed and other fertilisers such as guano and mineral fertilisers arrived. By the early 20th century, most of the city’s wastewater went into the Seine. In 1923, the swimming ban came into effect. A year later, Paris hosted the Olympics for its second time – and swimmers competed in 50 metre pools.</p> <p>In recent years, many cities around the world have worked to clean up their urban waterways. River swimming is <a href="https://www.timeout.com/news/the-european-cities-cleaning-up-rivers-for-wild-swimmers-101821">now common</a> in cities such as Copenhagen, Berlin and Vienna, where river health has improved dramatically.</p> <h2>How can you clean a river like the Seine?</h2> <p>Cleaning the Seine is a challenge. Paris is home to 11 million people, with plenty of industry. Urban rivers are almost inevitably polluted by waste from the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00026-w%5D">surrounding city</a>.</p> <p>Leaking and overflowing sewage systems are a major source of pollution. In places like the UK, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-62631320">sewage spills</a> into waterways have become a major political issue.</p> <p>When wastewater spills into rivers, it carries pollutants and dangerous loads of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6725a1.htm">disease-causing microorganisms</a>, such as <em>Escherichia coli</em> (commonly known as E. coli). Untreated water can have viruses, bacteria and disease-causing protozoa.</p> <p>In the lead-up to the Paris games, authorities have been working to improve water quality enough to bring some Olympic swimming back to the Seine. Stormwater – often contaminated by dog poo or sewage overflows – is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/08/can-paris-clean-seine-for-next-year-2024-olympics">being cleaned</a> before it is released into the river.</p> <p>Despite the money and effort, there are still real questions over whether it will be enough to guarantee swimmer safety. Bacterial levels hit risky levels <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/11/sport/paris-olympics-seine-triathlon-bacteria-spiking-intl/index.html">most days in June</a> due to unseasonally heavy rains, but the water has <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240712-seine-clean-enough-to-swim-for-most-of-past-12-days-paris-says-ahead-of-olympics">improved in July</a>.</p> <p>This week, French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/french-sports-minister-takes-dip-in-seine-river-2024-paris-olympics/3458469/">swam a few metres</a> in the Seine in an effort to douse concerns.</p> <p>By contrast, the other Olympic swimming events will take place in a recently constructed 50 metre pool, which will have very good water quality. The pool water is filtered and treated with a disinfectant such as chlorine or bromine. It will be regularly tested to ensure optimal water quality.</p> <p>At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, triathletes had to swim in polluted Tokyo Bay. But similar concerns over sickness proved unfounded. The real challenge was the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/05/olympic-athletes-and-volunteers-in-tokyo-tortured-by-heat">oppressive heat</a>.</p> <h2>What’s at risk?</h2> <p>The most likely outcome if races are held when bacterial levels are unsafe would be getting a gastrointestinal bug.</p> <p>Officials have some control over this. Contamination is worst after heavy rain. Races could be delayed if need be.</p> <p>Many swimmers – especially those who compete in open-water competitions – are familiar with swimming in water with some level of pollution. Some see it as worth the risk. Italian double world champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240226-paris-holds-its-breath-for-olympic-swimming-events-in-murky-seine">said in January</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Even if the water is dirty, I would rather swim in an electric atmosphere in the centre of Paris than in an anonymous stretch of water.</p> </blockquote> <p>Paris 2024 organisers previously warned there was no plan B for the 10 km marathon races in the Seine if water quality testing is unsuitable. But this has now changed. If the river isn’t clean enough, open water swimming <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/paris-2024-sets-up-reserve-site-marathon-swimming-if-seine-unsuitable-2024-07-05/">will be moved</a> to the rowing venue.</p> <p>The Olympic triathlon is planned around a swimming leg in the Seine. But triathletes <a href="https://www.espn.com.au/olympics/story/_/id/39912675/triathlon-leg-cancelled-seine-quality-paris-2024-chief">have been told</a> the swim leg could be skipped if the water is unsafe, which would turn the race into a running and cycling duathlon.</p> <p>As the world’s attention turns to Paris, there will be many anxious officials behind the scenes hoping their hard work on making the Seine swimmable pays off.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/231705/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-a-wright-5162">Ian A. Wright</a>, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: CARON/ZEPPELIN/SIPA/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-a-century-its-been-illegal-to-swim-in-the-seine-will-pariss-clean-up-make-the-river-safe-for-olympic-swimmers-231705">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Travel Trouble

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We know what to eat to stay healthy. So why is it so hard to make the right choices?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nina-van-dyke-822557">Nina Van Dyke</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a></em></p> <p>A healthy diet <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/healthy-diet">protects us</a> against a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer.</p> <p>From early childhood, we receive an abundance of <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/healthy-diet/healthy-diet-fact-sheet-394.pdf?sfvrsn=69f1f9a1_2&download=true">information</a> about how we <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating">should eat</a> to be healthy and reduce our risk of disease. And most people have a <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/1479-5868-11-63.pdf">broad understanding</a> of what healthy eating looks like.</p> <p>But this knowledge <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001209216310584?casa_token=6CZgCmT1RMgAAAAA:sSRsj2o6swVfvoBxMIVrMTxqdczSAiFwfTCYzYQ8U3z4ey_WLQ6knpmk8WRH77zugAS3wEAQrA">doesn’t always result</a> in healthier eating.</p> <p>In our new research, we set out to <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-18432-x.pdf">learn more</a> about why people eat the way they do – and what prevents them from eating better. Lack of time was a major <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/obr.12472?casa_token=1D1mi-l0TR0AAAAA:dgebTQx-wgw7jbREfdawxZ5AZSDRztvrt8t1tuKyDy1x2mmXlyLDY8z9NbUf0v4hnh80HY_RbAk08Q">barrier</a> to cooking and eating healthier foods.</p> <h2>How do you decide what to eat?</h2> <p>We spoke with <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-18432-x.pdf">17 adults</a> in a regional centre of Victoria. We chose a regional location because less research <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s40900-020-0179-6.pdf">has been done</a> with people living outside of metropolitan areas and because rates of obesity and other diet-related health issues are <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-remote-australians/rural-and-remote-health">higher</a> in such areas in Australia.</p> <p>Participants included a mix of people, including some who said they were over their “most healthy weight” and some who had previously dieted to lose weight. But all participants were either:</p> <ul> <li>young women aged 18–24 with no children</li> <li>women aged 35–45 with primary school aged children</li> <li>men aged 35–50 living with a partner and with pre- or primary-school aged children.</li> </ul> <p>We selected these groups to target <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022318212803669">ages and life-stages</a> in which shifts in eating behaviours may occur. Previous research has found younger women <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00642.x?casa_token=33QKWwhc2ogAAAAA:ZvJ6wfXiRC_6eoqvoxD121JOSKSPmIRHcrdiGl2uHzkq5pY6VVPL6WI2DhmxQ2q9i6bBGvLiFl8afQ">tend to</a> be particularly concerned about appearance rather than healthy eating, while women with children often shift their focus to providing for their family. Men <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/obr.12472?casa_token=KakMB6hAOQ0AAAAA:fLnpoxZQiiJIdEkg_TOcCq8hBwZef1iZETZKTiG5W6zW2x_PYzK0oLeOg5F9arKThq9RzMWEi4x4Xw">tend to be less interested</a> in what they eat.</p> <p>We asked participants about how they decided what food to eat, when, and how much, and what prevented them from making healthier choices.</p> <h2>It’s not just about taste and healthiness</h2> <p>We found that, although such decisions were determined in part by taste preferences and health considerations, they were heavily influenced by a host of other factors, many of which are outside the person’s control. These included other household members’ food preferences, family activities, workplace and time constraints, convenience and price.</p> <p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2767106">Healthy eating</a> means consuming a balanced diet rich in nutrients, including a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats, while limiting processed foods, added sugars and excessive salt. Healthy eating also includes how we eat and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244292">how we think about</a> food and eating, such as having a positive relationship with food.</p> <p>One 35- to 45-year-old woman, for example, said that time constraints and family preferences made it difficult to prepare healthier food:</p> <blockquote> <p>I love the chance when I can actually get a recipe and get all of the ingredients and make it properly, but that doesn’t happen very often. It’s usually what’s there and what’s quick. And what everyone will eat.</p> </blockquote> <p>One of the 35- to 50-year-old men also noted the extent to which family activities and children’s food preferences dictated meal choices:</p> <blockquote> <p>Well, we have our set days where, like Wednesday nights, we have to have mackie cheese and nuggets, because that’s what the boys want after their swimming lesson.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joss.12649?casa_token=gsnU9O_G2GQAAAAA:mV2vtHlnEd0jqBGJPFkfml_ecLIDqwSlH5xksSwt4eQb_FP_UShyAKm9sLNnKy6Mkf2q9aKAlDEixA">Research shows</a> that children are often more receptive to new foods than their parents think. However, introducing new dishes takes additional time and planning.</p> <p>An 18- to 24-year-old woman discussed the role of time constraints, her partner’s activities, and price in influencing what and when she eats:</p> <blockquote> <p>My partner plays pool on a Monday and Wednesday night, so we always have tea a lot earlier then and cook the simple things that don’t take as long, so he can have dinner before he goes rather than buying pub meals which cost more money.</p> </blockquote> <p>Despite popular perceptions, healthy diets are not more expensive than unhealthy diets. A <a href="https://preventioncentre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1702_FB_LEE_4p_final_lr.pdf">study</a> comparing current (unhealthy) diets with what the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/the-australian-dietary-guidelines">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> recommend people should eat found that the healthy diet was 12–15% cheaper than unhealthy diets for a family of two adults and two children.</p> <p>However, learning and planning to prepare new types of meals <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/3/877">takes effort and time</a>.</p> <p>Simply educating people about what they should eat won’t necessarily result in healthier eating. People want to eat healthier, or at least know they should eat healthier, but other things <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00394-017-1458-3.pdf">get in the way</a>.</p> <p>A key to improving people’s eating behaviours is to make it easy to eat more healthily.</p> <p>Policy changes to make healthy eating easier could include subsidising healthier foods such as fresh produce, providing incentives for retailers to offer healthy options, and ensuring access to nutritious meals in schools and workplaces.</p> <h2>So how can you make healthier food choices easier?</h2> <p>Here are five tips for making healthy choices easier in your household:</p> <ol> <li> <p>If certain days of the week are particularly busy, with little time to prepare fresh food, plan to cook in bulk on days when you have more time. Store the extra food in the fridge or freezer for quick preparation.</p> </li> <li> <p>If you’re often pressed for time during the day and just grab whatever food is handy, have healthy snacks readily available and accessible. This could mean a fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen counter, or wholegrain crackers and unsalted nuts within easy reach.</p> </li> <li> <p>Discuss food preferences with your family and come up with some healthy meals everyone likes. For younger children, <a href="https://healthykids.nsw.gov.au/downloads/file/campaignsprograms/NewFoodsFussyEaters.pdf">try serving</a> only a small amount of the new food, and serve new foods alongside foods they already like eating and are familiar with.</p> </li> <li> <p>If you rely a lot on take-away meals or meal delivery services, try making a list ahead of time of restaurants and meals you like that are also healthier. You might consider choosing lean meat, chicken, or fish that has been grilled, baked or poached (rather than fried), and looking for meals with plenty of vegetables or salad.</p> </li> <li> <p>Remember, fruit and vegetables taste better and are often cheaper when they are in season. Frozen or canned vegetables are a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-cost-of-fresh-fruit-and-veggies-is-rising-is-canned-or-frozen-produce-just-as-healthy/tzuhnfrnr">healthy and quick alternative</a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/231489/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> </li> </ol> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nina-van-dyke-822557">Nina Van Dyke</a>, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Mitchell Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-know-what-to-eat-to-stay-healthy-so-why-is-it-so-hard-to-make-the-right-choices-231489">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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Will watching the Olympic Games make you eat more?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/birau-mia-1238429">Birau Mia</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/em-lyon-business-school-2363">EM Lyon Business School</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carolina-o-c-werle-1434243">Carolina O.C. Werle</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grenoble-ecole-de-management-gem-2181">Grenoble École de Management (GEM)</a></em></p> <p>Ever wondered why you reach for a snack after hitting the gym? <a href="https://joe.bioscientifica.com/downloadpdf/view/journals/joe/193/2/1930251.pdf">Research shows</a> that physical exercise often leads to increased food consumption, whether it is treating yourself for a job well done or replenishing the energy you have burned. With countless sports events airing and our screens constantly filled with sports’ competitions, a new question arises: Can watching sports on a screen also influence how much we eat?</p> <p>The answer is yes. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329317300915">Our research</a> co-authored with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannine-lasaleta-94504987">Jannine Lasaleta</a> reveals that watching sports’ videos can increase candy consumption. But there is more to the story: the difficulty of the sports you are watching plays a crucial role in these effects.</p> <h2>From screens to junk food</h2> <p>We first invited 112 students to the <a href="https://www.grenoble-em.com/campus-gem-labs-grenoble">Grenoble Ecole de Management experimental lab</a> to watch a video and test some candies. Half of the students watched a video with men and women <a href="https://fr.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/51706/train-barefoot/nike">playing sports</a>, while the other half watched one <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyqR5yI6boo">without any physical activity</a>. We then gave each student a 70g cup of candy and asked them to judge its quality for three minutes. The students who saw the sports’ video ate more candy than those who saw the one without physical activity.</p> <p>Our initial test thus revealed that watching sports’ videos can boost candy consumption, but here’s the twist: male students indulged in far more candy than female students, so maybe the results were triggered by males’ consumption. Plus, we were still unsure if the type of sport watched affects the candy intake.</p> <p>To learn more, we invited just the female students to watch videos portraying either easy (light running) or difficult-to-perform sports (athletics long jump, gymnastics, baseball, rugby or rock climbing). After, the students were invited to test the same candies as before. Students who watched the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SMXKGE_u-Y">easy sports video</a> (showing a woman and a man running through different landscapes) ate much more candy (30.1 grams) than those who watched the <a href="https://fr.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/51706/train-barefoot/nike">difficult sports video</a> (18 grams).</p> <p>We can thus conclude that the ease or difficulty of the exercise shown significantly impacts candy consumption – watching easy-to-perform sports leads to considerably higher candy intake than watching difficult ones.</p> <h2>Why is this happening?</h2> <p>To explain our findings, we looked at research on <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/32/3/370/1867208">goal motivation</a>. When people feel they are not meeting a goal, they push harder; but once they see progress, they tend to slack off. For example, after a workout, those aiming to stay fit might feel they have made good progress and then ease up on their efforts. This can lead to a drop in motivation to pursue related goals, like healthy eating. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-09808-003">Research</a> shows that achieving smaller goals (like exercising) can make people feel they have earned a break, which can result in indulging more in food. So completing a workout might make you more likely to reward yourself with extra food than if you had not finished your session. And why are women more susceptible to the phenomenon of eating more candy after watching an easy-to-perform sports video? Simply because it has been long <a href="https://phys.org/news/2005-04-women-weight-men.html">shown</a> that women are more concerned with their weight than men and therefore their dieting goals are more salient.</p> <p>Our research suggests that merely watching sports can lead to a sense of vicarious fulfilment of fitness goals. When people can picture themselves doing the activity they are watching, they feel as though they have already exercised, which can lead to more-indulgent food choices. If they perceive the exercise shown as easy rather than difficult, they can more easily imagine themselves doing it, leading to greater feelings of progress toward their fitness goals. This perceived achievement can make them feel they have earned the right to indulge and influence their search for a reward, often resulting in increased food intake.</p> <h2>So what?</h2> <p>This knowledge can be used by policymakers or marketers who aim to encourage healthful lifestyles. When promoting healthy activities by picturing physical activity that seems too easy, people may feel a greater sense of achievement that could backfire and lead to increased consumption. We suggest showing an easy exercise (like walking or jogging) followed by a tougher one (like sprinting or marathon running) as an alternative solution. This approach can motivate people to start with basic exercises while reminding that there is still a long way to go to reach their fitness goals. This strategy could offer an alternative to promote physical activity without giving a false sense of accomplishment.</p> <p>So what is the takeaway for us? Be mindful of how watching sports can affect our eating habits. If you are aiming to stay on track with your diet, watch more challenging sports – it might just help you resist that extra chocolate bar. Moreover, when setting dieting goals, remind yourself that real progress comes from consistent effort, not just imagining yourself doing a workout. Engage in activities that genuinely challenge you, and pair them with mindful eating habits. This way, you can avoid the trap of feeling the fitness goal to be prematurely accomplished and then overindulging.</p> <p>In conclusion, should you watch the Olympic games if you want to keep up with your diet? Of course, but it might be better to choose the physical activities you find the most difficult to perform – and watch them without moderation.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/231199/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/birau-mia-1238429">Birau Mia</a>, Associate Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/em-lyon-business-school-2363">EM Lyon Business School</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carolina-o-c-werle-1434243">Carolina O.C. Werle</a>, Professor of marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grenoble-ecole-de-management-gem-2181">Grenoble École de Management (GEM)</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-watching-the-olympic-games-make-you-eat-more-231199">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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10 ways to make those stage 3 tax cuts count

<p>You’re already used to living without these extra dollars. So, you won’t miss them by continuing to do so. Consider the various options available and which best suits your circumstances, then devise a plan of action to put that money to work.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Check tax brackets</strong></li> </ol> <p>Not only are some income tax rates falling, but the thresholds for others are increasing - potentially pushing you into a lower tax bracket.</p> <p>For example, Alice currently earns $130,000 and this tips her into marginal tax rate of 37 per cent. </p> <p>The Stage 3 changes will increase the 37 per cent tax threshold to $135,001. As such, Alice drops to a lower tax bracket. Not only this, her new tax bracket will have its marginal tax rate reduced from 32.5 per cent to 30 per cent. It’s a double win for Alice!</p> <p>This shouldn’t change your money habits but is still good to know.</p> <ol start="2"> <li><strong>Update your plan</strong></li> </ol> <p>Check <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/new-legislation/in-detail/individuals/individual-income-tax-rates-and-threshold-changes">what your new tax rate will be</a> to calculate your new take-home pay (or simply look at your first full pay cycle in the new financial year).</p> <p>Plot your new income into your household spending and investment plan. Now you know what you have to play with.</p> <ol start="3"> <li><strong>Check your pay</strong></li> </ol> <p>Most employers use digital payroll systems which automatically update tax rates. But not all do. And even then, mistakes can happen.</p> <p>From July, double check that your pay is adjusted correctly. </p> <p>If you notice a mistake, speak up – not only will you and your colleagues benefit, but you could save your employer from costly penalties for an innocent mistake.</p> <ol start="4"> <li><strong>Monitor expenses</strong></li> </ol> <p>Don’t let ballooning expenses wipe out any tax cut gains. </p> <p>Avoid pre-spending those gains too. The additional income is spaced out over each pay; it’s not a lump sum you can blow on a spending spree.</p> <ol start="5"> <li><strong>Automatic redirects</strong></li> </ol> <p>Consider setting up an automated redirect of the difference in your pay as soon as it hits your account. </p> <p>The money could be diverted into a high-interest savings account or used to top up your emergency fund.</p> <ol start="6"> <li><strong>Super contributions</strong></li> </ol> <p>Tax cut cash can be used in combination with super contribution rules to supercharge retirement earnings.</p> <p>Low income earners may be eligible for <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/how-to-save-more-in-your-super/government-super-contributions/super-co-contribution">government co-contributions</a> while <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/how-to-save-more-in-your-super/spouse-super-contributions">spouse contributions</a> can offer further tax benefits.</p> <p>This may be particularly useful for anyone <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/caps-limits-and-tax-on-super-contributions/concessional-contributions-cap#ato-Carryforwardunusedcontributioncapamounts">trying to catch-up</a> after time out of the workforce (e.g., raising kids or caring for relatives) or repaying <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/in-detail/super-statistics/early-release/covid-19-early-release-of-super">early withdrawals during COVID</a>. </p> <ol start="7"> <li><strong>Pay down debt</strong></li> </ol> <p>Every extra dollar spent paying off debt will save on future interest and clear it faster. </p> <p>Prioritise higher interest debts (like credit cards). Consider consolidating multiple debts into one with a lower rate (e.g., your mortgage) to reduce total interest and simplify repayments.</p> <ol start="8"> <li><strong>Invest in yourself</strong></li> </ol> <p>The old saying goes “you’ve got to spend money to make money”. Nowhere are the returns typically better than from self improvement.</p> <p>That could be undertaking new qualifications or additional training, enabling you to secure pay rises or transition to a higher-paying industry.</p> <p>Or it may be investing in your health and wellbeing, to reduce medical expenses, improve job prospects and productivity, and enhance your decision-making abilities (including about money matters).</p> <ol start="9"> <li><strong>Lodge returns promptly</strong></li> </ol> <p>This applies to every tax year: the sooner you lodge your tax return, the sooner you access your tax refund.</p> <p>Even if you’re facing a tax bill, getting it done sooner means less interest accruing and no late payment penalties.</p> <ol start="10"> <li><strong>Revisit strategies</strong></li> </ol> <p>While making changes to incorporate these tax cuts, take the opportunity to re-evaluate your overall finances. </p> <p>Revisit investment strategies to ensure they are delivering optimal returns. Check superannuation thresholds and performance. Scrutinise total tax liabilities (for instance, lower tax rates may mean you won’t qualify for the same level of tax deductions). Make updates where necessary.</p> <p>Keeping on top of your finances will mean better bang for your buck now while streamlining your affairs in future years.</p> <p><em><strong>Helen Baker is a licensed Australian financial adviser and author of On Your Own Two Feet: The Essential Guide to Financial Independence for all Women. Helen is among the 1% of financial planners who hold a master’s degree in the field. Proceeds from book sales are donated to charities supporting disadvantaged women and children. Find out more at <a href="http://www.onyourowntwofeet.com.au/">www.onyourowntwofeet.com.au</a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Disclaimer: The information in this article is of a general nature only and does not constitute personal financial or product advice. Any opinions or views expressed are those of the authors and do not represent those of people, institutions or organisations the owner may be associated with in a professional or personal capacity unless explicitly stated. Helen Baker is an authorised representative of BPW Partners Pty Ltd AFSL 548754.</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

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Is social media making you unhappy? The answer is not so simple

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-humphries-584274">Melissa Humphries</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lewis-mitchell-266859">Lewis Mitchell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a></em></p> <p>You may have seen headlines that link social media to sadness and depression. Social media use goes up, happiness goes down. But recent studies suggest those findings might not be so straightforward.</p> <p>Although it is true that people’s feelings of envy and depression are linked to high social media use, there is evidence to suggest social media use may not be <em>causing</em> that relationship. Instead, your mindset may be the biggest thing affecting how social media connects to your wellbeing.</p> <p>People who feel they are able to use social media, rather than social media “using them”, tend to gain more benefits from their online interactions.</p> <h2>Why do people use social media?</h2> <p>Social media covers a broad range of platforms: social networking, discussion forums, bookmarking and sharing content, disseminating news, exchanging media like photos and videos, and microblogging. These appeal to a wide range of users, from individuals of all ages through to massive businesses.</p> <p>For some, social media is a way to connect with people we may not otherwise see. In the United States, 39% of people say they <a href="https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss">are friends with people they only interact with online</a>.</p> <p>For older people, this is especially important for increasing feelings of connectedness and wellbeing. Interestingly though, for older people, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563223004545">social media contact with family does not increase happiness</a>. Meanwhile, younger adults report <em>increased</em> happiness when they have more social media contact with family members.</p> <p>Teens, in particular, find social media most useful for <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/11/16/connection-creativity-and-drama-teen-life-on-social-media-in-2022/">deepening connections and building their social networks</a>.</p> <p>With social media clearly playing such an important role in society, many researchers have tried to figure out: does it make us happier or not?</p> <h2>Does social media make us happier?</h2> <p>Studies have taken a variety of approaches, including asking people directly through surveys or looking at the content people post and seeing how positive or negative it is.</p> <p>One survey study from 2023 showed that as individuals’ social media use increased, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372582895_The_Relationship_Between_Social_Media_Addiction_Happiness_and_Life_Satisfaction_in_Adults_Analysis_with_Machine_Learning_Approach">life satisfaction and happiness decreased</a>. Another found that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2286529">less time on social media</a> was related to increases in work satisfaction, work engagement and positive mental health – so improved mental health and motivation at work.</p> <p>Comparing yourself to others on social media is connected to feelings of envy and depression. However, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9955439/">there is evidence</a> to suggest depression is the predictor, rather than the outcome, of both social comparison and envy.</p> <p>All this shows <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/29/1/zmad048/7612379?login=false">the way you <em>feel</em> about social media matters</a>. People who see themselves using social media rather than “being used” by it, tend to gain benefits from social media and not experience the harms.</p> <p>Interviews with young people (15–24 years) using social media suggest that positive mental health among that age group was influenced by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8933808/">three features</a>:</p> <ul> <li>connection with friends and their global community</li> <li>engagement with social media content</li> <li>the value of social media as an outlet for expression.</li> </ul> <p>There are also studies that look at the emotions expressed by more frequent social media users.</p> <p>The so-called “<a href="https://epjdatascience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1140/epjds/s13688-017-0100-1">happiness paradox</a>” shows that most people think their friends on social media appear happier than themselves. This is a <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3110025.3110027">seeming impossibility</a> that arises because of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep04603">the mathematical properties</a> of how friendship networks work on social media.</p> <p>In one of our studies, Twitter content with recorded locations showed residents of cities in the United States that <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figure?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0064417.g007">tweeted more tended to express less happiness</a>.</p> <p>On the other hand, in Instagram direct messages, happiness has been found to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051241229655">four times more prevalent than sadness</a>.</p> <h2>How does internet use in general affect our wellbeing?</h2> <p>Some of the factors associated with decreased mental health are not aligned with social media use alone.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721419838244">One recent study</a> shows that the path to decreased wellbeing is, at least partially, connected to digital media use overall (rather than social media use specifically). This can be due to sleep disruption, reduced face-to-face social interaction or physical activity, social comparison, and cyberbullying. None of these exist for social media alone.</p> <p>However, social media platforms are known to be driven by recommendation algorithms that may send us down “rabbit holes” of the same type of (increasingly extreme) content. This can lead to a distorted view of the world and our place in it. The important point here is to maintain a diverse and balanced information diet online.</p> <p>Interestingly, interacting on social media is not the only thing affecting our mental state. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0090315">Rainfall influnces</a> the emotional content of social media posts of both the user experiencing rain, and parts of their extended network (even if they don’t experience rain!).</p> <p>This suggests that how we feel is influenced by the emotions in the posts we see. The good news is that happy posts are the most influential, with each happy post encouraging close to two additional happy updates from a user’s friends.</p> <p>The secret to online happiness therefore may not be to “delete your account” entirely (which, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0510-5">as we have found</a>, may not even be effective), but to be mindful about what you consume online. And if you feel like social media is starting to use you, it might be time to change it up a bit.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/232490/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-humphries-584274">Melissa Humphries</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lewis-mitchell-266859">Lewis Mitchell</a>, Professor of Data Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-media-making-you-unhappy-the-answer-is-not-so-simple-232490">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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