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Discovered: the most depressing day of the year; the problem with dieting after age 75; the truth about chimps; the dingo might not even be Australian.
Today could be the year's most depressing Monday. Did your case of the Mondays get you especially down today? Science might have the answer to why. According to a mathematical formula created by UK psychologist Cliff Arnall in 2005, the bluest of 2013's Blue Mondays lands either today, January 14th, or next week, on the 21st. Variables accounting for the extra-upsetting mood today include winter weather, bank accounts drained by holiday spending, seasonal overeating, and unfulfilled New Year's resolutions. [New York Daily News]
Dieting late in life isn't very effective. Once you reach the age of 75, reward yourself by eating whatever you want. At least that's one of the takeaways from new research by Penn State nutritionist Gordon Jensen. Diets high in sugar and fat didn't effect health outcomes for people in this age group, Jensen and his colleagues found after studying 449 septuagenarians for five years. Jensen says, "The results suggest that if you live to be this old, then there may be little to support the use of overly restrictive dietary prescriptions, especially where food intake may already be inadequate. However, people who live on prudent diets all their lives are likely to have better health outcomes." [Penn State]