Meeple Rising: How Digital Technology Is Growing, Not Killing Board Games

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

Four years ago I noted here how board gaming was, with the advent of crowdfunding, undergoing something of a renaissance. Far from being a flash in the pan, this renaissance has continued, building on its successes and iterating ideas and cultures – and technology is at the centre of this meeple-powered movement.

As a digital game developer there might be a perception that what we do is all about the technology, that we’re always on to the new and shiny “next big thing”. And in part, yes, our industry is driven by changes in technology and they do constantly alter the landscape into which we release titles. So the antithesis of this might seem to be the board game: bits of card instead of GPUs, a couple of dice in place of CPUs, and an instructions manual instead of interactive tutorials. Chalk and cheese.

However the reality is quite different. As someone who’s just been part of the team porting a classic and much loved 1977 game Ogre to digital, I’m well aware of the differences – and similarities – of both forms, and there is often much more overlap than you might think…

Low-fi Sci-fi? Ogre covers 1977-1983

Digital Ogre’s Physical gameplay

Video Grew the Gaming Star
Video has disrupted video games. This movement was apparent years ago but the changes have surpassed what many in the industry thought might happen. ‘Let’s Plays’ – a form of YouTube video where players simply played along to the game, recording both the game and the reaction from the people playing it became huge, dominating both gaming and video. Game developers actively court these YouTube stars, as their endorsement of a game can lead to vast numbers of new players. In recent years the live streaming of Let’s Plays – via sites like Twitch – has shifted the movement into one that caters for the ‘now’ of gaming. This is technology squared – a 60 FPS game running live to a watching audience on console or desktop PC while a camera captures the expressions of the player as they battle within the game. The board game equivalent has been just as powerful to its own area, as the popularity of watching groups of people sit around and play games has rocketed. Seemingly old-school games like Dungeons and Dragons have regular live shows that attract thousands of viewers. Rich Keith of UK-based YouTuber’s Yogscast, the first UK group to pass a billion views (yes I said billion!) noted;

“Most of the Yogscast creators grew up on laying board and table top along with video games. For a couple of them that’s how they met and joined the Yogscast. So it was a natural choice to start streaming and making video channels about them. The fact that this coincided with an upswing in popularity has been tremendously useful! Our recent move to a custom built studio means we now have a dedicated board and tabletop studio where we can record with multiple cameras and live stream our games and matches.”

Steaming digital games made from board games (it’s getting very meta!)

The Wisdom of Crowds
Ogre and Munchkin creator Steve Jackson notes how key technology is in keeping the business of getting those low-tech card games into your hands;

“We’re not a computer game company, but we still live by the computer. We use databases to keep track of cards, we use e-mail to keep up with contributors around the world, and we love Kickstarter.”

Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms have become much more central in the physical games industry. The logistics of this is very powerful: in your local area there may only be one or two people interested in a deck collecting card game about zombie penguins – globally there may be a few hundred – and that’s enough, if all those people band together to fund that game via a global crowdfunding platform. Then if the resulting project is such fun that even zombie penguin-haters still end up having fun, soon the game is ordered for shops around the globe and a trend is born. Zombie seal, zombie polar bear, and vampire penguin card games mushroom on crowdfunding sites, iterating on the ideas and themes in new directions. It’s all very infectious and exciting.

You Died and Went to Cardboard Heaven
We’ve also seen a huge rise in new board game projects coming from video games, closing this virtuous circle of games influencing one another. There’s a huge number of these: XCOM, Superhot, Plague Inc, and so on (I was going to mention Civilization, but then discovered it started off as a board game, such is its perception as a video game today!). And the quality bar of these new entrants has been good! Sometimes they involve the original creators and other times not – but from the many I’ve seen and played it’s clear that the themes and mechanics of the game are often preserved and well translated. James Vaughn is the creator of the hit digital game Plague Inc and also worked on a physical version. I asked him why?

“Tabletop games are a wonderful way for friends and family to spend time together without digital distractions. Making Plague Inc: The Board Game let me design a game in a whole new way whilst also exposing my game to a lot of friends who never play video games.”

This means the creativity of the digital side is boosting the board game side – the technology advances in a game like Superhot (where time only moves when you do) are spurring new ideas in its card came sibling. Another great example is Dark Souls, the legendarily difficult digital hack-and-slash game (or hack-and-get-slashed, amirite?) which has brilliantly translated its mechanic of boss fights into the digital realm, where in both cases the monstrous boss monster follows a pattern of attacks which you must learn and dance around to kill them and win.

Dark Soul’s board game (Image: Kickstarter)

Future Sounds of Gaming
So where next? It’s not a huge surprise that both sides of this article – digital and physical are eyeing recent development in Augmented Reality – AR – as a further way to join the two sides. The idea of being able to animate your game pieces on your own tabletop is of course a tantalizing idea.

We’ve seen some of this with Skylanders and Disney Infinity, yet as the technology develops there is clearly much more that can be done. We’ve also seen digital companies take punts into physical – the developers of one of the biggest games in the world, League of Legends, recently launched a totally new board game. Plus the movement has gone the other way too, with physical game developers learning from digital too.

All in all our dice-rolling cousins are looking at exciting times and it will be interesting to see what has developed in the medium when I come to write about in another four years time!

For The Many, Not The Few: Water Resistance In The Mobile Industry

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

The media spotlight tends to shine most brightly on a limited number of high-end smartphones in the mobile industry. It’s easy to understand why; they come from manufacturers who have a significant portion of the global market, and are touted as having the latest ‘must have’ innovations and features.

What we are now beginning to see from the market leaders, are the number of changes to flagship smartphones beginning to gradually decline. The latest iterations are only bringing tweaks in design rather than wholesale changes to the table. This is to be expected as the trend and rate of innovation had to drop off at some point given the time and resources it takes to innovate and create new features.

In time you would expect these ‘flagship’ features to make their way down to the lower end of the market, especially water resistance which was applauded as one of the most innovative features in the high-end phone launches last year. But it is certainly a feature that shouldn’t be the preserve of the top of the range devices. Technologies that add water resistance to smartphones have been around for more than a decade, however they still aren’t the norm, or even available to smartphone users at multiple price points, with a limited number of exceptions.

Great expectations

Consumers though, are now starting to expect a level of water resistance as standard on their mobile phones, partly due to the high-profile launches of devices such as the iPhone 7 or Samsung Galaxy S8. As a result, consumer awareness has increased and started to build momentum so the expectation in mid to lower end of the market is creating a shift in demand. Some level of protection will soon be expected on devices to suit all budgets.

As liquid ingress is one of the most common causes of damage to devices, there is a clear need for this technology in the industry. A study from IDC states that the total number of devices shipped featuring water resistance increased 76% year on year in the first nine months of 2016, compared to the previous year. Water resistance is increasingly sought as an essential feature rather than a ‘nice to have’ for the modern consumer, providing protection against the spills and thrills of everyday life.

Breaking down barriers

There are however, a number of barriers to implementing water resistance technology in mid and lower tier devices:

1) Time; this type of technology takes time to both develop and then get to market, and on average can increase the testing cycle length of a product by 1-2 months and even more if the original design tests fail

2) Cost; mechanical solutions to prevent water ingress such as the seals and gaskets you see on a lot of high end devices are expensive due to the engineering, hardware and design compromises required to implement them

3) Materials; those used to manufacture mid-to-low tier devices do not often suit mechanical solutions such as an ‘O-ring’, which demand high-strength and rigidity. High-end devices usually have strong metal frames whereas lower-tier ones are usually made of more plastic, which are weaker under strain

Manufacturers and consumers both have a shared goal. They want a quality product regardless of price point, that meets the needs of the consumer.

Nanocoating technology offers a non-mechanical solution to the problems faced by both manufacturers and consumers. It protects the whole device, regardless of the materials and manufacturing scenarios used; are increasingly fast to apply and can drive economies of scale in terms of being able to coat high volumes of handsets in a short space of time. This makes it a much more accessible technology to the lower end of the market.

Democratisation as a process

That of internet access on handsets. A decade ago, the market rapidly changed from having few handsets with this capability (beyond very low functionality WAP), such as high-end devices from the likes of Blackberry, to it being ubiquitously available on pretty much every smartphone.

In a similar vein, Motorola has been offering water resistance capabilities on the majority of its handsets since 2011, yet few manufacturers have followed suit. There has been a paradigm shift now though, and I expect to see more manufacturers rolling out water resistance across their range and a rapidly increasing market share of handset devices at multiple price points.

Future-gazing

With an increased reliance on mobile technology, consumers are always on and in touch with the connected world we live in. Now more than ever, it’s never been more important that smartphones are capable of standing up to the rigours of modern day life, and that means that they need to have a level of water resistance. This, coupled with the proliferation of IoT devices, means that water resistance is crucial across a whole spectrum of electronic communications devices.

We’re well on the road to the next generation of mobile networks arriving in the form of 5G, but connectivity at the centre, it is as much about the device as it is the network and one cannot reach its potential without the other. Nanocoating technologies provide innovative and inexpensive options to the mobile industry and can be applied across a range of price points, to bring water resistance to the masses.

Why Aren’t We Listening To The Evidence On Practical Science?

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

We’ve all seen the headlines on school science practicals – they’re too boring, or too predictable, or just not happening often enough.

But when new research comes along, with evidence of what good practical science looks like, it seems we’re not listening.

Part of the debate about practical science rests on the fact that we don’t even agree on the basics: what makes a good practical lesson? What are practical lessons supposed to achieve? How can schools improve the quality of their practical science?

In 2015, Ofqual removed practical exams from science GCSEs and A levels. Instead, practical skills and knowledge are tested through written exams. Students are supposed to do some practicals – but if they perform poorly, it doesn’t affect their grade.

The goal was to give teachers the freedom to do more interesting, open-ended experiments with their students – not just follow recipes at the lab bench. But many people disagreed with these changes, including the Education Secretary at the time, Nicky Morgan, who said it would harm the next generation of scientists, and the Wellcome Trust who said the reformed A levels won’t reflect students’ abilities. The professional bodies complained that many of the existing practical exams for A level had already been interesting, open-ended investigations, exactly the kind of experiments that the changes were supposed to favour – and they had just been scrapped.

There is a risk that teachers use their new freedom to cut the number of practicals they offer students. Most teachers believe that for A levels, the changes have been positive – but not all do.

So, what is new?

The Gatsby Foundation’s new report, Good Practical Science, draws together research from around the world on good quality practical science at school. The report authors visited teachers and education experts in 19 schools in Australia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore and the USA – all countries which perform very highly on the PISA rankings that compare countries’ education systems.

Sir John Holman, who led the report, and his colleagues identified ten benchmarks for good practical work. The benchmarks are pragmatic and workable. They include things like ‘teachers know the purpose of any practical activity’ and ‘each lab has enough equipment for students to work in small groups’. Yet, a sample of 10% of the UK’s schools found that none of them achieved more than seven out of ten of the benchmarks. A third of UK schools didn’t achieve a single benchmark.

You might think these benchmarks are just for science teachers – that groups of science teachers and technicians need to get together and work through the benchmarks, one by one. But most of the Good Practical Science report’s recommendations are aimed at people who aren’t teachers, including government, Ofqual, Ofsted, teaching unions, teacher trainers, science professional bodies, funders, and others.

To achieve the benchmarks, science departments need support from this wider group – and that means those of us who work to support schools need to consider how we contribute to these recommendations.

Teachers face tough decisions every day: shall I do a practical or a revision class? Shall we arrange a trip to a local science centre or university, or will that disrupt the teaching timetable too much? We can’t just keep adding more and more tasks to teachers’ already hefty workloads.

At the British Science Association, we are committed to helping schools achieve these benchmarks. Benchmark Eight is ‘investigative projects: students should have opportunities to do open-ended and extended investigative projects’. For over thirty years, the British Science Association and partner organisations have provided the CREST Awards scheme, which supports five to 19-year-olds to do their own open-ended, investigative projects in science, technology, engineering or maths. We recently launched a new digital platform that enables all teachers, right across the UK, to sign up for a free CREST account. This year sees our biggest-ever programme of grants for schools, to enable them to do engaging, investigative science activities with their students and local communities.

But CREST Awards alone won’t help schools achieve the ten benchmarks. We all need to work together to support our schools to achieve these benchmarks. UK schools score well on their labs, technicians and equipment compared to schools in other countries What we lack is a joint commitment to achieving these benchmarks. Thanks to the work done by John Holman and the Gatsby Foundation, we finally have the evidence we have been waiting for – and so it is down to us to grasp the opportunity to make the UK’s practical school science world-class.

Find out more about the CREST Awards here: http://www.crestawards.org/

Health24.com | 16 most embarrassing running questions… answered!

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

1. Does running affect your sex life?

Runners may have endurance on the road – but what about between the sheets? Do long workouts sap your energy for… another kind of workout? And how do elite runners manage to make babies while running more than 100 kays every week?

According to experts and runners, it turns out that running can improve performance, and not just at the races.

Many runners report that running increases their desire for a roll in the hay. “Being active is a potent aphrodisiac for both women and men,” says Tina Penhollow, an associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion at Florida Atlantic University.

What explains that connection? Confidence, for one thing.

In an annual survey of runners by Brooks, 41% of respondents said they feel frisky after a run, with 54% being turned on by the energy boost and 51% saying it makes them feel strong and confident.

“You tend to have a heightened libido when you’re proud of yourself,” reports obstetrician, gynaecologist and marathoner Julia Levitt.

Running boosts self-esteem, and research shows that people who exercise have a more positive body image and feel more desirable and confident in the bedroom. “They feel good in their bodies,” says Ian Kerner, a sex therapist. “They’re really able to translate that into sex, where they feel free and comfortable and uninhibited to a greater extent.”

Physical activity makes women more sensitive to touch, and men report better orgasms and greater levels of satisfaction.

And of course, being in shape means more stamina. “Certainly, exercise and training for exercise will benefit the exercise of sex,” says Kerner. – Teal Burrell

2. Is it okay to have sex the night before a big race?

“As runners, we’re a superstitious group. We don’t want to do anything different – even if it’s something we love,” says Levitt. “But physiologically, there’s no reason you can’t or shouldn’t have sex the night before a race.”

One cut-to-the-chase editorial in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, titled ‘Does Sex the Night Before Competition Decrease Performance?’, reviewed three studies on pre-race sex – and found no reason it would cause a decline in performance.

Granted, it’s a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am sort of thing; the editorial notes the average married couple only burns 105 to 210 kilojoules each during sex – the equivalent of walking up two flights of stairs.

That’s not going to put a big dent in your precious glycogen reserves. However, if you go for a marathon romp – letting it cut into your all-important sleep time – it can definitely drain your energy levels.

“Keep it short and sweet. Don’t participate in an endurance event before the endurance event,” Levitt says.

What’s more, making it a quickie could prevent any next-day soreness or irritation, she says. As can keeping it gentle: deep, rough sex can cause the cervix to bleed. If the lining of your uterus is thin, you may experience some irritation and bleeding. Levitt says that even long training runs can cause spotting in some women. Remember that water-based lubricants can prevent friction-caused irritations. – K. Aleisha Fetters

3. Why does my running kit smell so bad?

According to research published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, synthetic exercise gear smelled worse than cotton gear a day after both had been worn during a sweaty workout.

Belgian researchers got 26 people to do a hard, hour-long spin-bike workout. The shirts the exercisers wore were then incubated for 28 hours. Then the researchers analysed what bacteria were present on the shirts, and what the researchers called “a trained odour panel” assessed the shirts’ relative mephitis (“noxious or foul-smelling gas or vapour”– we had to look it up too).

“The polyester T-shirts smelled significantly less pleasant and more intense compared to the cotton T-shirts,” is how the researchers summarised the panel’s conclusions.

One of the researchers, Chris Callewaert of Ghent University, Belgium, said that one bacterium, micrococci, largely explained the difference.

“They are known for their enzymatic potential to transform long-chain fatty acids, hormones and amino acids into smaller, volatile compounds, which have a typical malodor,” Callewaert said in a press release accompanying the research’s publication.

The researchers found that during the 28 hours of incubation, micrococci were able to grow much better on the synthetic workout shirts than on the cotton.

Callewaert said that freshly secreted sweat has little odour. It’s only when micrococci and other bacteria get to work breaking down sweat’s long-chain fatty acids that the characteristic runner’s stink emerges.

In the unlikely scenario you don’t want to launder your apparel after just a single run, one way to reduce post-workout stink is to rinse sweat out before bacteria can convert perspiration into “pee-yoo!”. This study suggests that wearing cotton gear will reduce the chance of your house smelling like a changing room; merino wool is also known for resisting odour intrusion. – Scott Douglas

4. I need to poo midway through a run. Why?

The jostling motion of running sometimes irritates the intestines. And when blood flow that’s needed for digestion is diverted to the legs, stomach cramping can result. Gastroenterologist Dr David Bjorkman, dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine and a veteran of more than 60 marathons, recommends eating at least two hours before a run.

Caffeine can speed the movement of wastes through your system and artificial sweeteners (such as mannitol and sorbitol), which are often found in energy bars, can cause GI distress. Although it’s not wise to have a bran muffin before a race, Dr Bjorkman says you should incorporate more fibre in your diet (work up to 20g a day).

“Adding fibre can make you more regular,” he says. “You can get your system to operate like clockwork, so that you can reliably ‘go’ before a run.” If all else fails, he suggests taking an over-the-counter anti-diarrhoeal medication before a run.

5. Post-run, I have blood in my urine!

“When you run long, cells in the kidneys may leak and bleed,” says Dr Lewis Maharam, medical director of the New York Road Runners, Elite Racing and Team in Training. “The bladder can also suffer minor injury on a run.”

But there’s probably no need for concern; no serious damage is done. If you know you’re prone to this, Dr Maharam advises against scheduling doctor’s appointments until 48 hours after a long run. Blood in your urine could alarm an unsuspecting physician. If you notice that your urine is still off-colour 48 hours after a run, see your doctor to rule out other issues.

6. Sometimes I pee a little when I’m running…

Urinary incontinence can be a problem for women, especially those who have given birth. Once the muscles that support the pelvic floor become weakened, anything from a cough to a fartlek can cause a leak, says Dr Patty Kulpa, a sports gynaecologist who has run eight marathons.

“Kegel exercises help strengthen the pelvic-wall floor, and are an effective cure for most cases of incontinence,” she says. To find these muscles, stop your urine stream while you pee. Before you get out of bed in the morning, contract the muscles for 10 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times. Do the same thing throughout the day.

Another trick is to run with a tampon, which can sometimes prevent leakage and help maintain muscle tone.

7. Medically, is there any reason a woman shouldn’t “free-bleed” during a marathon?

Three out of three doctors we asked agree: nope, no health hazard here. After all, women both ran and had periods long before you could pick up a pack of tampons at the supermarket.

As for other runners around you, sure, you might expose them to a bit of blood, but it’s not like anyone makes it to kilometre 32 squeaky clean and perfectly hygienic.

“Many runners lose control of bowel and bladder during races and have to deal with bodily fluids,” says Dr Holly Benjamin, director of primary care sports medicine at the University of Chicago.

The biggest downside will probably sound familiar to any runner – female or otherwise. “If menstrual blood flow were to cause excess moistness in your shorts or running tights, it could increase the chances for chafing during the run,” says Elizabeth Stevenson-Gargiulo, an obstetrician/gynaecologist on the medical staff of Baylor University Medical Centre in Dallas (and a blogger at www.runningthroughpregnancy.com).

“As any marathoner knows, significant chafing could ruin a race.”

8. I’m literally drenched in sweat after a run

Hyperhidrosis, or profuse sweating, occurs when the body’s normal cooling operations malfunction, says Dr William Roberts, medical director of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. This isn’t just a concern for summertime runs. “If you’re running in cold weather, you’ll feel warmer if you stay dry,” Dr Roberts says.

Ask your doctor about prescription-strength antiperspirants containing aluminium chloride. Since heavy sweaters are prone to blistering, he advises putting antiperspirant on the feet. Some excessive sweaters seek out medication or surgery.

But beware: too little sweating during strenuous exercise could increase your risk of heat-related illness.

9. Why do my toenails go black during big training weeks?

There are several causes of black nails in runners and non-runners. The most common among runners is bruising or slight bleeding under the nail from repetitive trauma – the top of the shoe striking the nail with each step, or the toe sliding forward into the end of the shoe. This is common in runners training for marathons and in highly competitive runners training at high intensity and volume.

These nail injuries are generally not painful, though sometimes the nails do thicken. They will heal when the training volume and intensity decreases, and the repetitive trauma ceases. A shoe with adequate toe room will also help in some cases. (Note: drilling a hole into the nail to “drain” the blood will not help this problem, and may hurt!)

There are other causes of black toenails to consider. One is fungal infection, which can thicken the nail and which sometimes turns the nail dark, almost black. This can be treated with oral anti-fungal medications over a period of six months. The thickened nails can be painful, but generally don’t throb. – Karen Asp

10. Why does running make my breasts smaller?

Breasts are composed of fat and fibrous tissues, says Michelle Norris, senior researcher in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at Portsmouth University. “So if a person is training and eating well, and they’re reducing their overall body fat, it’s reasonable to think they could also decrease their breast size, because they’re decreasing the fat in their breasts. It’s more like decreasing overall body fat, rather than spot reduction.”

11. I have itchy athlete’s foot and I can’t get rid of it!

This fungal infection results in dry, scaly, red skin between the toes, which can itch or burn. Because the fungus thrives in warm, moist environments, summertime is a ripe time for athlete’s foot.

Wear light, moisture-wicking, synthetic (not cotton) socks, says Stephen Pribut, a sports podiatrist. After you run, change out of your soggy socks and shoes and slip into dry after-sport shoes before you go for coffee or run errands. Don’t stash your sweaty pair inside a dark gym bag or your car boot, where they can’t air out. You can also sprinkle anti-fungal powder on your feet before running.

Apply an anti-fungal cream for at least four weeks, even if symptoms appear to be gone in half that time, to make sure the infection is gone. Soothe the itch by soaking your feet for 10 minutes in equal portions lukewarm water and apple cider vinegar (which has anti-fungal properties). If the condition persists, see a dermatologist, who may prescribe an oral anti-fungal.

12. Should I pop my blisters?

“This is probably the number-one race-day injury,” says Paul Langer, a podiatrist and 26-time marathoner. These fluid-filled bubbles are caused by friction, excessive moisture (sweaty feet, wet weather), or shoes that are too small, too big or tied too tightly.

“Ignore blisters smaller than 5mm (the size of a pencil eraser), since they’re usually not painful,” says Gregory Papadeas, a dermatologist. But go ahead and pop the big ones, especially if they hurt. With a sterile needle, prick the side of the blister and drain it. Don’t remove the blister “roof” – cover it with an antibiotic ointment and moleskin or a bandage.

13. Will running make my breasts sag?

Researchers continue to study breast motion during sports, bra technology is improving all the time, and evidence is growing that running is one of the best things you can do to protect yourself from breast cancer.

Here’s what scientists know – and what runners should, too – about taking care of your pair.

1. The body is not naturally kind to the breasts. “Depending on the size, they can be very heavy,” says Dr Andrea Cheville, physical medicine and rehabilitation researcher and director of the Cancer Rehabilitation Programme at Mayo Clinic. “The body doesn’t support them very well. There’s not much to keep them stable and immobilised.” Just your skin and a few ligaments.

“You can run and your insides don’t jiggle around, because we have a strong, fibrous envelope. But that’s not true of the breasts. They have essentially no support. And yet they have pain receptors. And when the limited support elements are stretched, that hurts.”

2. They move more than you think. Michelle Norris, senior research associate in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, studies breast movement and tests breast support products in the lab.

To do so, she and her colleagues get women to run on a treadmill bare-breasted (bless those ladies) and then in low- or high-support bras. They use 3-D motion capture to look at the range of movement of the breasts.

“We have some very willing participants – and we owe them a lot,” Norris says.

In the lab, Norris and her colleagues have found that breasts move in a figure-eight pattern. Not just up and down – that vertical movement is what most runners think of – but also side to side, and backwards and forwards as well. “[The breast is] just a mass of tissue, not a muscle,” Norris says. “It’s not a rigid structure. It can move in all three dimensions when we run.” And it does.

3. A good bra is a must-have. With all that movement, female runners need support.

14. Why can’t I stop farting during my runs?

The causes of run-induced flatulence are multi-faceted, says Dr Niket Sonpal, assistant clinical professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City. The first cause is all that heavy breathing. “This excess air gets trapped in the digestive tract, only to be released through the anus,” he says.

The second issue is that your sweat sessions tend to speed up digestion. “Aerobic exercises help move food through the digestive process faster, promoting the release of gases caught in the digestive tract,” Dr Sonpal says. And unfortunately, anaerobic exercise – aka strength training – isn’t really any better. “Whenever you do a workout squeezing those core muscles, it makes you squeeze your colon too, literally pushing the air out,” he adds.

While you can’t totally eliminate your risk of ripping one while out with your running partners, there are a few things you can do to make it less likely. “Stay away from gas-producing foods before a run, such as wheat, corn and potatoes, and vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, lentils and cauliflower,” says Dr Sonpal.

On that same note, avoid carbonated water. During your run, focus on your breathing, and try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. “That way you swallow less air, and in turn have less wind for the trumpet to play,” Dr Sonpal says.

At the end of the day, remember that farting is simply a fact of life – no track, treadmill or yoga class is immune.

“Trying to hold it in and can lead to distension, bloating and cramps,” says Dr Sonpal. “In the words of Shrek… better out than in!” – Macaela Mackenzie, for Women’s Health.

15. My testicles hurt after a long run!

Roughly one out of every seven men experiences some testicle pain caused by a varicocele – a kind of enlarged, malfunctioning vein inside your scrotum, says Dr Tobias Köhler, a urologist and chief of male infertility at Southern Illinois University in the US. Varicoceles are genetic, and if you have one, the muscle clenching involved in running can cause blood flow to back up and enlarge the varicocele, which leads to extra pain.

Some guys also experience pain that defies explanation. “I have men come in worried about cancer, but a lot of the time their pain just doesn’t have an identifiable cause,” Dr Köhler says. But even in those unexplained cases, running can heighten your agony, he adds.

Wearing compression shorts, or normal running shorts with a liner, can help by keeping your “boys” secure from jostling, he adds.

16. I chafe pretty much everywhere: my butt cheeks, under my arms, inner thighs… How do I reduce the pain?

Skin-to-skin and skin-to-clothing rubbing can cause a red, raw rash that can bleed, sting and make you yelp during your post-run shower. Moisture and salt on the body make it worse. Underarms, inner thighs, along the bra line (women) and nipples (men) are vulnerable spots.

Wear moisture-wicking, seamless, tagless gear. Fit is important – baggy shirts have excess material that can cause irritation; a too-snug sports bra can dig into skin. Apply Vaseline, sports lube, Band-Aids or NipGuards before you run. And moisturise after you shower. “Drier skin tends to chafe more,” Papadeas says.

Wash the area with soap and water, apply an anti-bacterial ointment and cover with a bandage. If you’re wearing sports lube and quality clothing and are still experiencing redness, visit a dermatologist.

^{This article was originally published on www.runnersworld.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

NEXT ON HEALTH24X

Father loses IVF damages claim

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

The man sued a London IVF clinic after his ex-partner forged his signature to use frozen embryos.

Health24.com | 13 types of cancer linked to this lifestyle disease

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

There’s a link between obesity and 40% of all the cancers diagnosed in the United States, according to health officials.

That doesn’t mean too much weight is causing all these cancer cases, just that there’s some kind of still-to-be explained association, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Awareness not yet widespread

Still, the study findings suggest that being obese or overweight was associated with cancer cases involving more than 630 000 Americans in 2014, and this includes 13 types of cancer.

“That obesity and overweight are affecting cancers may be surprising to many Americans. The awareness of some cancers being associated with obesity and overweight is not yet widespread,” Dr Anne Schuchat, CDC deputy director, said during a midday media briefing.

The 13 cancers include: brain cancer; multiple myeloma; cancer of the aesophagus; postmenopausal breast cancer; cancers of the thyroid, gallbladder, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, ovaries, uterus and colon, the researchers said.

Speaking at the news conference, Dr Lisa Richardson, director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, said early evidence indicates that losing weight can lower the risk for some cancers.

Increase in overweight-related cancers

According to the new report from the CDC and the US National Cancer Institute, these 13 obesity-related cancers made up about 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2014.

Although the rate of new cancer cases has decreased since the 1990s, increases in overweight and obesity-related cancers are likely slowing this progress, the researchers said.

In South Africa:

One in four people is affected by cancer, through diagnosis of family, friends or self.
90% of cancers are caused by lifestyle and environmental factors, such as smoking, diet and exercise.
More than 100 000 South Africans are diagnosed with cancer each year.
South African cancer survival rate is 6/10.

Of the 630 000 Americans diagnosed with a cancer associated with overweight or obesity in 2014, about two out of three occurred in adults aged 50 to 74, the researchers found.

Excluding colon cancer, the rate of obesity-related cancer increased by 7% between 2005 and 2014. During the same time, rates of non-obesity-related cancers dropped, the findings showed.

In 2013–2014, about two out of three American adults were overweight or obese, according to the report.

For the study, researchers analysed 2014 cancer data from the United States Cancer Statistics report and data from 2005 to 2014.

Key findings include:

Of all cancers, 55% in women and 24% in men were associated with overweight and obesity.
Blacks and whites had higher rates of weight-related cancer than other racial or ethnic groups.
Black men and American Indian/Alaska Native men had higher rates of cancer than white men.
Cancers linked to obesity increased 7% between 2005 and 2014, but colon cancer decreased 23%. Screening for colon cancer is most likely the reason for that cancer’s continued decline, Schuchat said.
Cancers not linked to obesity dropped 13%.
Except for colon cancer, cancers tied to overweight and obesity increased among those younger than 75.

The new report was published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Other known risk factors

Dr Farhad Islami is strategic director of cancer surveillance research for the American Cancer Society.

He said it’s “important to note that only a fraction of the cancers included in the calculation in this report are actually caused by excess body weight.”

According to Islami, “many are attributable to other known risk factors, like smoking, while for many others, the cause is unknown. Obesity is more strongly associated with some cancers than others.”

The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that “20% of all cancers in the United States are caused by a combination of excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol, and poor nutrition. The American Cancer Society is currently doing its own extensive calculation of the numbers and proportions of cancer cases attributable to excess body weight, the results of which will be published soon,” he said.

^{Image credit: iStock}

Health24.com | Why cycling is the best way to lose weight

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

Having worked as a certified fitness trainer for 21 years, I’ve long since come to the conclusion that if you’re looking for the best exercise to shed a few pounds – and keep them off – nothing beats cycling.

Over the years, I’ve seen clients shed half their size and heard from readers who have lost more than 45kg by adding cycling to their weight-loss arsenal, which, yes, must include a healthy diet. (But you already knew that.)

So what makes cycling so special? In short, it makes you happy, says Jimmy Weber, of Enid, Oklahoma, who at 6’2” and 118kg is not a small rider, but is now 68kg lighter than his max weight of 186kg seven years ago.

He initially shed weight through bariatric surgery and walking – a lot of walking. But walking his usual seven miles a day got boring and running was out of the question – “I’m too big and the impact would damage me more than benefit me,” he says.

Although he has a membership to the Y, he says he has a hard time making himself go. The bike, however, is another story entirely.

Weber bought his first bike in more than 20 years in 2011 and has clocked more than 32 000km in the five years that followed, including numerous club and charity rides along the way.

“Bike riding is diverse when it comes to weight management,” he says. “You can go hard and fast and burn a lot of carbs, or slow and steady to burn a lot of fat. Plus I would not be as happy if I had to maintain my weight with diet alone.”

Weber speaks the truth. In case you need more convincing, here’s more great reasons why cycling rules for weight loss.

1. Because it’s not all about “exercise”.

The research is pretty conclusive: Most people who exercise only because they know they should, don’t – at least not for very long. Up to 80% of people who start exercising throw in the towel within a year. The novelty quickly wears off and they become bored and find things that are more fun to do.

But riding a bike makes you feel like a kid. You can go places and explore, pedal through pretty scenery and feel the fresh air wash over you. You’re not looking at the clock willing your obligatory 30 minutes to go by. You’re enjoying the ride. Oh, and getting some exercise.

2. It’s easy to HIIT it hard, no matter your size.

Exercise science shows that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is a fast way to boost your fitness, rev your metabolism and stimulate human growth hormone, all of which help you ultimately fry more fat. There’s no better place to push those max intervals than on a bike because there’s zero impact, just effort.

Just find a quiet stretch of road or path, especially if it’s on a bit of an incline and go. Push as hard as you can for 10 to 20 seconds, go easy for double that time (so 20 to 40) and repeat eight times. Rest for 4 or 5 minutes and do it again.

3. It’s gentle on the joints.

Cycling is so gentle on your joints it is often recommended as the exercise of choice for people with arthritis and other joint ailments. You need to be sure you have a proper bike fit, of course. But with the right fit and a good warm-up, you can push the pace without stressing your hips and knees.

4. You’ll find friends to get fit with.

Research shows that social support especially having a workout buddy or two – dramatically increases the likelihood that you’ll stick with your routine, and consistency is key to improving your fitness and shedding unwanted weight.

Cycling is such a social sport that, like herds of buffalo and flocks of geese, there’s even a special name for a group of us: a peloton. It doesn’t take more than a quick search to find local cycling clubs where you can meet riders of your same fitness and ability to pedal with.

5. Even indoors can be really fun.

Most outdoor activities are pretty dreadful when you bring them inside (see: running on a treadmill). But indoor cycling apps like Zwift, Sufferfest and TrainerRoad, as well as studio cycling classes actually make stationary cycling fun and entertaining. That means you’re less likely to fall out of routine when the weather turns bad.

6. You can do it all day.

What else can you do for 160km? Burning fat was never so much fun as spinning along and chitchatting with your riding buddies for a few hours. Just be smart and limit your snacking to about 200 calories an hour and you’ll create a pound-shedding calorie deficit in no time.

7. It can fit seamlessly into your life.

The beauty of bikes is that you can get exercise while you’re doing other things rather than having to reserve a chunk of your day to use them for “working out”. By riding your bike to the store, bike commuting to work and riding instead of driving for other errands, you can slip in hours of activity every week doing the things you’d normally do anyway– and helping achieve a healthy weight while you’re at it.

^{This article was originally published on www.bicycling.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Selene Yeager

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Health24.com | How tanning became fashionable

Posted on 06/10/2017 by Boris Clair

The sun is risky business for our skins. Not only can harmful UV rays significantly age the skin, but can also make us more predisposed to skin cancer.

In a society obsessed with preserving youth and good health, why do many of us still associate a “sunkissed” skin with health?

The answer lies in our history.

In the pre-industrial age, freckles and sun damage were associated with peasants – people who did manual labour in the sun. The wealthy went to great lengths to keep a pale, milky skin by staying indoors and protecting themselves with hats, bonnets, umbrellas and protective clothing when they ventured outside.

When did the tide turn?

With the advent of industrialisation, people started working in mines and moved to smoggy cities where they slaved in factories and seldom saw the sun. In these living conditions, many children developed rickets and bone deformities. Fortunately, in 1890, Theobold Palm discovered that exposure to sunlight is vital for bone development.

In 1855, Arnold Rikli, a Swiss physician, also dubbed “the sun doctor”, started making use of light therapy in to treat consumption. It was also believed that sunlight could successfully treat mental disorders.

John Harvey Kellog also dabbled in light therapy, even inventing a so-called light bath. This device was installed in Buckingham Palace to help treat Kind Edward VII’s gout.

Then Niels Finsen started using phototherapy to treat skin ulcers, ultimately winning the Nobel prize for medicine in 1903.

While the medical aspects of sunlight were well recognised at this stage, it still wasn’t fashionable to sport a sunkissed glow.

A fashion thing

While light therapy definitely played a role, it wasn’t the only thing that sparked the fascination with a darker skin. It was only in the 1920s that tanning was made trendy by the fashion pioneer Coco Chanel.

Rumour has it that photographs of her surfaced after she had sunbathed too much on a cruise. Chanel, who was known for her pioneering work in the fashion industry, immediately started a trend: Women unleashed the shackles of the Victorian era and took on a new minimalist style – combined with a “healthy glow”.

coco chanel

^{Iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel, who made tanning trendy}

When colour movies and television became prevalent, actresses wanted a tanned skin to look better on the big screen.

As tanning became popular, so did sunburn, however, which opened up the market for products such as tanning oils.

By the 1960s, tanning was just as much as status symbol as pale skin used to be. A tanned skin suggested summer holidays on tropical islands, an outdoor lifestyle, fitness and overall robust health.

And if you couldn’t afford a life of leisure, what did you do? Tan in your back yard, or get a fake-tan, of course. Tanning beds and indoor tanning took off all over the world.

People already made use of sunlamps in the 1930s, while the first commercial tanning beds made their appearance in the USA by 1978. The first self-tanner, Man-Tan, made its appearance in 1958, and by the 1990s, tanning beds and self-tanning products were widely available.

In our era

While tanning was still very trendy in the early 2000s, greater awareness of the dangers of tanning and the risk of skin cancer started developing. Currently, a tanned skin is no longer all the rage and most people are aware of the dangers of excessive sun exposure.

The following will help you protect your skin:

Embrace your natural complexion.
Drink enough water and eat a healthy diet. Include plenty of antioxidants to help fight free radicals.
Always wear and often reapply SPF50 when you are outside.
The built-in SPF in your moisturiser or makeup may not offer enough protection. Use a separate sunscreen.
Wear a hat and polarised sunglasses when you are outside.
Invest in a simple, yet good skincare routine.

Visit canca.org.za for more information on skin cancer and how to be sunsmart.

Marelize Wilke

WellnessMaster

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