White-collar workers increasingly unhealthy

    An increasing number of white-collar workers in Shanghai are getting failing grades on their physical examinations, according to a white paper on the health of white-collar workers in Shanghai.

    Carried out by Shanghai Foreign Service Group,a human resources company,the report indicated that more than 53 percent of males are overweight,46 percent suffer from a fatty live and about 26 percent have elevated blood lipids（血脂）.However,females are more often diagnosed as having breast lesions（乳房病变）that could lead to cancer (85 percent),thyroid（甲状腺）disorder (34 percent) and hemorrhoids（痔疮）(23 percent).

    Though the report also found that white-collar workers were paying increasing attention to their health—with about 84 percent saying they followed their condition closely or very closely—those with healthy lifestyles dropped to 64 percent last year from 77 percent in 2015.

    The report came from about 500,000 physical exams taken by while-collar workers in Shanghai over the past five years.“I always eat and drink too much and never exercise,”said Wei Ruoxi,a 26-year-old working in finance who is struggling with being overweight.“I know what a healthy lifestyle looks like,but the job just brings too much pressure and squeezes out exercise time,”she added.Hu Xiaolong,30,an accountant in Shanghai,said he was determined to live healthily from now on.“My recent physical examination shows a little shadow in the lung,which startled me when I heard it.I really need to quit these habits like smoking and staying up late.”

    The white paper also showed that more people are turning to commercial health insurance to cope with financial risks caused by health problems.The popularity of insurance purchases among the participants reached 15.3 percent last year,a rise of 4 percentage points in just one year.Most participants also expected their companies to help them with effective health management,such as offering membership cards for gyms,flexible working schedules and regular physical examinations.

    I know what you're thinking: pizza? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night's leftovers in the a. m. if you want to.

    I know lots of women who skip breakfast, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don't have time, others think they're “saving” calories, still others just don't like breakfast food.

    But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you're trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking, R., D., who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it's loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.

    Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.

So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast at all, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night's leftovers—it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.

    One of India's top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its boarding houses, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students' performance, making them lonely and even suicidal.

    Authorities at the best Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai said students had stopped socializing and many were late for morning classes or slept through them. "Now, a student doesn't even know who lives two doors away from him because he is so busy on the Internet," said Prakash Gopalan, dean of Student Affairs. "The old dormitory culture of companionship and socializing among students is gone. This is not healthy in our opinion."

    IIT-Mumbai, with about 5,000 students, is one of the seven IITs across India which are considered to be among the finest engineering schools in the world. They are also a talent pool for global technology giants. But their hard courses, tough competition and lonely campus lifestyle have taken an effect on students. Depressive and dysfunctional lifestyles are known to be common among IIT students, and at least nine have committed suicide in the past five years. Students have unlimited free Internet access in their boarding houses to help them in their studies, but many also use it to surf, chat, download movies and music, blog and for gaming.

    "Starting Monday, Internet access will be banned between 11 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. at IIT-Mumbai's 13 boarding buildings to encourage students to sleep early and to try and force them out of their shells." Gopalan said. But the move has not gone down well with students who say they hate their lives being regulated. "Now they will say we need to listen to a lullaby (摇篮曲) to go to sleep." said Rajiv, an electronics student.

    One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like "I was wrong about that," and it is even harder to say, "I was wrong, and you were right about that."

    I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain store in the neighborhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons (in many countries, eggs are sold by the dozen and are put in cartons.) Then he related an incident (event, matter) and I began to remember unclearly the incident he was describing.

    I was about eight years old at the time. I went into the store with my mother to do some shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the food department where the incident took place.

    There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there were lots of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons were put three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of the piles of egg cartons. Just then a woman came by pushing her shopping cart and knocked off the cartons. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the eggs back together, so I went to work.

    The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees looking at some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I was the one who just did it. He severely reprimanded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs. I tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, it is plain that the manager did not.

    Florence, Italy

    Who should go: art lovers, Renaissance historians and leather handbag shoppers with high credit limits.

    When to go: spring or fall. Travelers usually avoid summer in Florence.

    Paris, France

    Who should go: starving artists, Henry Miller fans, traditional food lovers.

    When to go: spring is the best time. That's what they all say, anyway. Autumn isn't bad, either, but I'd rather be rooting around the south of France in search of truffles (松露) in autumn. Summer in Paris isn't bad, really.

    Amsterdam, Holland

    Who should go: lovers of Dutch Master (artists I mean, like Rembrandt, not cigars), bicyclists—it's a bike city in a flat land.

    When to go: it can rain at any time in Amsterdam, but that's not a reason for not visiting this fascinating city. Off season tourists will be rewarded with good enough weather to stick around. Summer is good for sun lovers.

    Madrid, Spain

    Who should go: night owls—Madrid never sleeps, art lovers—the Prado is second only to the Louvre in presenting serious art, party-goers.

    When to go: spring, when days are warm and the nights are pleasantly cool. Demand for outside eating and drinking starts becoming stronger in March or April. Street life peaks in June and then slows in July and August as the temperature peaks. Autumn is also good, although you'll risk some rains.

    Venice, Italy

    Who should go: romantic dreamers who like walking through automobile-free streets, your mother (she'll want you to take her there, trust me), almost anyone who wants to see something really different and romantic.

    When to go: February is the time when the famous Venice Carnival is held and the weather is usually cold and foggy—perfect weather for Venice. Summer? A large number of tourists in shorts and whiny children ruin the atmosphere. You'll greatly enjoy yourself there in spring and early fall.

    LEGO(乐高) recently announced that they will start producing pieces from sustainable (可持续的) sugar cane. The toys, which will be closely similar to classic ones, will also feature "botanical elements" like leaves, bushes, and trees.

    The pieces will be included in LEGO'S box sets from this year onwards. The move is part of the Danish company's campaign to use sustainable materials in its products by 2030.

    However, Tim Brooks, the firm's vice-president, said, "We want to make a positive influence on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials. This is a great first step in our goal to make all LEGO pieces using sustainable materials."

    The new line of production has reportedly already started with pieces being produced from polyethylene, which is a soft and durable plastic (耐用的塑料). LEGO says that we needn't worry about the quality of the new products, as they've tested the plant-based plastic to ensure that it meets the high standards for quality and safety that consumers (消费者) expect from the company.

    "LEGO products have always been about providing high quality play experiences and giving every child the chance to shape their own world through inventive play. Children and parents will not notice any difference in the quality or appearance of the new pieces, because plant-based polyethylene has the same qualities as traditional polyethylene," said Tim Brooks.

    "It is important that companies in each industry find ways to help ensure a future where people, nature, and the economy grow healthily," said Alix Grabowski, an officer at WWF. "The LEGO Group's decision to use sustainable plastics represents a great opportunity to reduce dependence on finite (有限的) resources, and their work with the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance will allow them to connect with other companies to continue to think creatively about sustainability."