A funny thing happened on Dr. Mike&rsquo;s way home from watching a last-second playoff victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Chicago Bulls; he thought about eating a Cinnabon (didn&rsquo;t, wouldn&rsquo;t ever, but&hellip;). True Cleveland fans know that rooting for the Cavs usually elicits a heightened stress response.

Then, two days later, he noticed how exhausted he was from the stress of watching the game and yet how much he was looking forward to the next one. That made him realize how important it is to stay healthy (he exercises three days a week, walks 10K a day and eats well) if he were to keep going to these stressful games! And that made him wonder if we could come up with a similarly immersive experience that creates enthusiastic participants for Team Wellness&mdash;participants who would come back season after season for more physical activity and good nutrition, participants who would then be able to manage the stress that emotional attachments cause without resorting to the consolation of a sugary, fatty treat.&nbsp;

So we&rsquo;re asking you to join Team Wellness. You only need to play by five rules.

<ol>
	<li>Ditch: all trans and most sat fat, any added sugar or syrup and any grain that isn&rsquo;t 100% whole.</li>
	<li>Walk 10,000 steps a day.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-sleeping" target="_blank">Sleep</a> 7-8 hours nightly and meditate daily.</li>
	<li>Avoid toxins like tobacco and BPAs (wash your hands after touching receipts).</li>
	<li>Share laughter and love with friends and intimate partners.</li>
	<li>The rewards? A healthier, happier and longer life. That&rsquo;s the ticket!</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in March 2019.

Are You A Fan of Team Wellness?

Q: My eight-year-old daughter and I got our flu shots and then got sick anyway. I think next year we&rsquo;ll skip it. What&rsquo;s the use? 
&mdash; Carolina B., New York, NY

A: It&rsquo;s not fair to blame the flu vaccine. There are several viruses out there that are not influenza: respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV), rhinovirus, croup and the common cold. You may have had one of those common infections and your flu vaccine may be protecting you and your daughter even now. Plus, it has many remarkable benefits&mdash;including, but not limited to, preventing the flu or lessening its impact.

For example, a recent Danish study found that kids who experience a bad enough infection to require hospitalization are at an 83 percent higher risk of developing a mental disorder and a 42 percent higher risk of using psychotropic medications. The flu qualifies as one of those potentially hospital-serious infections. You want to help your child dodge those risks for sure! And we wonder&hellip; could that be related to another study from the UK that identified a rise in anxiety among British children, where many kids don&rsquo;t receive flu vaccines?

Adults are also at risk if they skip the shot&mdash;and a survey shows over half of all adults are not currently vaccinated against the flu, and four in ten don&rsquo;t intend to get vaccinated. That&rsquo;s a shame. A 2013 study of randomized clinical trials published in JAMA showed that &ldquo;influenza vaccine was associated with a lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events&hellip; The greatest treatment effect was seen among the highest-risk patients with more active coronary disease.&rdquo;

So, young and old, remember the saying: &ldquo;For want of a horseshoe nail, the kingdom was lost.&rdquo; It means if you ignore first steps, one thing leads to another, until the end result is not what you want. The same thing can be said about skipping your flu shot. It&rsquo;s not too late to get yours.

Q: My dad has a rifle, a shotgun and a few pistols. He&rsquo;s 82 and was a competitive marksman back in the day. But I just heard about a healthcare worker who was shot by an 80-year-old in her care. She&rsquo;d been with him five days a week for several months. Should I ask him if I can have his guns?&nbsp; 
&mdash; Jack K., Seattle, WA

A: As our population grows older, the problem that comes along with the combination of dementia and guns needs attention. Forty-five percent of people 65 and older have guns in their household, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, while nine percent of Americans 65 and older are diagnosed with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/dementia/article/what-need-know-about-dementia">dementia</a>&mdash;and many others suffer from reduced cognition and mobility issues. The combination has become such a problem that a non-profit Alzheimer&rsquo;s volunteer group in San Diego has decided not to send volunteers into homes with weapons after discovering that 25 to 30 percent of the households their &ldquo;helpers&rdquo; visited had guns.

Security is one of biggest reasons why people own guns. But when older people start to experience cognition and other physical challenges, imagined threats can seem all too real. Remember the episode on The Sopranos in which Junior (Dominic Chianese) walks into the kitchen and shoots his nephew Tony (James Gandolfini) while he&rsquo;s making pasta, thinking he&rsquo;s an intruder?

An article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine voiced doctors&rsquo; concerns about the risk of suicide by gun owners with dementia. According to the CDC, the suicide rate in the US is highest among those 65 and older, and firearms are the most common method.

AARP suggests families draw up an advance directive (sort of a healthcare proxy) for a firearm retirement date. Another suggestion is to put any ammunition under (your) lock and key. So, now that you&rsquo;re armed with this information, sit down with your dad and have a frank discussion about his guns.

Ask Oz and Roizen: Why You Need a Flu Shot and the Dangers of Gun Ownership With Dementia

Ready for an intensive, all-encompassing process to change your life?&nbsp;

Yeah, me neither. Kind of tough to fit in, between prepping the presentation for your boss, last-minute runs to Costco and making goodies for the bake sale you somehow signed up to chair. Besides, can I remind you that you&rsquo;re already pretty awesome? Don&rsquo;t go&nbsp;changin&rsquo; that much.&nbsp;

But, we all have improvements that we&rsquo;d like to make&ndash;-and what if I said that you could still get the impact, in barely more time than it takes to shimmy into your Spanx? Research shows that even 10 minutes a day can have a surprisingly significant effect.&nbsp;

Let&rsquo;s face it&mdash;none of us have time to waste&mdash;so here are a few of my favorite powerhouse activities.&nbsp;

Move it. If you only have 10 minutes, exercise is one of the best activities for you physically, mentally and emotionally.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/benefits-regular-exercise/article/how-two-minutes-of-walking-can-save-your-life">Walk</a>. Run. Dance. Stomp. In one study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders participants who were asked to exercise in 10-minute spurts two to four times a day, five days a week, stuck to the program and exercised more than those who were asked to exercise in single 20- to&nbsp;40-minute chunks over the same time period. I&rsquo;d love you to get&nbsp;20 to 30 minutes total, but if you&rsquo;ll start with a 10-minute workout, you&rsquo;ll notice a difference.  &nbsp;

10 minutes of meditation or mindfulness. Studies show that regular&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/article/starting-a-meditation-practice">meditation or mindfulness exercises</a> cannot only improve heart health,&nbsp;they&nbsp;cut down on mind wandering (such as obsessing over that catty remark from a coworker or how you could have handled a challenge better), and lowers levels of depression and anxiety. One study published in Psychological Science found the effect of improved focus in as little as two weeks of mindfulness practice.&nbsp;

Play. Adults don&rsquo;t get recess anymore. (We don&rsquo;t get naptime either, which is something I&rsquo;d like to address with management at a later point.) Whether with your children, your dog or your best friends, let out your inner child. Host game night. Take a friend to one of those indoor trampoline gyms. When you&rsquo;re at brunch, put the orange peel across your teeth and smile at a stranger. Let out your inner 12-year-old.&nbsp;

Prepare meals with the freshest, brightest fruits and veggies. You get home, you&rsquo;re exhausted, and you reach for whatever leftovers are in the fridge, right? Take 10 extra minutes to saut&eacute; that fresh asparagus or chop up the papaya and squeeze on a little lime. Taking a few minutes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-foods-cooking/slideshow/autumn-inspired-upgrade-morning-oatmeal">spruce up your meal</a>&nbsp;not only makes it healthier with fewer calories and higher antioxidants, it will make your veggie a little more appealing at the same time.&nbsp;

Two times a day, stop interacting and start connecting. You take your groceries from the clerk. You swipe your ID card for the security guard at work. Those are transactions. But what if you took two minutes to say hello, ask how they&rsquo;re doing and learn about them? In Talk to Strangers, author David&nbsp;Topus&nbsp;writes that replacing an &ldquo;efficient&rdquo; transaction with a true connection will not only improve your mindset and day, but the other person&rsquo;s as well.   
A successful journey needn&#39;t start with huge sweeping changes. It&rsquo;s the small, daily decisions that accumulate and forge our lives.

How 10 Minutes Can Change Your Life

We know that carrying some extra weight can increase the risks of conditions like heart disease, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and even death. But is being slightly overweight really so unhealthy? The answer might surprise you.

Excess weight and a laundry list of health concerns are not always synonymous. But, don&rsquo;t be so quick to ward off a healthy diet and exercise&mdash;this subgroup of overweight people, dubbed the metabolically healthy obese, fit some very specific criteria.

Defining the risks 
Body mass index: An individual&rsquo;s risks for these conditions don&rsquo;t depend solely on the numbers that appear on the scale, nor on any other single measure, like body mass index.&nbsp;

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure used to determine body fat based on a person&rsquo;s height and weight, and is typically used to assess the risks your weight has on your health, but even that is an imperfect measure.

&ldquo;I use risk to define everything,&rdquo; Neil McDevitt, MD, a bariatric surgeon with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/summerville-medical-center">Summerville Medical Center</a> says. &ldquo;There&#39;s a lot of social issues that go into what people feel comfortable with, so we use a BMI chart to give us an overall gestalt of what your general risk is, based on your weight,&rdquo; he adds.

By definition, overweight and obese people have a BMI greater than 25 or 30, respectively, but, &ldquo;there&#39;s a weakness inherent in BMI charts,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;It doesn&#39;t take into consideration muscle mass.&rdquo;

That&rsquo;s not all. The healthiest BMI for longevity might not fall within the normal range (18.5 to 25), although the jury is still out on the optimal BMI for lowest mortality. In fact, one study suggests the &ldquo;sweet spot&rdquo; for longevity is a BMI of 27, which you&rsquo;ll find right in the middle of the overweight range. Other studies, still, suggest the lowest rates of mortality are among those with a BMI between 20 and 24. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Waist-to-hip ratio: Concerns over weight may not be directly related to how much fat a person is carrying, but where on the body they&rsquo;re carrying it. One major risk factor of metabolic syndrome is a large midsection, often described as <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/live-to-one-hundred/article/what-your-body-shape-says-about-longevity">an &ldquo;apple-shaped&rdquo; figure</a>.

In fact, a new study suggests those with a normal BMI who tend to carry weight around their middle have an elevated risk of death from any cause compared to people who are overweight or obese, and carry weight elsewhere.

&ldquo;We look at something called the waist-to-h ratio,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;The World Health Organization says that abdominal obesity is significantly more of a risk factor than obesity of the periphery of the body.&rdquo;

The measure used to determine fat distribution is known as waist-to-hip ratio&mdash;a comparison between the smallest part of the waist and largest part of the hip. A ratio of one or greater for men and .8 or greater for women, is considered an apple shape, and thus carries a greater potential for obesity-related health risks and death. &nbsp;&nbsp;

In combination with BMI, waist circumference gives a good picture a person&rsquo;s risk of obesity-related mortality&mdash;even if you fall within a healthy BMI range.

Other factors: Exercise tolerance and genetics play a role in determining the risks of your weight on your health, as well. &ldquo;There&#39;s a huge difference between somebody who has a higher BMI, who is only able to walk one thousand steps a day, versus somebody who is capable of walking nine or ten thousand steps a day,&rdquo; McDevitt says.

Good genes can very well bless an overweight individual with normal cholesterol and blood pressure levels, thereby relieving some pressure to shed the pounds.

Extra pounds may be OK 
&ldquo;What I look at is sustainability&mdash;if somebody has a BMI of 27 or 28, but they&rsquo;re healthy, making good food choices, exercising and they&rsquo;re able to maintain that BMI, then I don&rsquo;t really foresee an issue,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;Why should we push them any harder, unless they want to be a lighter weight?&rdquo;

The bottom line? A BMI that is indicative of being overweight or obese doesn&rsquo;t innately make in individual unhealthy. &ldquo;So, it is very possible, and very acceptable, to be overweight and still be healthy,&rdquo; McDevitt says.

Before you run to the pantry, keep in mind, metabolically healthy obesity isn&rsquo;t common&mdash;about one in every seven people&mdash;and it might not last forever. Age, lack of exercise and other factors can turn that excess weight into a dangerous health concern.

One study with a 10-year follow up period found that men who started out metabolically healthy and obese were three times more likely to develop heart disease than metabolically healthy men of a normal weight. The risk doubled&nbsp;for metabolically healthy obese women when compared to healthy, normal-weight women.

Results from another study of more than 3.5 million men and women suggest a similar outcome. Obese individuals who began the study free of obesity-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol were at a higher risk of developing heart disease, stroke and heart failure than normal weight people without these initial complications.

When compared with healthy normal weight people, obese, but otherwise healthy individuals, were 49 percent more likely to develop heart disease, at a 7 percent higher risk of stroke and at a 96 percent increased risk of heart failure, after an average of 5 years and 4 months.

Although extra baggage is OK for some, excess weight is a problem for many&mdash;two out of three Americans are considered <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/obesity-overweight-condition/article/whats-the-latest-obesity">overweight or obese</a>, and many of them are unhealthy.

What if your weight is an issue? 
There are certainly some people whose bodies aren&rsquo;t built to handle excess weight. In these cases, they may develop metabolic syndrome&mdash;a group of risk factors that up your chance of developing issues like heart disease and diabetes.

Excess weight can also take a toll on your knee and hip joints, your ability to sleep and has been linked to respiratory issues and even some cancers. Don&rsquo;t sweat (or do)&mdash;many of these conditions can be managed with weight loss. In the simplest terms, losing weight is a matter of burning more calories than you consume. &nbsp; &nbsp;

The only sure fire way to assess these risks is to visit your doctor. Work with your healthcare provider to create a diet and exercise regimen that works with your lifestyle. &ldquo;Adjust your lifestyle, so that you don&#39;t have to work harder,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;If you make better food choices consistently, you don&#39;t necessarily have to make up for it at the gym.&rdquo;

Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

Q: My grandmother recently suffered a &ldquo;minor&rdquo; heart attack followed with a stent placement. She&rsquo;s scared about a recommended cardio rehab program. What can I say to get her to go? &mdash;Laura G., NY, NY

A: Recovering from a <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/circulatory-system-health/article/heart-attack-cardiac-arrest-heart-failure">heart attack</a> can be challenging, not just physically but emotionally. Cardio rehab helps with both aspects. Unfortunately, only about two-thirds of diagnosis-appropriate patients are referred to cardio rehab and only about a quarter of those folks enroll in a rehab program. Even at the Cleveland Clinic where everyone with an appropriate diagnosis is approached separately by a doc and a nurse, only about 22 percent of patients join rehab. This is despite the fact that the program is almost totally covered by every insurance company, Medicare and Medicaid. Clearly, patients need to better understand the enormous benefits.

Explain to your mom that cardio rehab is a wide-ranging wellness program that promotes good health and a good mental attitude by offering everything from exercise to nutritional advice, emotional counseling and stress reduction. It&rsquo;s individualized and can include help with other lifestyle changes (<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking/slideshow/how-quit-smoking-once-all">smoking cessation</a>?) she wants to make. Here&rsquo;s what she can expect.

Evaluation: Her program will start with a face-to-face evaluation with the professionals at her rehab center. An accompanying friend or family member would be welcome here. After that, she&rsquo;ll probably have a stress test during which her heart rate and her blood pressure will be monitored. Then, they&rsquo;ll review her medications and she and the cardio-rehab team will decide on the next steps.

Her Program: She will set up a schedule for attending lectures/discussions about healthy eating, classes in meditation or chair yoga, and workouts on exercise machines. There are also intensive cardiac rehab programs, which increase frequency and incorporate programs such as Ornish or Pritikin. They reduce the incidence of recurrence and restore a more active and normal lifestyle.

We hope you can convince your grandmother to go. We&rsquo;ve seen so many people benefit from these programs&mdash;they restore physical and emotional self-confidence along with physical strength.

Q: I tell my 16-year-old son that he&rsquo;s missing out on a lot by spending too much time on his computer and phone. What else can I say to get him to get out more? &mdash;Karin B., Tulsa, OK

A: How about making him aware of the threat to his eyesight that <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/article/how-screen-time-too-much-kids">screen time</a> poses? We remember when moms would tell kids, &ldquo;Get out of the house and don&rsquo;t come back until dinner!&rdquo; Yes, times have changed, but past generations of kids who played outside more frequently didn&rsquo;t end up nearsighted as often.

Recent studies have shown that adolescents and teens who are glued to their computer screens and phones don&rsquo;t use their long-range sight and end up developing myopia (nearsightedness). One BBC report claims that 90 percent of young people in China are currently myopic. In Seoul, South Korea, it&rsquo;s estimated that more than 95 percent of kids need glasses for distance. One study estimates that by 2050, 4.8 billion people worldwide will be affected by nearsightedness, which is 2.4 billion more than in 2010.

Theory #1: Lack of long-range focus 
Getting children outside and away from their devices changes how they use their eye muscles and how the lens in the eye focuses on objects. Whether looking down the soccer field or down the street, gazing into the distance lets eyes move from near to far and focus more easily and accurately.

Theory #2: Lack of Sunshine 
Several studies over the past seven or eight years have shown that kids who spend more time outside are less likely to develop nearsightedness both as adolescents and by the time they reach age 65. One study in China found that 40 more minutes of recess daily reduced myopia rates by 23 percent.

So tell your son it&rsquo;s shortsighted to make yourself nearsighted when there&rsquo;s so much fun to be had doing sports, hiking, walking and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/slideshow/nature-keeps-you-healthy">enjoying nature</a>.

Ask Oz and Roizen: Cardio Rehabilitation and Risks of Screen Time

Have you ever suspected that actual sunlight could make you physically lighter? Your body clock responds to the daily light cycle of dawn, daylight, dusk and dark. It influences your metabolism, your hormone secretion, your brain waves, and your mood, including your interest in sex.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/vitamin-d/what-are-health-benefits-sunlight" target="_blank">Related: The Health Benefits of Sunlight</a>

Now, it seems, if you&rsquo;re regularly exposed to 20-30 minutes of sunlight between 8am and noon, your BMI will be lower than someone who misses those early rays -- even if all other variables are the same. The effects are due to light&rsquo;s influence on your <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/endocrine-system/which-hormones-affect-my-appetite" target="_blank">appetite control hormones</a>, your glucose control systems, or something we don&rsquo;t know about yet. But here&rsquo;s how decipher the quality of your light exposure:

You need exposure to light that&rsquo;s rated at 500 Lux. A cloudy day serves up more than 1,000, while direct sunlight delivers around 32,000 to 100,000 (so don&rsquo;t over do it!). A bright office only serves up around 400 Lux. Moonlight? 1 Lux. A moonless night away from city lights --you&rsquo;re out of Lux.

So take time in the early morning to go outside for 20 minutes; then take a midmorning break and head into the light for another 10 minutes or more. If you&rsquo;re also exercising in the gym or getting your 10,000 steps a day at the mall, you&rsquo;ll get double benefits -- and soon feel very en-lightened!

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/what-benefits-exercising-morning" target="_blank">Related: The Benefits of Morning Exercise</a>

Medically reviewed in May 2019.

Early Burst of Sun Can Boost Your Whole Day

NBA locker rooms are dripping with more than sweaty jerseys these days. Water-fanatics like the Sixers&rsquo; T.J. McConnell (he and his teammates favor Ph-adjusted alkaline water), Golden State&rsquo;s Steph Curry (filtered water) and LeBron James (he masks his bottled water&rsquo;s label) have embraced the health benefits of plain water over sports drinks. That&rsquo;s a good practice each of you could follow to improve your digestion and muscle function as well as your skin, heart and brain health.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, some folks need fewer than eight glasses of water daily, some more. You should always drink when thirsty (more often while exercising or in extreme weather). You can tell if you&rsquo;re hydrated by the color of your urine&mdash;pale yellow or colorless means you are doing well.

But all your hydration should not only come from water&mdash;you can rely on <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/slideshow/foods-help-stay-hydrated">water-soaked fruits and veggies</a> for around 20 percent of your daily dose:

<ul>
	<li>Cucumbers&mdash;97.9 percent water</li>
	<li>Grapefruit&mdash;91.5 percent water</li>
	<li>Celery&mdash;95.4 percent water</li>
	<li>Strawberries&mdash;90.9 percent water</li>
	<li>Summer squash&mdash;96 percent water</li>
	<li>Watermelon&mdash;91.4 percent water</li>
	<li>Tomatoes&mdash;95.2 percent water</li>
	<li>Casaba&mdash;91.8 percent water</li>
	<li>Rhubarb&mdash;93.6 percent water</li>
	<li>Lettuce&mdash;95.6 percent water</li>
</ul>

These water-soaked fruits and veggies provide moisture to lubricate your system, fiber to improve your digestion and phytonutrients that allow well-hydrated muscles to become more energetic and powerful. Your brain needs them to receive oxygen and their nutrients keep you clear-thinking. So drink in all the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/wellness-healthy-living/slideshow/ways-drink-more-water">benefits of staying hydrated</a> with water and water-enriched food.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Eat Your Water: How to Stay Effectively Hydrated

If you&#39;re looking for a healthy place to take a vacation, consider heading for the hills.

People who live in mountainous regions appear to have lower mortality rates than people living in low-lying areas, a study determined. Researchers believe this may be due to the physical demands of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/running/why-should-i-run-hills">walking on hilly terrain</a> with less oxygen. If you live in the lowlands, make your power hikes high-altitude workouts by heading for local hills.

A study of roughly 1,200 men and women who lived in either lowland or mountainous regions revealed that mountain dwellers experienced lower total and coronary mortality than people who lived closer to sea level. Researchers speculate that mountain dwelling may boost heart health because it requires people to walk on uneven, hilly terrain in high-altitude, low-oxygen conditions. Working out at a higher altitude where there&#39;s less oxygen forces your heart and lungs to work harder, strengthening them more than if you were exercising closer to sea level. If you live in the mountains or regularly exercise at high altitude, you also may increase your number of red blood cells and use oxygen more efficiently. However, if you are working out for the first time or have a medical condition, the strain of high-altitude hikes may be too much. Consult your healthcare provider first.

Head for the Hills

It was about eight years ago. I was 33 years old, with a BMI considered <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/body-mass-index-bmi/what-body-mass-index-reading">clinically obese</a> and a family history of diabetes and heart disease. I knew I was at risk. I was sedentary, I ate poorly and I was depressed with very low energy. I felt awful.

To add to the mix, my girlfriend (now my loving wife), diagnosed with brain cancer, was undergoing chemo and radiation. She had a life expectancy of three years. She really needed me to be strong for her. I knew it. And at some point the question arose in my mind&hellip;

How can I possibly take care of her if I&rsquo;m not well.

I started with a simple piece of advice from a good and healthy friend: Start by doing things you like to do and modifying things you like to eat.

So, what were my passions? Well, I knew I Ioved trail running. And hiking. And mountain biking. I started with short walks and slower rides and worked up doing more each week. As I began to get stronger, I enjoyed these things even more. Eventually I added&nbsp;bodyweight workouts,&nbsp;doing push-ups, lunges and pull-ups for more strength.

Once I started exercising more, I realized I had to eat better or I couldn&rsquo;t get through my workouts without feeling lightheaded and nauseated. I found that when I&nbsp;ate well, my workouts were better and I&nbsp;felt much better. This sparked a strong interest in nutrition. I discovered what different foods really cost in terms of calories &ndash; that I could take in half the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/calories/calories-need-per-day">calories I need in a day</a>&nbsp;with just a few slices of pepperoni pizza, without even thinking about it. That enjoying a bowl of ice cream after the pizza was pushing me to almost 75 percent of my actual need for that day. Wow.

Something had to change.

I changed my diet and just started feeling better. More energized. Less lethargic, less likely to crash. As I read about what good nutrition really is, I ate less junk food,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/protein-and-weight-loss/protein-help-me-lose-weight">more proteins</a>,&nbsp;vegetables and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-athlete-diets/why-healthy-snacks-important-athletes">healthy snacks</a>.

I drastically improved the macronutrient makeup of the foods I ate and it was easier than I thought it would be.

<ul>
	<li>I began to pack my lunches for work, favoring fresh veggies, lean protein, and brown rice.</li>
	<li>I reduced my&nbsp;white starch&nbsp;and fat intake. So, ice cream became&nbsp;light&nbsp;ice cream and eventually yogurt with fresh fruit and granola.</li>
	<li>Side orders of chips and fries became&nbsp;baked chips or baked fries.</li>
	<li>Pizzas got&nbsp;smaller and less calorie-dense&nbsp;and vegetables were added.</li>
	<li>Popcorn servings had much less butter, and eventually I used misted olive oil instead.</li>
</ul>

Over time, the foods I once loved started to taste different. Rich foods started to taste&nbsp;too rich&nbsp;and sweet foods,&nbsp;too sweet. Whole grains took on a whole new level of flavor and I started craving clean, vitamin-rich foods. It still blows my mind that now I like vegetables more than the fatty starches I used to crave.&nbsp;

I didn&rsquo;t&nbsp;try&nbsp;to force this shift in taste, it just happened.

These days, at 41, progress of my health is more evident. I have a very healthy&nbsp;BMI, I&rsquo;ve dropped many pant sizes and my cholesterol levels have improved dramatically. I run and ride further, with more energy. I embrace new challenges in my life with confidence.

Above all, I naturally climbed out of depression. I now feel useful in my relationships &ndash; and to my wife. And her cancer? It&rsquo;s been eight years of &ldquo;no change&rdquo; MRIs. We&rsquo;re both healthier than we have ever been. I have a lot to celebrate these days, and as I set new and higher goals for myself, I know I&rsquo;ll always be a work in progress &ndash; and I look forward to every minute.

Take the first steps to growing younger and healthier with the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge Test</a>.

Medically reviewed in September 2019.

Health: A Work in Progress

Within days of its U.S. release, Pokemon Go exploded in popularity, attracting players of all ages and taking social media by storm.

Pokemon Go uses your smart phone&rsquo;s GPS to locate you within an &ldquo;augmented reality,&rdquo; or a game world that drops <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stroke-and-rehabilitation/how-virtual-reality-therapy-stroke">virtual reality</a> characters into your actual surroundings&mdash;at least according to your screen.

The mobile game, available on Android and iOS smart phones, encourages you to wander and explore new areas so it can detect Pokemon nearby. When you approach one, the app accesses your phone&rsquo;s camera to reveal the Pokemon right in front of you. Users can then catch, train and battle with the Pokemon they&rsquo;ve collected.

How gaming can improve your health 
Still searching for an excuse to venture out and &ldquo;catch &lsquo;em all?&rdquo; Here are 3 science-backed ways playing games like Pokemon Go can support your mental and physical health.

It gets you moving. The social element of video games may be one reason why they&rsquo;ve helped to combat childhood obesity. Overweight children often face bullying and exclusion, but exercise-based video games may help to break down social barriers and promote active playtime.

One study found that kids who were given video games involving physical activity became more active, lost more weight and achieved lowered BMIs than those who didn&rsquo;t play the games.

Pokemon Go inspires people of all ages to get out of the house and move. In fact, players are over two times more likely to walk 10,000 steps a day, according to a study presented at the 2017 American Heart Association Scientific Session.

It boosts your mood. A mounting body of research supports the use of video games in the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Video games can trigger the release of feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. Gaming may also help players build resilience, the ability to recover from adversity, and can create a sense of wellbeing.

Certain games, especially ones involving virtual reality or exercise, can feel like they suspend space and time. This allows players to relax and live in the moment, according to researchers.

Pokemon Go offers all of these features, along with its unique ability to draw people out of isolation and play face-to-face. &nbsp;

Gaming may keep your brain sharp. Research shows that playing video games can improve attention and processing speed. One long-term study even demonstrated that adolescents who regularly played strategic video games reported improved problem-solving skills and achieved higher grades in school.

Pokemon Go involves strategy and planning. It also exercises your visuospatial skills, or your ability to see and interact with your surroundings, by dropping virtual elements into your world and encouraging you to explore new places.

Health benefits aside, players should always take precautions to ensure their personal safety while adventuring.

What to watch out for 
Pokemon Go users in search of their next catch may be vulnerable due to distraction and unfamiliarity with new areas. Other players can drop &ldquo;lure modules,&rdquo; or Pokemon collection stops for 30-minute windows, which poses some safety concerns too.&nbsp; Stay safe by:

<ul>
	<li>Frequently reminding children about &ldquo;stranger danger&rdquo;</li>
	<li>Limiting areas where kids can wander, or play along with them</li>
	<li>Pay attention to your surroundings; watch out for cars, suspicious individuals, water and tripping hazards</li>
</ul>

As you venture out in search of magical creatures, Pokemon Go can help you achieve your health goals&mdash;just remember your personal safety and consider playing in pairs.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

The Unexpected Health Benefits of Pokemon Go

Are you considering working with a health coach? Good for you. Health coaches take a holistic approach to helping individuals like you make important lifestyle changes to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing.

A coaching relationship requires a commitment on your part and open communication between both parties. Knowing what to expect from your health coach will go a long way towards assuring you have a successful experience.

Health coaches are non-judgmental accountability partners. A health coach helps you create long- and short-term goals based on the changes you want to make in your life, explains Addie Spaller, a Sharecare coach manager in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, goals are meaningless unless you take steps to reach them. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here as accountability partners to really support clients and aid them in creating healthy lifestyle behaviors so they can reach their goals, but also maintain good health for the rest of their life,&rdquo; she says.

Flavia Magoba, a Sharecare coach in Silver Spring, Maryland, says a common misconception of coaching is that a coach will tell you what to do and give you a specific plan. Not true. &ldquo;We like to empower [clients],&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Furthermore, we don&rsquo;t judge. We start [every coaching session] with a clean slate. We&rsquo;re here to be a support and another resource for individuals.&rdquo;

Health coaches provide helpful resources. Coaches don&rsquo;t direct clients, but they do offer resources, such as tips and recipes, to help them reach their goals. They also point clients to approved and vetted online sources of health information, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association, where they can learn more about their particular health challenges.

It&#39;s believed that people who have chronic conditions have better outcomes when they have disease-specific knowledge and skills. Furthermore, coaching encourages patients to take an active role in their own care.

Health coaches maintain a structured (but flexible) format. Whether your session is in-person or on the telephone, health coaches set an agenda for each appointment to respect each other&rsquo;s time constraints. Generally, the first order of business is to follow up from the last appointment, to see where the client has done well and identify areas where they can continue to improve. Then, it&rsquo;s on to discuss where the client wants to go next.

&ldquo;We hone in on successful goal-setting at the end of the call,&rdquo; says Sharecare coach Rachel Potter, based in Franklin, Tennessee. &ldquo;This is the next step you want to take, so how can we make that happen? We help set clients up for success.&rdquo;

At Sharecare, for example, most coaching calls take place about every four weeks. However, if a client needs more frequent contact (or less), that&rsquo;s okay. If they need to adjust the length of a call, which averages about 15 minutes, that&rsquo;s okay, too. Coaching should be flexible enough to accommodate clients&rsquo; specific needs.

Health coaches will listen. Coaches find that clients often want someone to vent to, says Kelsey Storey, another coaching manager at Sharecare in Franklin. She described a discouraged client who had several challenging circumstances in her life. When her coached asked her, &ldquo;If your friends gave you a medal for something, what would it be?&rdquo; the client reflected and then listed several of her strengths. That simple exercise gave her a new perspective and something to feel good about. Sometimes, a simple mindset change can be just as life changing&mdash;and good for your health&mdash;as a tangible goal, such as losing weight.

Health coaches ask the right questions. &ldquo;When we talk about weight loss, healthy eating and such, we also talk about all the lifestyle factors that might be [roadblocks to] behavior change,&rdquo; says Magoba. Often, clients are surprised to find that stress or lack of sleep (or both) is getting in the way of them achieving other goals. Coaches help you uncover obstacles you might not have been aware of. Once you&rsquo;ve identified these road blocks, your coach can help you identify steps to overcome them.

&ldquo;People just don&rsquo;t know how much lack of sleep affects their physical and mental awareness,&rdquo; Magoba says. It&rsquo;s the same with stress. She adds that a little bit of stress is good, but if you have a lot of consistent stress, it can contribute to chronic illnesses, like heart disease and diabetes.

Health coaches have intangible benefits. Losing weight, eating right and quitting smoking are among coaching clients&rsquo; most common goals, and they can make a profound difference in your overall health. However, individuals get other, less tangible benefits as well.

&ldquo;Having open communication with a coach is really important,&rdquo; says Potter. &ldquo;You can tune into the benefits from behavioral changes that aren&rsquo;t visible, such as number on a scale. [We find that] clients become happier, they have more confidence, they&rsquo;re more outgoing and willing to try new and different things. It can be life changing.&rdquo;

Medically reviewed in June 2018.

What to Expect From a Health Coach

Social, emotional, physical and diet tweaks that really add up.

Mind, Body and More: 9 Easy Tips for Total Wellness

What is afterburn? 
The afterburn effect has been intensely debated in the fitness and medical communities for over a century, with countless studies attempting to measure and explain the phenomenon. Afterburn, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), refers to the period of increased oxygen uptake following exercise. It may last for hours or even longer than a day, depending on the type of exercise performed. During that time, one&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/metabolism-and-weight-loss">metabolism</a> is believed to speed up, causing additional calories to burn. But some lingering questions have long teased scientists: exactly how many calories are we talking about? And can those bonus points contribute to weight loss?

Expert opinions vary since study results have conflicted due to factors like the weight, gender and training levels of participants. However, most reliable studies agree on one key point: there&rsquo;s a relationship between exercise <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/what-does-intensity-mean-exercise">intensity</a> and the amount of afterburn that people tend to experience. After a certain intensity level is reached, that relationship turns into a direct correlation, meaning the harder you work, the more you burn.

How do you know if you&rsquo;ve reached the right level of intensity? 
Research suggests that the target intensity level is around 50-70% of a person&rsquo;s VO2max, or the maximum amount of oxygen used by an athlete while performing an activity. At around 70% VO2max, it&rsquo;s generally too difficult to both breathe and carry on a conversation at the same time. That level of exertion is supported by the work of researchers from Appalachian State University and UNC Chapel Hill. Their methods, which account for many of the weaknesses of prior studies, also helped to shed new light on the age-old question of calorie burning potential.

Their study took place in a controlled environment called a metabolic chamber, or a room that automatically monitors the calories burned by those inside. Young male participants were asked to spend two 24-hour days in the chamber. On the first day, they performed the bare minimum of activities of daily living to measure their calorie expenditure at baseline. On the second day, they repeated their routine, but added a 45-minute session on a<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/cycling/effective-train-on-stationary-bike"> stationary bike</a>. They cycled at about 70% VO2max and initially burned around 519 calories. Then, remarkably, over the next 14 hours, they continued to burn an additional 190 calories!

Planning your next workout 
Numerous additional studies emphasize the importance of intensity level when aiming to increase afterburn. For example, other research demonstrates that it has a greater impact on calorie usage than the duration of a workout. In fact, one study attributed five times more EPOC to intensity level than both workout duration and total work performed. This is consistent with evidence showing longer afterburn periods following <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-of-exercise-programs/what-is-interval-training">interval training</a>. These rules apply to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/resistance-training">resistance training</a> (i.e. dumbbells, weight machines, rock climbing) as well -- the higher the difficulty level, the greater the amount of afterburn.

So when it comes to planning your next cardio session, consider alternating between intense sprints and short bursts of moderate-intensity running, rather than jogging at a consistent pace over a longer period of time.

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

Bonus Calories or Fitness Myth? The Truth About Afterburn

Improving your health may be as easy as a walk in the park.

Researchers across the globe have been looking closely at how being surrounded by plants, trees, and flowers can help humans thrive. Interest in this topic is spiking as increasing urbanization has made it harder than ever for desk-bound men and women to take advantage of nature&rsquo;s healing powers. Right now, in fact, about half of the world&rsquo;s population lives in urban areas, and that number is expected to reach 70 percent by 2050.

It&rsquo;s in this context that trends such as &ldquo;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-health/article/can-walk-woods-make-happier">forest bathing</a>&rdquo;&mdash;a Japanese practice of walking meditatively in the woods, also known as &ldquo;forest therapy&rdquo;&mdash;have found enthusiastic followers on this side of the Pacific, as well.

&ldquo;Taking walks outside in nature is good for both your physical and mental health,&rdquo; says Jeff Sarata, DO, an emergency medicine specialist at <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/fairview-park-hospital">Fairview Park Hospital</a> in Dublin, Georgia. Dr. Sarata points out that getting your muscles moving in a green setting can positively affect many parts of your body, from your heart to your lungs to your state of mind.

&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re walking or hiking in a natural setting like a forest, park, or even a greenhouse,&rdquo; he explains, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re not only getting <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/article/health-experts-urge-move-more-sit-less">physical exercise</a>, which provides the number one benefit. You&rsquo;re also surrounded by the organisms that produce the oxygen your body needs. No one ever feels worse after walking in nature!&rdquo;

Here are several ways your body can feel a whole lot better with a simple trek through the woods:

It relaxes you deeply 
&ldquo;When you go for a walk in nature, rather than on a city street, you don&rsquo;t have cars honking and people talking on their cell phones around you,&rdquo; says Sarata. In fact, reviews of research published in 2016 and 2017 in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggest that leaving the techno world behind to walk and breathe in a natural environment stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which puts you in a state of relaxation. Forest bathing has also been shown to lower levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol.

It can improve your cardiovascular health 
That slower pace and sense of peacefulness achieved by communing with nature helps slow down your heart rate and may even ease high blood pressure. One small study published in 2012 in Journal of Cardiology found that in elderly patients with hypertension, a calming seven-day sojourn in the forest led to a significant decrease in blood pressure, especially when compared to adults who spent the same time in an urban setting.

Exposure to greenspace&mdash;which can include undeveloped landscapes as well as urban parks&mdash;is also associated with decreased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

It may boost your immune system 
One small but intriguing study out of Japan looked at the role forest therapy played in the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, which are crucial to fighting off diseases, including cancer. After three days on a forest retreat compared to days spent at the office, the men in the study saw increased levels of NK cells in their blood.

A follow-up study compared the effects of a three-day forest trip to an urban sight-seeing visit, finding that forest bathers experienced significant increases in NK activity while the city trippers did not. Although the studies suggest that walking in nature may help bolster immunity, more research will help determine any long-term effects on health.

It could help children with attention issues 
Parents of children with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/add-adhd/slideshow/adhd-facts-all-parents-should-know">attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD) may find nonpharmaceutical relief right outside their front door. In a national survey conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, parents indicated that their children&rsquo;s ADHD symptoms&mdash;such as impulsivity and inattention&mdash;were reduced after the kids were allowed to play in green settings, as opposed to indoors or in outdoor &ldquo;built&rdquo; spaces. Experts theorize that spending time in nature engages the mind effortlessly and easily, providing children with a break from having to deliberately focus their attention, therefore freeing up their energy to focus again when needed.

Just the sight of nature may help you heal 
Surprisingly, even just resting your eyes on a green view may have the power to aid healing. One study published in 2011 in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation found that coronary patients in a physical rehab facility who had an unobstructed view of nature from their window had a greater sense of well-being than those whose room had a view of buildings.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Getting into nature 
While these potential benefits are compelling, the body of research into the health benefits of nature is still young, and researchers don&rsquo;t yet have the kind of long-term studies to demonstrate that access to nature yields real health outcomes. Meanwhile, remember that a walk in the forest is no substitute for the care of a medical professional, particularly if you have ongoing conditions. Check with your doctor about how a regular fitness regimen in green space may help support the treatment you&rsquo;re receiving.

Meanwhile, research has also shed light on the possible <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-health/article/can-walk-woods-make-happier">mental health benefits of walking in nature</a>&mdash;including improved mood, fewer negative thoughts, and lower levels of stress&mdash;all of which may also positively influence your physical well-being. When your five senses are fully immersed in the natural world, the body&rsquo;s stress response is eased, which is akin to the type of benefit derived from <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/article/what-mediation-is-right-for-me">mindfulness practices and meditation</a>.

So, next time you have a choice between turning on the TV or going for a walk in the local park&mdash;or even down a tree-lined street&mdash;drop the remote and lace up your sneakers. Your mind and body may thank you for it.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

5 Surprising Ways Nature Can Improve Your Health

Every July, local keiki enjoy lots of warm sunshine and sandy beaches, but as the month draws to a close, the new school year looms. For many children, this means back-to-school shopping&mdash;picking out new pens, folders and notebooks to reflect their unique personality. Unfortunately, not all of our keiki have that option. Thousands lack the financial resources for even basic school supplies, which is why, each year, Helping Hands Hawai&lsquo;i (HHH) works hard to equip kids in need with educational necessities through its Ready to Learn program.

But Ready to Learn is just one of HHH&#39;s many initiatives. The community-based nonprofit provides a plethora of supportive services throughout Hawaii, focusing on three major divisions: human services, behavioral health and language access.

What is HHH? 
HHH has deep roots in Hawaii. It began after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor as a volunteer placement bureau and became incorporated as Helping Hands Hawai&lsquo;i in 1974. Now, communications and development specialist Dorian Nakamichi estimates HHH helps at least 30,000 people a year, which includes the 5,000 students served by Ready to Learn.

Ready to Learn falls under the human services division at HHH, along with the Community Clearinghouse, Adopt A Family, SNAP Outreach and Emergency Assistance Program. Among the services each program offers:

<ul>
	<li>The <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/community-clearinghouse/" target="_blank">Clearinghouse</a> takes in donations from businesses and individuals then distributes items to referred clients free of charge.</li>
	<li>During the holidays, <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/adopt-a-family-aaf-program/" target="_blank">Adopt A Family</a> connects individuals and families in need with community donors who help brighten the season and inspire them for the new year.</li>
	<li>The <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap-outreach/" target="_blank">SNAP Outreach</a> team helps people sign up for and maintain their SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) to help them have enough to eat.</li>
	<li>The <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/emergency-assistance-program/" target="_blank">Emergency Assistance Program</a>, including its Native Hawaiian-focused <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/emergency-assistance-program/punawai-program/" target="_blank">Punawai Program</a>, offers one-time financial assistance for housing or utilities to those in crisis who may be facing eviction or are already homeless and trying to get into permanent housing.</li>
</ul>

In addition to human services, HHH has divisions in behavioral health and language access. Behavioral health services include case management and representative payee services, both of which assist adults diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness who may be struggling with poverty, homelessness and substance use. Language access is a unique division that is vital to Hawaii residents. Through the <a href="http://helpinghandshawaii.org/programs/bilingual-access-line/" target="_blank">Bilingual Access Line</a>, those with limited English proficiency can request interpretation or translation services. &ldquo;We have about 19 languages that we serve 24/7,&rdquo; says Nakamichi. Interpreters may help in medical, financial, educational or legal appointments.

HHH and Sharecare 
With so many programs aimed to aid Hawaii residents, it&rsquo;s easy to see how HHH touches tens of thousands of lives a year. Its critical mission and dedication to the community are why Sharecare and HMSA chose to partner with HHH as our first featured nonprofit in the Sharing Care initiative.

Nakamichi says that HHH takes a holistic approach to serving the community, which she feels the Sharecare app echoes in its holistic approach to health management. &ldquo;It mirrors that kind of philosophy of having a whole spectrum of what can make you feel better and what will improve your health.&rdquo;

If you&rsquo;re in Hawaii and want to make a difference for HHH, the easiest thing to do is register for Sharecare and take the RealAge test. For every Hawaii resident who registers for Sharecare and takes the RealAge Test through November 30, 2018, Sharecare will donate $5 to Hawaii charities. From there, log your green days and for each green day earned, Sharecare will donate an another $1. At the end of November, all of the funds generated will be evenly divided between our five partner charities, including HHH.

Sharing Care With Helping Hands Hawai'i

As we kick off the 2021 Sharecare Awards, CNN&rsquo;s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, along with award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance and other influencers, join us to share the best health advice they wish they could give their younger selves.

Sleep more, create better habits: Dr. Sanjay Gupta and others offer their younger selves key health advice 

Stay motivated and get fit with these personal trainer-approved health tips.

7 Things Your Personal Trainer Does That You Should Do, Too

&lsquo;Āina is central to Hawaiian life. It&rsquo;s the ground beneath our feet and the soil that nurtures kalo, or taro, the older brother to the Hawaiian people, to grow. That&rsquo;s why protecting the land in an ever-changing environment is pono, and something the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation (KHF) works towards daily.

Big names, bigger hearts 
&ldquo;Kōkua Hawai&lsquo;i Foundation was founded 2003 by Kim and Jack Johnson,&rdquo; explains Executive Director Natalie McKinney. Its goal: &ldquo;Supporting environmental education in Hawaii schools and communities.&rdquo;

It all began with the 3R&rsquo;s School Recycling Program in local schools and has grown to five major environmental and educational initiatives:

<ul>
	<li>ʻĀINA in Schools is a farm to school program that connects students with the land, waters and foods of Hawaiʻi. It supports garden, composting and nutrition lessons in schools and also promotes the use of local produce in school meals and snacks.</li>
	<li>Field Trip Grants get kids out of the classroom and into nature to experience hands-on learning during environmental field trips.</li>
	<li>Mini Grants fund classroom projects that aid in environmental education and stewardship.</li>
	<li>3R&rsquo;s School Recycling Program encourages students to use and educate others about the 3R&rsquo;s: reduce-reuse-recycle.</li>
	<li>Plastic Free Hawai&lsquo;i provides education about the harms of single-use plastic items and does community engagement through beach cleanups, film screenings and student trainings to deliver Plastic Free Hawai&lsquo;i lessons. It also works to influence legislation to reduce single-use plastics, such as the plastic bag ban.</li>
</ul>

In addition to these programs, Johnson has headlined at seven different Kōkua Festivals since 2004. These concerts have taken place at the Waikiki Shell and raised funds for KHF. They&rsquo;ve also brought in local groups from other environmental nonprofits to expose concert-goers to more ways they can get involved with the environment and sustainable living.

Planting community roots 
Today KHF serves thousands of Hawaii&rsquo;s keiki and greater population through its far-reaching programs. The goal is to foster and inspire a lifelong love of nature, educate about food sourcing and healthy eating, and make tangible and lasting changes to improve the environment.

&ldquo;One of our main goals is for kids to fall in love with nature so they&rsquo;ll take care of it,&rdquo; says McKinney.

The ʻĀINA in Schools initiative is particularly beneficial as it introduces students to growing their own food and food preparation with demonstrations from local chefs such as Ed Kenney, who also serves on the board for KHF. Hawaii is heavily reliant on shipped-in food, so teaching students how to produce their own food helps improve self-sufficiency.

All of KHF&rsquo;s programs are community-based efforts that strengthen bonds while educating students and adults about environmental causes. Most of the programs are centered on Oahu, but they do extend state-wide to support a wide range of Hawaii residents, teachers and students.

Sharecare and HMSA: Teaming up to do good 
Giving feels good, and you can give to KHF without spending a penny or leaving your house. Sharecare has partnered with HMSA to donate up to $100,000 to KHF, but we need your help. For each new Hawaii-based user who creates a Sharecare account and takes the RealAge Test, Sharecare will donate $5 across five nonprofits, including KHF. Then, using the app, track your green days. Each green day earned by Hawaii users until the end of November 2018, is another $1 donated to the charities, up to $30 in one month. It&rsquo;s a great opportunity to monitor and improve your own health while giving back to the community.

Sharing Care With the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation

Ben Affleck, Charlie Sheen, Dustin Hoffman, Harvey Weinstein, James Toback, Kevin Spacey and most recently NBC&rsquo;s TODAY Show host Matt Lauer. Day by day, the list of celebrity men accused of sexual harassment at work grows. But it&rsquo;s not only celebrities. The viral #MeToo Twitter campaign gave voices to other sexual violence survivors and victims.

The nationwide conversation around <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/sexual-assault-violence/article/what-everyone-should-know-about-sexual-violence">sexual violence</a>, which includes sexual harassment, is getting louder. And that&rsquo;s a good thing. The more comfortable people are with coming forward, the more difficult it will be for perpetrators to continue to act in abusive ways.

Sexual harassment on the job isn&rsquo;t something new. In 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received nearly 13,000 sexual harassment-based charges. This number does not include unreported incidents or incidents reported only to state and local agencies&mdash;which is over 75 percent of the total cases that actually occur.&nbsp;

Women aren&rsquo;t the only people who experience sexual harassment either. Men, women, transgendered people, children, gay or straight are victims of this unlawful act every day.

Sexual harassment at work may seem tricky because you&rsquo;re talking about someone&rsquo;s career, but no act of sexual violence should be tolerated. So, what is workplace-related sexual harassment? Why is it difficult for survivors or victims to come forward? And how will it end if you do come forward? Here are the answers.

Sexual harassment isn&rsquo;t just sex 
Many people assume that sexual harassment involves a colleague locking the door of their office and forcing them to have sex. And while that is one form of harassment, there are so many other acts that are unacceptable, too.

The EEOC describes sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical harassment of sexual nature, offensive remarks about a person&rsquo;s sex or severe teasing that creates a hostile work environment.&nbsp;

To be more specific, here are some of the ways perpetrators commit acts of sexual harassment while at work&mdash;verbally, physically, nonverbally and visually.

Verbal or written: &nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Commenting on your clothing, behavior, body or romantic relationships</li>
	<li>Telling sexual jokes or innuendoes&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Asking for sexual favors or dates &nbsp;</li>
	<li>Spreading rumors about your sex life</li>
	<li>Threatening you when you refuse their requests</li>
</ul>

Physical: 

<ul>
	<li>Keeping or disrupting you from moving</li>
	<li>Touching your clothing or body inappropriately</li>
	<li>Kissing, hugging or showing any other means of physical affection</li>
	<li>Touching you without your permission</li>
</ul>

Nonverbal: 

<ul>
	<li>Staring at your body</li>
	<li>Making offensive and sexual motions or facial expressions</li>
	<li>Following you around or refusing to respect your personal space&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Visual: 

<ul>
	<li>Exposing posters, pictures, screensavers or emails that involve sexual cues</li>
</ul>

In addition to these examples, sexual harassment isn&rsquo;t just sexual&mdash;equally offensive is anything related to your sex or gender. For example, if your career involves a position dominated by male employees and you receive harsh criticism far more often than men in your role (and your work performance is comparable), that&rsquo;s considered sexual harassment.&nbsp;And, it&rsquo;s illegal to harass a woman by making disrespectful comments about women in general.&nbsp;

The legal classification of harassment involves activity that is either pervasive or severe; it doesn&rsquo;t have to be both. If you&rsquo;ve been sexually harassed, you&rsquo;ll want to start thinking about your next course of action: reporting the misconduct.

It can be difficult to come forward 
You may think that coming forward to admit what you&rsquo;re going through may put you in a difficult position career-wise, but it&rsquo;s worth stating again, that by law, sexual harassment at work is a form of discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And the US law even protects victims and survivors from being punished for complaining about harassment.

Of course, reporting harassment might be easier said than done. Most victims or survivors are hesitant to report misconduct because they:

<ul>
	<li>Fear damage to their career</li>
	<li>Think that no one will believe them</li>
	<li>Believe nothing will be done about the harassment</li>
	<li>Feel embarrassed or ashamed of the harassment</li>
</ul>

And while those feelings are understandable, reporting the incident is the first step to stopping your harasser from hurting you or anyone else.&nbsp;&nbsp;

How to report sexual harassment at work 
If you&rsquo;ve experienced harassment at work, first understand that it isn&rsquo;t your fault and you aren&rsquo;t alone. Whether you have a human resources department at work or not, there are actionable steps to take to bring your perpetrator to justice, including:

<ol>
	<li>If you&rsquo;re in immediate danger, call 911.</li>
	<li>Always keep detailed notes about any sexual incidents.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>If you feel comfortable doing so, communicate to the person harassing you that you want them to stop.</li>
	<li>Find your anti-harassment policy in your employee handbook and follow the steps suggested. (The instructions will often involve contacting your human resources department).&nbsp;</li>
	<li>If you don&rsquo;t have a harassment policy, talk with a supervisor about what has happened&mdash;and it doesn&rsquo;t have to be your own.</li>
	<li>If you don&rsquo;t have a human resources department at your company, talk to your boss or a supervisor. You can also find an employment attorney in your area that can discuss your legal rights with you. From there, they can coach you through what to do. You can file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/howtofile.cfm" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t wait. Deadlines to file a complaint with the EEOC (if that&rsquo;s the route you choose) vary from state to state, so you&rsquo;ll want to report it as soon as you feel comfortable doing so. And if you&rsquo;re reporting it to your company, the sooner you report it, the sooner your company can deal with the perpetrator.</li>
	<li>Confide in a friend or family member. It always helps to have someone to lean on, and someone to support you as you come forward.</li>
	<li>Seek advice from others who&rsquo;ve experienced what you&rsquo;re going through, too. Organizations like <a href="https://www.equalrights.org/legal-help/know-your-rights/sexual-harassment-at-work/" target="_blank">Equal Rights Advocates</a> and the <a href="https://www.rainn.org/about-rainn" target="_blank">Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network</a> provide information about coming forward and guidance for those who&rsquo;ve experienced sexual harassment&mdash;in the workplace and beyond.</li>
</ol>

What happens next all depends on your place of employment, their harassment policy and the severity of the situation. In some cases, simply telling your harasser to stop is sufficient, but in other cases, your human resources department or supervisor will need to get involved and take action.

The most important thing to remember is that sexual harassment is not your fault and you don&rsquo;t have to put up with it no matter where you are&mdash;work, home or school. &nbsp;Seek help as soon as you can, and stay encouraged by <a href="https://rainn.org/" target="_blank">reading stories</a> of those who have come forward and are spreading awareness.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.