Health briefs: Exercise and heartbreaks

Work out, eat less?

Exercise reduces people's motivation to eat, according to a small new study that found just 45 minutes of brisk walking lowers the brain's response to food that day, regardless of a person's body weight. Brigham Young University researchers measured the brain activity of 18 normal-weight women and 17 obese women and found women had less interest in food after a workout. The study also found that the women did not eat more on the day they exercised to "make up" for the calories they burned. The study notes that more research is needed to determine how long the reduction in motivation for food lasts following a workout, particularly if people engage in long-term exercise regimens.

Facebook and breakups

Although Facebook can help loving couples feel connected 24/7, there's a downside to that connectedness when the relationship sours, a study contends. Using Facebook to track an ex may impede a brokenhearted's ability to heal, according to the study author from the psychology department at Brunel University's School of Social Sciences in Uxbridge, England. Such people report "greater current distress over the breakup, more negative feelings toward the ex-partner . . . more sexual desire . . . for the ex-partner and less personal growth."

-- HealthDay