Speedy eaters are three times more likely to be too fat, a problem which is made even worse by the popularity of fast food and the decrease of regular dining habits, some Japanese researchers said on Wednesday.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, pay special attention to how eating styles, and not just what or how much is eaten, can affect an obesity epidemic(肥胖流行病) that is becoming more and more severe because of the speed of the Western-style diet in many parts of the world.

The World Health Organization considers around 400 million people in the world as too fat, 20 million of whom are under the age of five. The researchers are concerned that the condition raises the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes(糖尿病) and heart problems.

For their study, Hiroyasu Iso and the team at Osaka University asked more than 3000 Japanese volunteers who are 30 to 69 years old about their eating. About half of the men and a little more than half of the women said they ate until full. About 45 percent of the men and 36 percent of the women said they ate quickly.

Those who said they ate until full and ate quickly were three times more likely to be fat than people in the “not eating until full and not eating quickly” group, the researchers found.

They believe that the main causes are both the popularity of eating cheap fast food and bad habits such as watching television while eating.

To fight against the bad effect of eating quickly and being too full that can lead to obesity, parents should encourage children to eat slowly and in calm environments, the study suggested.

Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.

In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice them, you can see that happiness is always around you.

Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.

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Empty nest syndrome (空巢综合征) is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents may experience when their children leave home for the first time, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition, however, it can affect the immune system (免疫系统) and result in certain psychological barriers, if left untreated.

All parents are sensitive to empty nest syndrome, and some factors can create a tendency to it. Such factors include an unstable or unsatisfactory marriage, or difficulty accepting change in general. Adults who are also dealing with other stressful life events such as the death of a spouse (配偶) or retirement are also more likely to experience the syndrome.

Symptoms of empty nest syndrome can include depression, a sense of loss of purpose,  worry, stress, and anxiety over the child’s welfare. Many empty nest parents prefer staying indoors, and end up becoming people of few words. Parents who experience empty nest syndrome often question whether they have prepared adequately for their child to live independently.

Empty nest parents often face new challenges, such as establishing a new kind of relationship with their children, having to find other ways to occupy their free time, reconnecting with each other, and a lack of sympathy from people who believe that parents should be happy when their children leave home.

One of the easiest ways for parents to cure empty nest syndrome is to keep in contact with their children. Technological developments such as cell phones, text messaging, and the Internet all allow for increased communication between parents and their children.

Parents going through empty nest syndrome can ease their stress by pursuing their own hobbies and interests in their increased spare time. Experts have advised that overwhelmed (不堪重负的) parents keep a journal, or go back to work if they were full-time parents.

However, prevention is always better than cure. If one child has moved out and you still have others living at home with you, plan in advance for the day when your nest will be empty of all children. Small changes made over time will mean less of a shock when your last child moves out. You may find, with thought and careful planning, that the occasion of your last child leaving home will offer a little happiness too, as you can then implement your plans for an independent life with your spouse.