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It’s Better to Work Out With Other People Than by Yourself. Here’s Why

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Exercise is great for mental health; Research has shown that it can lower stress, improve mood and even decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. But new research finds that a group exercise class may be even better for your mental wellbeing than a solo sweat session.

A small study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association found that people who took group exercise classes reported less stress and more physical, emotional and mental health benefits than those who exercised alone or did not hit the gym at all, suggesting that a social atmosphere may compound the already numerous benefits of physical activity.

At the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, 69 people in their first or second year of medical school—typically a very stressful time—were recruited for the study. One group of students did at least one 30-minute core training class together each week; another exercised alone or with one or two other people at least twice a week; and a third didn't engage in any physical activity beyond walking or biking for transportation. Students were allowed to choose their own group.

The students took surveys about their stress levels every four weeks and periodically filled out additional surveys about their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. After 12 weeks, the researchers determined that those taking the group core training class were seeing the best results.

The study has some limitations. It's possible that people who chose the core training group already knew they liked group exercise, and thus saw benefits. But the research suggests that the virtues of fitness classes go far beyond working up a sweat. In addition to a community vibe, the researchers note that the music and choreography used in group classes may boost mood. 

All the more reason to hit that barre exercise class after work.

Graphic Designer & Social Media Marketing Expert

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We are looking for a skilled graphic designer who is experienced in Social Media Marketing to join a growing team. The ideal candidate should be driven, motivated and be able to work well under pressure. An opportunity for a graduate! KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY To deliver high quality marketing materials across a range of media. Be responsible for maintaining a consistent look & feel that effectively communicates the clients brand Interpret briefs and conceptualize designs across print, all social media platforms, in store, website, catalogues, posters and more EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS Degree or diploma in design, visual communication, or a related field At least 2-3 years’ work experience in a relevant industry Strong experience in all social media platforms Fluent in Afrikaans SKILLS REQUIRED Illustrator CC Photoshop CC InDesign CC knowledge and experience essential! Mailchimp experience a plus Digital Marketing experience (Social Media Management, SEO, Google AdWords etc.) WordPress knowledge would be an advantage Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Health24.com | Can you blame your parents for your allergies?

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When a person is allergic to something, their immune system mistakenly believes that the substance is harmful to the body and launches an attack.

This normally causes reactions like runny or congested noses, hives or digestive issues. In extreme cases an allergic reaction can cause anaphylactic shock and even death.

Cause unknown

According to KidsHealth millions of children have some type of allergy, and in the US allergies cause about 2 million missed school days each year.

The Allergy Society of South Africa reports that up to 20% of the population suffer from allergic reactions.

Although there is much about allergies that is still not understood, an allergy usually begins with sensitisation when the person is exposed to an allergen.

Repeated exposure to this substance triggers the immune system to form the antibodies that cause the allergic reaction.

Main risk factors

There are, however, some factors that make some people more likely to become allergy sufferers.

A previous Health24 article lists three main risk factors for developing allergies:

  • Genes
  • Environment
  • Upper respiratory infections

Genes is arguably the most important factor because it determines whether you will have an allergy or not (your susceptibility).

The environment will set the process in motion as it will determine which antigens (if any) you are exposed to. 

Upper respiratory infections are a factor because children who contract viral or bacterial infections of the upper respiratory system before the age of six months are more likely to develop allergies or conditions such as asthma later on in life. 

Parents’ role

If both parents have allergies, their children are more likely to develop an allergy, although not always the same kind of allergy.

If one parent has an allergy, a child has a 30 to 50% risk of inheriting the tendency to be allergic (atopic), although the specific allergy or allergies may different.

This means that if you’re allergic to cats and dogs, your children may be fine with pets but react violently to peanuts, eggs and kiwi fruit, for example.

If both parents suffer from allergies, their children have a 60 to 80% likelihood of developing allergies.

Further genetic connections

A study published in 2012 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology indicates that not only are allergies inherited, but they are also gender related.

The study shows that mothers tend to pass allergies to their daughters and fathers are more likely to pass their allergies to their sons.

In both cases it was not a specific allergy that was passed on, but just the tendency toward developing allergies. 

The one exception to this tendency is an allergy to penicillin. This allergy appears not to be gender specific in any way and can be inherited from one or both parents. 

Studying allergies in twins is also a good way to determine the role of genetics in allergies, and according to ScienceABC identical twins tend to have similar allergies. The reason why they don’t always have exactly the same allergy profile is because allergic reactions are caused by genetic and environmental factors.

Because they don’t share the same genetics, fraternal (non-identical) twins are much less likely than identical twins to have the same allergies. In fraternal twins the likelihood is around 7% while in the case of identical twins it’s in the region of 65%.   

Image credit: iStock

Eugene Lotter

Senior Php Developer

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Senior PHP Developer in Cape Town | Development | Job Mail | 4116395

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Our client based in Cape Town has an exciting opportunity available for a Senior PHP Developer. You will need strong media/telecoms backgrounds. Key Requirements • 5+ years’ experience • IT related education • PHP • Symfony, CakePHP, Zend etc. • HTML • CSS • JavaScript • XML • MySQL • Magento • WordPress • Bootstrap • AngularJS • JQuery • Ajax • JIRA • GitLab Should you meet the requirements for this position, please email your CV to it.jobs@staffingprojects.co.za. You can also contact Michelle on 021 555 0432 or visit our website at http://www.staffingprojects.co.za/ NOTE: When replying to the advert, also include the reference number in the subject line. Correspondence will only be conducted with short listed candidates. Should you not hear from us within 3 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.

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Junior Training Broker

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Junior Training Broker in Pinetown | Other Sales/Marketing | Job Mail | 4116511

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Are you eager to build a fulfilling career but you have no experience? THAT’S NOT A PROBLEM! Our company is looking for career driven, youthful individuals to join our team. No experience is needed for this opportunity. Our vision is “to build a remarkable business for our children’s children that will still be shifting lives 100 years from now”. Our company has been a proud sponsor of major sports events such as the Duzi and the famous Comrades Marathon. A truly remarkable company founded firmly on family values and the determination to make a difference. We look for possibility in every opportunity, challenging the status quo and turning the old way of doing business on its head. And while this can, at times, be a bit uncomfortable we know that it is only when you step out of your comfort zone that you start to grow. The ideal candidate needs: • Excellent communication skills • Matric certificate is essential, tertiary education is preferred • Exceptional work ethics • A passion for exceeding targets. Candidates who come from these industries tend to excel in our environment, and we would welcome your application: • Bar/hospitality • Administration/Personal Assistant • Promotional work/Sales experience • Retail To apply, send your CV to kimberlee.venter@magnitudegroup.co.za

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Sport24.co.za | All Blacks back SA’s 2023 RWC bid

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Cape Town – Past and present All Blacks are in favour of South Africa hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

This follows Tuesday’s announcement from the board of Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) that South Africa received the initial recommendation to host the tournament, based on the results of the scoring system employed.

South Africa scored 78.97%, while France’s bid came second (75.88%) and Ireland’s third (72.25%).

The recommendation will now be put to the vote of the World Rugby Council in London on November 15.

All three candidates will appear on the ballot paper but World Rugby has stressed to its members that recommendation of the evaluation committee should be taken into consideration.

Former All Black wing Jeff Wilson, who played against the Springboks in the 1995 final at Ellis Park, said another World Cup in South Africa would be special for a passionate rugby country.

“It’s great for South Africa – 1995 was an outstanding tournament, the first as we were going into professional rugby, and as a player at that it was something special,” Wilson was quoted as saying on the Stuff.co.nz website.

“They’re a passionate rugby country, they’ve got the stadiums on the back of the football World Cup, so they’re going to be played in the right places. For a country that needs a boost in some shape or form of rugby this is ideal for them.”

All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster and flank Jerome Kaino – who are in London preparing for a match against the Barbarians – also threw their support behind SA’s bid.

“In a lot of ways it seems common sense from our side of it,” Foster said. “They’re a massive historical part of the world rugby scene and have only had one World Cup, so from that side it’s great. And maybe they can get rid of some of those old stadiums and move to some of their new ones.”

Kaino added: “It’s a great place to tour and I’m sure they’re more than capable of holding a successful World Cup. It will be great for their country as well.”

eNCA | CATCH IT LIVE: Parliament inquiry into state capture

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Editor’s note: Editor’s note: This livestream was expected to commence at 09:30 CAT.

Watch the live stream above, on DStv 403, DStv Now or click here

PARLIAMENT – The Parliamentary inquiry into state capture resumes on Wednesday, when it will turn its attention to the purchase of Optimum Coal Mine.

MPs will discuss how the controversial deal was sealed.

WATCH: Zuma abandons state capture application

The mine was purchased by Gupta-linked company Tegeta with money suspected to have been siphoned from Transnet’s pension fund.

A whistle blower revealed that Trillian did not have a contract for the work it was doing for Eskom.

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News24.com | Eviction and the law: what the Constitutional Court says

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Cape Town – On 13 July, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment confirming an eviction order against people occupying houses on Muldersvlei farm near Paarl.

The judgment considered eviction and land tenure rights. It looked at what kind of alternative accommodation is suitable for evictees, according to a report by GroundUp.

Isak Baron, David Bailey, Jonathan Stoffels and Richard Figland were some of the occupiers who appealed the eviction order.

They had been employed by a company, Claytile, to work in its brick manufacturing business, located on the farm.

Because they were employed by the company, the occupiers were entitled to live in houses located on the farm.

Starting in 2006, some employees were dismissed following alleged misconduct and disciplinary proceedings.

Failed court cases

However, Baron, Bailey, Stoffels and Figland continued to live on the farm, even after they were fired.

In November 2012, Claytile served them with eviction notices but they continued to live on the farm.

In 2013, Claytile applied for, and later obtained, an eviction order against the occupiers, despite the City of Cape Town informing the court that no alternative accommodation was available.

The occupiers were given eight months to move off the farm. They appealed against the eviction order in the Land Claims Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and then the Constitutional Court, all without success.

Since Baron, Bailey, Stoffels and Figland had been living on the farm from before February 4, 1997, their eviction had to take place under section 10 of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997, known as ESTA.

ESTA was designed to protect occupiers from unfair evictions by recognising the rights that arise from long-term occupation. It recognises the rights of farmworkers, who previously suffered the brunt of unfair evictions during apartheid.

Alternative accommodation

Evictions that take place under ESTA are supposed to be different to evictions of illegal occupiers or ordinary residents.

Section 10 of ESTA describes the requirements that must be met for a person to be evicted.

In some circumstances, the occupiers must be given suitable alternative accommodation before being evicted.

Employees who have lived on land after February 4, 1997, are also protected by ESTA but the conditions for their eviction are different.

Usually at the heart of eviction cases is the issue of alternative accommodation: Who must offer it (generally government)? Has it been offered? And is it sufficient?

To cut a long story short, by the time the case was heard in the Constitutional Court, the parties had agreed on many aspects of the case. The critically contested issue was what constituted “suitable alternative accommodation” under ESTA.

City’s offer rejected

This issue became even more important after the city offered the occupiers five emergency housing units located in Wolwerivier in February 2017.

The occupiers rejected the city’s offer because Wolwerivier was too far away from their places of work, their children’s schools and the units were made of corrugated cladding instead of brick.

But the court noted that despite being emergency housing, the units had inside toilets and washbasins as well as electricity and running water. So the accommodation was markedly better than previous units available to the occupiers.

The court had to consider whether this accommodation was suitable but also who had the obligation to provide alternative accommodation under ESTA.

While the court recognised that the state generally has to do this, it did not exempt private owners from any obligations.

Instead, the court found that private owners may sometimes be required to help pay for or even provide suitable alternative accommodation to evictees, and the extent of this obligation depends on the particular case.

Right to housing limited by resources

However, in this case, the court did not discuss the obligations ESTA imposed on Claytile.

Instead, the court only dealt with what the city was required to do.

The court noted that the city had offered the occupiers units at both Delft and Wolwerivier and both offers had been rejected by the occupiers.

The court confirmed that the city had a constitutional obligation to provide housing. The city could not avoid this obligation simply by claiming that no housing was available, as it had done in a lower court.

However, the Constitutional Court also recognised that the right to adequate housing is limited by the resources the city has available.

This means that occupiers cannot avoid eviction simply by claiming that the alternative accommodation the city offers them is unsuitable.

Problems at Wolwerivier

Taking into account the resource limitations of the city, coupled with the fact that Claytile agreed to drive the occupiers’ children to school from Wolwerivier until the end of the year, the court confirmed the eviction order.

It ordered the occupiers to leave the property within three months.

On October 13, 2017, three months after the judgment, the occupiers were relocated to Wolwerivier and their former houses at Claytile were demolished.

A statement from Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), who represented the occupiers during the eviction proceedings, highlights the problems with their accommodation at Wolwerivier.

Besides being far away from public transport, the houses at Wolwerivier also did not have electricity when the occupiers moved in.

The statement also said that the occupiers have no security of tenure over the units since the housing belongs to the city.

Communities fighting against relocation

LHR wrote: “In spite of lengthy litigation in attempts to strengthen the rights of ESTA occupiers, this matter brought deep disappointment and leaves ESTA occupiers in a worse position than ever before. The court ought to have allowed the occupiers to act on their offer to pay rent in exchange for their continued occupation after their employment was terminated.”

A number of other communities in Cape Town are fighting against being moved to Wolwerivier.

However, the city recently announced that it would no longer be developing additional housing at Wolwerivier.

It remains to be seen how this will affect ongoing eviction court cases.

What this case does show is that there are limits to what the Constitutional Court is willing to do when it comes to disputes about how resources are spent.

While the courts may help stop the worst abuses when it comes to evictions, the struggle for decent housing has to be won politically, by convincing government to change its approach.

In Cape Town that appears to be beginning to happen following years of campaigning by housing activists.

eNCA | CATCH IT LIVE: Henri van Breda to resume testimony

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Editor’s note: This livestream is expected to commence at 10:00 CAT. Watch the live stream above, on DStv 403, DStv Now or click here

CAPE TOWN – The much-awaited testimony of triple murder accused Henri van Breda saw the public gallery packed to the rafters in the Western Cape High Court.

Van Breda is accused of the axe killings of his mother, Theresa, father, Martin and brother, Rudi, at their luxury home in Stellenbosch in 2015.

He gave his version of events to the court just a day before his 23rd birthday.

READ: Van Breda neighbour heard nothing on night of axe attacks

Despite the claim that media cameras would make him nervous and cause stuttering, Van Breda appeared calm, showing very little emotion.

Giving testimony, he said a laughing axe man was responsible for the deaths of his family members, and on several occasions demonstrated the alleged scuffle between him and the alleged masked attacker.

The mask, he said, was homemade.

READ: Van Breda case: expert says 128 out of 151 DNA samples ‘technically invalid’

Van Breda disputed the claim that he was giggling on the phone when he made the call to emergency services, but he admitted that he did not come to the aid of his family because he was too scared.

“I was scared, I didn’t know what to do. I can’t specifically recall what was going through my mind but I cetrainly wasn’t able to think clearly….I was very scared,” he said.

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