A practice that has long irked scientific curiosity may have been solved -- why we swing our arms when we walk. Scientists have discovered that swinging is more energy--efficient than holding them still.

Experts have long been baffled about why humans move the arms when strolling, since they play no obvious role in helping propel the body forward.

However, an experiment carried out by researchers in the US and Netherlands has found that the movements actually provide considerable benefits, which are hidden.

The study was based on the movements of 10 volunteers. They were asked to perform a series of unnatural walks under experimental conditions has shown that swinging the arms in opposition to the legs significantly increases the efficiency of walking.

Steven Collins, a biomechanical engineer at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, said normal arm swinging while walking requires little effort and makes it easier than keeping the arms still.

"This puts to rest the theory that arm swinging is a vestigial relic from our quadrupedal ancestors," he said.

To reach the conclusion, Collins and his colleagues established an experiment where people were analysed as they walked in a variety of poses -- normally with the arms swinging in opposition to each leg, with their arms at their sides either tied or held there voluntarily, or with each arm unnaturally forced to move in synchrony with each leg.

From analyses, boffins discovered that arm swinging required very little effort from the shoulder muscles as the movements tended to arise naturally from the twisting movement of the body as it walked.

"Further, our results showed that normal arm swinging made walking much easier. Holding the arms at one's sides increased the effort of walking -- measured by metabolic rate -- by 12 per cent, which is quite a lot of walking, about the same as walking 20 per cent faster or carrying a 10 kg backpack," Collins said.

The study has been published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. — ANI

Breakfast is the best way to start your day! Eating breakfast is the secret to staying healthy. No matter how busy you are, it is important to fuel your body so that you can have energy throughout the day. After 12 hours of not eating, your body deserves a break. If you don't eat breakfast, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. Also people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals. And the first meal to be 'let go of' is breakfast, but that isn't a great idea It may seem that skipping breakfast would help you lose weight quicker, but the fact is that it usually sabotages your weight loss efforts for the rest of the day. If you keep your appetite satisfied and your blood sugar stable with a healthy breakfast, you will be able to resist fatty and high-caloric foods for the rest of the day. Don't overlook this important meal, but select healthy options that fit your taste and lifestyle.

w Jumpstart your metabolism: Breakfast is considered an important meal because it breaks the overnight fasting period and replenishes your supply of glucose. Glucose is your body's energy source and is broken down and absorbed from the carbohydrates you eat. After you have gone without food for as long as 12 hours, your glucose levels drop. When this happens, your body compensates by releasing the glucose that has been stored in your muscle tissue and liver and breaks down fatty acids to produce energy. Without carbohydrate, fatty acids are only partially oxidized, which can cause reduced energy levels.

w Work towards weight loss: After 12 hours of sleep and overnight fasting, you are almost in the first stages of starvation in morning. Skipping breakfast keeps your body in ‘starvation’ mode, while eating a good meal will give your metabolism a boost. If you're trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to do is keep your metabolism at lowered state. Eating breakfast will increase your fat burning ability.

w Increase nutrients and energy levels: Breakfast provides a significant proportion of the day's total nutrient intake and offers the opportunity to eat foods fortified with nutrients like foliate, iron, B vitamins and fiber. So, even though your body can usually find enough energy to make it to the next meal, you still need to top up your vitamin and mineral levels to maintain health and vitality.

w Enhance concentration: Eating breakfast improves your thinking ability and keeps you at top mental performance. It provides your brain with fuel to enhance concentration and performance for problem solving and memory retention.

w Beat the binges : Eating a good breakfast will keep you from getting too hungry, which will help prevent you from over-eating later in the day. Breakfast eaters are able to better resist fatty and high-caloric foods throughout the day. IF you skip breakfast, you will tend to nibble on snacks and turn to coffee for an energy boost. By lunchtime you will be hungry, crabby, and perhaps this might make you more prone to making unhealthy choices at lunch.

A healthy breakfast should consist of a variety of foods. It should contain complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber. Protein can come from eggs, beans, or soy (like tofu). Fiber and carbohydrates can be found in whole cereals, grains or in fruits. A good example of a healthy breakfast might be something like a boiled egg, an orange, and a bowl of whole grain cereal with skimmed milk. Stay away from the sugary cereals, pastries, and white breads because they are digested quickly and will leave you hungry and tired in a couple of hours. Protein and fibers will help keep the hunger pangs away until lunchtime.

If you are not hungry when you wake up, switch your breakfast to morning teatime instead. And if you don't have time to prepare breakfast, have a glass of milk when you get up and eat a healthy snack later. No matter what you choose, eating breakfast gives your body and your brain the energy they need to carry you through the day. So, be good to yourself.

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I hated reality shows, I considered them all fluff and didn't like them for their show-off factor. I thought people went to auditions primarily to make a fool of themselves in front of the judges," and then Nirdosh Sobti, guitarist of the city-based band De Innovatives, makes it to Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV. So now what? "But I won't be doing any of the things that demean the standing of music, I can't be playing an instrument and showing my middle finger at the same time. Though I'm naughty but that's about it," he's clear on a couple of things.

Rewind to Delhi auditions. He says, "The auditions were in four zones -- Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai with Kailash Kher, Ram Sampat and Nikhil Chinappa in the jury and there were more than 3,000 participants." And more than 500 guitarists, cut short to five. "Out of those five, I was selected." As of now, there are going to be 75 people from the whole country battling in Mumbai for MTV's hunt for a commercial Indian rock band. Says Nirdosh, "My audition was a little funny. Kailash Kher shouts if there's was any guitarist among the audience. I raise my hand and as soon as I'm about to play, they ask me to stop and play some funky blues along with three or four other contestants."

Playing keyboard, guitar for 18 years now, music came naturally to him, as did the auditions. "Even Nikhil Chinappa seemed to be running others down but he told me that I looked like a rock star. For the next five hours I didn't come off stage and was asked to play with every contestant auditioning." That did the magic.

But don't we have a reality show contestant in almost every classroom of the city by now? "It all depends on how you utilise the opportunity. Reality show's just a platform, at the end of the day, you have to deliver good music." It's just eat, sleep and practice these days. "I'm practicing 10 hours a day." And what of the other De Innovatives members? "They're excited, they only forced me into participating." Kudos!

— Manpriya Khurana

What do you do for candidates who come to interviews armed with everything except confidence, communications skills and business etiquette? Set up grooming schools.

Mansi Gupta, former regional manager of HDFC Bank, set up such a school in June after she saw about 95 percent of the candidates getting rejected during interviews at the bank year after year due to problems with their overall personality.

"It was heartbreaking to see the sad faces of the candidates who used to walk away after getting rejected just because they could not impress the interviewers with their communication skills. It was then I realised that what students need is a training institute where they will be taught how to face an interview panel," said Gupta. Word's Worth Institute, as her school is called, trains people not only on how to conduct themselves in front of recruiters but also how to carry themselves in their day-to-day lives, she added.

Gupta is not alone in her endeavour. The Pria Warrick Finishing Academy is yet another corporate grooming institute, and its founder Pria Warrick states similar reasons for setting it up in 1990. "Most people assume that anyone with a degree in MBA, IT or law can sail through life. But statistics reveal that you require 15 percent technical skills and 85 percent of a mix of social etiquette, business etiquette and dining etiquette to advance in your career or personal life," Warrick said. From Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and managing directors to top management executives and front line executives, Warrick's academy finds professionals from different walks of life among its students." What is the difference between one advocate and the other or one architect and the next? Both have technical skills, but it is the art of carrying yourself that makes you stand out," Warrick said.

So what do these grooming institutes teach a student? According to Nishant Saxena, one of the founders of Elements Akademia, there are several reasons why an interviewee can be rejected. "The first can be their inability to listen properly because instead of concentrating on the question till the end, they start thinking of the answer and end up giving an incomplete or inappropriate response," Saxena said. "Then, a problem in their attitude, inability to handle the interview without getting confused or sounding under-confident and not having corporate awareness are the other major hindrances which we teach our students to overcome," he added.

Teaching conversational English is another area most of these centres focus on. CEO of WLC College Malobika Sengupta went on to say that besides the regular grooming sessions, they also ensure that their students get hands-on experience in the corporate world so that they can actually put their theory lessons to practice. "We have regular classes from eight to 11 in the morning and then give the students the advantage of working from 12 to six in the evening in any corporate industry, so that they get a corporate exposure even before they finally enter any company," Sengupta said. Deepti Khare, a BPO employee who had taken a grooming course, said: "The six-month course on grooming completely changed my personality. For one, it instilled in me the confidence to face the interview panel without getting the jitters." Talking about the students whose communication skills have been honed in these training schools, Arun Arora, director of Gopal and Sons Private Limited, said: "The students coming from these corporate grooming schools possess specific and identifiable personality traits." "They have a creative imagination, individuality, a determination to succeed and a strong desire to make money for themselves and their employers. They also have a capacity to work hard and generate new ideas that are profitable for the organisation," Arora said. — IANS

Today's trend is a combination of functionality and fashion. Comfort is a factor that must be taken into consideration and this is more so during summer and monsoons. You must feel comfortable in whatever you wear, so that you can carry yourself well, with confidence. If you keep fidgeting with your clothes, or have shoes that pinch, how can you feel or look confident?

Whatever fashion trends may be, the golden rule for hot and humid weather is simplicity. Your grooming begins with personal hygiene. It is best to wear cotton underwear during summer, because cool, porous materials help perspiration to escape and evaporate. Loose, light clothing is also much more appropriate and comfortable during summer. Cotton shields can be used under the arms to absorb sweat and protect clothing. A daily change of clothing is a must.

For your clothes, simple lines and pastel, serene colours would be suitable. Go for clean cuts, with a minimum of detail. Avoid frills and flounces. Blue jeans never go out of fashion, but try jeans, in other colours too, like greys, beige and white. Another "cool" trick is to use two shades of the same colour, like two progressive shades of silver blue or powder pink, both good summer colours. During the day, subtle colours like gray, beige, ivory, lemon, leaf green or pista green and white will do the trick. Two-tones can look good, like two tones of gray, blue, green or browns. Neutral shades are easy to find accessories for, because you can match shoes and handbags easily.

Fabrics like cotton, organza, chiffon, crepes, georgettes or lace look summery and feel comfortable. Try flowing chiffon or georgette top for evening wear. Avoid synthetic fabrics, tight figure hugging dresses and tops. Flowing styles look and feel cool. Large prints or bold abstract prints should be avoided too, as they detract from the cool look. Candy stripes and small baby checks in soft pastel shades, trimmed with lace, look attractive in hot weather.

Accessories can also make the outfit look special. You can match colours, contrast, or use a theme, like traditional handlooms or prints. With it wear a chiffon dupatta with light trimmings, or tiny sequins or crystal work to add glamour.

Hand bags are accessories no girl can do without. It can be used in a way to set off your clothes. Long cloth sling bags in bright shades can look good and brighten up your outfit. Big bags are in. Add your own touch to it.

Cut down on jewelry for hot days. Silver has a cooler look than gold. Light stone studded jewelry is very much in fashion. Avoid tight chokers around the neck. Long, loose dangling chains or beads are great for summer. Large hoop (ring) earings are suitable accessories for young girls. Keep your hair simply styled and away from the face. It will make you look and feel cool. If you have long hair, put it up with the help of a large hair clip, co-ordinating them with your clothes.

Pay special attention to your feet. After washing them well. Dry thoroughly and apply talcum powder. In the hot season, slippers and open sandals are best, as they allow the perspiration to evaporate. However, open footwear attracts dirt and foot hygiene becomes all the more important. After a hot day, soak your feet in cold water, to which some salt has been added. To add the last touch to your grooming, keep to light fragrances Floral or lemony fragrances are just right in summer. Cologne, after a shower, can be most refreshing.