At a time when social consciousness about food is on the rise (thanks, Food, Inc.), it's no surprise that people are cutting out red meat, making the switch to organic, and generally trying to make smarter nutritional choices. Let's face it, we all want to live a healthier life, and a big part of that is being aware of what kind of food we're putting into our bodies. But what happens when the desire to be healthy becomes an all-consuming obsession? The answer is Orthorexia Nervosa.

A recent article from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism explains that orthorexia -- a term coined by Colorado-based physician Dr. Steven Bratman -- may start out as a desire to be more healthy, but eventually morphs into an unhealthy obsession with eating only certain foods, while heavily restricting others. One woman featured in the piece -- currently in college -- says that she won't eat gluten and dairy, only eats quinoa or alternative grains and sticks to lean meats, vegetables, and fruit. Sounds healthy, right? Well, on the surface, yes. But she also admitted that she is obsessively concerned with being healthy and, as a result, is currently undergoing treatment.

The piece also highlights an Italian study published in the Italian medical journal Eating and Weight Disorders, which examined 404 volunteers and found almost 7 percent of them suffered from orthorexia. Researchers defined this condition as "a combination of those with obsessive-compulsive personality features and exaggerated healthy eating behavior."

It seems hard to believe, but December has officially arrived. And while you may not be ready to retire your running shoes just yet, your days of jogging outside in the crisp evening air are numbered (unless, of course, you are a fan of running in the snow). But don't let a drop in the temperature keep you from exercising in the great outdoors -- strap on some skates and get fit with a fun (and effective!) winter workout.

According to Todd Galati, a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, a 150-pound recreational skater who combines faster and slower skating can actually burn around eight-and-a-half calories per minute. And it might even be better for your joints than that early morning jog: "With running you have to land," says Galati. "The gliding motion of ice skating takes away that pounding, repetitive motion of hitting the ground."

Aside from being an excellent cardio workout, ice skating can help improve your balance and coordination, strengthen your core and work your legs and glutes. Plus, it's just plain fun!

If you're new to the skating world, don't worry -- many rinks offer skate rentals, so you can borrow a pair for a nominal fee and give it a try before you commit to blades of your own. But before you hit the ice, consider these tips from BodyBreak's Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod:

If you pride yourself on being a meat lover, it may be time to reconsider your carnivorous ways. In a series of papers on health and climate change (coming just ahead of next month's Copenhagen conference on climate change), British and Australian researchers suggested that cutting back on meat consumption would not only be beneficial to the earth, but improve health among people in meat-loving countries as well.

Although we may not give it much thought while we're wandering the aisles of the grocery store, when it comes to the environment, the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases is livestock farming. And in addition to the harm that meat production does to the planet, meat consumption is taking its toll on our health, too. According to researchers, "Livestock products are a source of some essential nutrients, [but] they provide large amounts of saturated fat, which is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease."

If being more eco-friendly and lowering your risk of heart disease aren't enough to make you step away from the steak, chew on this: the study found that in Britain, decreasing meat consumption by as much as 30 percent could mean avoiding as many as 18,000 premature deaths in a single year.

If sitting at a desk all day has left you feeling like work is a real pain in the neck, you're not alone. According to a team of Danish researchers, repetitive strain injuries are have become quite common, particularly among office workers. In fact, a recent Danish survey found that more than half of female office workers reported some experience with neck and shoulder pain. Thankfully, the team's latest findings offer a simple solution that can mean big relief for pain sufferers.

After randomly splitting a group of 42 women into three groups -- specific strength training, general fitness training and reference (control) -- researchers found that after 10 weeks, women who engaged in strength training with dumbbells reduced their pain levels by 50 percent. The strength training included five specific exercises: one-arm row, shoulder abduction, shoulder elevation, reverse fly and upright row.

How does it work?

Skipping has been making a comeback lately, as a simple and fun way to sneak more cardio into your weekly workout. But as it turns out, the simple act of jumping up and down, be it with a skipping rope or without, could have a positive effect on your bones, too.

The impact of exercise on bones is a controversial issue in the world of sports science, as detailed in a recent collection of articles in the December issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. According to Dr. Daniel W. Barry, a researcher and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, "There was a time, not so long ago," when most researchers assumed "that any and all activity would be beneficial for bone health." However, researchers have since discovered that only some exercises are effective in strengthening bones, while others -- like swimming, cycling and weight lifting -- are not.

What makes researchers so sure that jumping up and down is the key? Japanese studies involving mice showed a significant increase in bone density when the mice jumped and landed several times a week, over a period of time. "Jumping is great, if your bones are strong enough to begin with," Dr. Barry told the New York Times. "You probably don't need to do a lot, either."

So what are you waiting for? Grab that old skipping rope, and hop to it! Your bones will thank you.