Tylka, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University's Marion campus has conducted several studies on the concept of intuitive eating. In one study published in April involving 199 college-aged women, Tylka found that women who followed intuitive eating principles had a slightly lower body weight than women who did not.

"Intuitive eating was negatively associated with body mass, such that people who ate intuitively weighed less than people who dieted," she said.

In her latest studies presented this month at the American Psychological Association meeting, Tylka and her colleagues examined who was most likely to follow intuitive eating principles.

They found, among nearly 600 college women, that those with higher levels of appreciation and acceptance for their body were more likely to be intuitive eaters.

Intuitive eaters spend less time thinking about how their body appears to others and more time considering how their body feels and functions, Tylka observed. They "perceive the body as an agent of action rather than an object of attraction...focusing on how the body functions rather than its appearance," Tylka told Reuters Health.

Intuitive eating, Tylka's found, is "positively associated with psychological well-being, such as self-esteem, positive emotions, adaptive coping, self-acceptance, optimism, and resilience in the face of stress."

Intuitive eaters also reported receiving more positive messages from parents and others regarding their bodies.

A group of cardiologists from Athens's Ippocrateio Hospital studied statistics related to fatal heart attacks recorded in 2001 alongside daily reports by the National Meteorological Service (EMY) regarding temperature and humidity levels.

The research revealed that the average number of fatal heart attacks per day recorded in the winter of that year was about 32 percent greater than the daily average that summer. For those aged over 70, the number of fatal heart attacks recorded in December was double that in June.

In December, the average lowest temperature was 5.9 degrees Celsius (42.6 Fahrenheit) with 72.6 percent humidity as compared to 34.3 degrees Celsius (93.7 Fahrenheit) and 43.6 percent humidity in August.

The Medical Research Council team found that the exceptionally high levels of prostaglandin fuelled tumour growth.

They told the Journal of Endocrinology and Human Reproduction that women with either cancer should ask their partners to wear condoms during sex.

But a cancer expert said the chances of unprotected sex affecting a patient's outcome was "slight".

Cervical cancer is usually triggered by the human papilloma virus.

There are about 2,800 cases each year in the UK. In 2004, the latest year for which there are figures, there were just over 1,000 deaths from the disease.

It is the second most common cancer in women under 35.

But scientists believe other factors are involved in causing the virus to develop into cancer.

Potential treatment

Prostaglandin occurs naturally in the cells which line the female reproductive organs. Its role is to regulate cell growth and direct the womb lining to either thicken or shed during the monthly menstrual cycle.

But the concentration of prostaglandin in semen is 1,000 times higher.

Cervical and womb (uterine) tumour cells have prostaglandin receptor molecules on their surface.

The MRC team exposed cancerous tissue to prostaglandin.

They found that the influx of prostaglandin in semen boosted the normal level of signalling between cells.

This high volume starts new cascades of signals that eventually lead to an increase in tumour growth.

The researchers say the finding may help develop a treatment which could stop prostaglandin reaching the tumour cell receptors, and therefore slow the progress of a cancer.

Smear tests

Dr Henry Jabbour, who led the research, added there was action women could take now.

"Sexually active women who are at risk of cervical or uterine cancer should encourage their partners to wear a condom to prevent increased exposure to the prostaglandins that might make their condition worse.

''This also highlights the potential for a new therapeutic approach that will tackle both possible sources of prostaglandin - those produced naturally by women and those introduced to the body by sperm.''

And he said women with pre-cancerous cells may also be affected as it was possible those cells also had prostaglandin receptors, though more work was needed to look into that.

Professor John Toy, medical director at Cancer Research UK, said: "This an interesting piece of laboratory research but it has little relevance to women already diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK because they will already be receiving appropriate anti-cancer treatment.

"The likelihood of any unprotected sex affecting the successful outcome of their treatment is considered slight.

"The most important thing that women can do at this time to prevent cervical cancer from developing is to go for regular cervical smear tests."