Health Nut

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Health News - Body, Mind & Soul

In the news this week...  
  • Novelist says girls are ready to have babies at 14
  • Too little sleep linked to increased belly fat
  • To buy happiness, book a plane ticket
  • Top 10 College Majors For Women

Top Stories

Sex infection frankness is 'key to long relationship' (BBC) - Young people think frank conversations about their sex lives signal that a relationship will last, says a survey.  The government-funded Populus poll of more than 1,200 15 to 24-year-olds cited talking about sexual infections and a person's sexual past as key.  They even thought this was a better sign of a relationship getting serious than meeting parents.  But 73% admitted that they did not talk about sexually transmitted diseases before having sex with a new partner.  And 30% said they felt uncomfortable asking a new partner to use a condom.  (Read more)

A Hidden Trigger of Obesity: Intestinal Bugs (TIME) - If you're fighting the battle of the bulge, most of your attention - and frustration - is probably aimed at your midsection. It makes sense, since that's where the extra pounds tend to gravitate, especially with the creep of middle age, piling on to form that dreaded spare tire.  But a growing body of research suggests there's another, less visible reason to focus on your gut if you want to lose weight. Scientists led by Andrew Gewirtz at Emory University reveal that your intestines harbor a universe of bacteria - the so-called gut microbiota - that may play an important role in whether your body will store the food you eat as extra pounds.  (Read more)

In Obesity Epidemic, What's One Cookie? (NY TIMES) - The basic formula for gaining and losing weight is well known: a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories.  That simple equation has fueled the widely accepted notion that weight loss does not require daunting lifestyle changes but "small changes that add up," as the first lady, Michelle Obama, put it last month in announcing a national plan to counter childhood obesity.  In this view, cutting out or burning just 100 extra calories a day - by replacing soda with water, say, or walking to school - can lead to significant weight loss over time: a pound every 35 days, or more than 10 pounds a year.  While it's certainly a hopeful message, it's also misleading.  (Read more)

Young marijuana smokers at higher risk for psychoses (CNN) - Teenage marijuana smokers are at higher risk for developing psychoses -- such as schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions -- compared with those who don't smoke marijuana, a new study says. ... "We looked at the association between how old they were when they first started to use cannabis. And then, on the other hand, we looked at how their mental health was and, in particular, whether they had psychotic disorders or isolated symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions. And indeed we found a highly significant relationship," said psychiatrist John McGrath, a professor at the Brain Institute, the study's lead researcher.  "For those who started using cannabis when they were 14 or 15, they had about a two-fold risk of schizophrenia."  (Read more)

'Alcopops' only look innocent, hook kids on booze (SEATTLE TIMES) - The alcohol industry has found ways to make its products attractive to kids, and parents may not realize what it is their children are drinking.  So-called "alcopops" taste like fruit juice but can contain as much booze, or more, than some beers. Girls, in particular, love the sweet malt punch.  Other beverages are packaged to look like popular energy drinks, but contain liquor.  "One of the big trends we are seeing is with alcopops. We've had clients who don't even realize they are alcohol," said Tiffanie Ferguson, an adolescent program coordinator at Akron, Ohio's Community Health Center.  (Read more)


Multimedia

Do you suffer from SAD? (MSNBC) - Dr. Roshini Raj speaks with TODAY's Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb about seasonal affective disorder and the real effects winter weather can have on your mood.  (Watch video)

Sleep shortage takes its toll (MSNBC) - It seems easy enough: You're tired, you lay down, put your head on a pillow and sleep. But for many, it's not that simple. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.  (Watch video)

What's behind those hefty charges? (CBC) - (Canada) Does shock, anger or confusion best describe your reaction to your cellphone bill?   (Watch video)

Fitness helps with academics (CNN) - A new study finds that being physically fit can help with academic performance as CNN's Christi Paul reports.  (Watch video)

More children getting bifocals (MSNBC) - A new study suggests bifocals may be the best choice for children with worsening myopia. KNSD-TV's Monica Dean reports.  (Watch video)

Low-fat vs. low-carb (CNN) - Low-carb and low-fat diet results are about the same long term. Susan Hendricks reports.  (Watch video)

Rental cars are sometimes vile vehicles (MSNBC) - Lab results show that some rental cars contains as much contamination as that found in public restrooms. NBC's Jeff Rossen exposes secret filth.  (Watch video)

Safe sex PSA: Men are jerks! (SALON) - Are stereotypes about young dudes really the best way to encourage contraceptive use?  (Watch video)

Study: Kids over-exposed to sexual images (MSNBC) - A London-based study says children and young people were exposed to growing amounts of "hyper-sexualized images." NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.  (Watch video)

Lifestyle

Top 10 College Majors For Women (FORBES) - Business is the No. 1 college major for women and men, according to a recent AAUW (formerly known as the American Association of University Women) analysis of the Department of Education's "Condition of Education 2009" report, the most recent data available. Business degrees now comprise 18% of all degrees awarded to women, nearly twice as much as the No. 2 most popular major, health professions and clinical sciences.  But despite more women moving into this field of study, there is a continuing gender imbalance in the majority of undergraduate college majors.  (Read more)

Find Happiness At Work (FORBES) - In her new book Happiness At Work (Wiley-Blackwell), Jessica Pryce-Jones calculates that workers will spend an average of 90,000 hours at work in their lifetimes. In an attempt to make that time more pleasant, she pinpoints the major elements that contribute to a person's happiness or discontent. She believes if a worker has high levels of confidence, commitment, conviction, contribution and culture fit, paired with feelings of recognition, pride and trust in the company, they will achieve their potential at work.  "These items are low right now because of the economic climate we're in," says Pryce-Jones. "I'd advise thinking about the tasks and relationships in your job that you really enjoy, and figure out how to maximize them."  (Read more)

To Impress, Tufts Prospects Turn to YouTube (NY TIMES) - There are videos showing off card tricks, horsemanship, jump rope and stencils - and lots of rap songs, including one by a young woman who performed two weeks after oral surgery, with her mouth still rubber-banded shut.  ... It is reading season at the Tufts University admissions office, time to plow through thousands of essays and transcripts and recommendations - and this year, for the first time, short YouTube videos that students could post to supplement their application.  (Read more)

Off The beaten Path...

Breast ironing, a painful practice for Cameroon's girls (WASHINGTON POST) - The phenomenon gained some international attention in 2006, thanks to a campaign by a nonprofit organization. Since then, the State Department has included breast ironing in its annual reports on human rights abroad. But despite the increased attention, the practice persists. It affects as many as one in four girls, according to local health activists. Some mothers massage hot grinding-stones into their daughters' chests, while others pound the tissue with heated plantain peels. Sometimes, women rub kerosene or medicinal herbs on adolescent breasts.   To understand what would drive a mother to press a hot stone into her daughter's chest, I talked to local women, girls, physicians and community organizers.  (Read more)

Novelist says girls are ready to have babies at 14 (TELEGRAPH) - The 57-year-old novelist said that society ran on a "male timetable" which dictated that women should have babies at an older age.  "Having sex and having babies is what young women are about, and their instincts are suppressed in the interests of society's timetable," she said.  "I think it is that men's lives have set the timetable. Men reach a sort of sexual peak when you are 20, a social peak when you are 40.  "There is this breed of women for whom society's timetable is completely wrong."  Mantel, who won the Man Booker Prize last year for her novel Wolf Hall, said that society was "incredibly hypocritical" about teenage sex and teenagers having babies.  (Read more)

A rare pact: Teens' double suicide rocks Pa. town (AP) - As the high-speed Acela train came thundering down the rails, a teenage girl screamed at her friends to get off the tracks.  But Gina Gentile and Vanessa Dorwart did not move. They hugged as the train bore down on them at speeds up to 110 mph, carrying out a suicide pact that the witness herself had backed out of only moments before.  The loss has shaken Norwood and its neighboring towns just outside Philadelphia. There were hints the pretty and popular high school sophomores may have been suffering from depression, but experts say such suicide pacts are extremely uncommon - especially among teens. Pacts are made because suicide is so daunting - and they are broken for the same reason, said Thomas Joiner, a psychology professor at Florida State University.  "This is a deeply fearsome thing," Joiner said. "We're not wired for it; our bodies will recoil from it."  (Read more)

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Health Tip

(HealthDay News) - Indigestion may be the upshot of overeating or gobbling up too much food that "disagrees" with you.  In addition to avoiding foods that you don't tolerate well, the American Academy of Family Physicians says you can also help prevent indigestion by:
  • Limiting greasy, high-fat foods.
  • Limiting consumption of chocolate.
  • Eating slowly without rushing.
  • Not smoking.
  • Managing stress and relaxing.
  • Resting at least an hour after a meal before starting strenuous activity or exercise.



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Tags: health nut, health news

Published on April 29, 2010 by Jamie | Read all recent Health Nut articles.

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