Critically Speaking

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Joan Chrisler discuss the definition and origins of “sizeism", especially as it relates to rising rates of obesity.   Fat people are victims of discrimination in the workplace and fat shaming is not useful in attempting to get a person to lose weight. Many fat people avoid visiting health care professionals because they feel discriminated against in the health care setting.  This is the first in a series of Critically Speaking episodes about the obesity epidemic. Next week, the costs of the obesity epidemic will be discussed.

 Key Takeaways:

•         The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of the CDC has shown that obesity has grown from 13%   to 40% of the population from the 1960s to 2012.
•         Fat people often feel discriminated against in areas ranging from employment to health care.
•         The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance or NAAFA is an organization that promotes body positivity.

"Some of the advice fat people are given by medical professionals, mimics the systems of eating disorders.” —  Dr. Joan Chrisler

Connect with Dr. Joan Chrisler:

Email: [email protected]

ResearchGate: Joan Chrisler – Professor Emerita of Psychology at Connecticut College

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Dr. Richard P. Phelps is founder of the Nonpartisan Education Group, editor of Nonpartisan Education Review (http://nonpartisaneducation.org), a Fulbright Scholar, and fellow of the Psychophysics Laboratory. He has authored, or edited and co-authored Correcting Fallacies about Educational and Psychological Testing (APA); Standardized Testing Primer (Peter Lang); Defending Standardized Testing (Psychology Press); Kill the Messenger (Transaction), and several statistical compendia. Phelps has worked with several test development organizations, including ACT, AIR, ETS, the OECD, Pearson, and Westat. He holds degrees from Washington, Indiana, and Harvard Universities, and a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Richard Phelps discuss the education system in the United States, especially in comparison with Western Europe and other industrialized societies. They look at how Common Core, No Child Left Behind, and the changes to the SAT test have affected the curriculum, learning, and student preparedness both for further education as well as life after school. These trends in educational standards and standardized tests continue to impede our students compared to those of the industrialized world. Students from all levels and backgrounds are affected by these programs and the changes that need to be made are discussed.

 Key Takeaways:

• The U.S. is falling behind other countries, even those with less spending on education.
• Common Core and No Child Left Behind have caused progress to be lost in elementary and secondary educations standards.
• The SAT has become less of an aptitude test and more of an achievement test, and can discriminate against talented students from underrepresented groups that attended lower quality high schools.

"Most information is not on the world wide web, much of what is there is wrong, and search rankings are easily manipulated by money and interests." —  Dr. Richard Phelps

Connect with Dr. Richard Phelps:  

Twitter: @RichardPPhelps

Website: RichardPhelps.net & NonpartisanEducation.org

Research Gate: Richard P Phelps

SSRN Scholarly Papers: Richard P. Phelps

Academia: Richard P Phelps

LinkedIn: Richard P Phelps

LinkedIn Learning: Richard P Phelps

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Walter Orenstein discuss Should we vaccinate?  After the elimination of measles in the USA in 2000, the first six months of 2019 has seen over 1000 cases. Vaccination does not cause autism, but lack of vaccination can result in serious long-term consequences in some infected children. Today, Dr. Walter Orenstein, Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, provides a sound basis for making informed decisions about this currently controversial topic. 

Key Takeaways:   

• Vaccination does not cause autism: the original report was retracted, and its author relieved of his license to practice medicine. 
• Hearings on vaccine approval are open to public participation. 
• While the decision to vaccinate is an individual right, there are many facts and factors those seeking exemptions could consider.  This is a topic where separating fact from fallacy is in everyone's best interest. 

"Science does not support a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. The published article, which has been retracted, was inappropriate in terms of validity and deception and real biases in it; It was bad science. Quality science has shown very clearly no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism." - Dr. Walter Orenstein  

Connect with Dr. Walter Orenstein:     

Twitter: twitter.com/worenst 

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/walter-orenstein 

Connect with Therese:   

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net  

Twitter: @CritiSpeak  

Evidence is emerging that inflammation during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk for disorders such as autism and schizophrenia in the developing fetus, disorders that sometimes appear much later in the individual's life. Dr. Hanna Stevens, Child Psychiatrist, Division Director of Child Psychiatry and Head of the Psychiatry and Early Neurobiological Development Lab (PENDL) at the Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, discusses the relationship between material inflammation and later psychiatric outcomes.  

• There’s evidence that preeclampsia increases the risk of autism in offspring by about 50% more than it would be otherwise. 
• Microglial cells found in the fetal brain act as immune cells, but when chemical signals of inflammation are present, the cells behave differently and may impact brain development.  
• It is essential to receive prenatal care, and if you are experiencing problems linked to maternal inflammation, such as contagious diseases or preeclampsia, seek medical attention. 

"The reason for looking at this research and studying these processes is not to suggest individual women are supposed to figure out how to solve the problem.  It is at a much higher level of figuring out how, as a society, we protect healthy brain development.." —  Hanna Stevens 

Connect with Dr. Hanna Stevens:    

Website:  medicine.uiowa.edu/psychiatry/hanna-stevens 

Connect with Therese:  

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net 

Twitter: @CritiSpeak  

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Masha Gartstein discuss Descriptions of infant temperament and the most widely used definition, the dynamic nature of temperament in early childhood and how infants regulate their emotions, and finally, the negative impacts of prenatal maternal stress on an infant’s temperament.    

Key Takeaways:  

• Temperament is activity level, emotionality and fussiness 
• What psychologists refer to as "executive functions" include judgment, planning, and most predominately, flexibility.  
• Babies who exhibit distress and are unable to regulate themselves are prone to experience emotional difficulties down the road. 

"Some biological effects are non-genetic in nature, but environmentally driven, including things that mom experienced while the child was in the womb." —  Dr. Masha Gartstein 

Connect with Dr. Masha Gartstein:    

Website:   Gartstein Temperament Lab 

Connect with Therese Markow:  

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net 

Natural testosterone levels vary among all women.  Some elite female athletes exhibit elevated natural testosterone levels. Controversy exists as to whether these women should be eligible to compete in various events.  Dr. Alan Rogol, University of Virginia Medical School, Chief and Member of the American Board of Pediatrics, Sub-board in Endocrinology, advisor to the United States Anti-Doping Agency or USADA, and author of 600 scientific publications, discusses the concept of sex, testosterone and eligibility. 

• There have been a number of cases in which the sex of an elite female athlete has been questioned. 
• If a person is considered female at birth, raised as a female, and identifies as a female, why should they be disallowed to compete as a female in athletic events? 
• Is there really a natural testosterone level that should be used as a cutoff for eligibility to compete? 
• Other, genetic conditions exist which appear to confer advantages on male athletes, but they have not been disqualified from participation. 

"We are talking about women athletes with naturally occurring levels of testosterone, totally separate and distinct from the issue of doping." – Dr. Alan Rogol 

Connect with Therese:  

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net  Twitter: @CritiSpeak  

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Jane Mendle discuss how little girls who enter puberty very early often experience lasting and serious outcomes, such as educational underachievement, depression, substance abuse, and delinquency.  The underlying causes and trajectories of these negative outcomes are discussed by Dr. Jane Mendle, Director of the Adolescent Transitions Laboratory at Cornell University.

 Key Takeaways:  

• Existing research suggests that puberty, regardless of when it occurs, is tougher for girls than it is for boys.
• Girls who go through puberty ahead of their peer group are at a higher risk to develop depression and anxiety, and disordered eating.
• Early maturing boys also show higher rates of depression.  They exhibit higher rates of delinquent behaviors, earlier transition to using alcohol and smoking and other substances.
• Parental advice for those who have a little girl that's experiencing early puberty may or may not develop problems, but good communication with the girl and with her pediatrician is essential during puberty.

"It's easy to confuse physical maturity for cognitive or emotional maturity, but early puberty girls have the same age-appropriate maturity levels as any girl of the same age." —  Dr. Jane Mendle

Connect with guest:    

Email: [email protected]

Website: human.cornell.edu

Blog: blogs.cornell.edu/mendlelab/

Connect with Therese:  

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak  

In this episode, Therese Markow and Frank Biro discuss:  

• The definition of puberty and the dynamic biologic process in the body from birth through early adolescence.
• Research findings on the early onset of puberty maturation and the correlation to body mass index (BMI).
• Identifying significant behavioral risks for girls who mature earlier than their peers.

Key Takeaways:  

• Breast development is the first outward sign of puberty in young girls. Studies with elementary school children show the onset of maturation is occurring in girls as young as 8 years old.
• Some factors contributing to a higher BMI in children includes food consumption, chemicals in the environment and physical activity.
• Parents of early maturing girls are encouraged to be involved with their children and monitor their behavior closely.  Children are less likely to engage in risky behavior if they know their parents are monitoring their activities.

"When we looked at the contributing factors we examined, body mass index was the single most important contributing factor to the earlier age of the onset of puberty maturation." —  Frank Biro

Connect with Therese:  

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

In this episode, Therese Markow and Catherine Lebel discuss her study of the risks of maternal prenatal stress for the developing infant brain, how maternal mental health can program the brain of a developing fetus, children’s brain structure and subsequent mental health outcomes.  

Key Takeaways:  

• There is a correlation between maternal depression during pregnancy and the thickness of her child's cerebral cortex.   
• Manage stress during pregnancy, especially early, with a strong support system including partner, family and friends.

"We know that kids born to mothers who had higher symptoms of depression are more likely themselves to go on to develop depression later." —  Catherine Lebel 

Connect with Catherine Lebel:    

Twitter:   @catherinealabel 

Website:   www.developmentalneuroimaginglab.ca/ 

Connect with Therese:  

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net 

Not only have human sperm counts have been falling for several decades, but the trend is even seen in health college age men.  How are these changes detected?  It starts with the sperm bank and the analysis of donor semen.  How does sperm donation work?  What characteristics of semen are measured?  What does this trend mean for the need for Assisted Reproductive Technology or ART?  In this episode of Critically Speaking, Dr. Grace Centola, sperm bank director, tells it all. 

In this episode, Therese Markow and Grace Centola discuss:   

• The process of becoming a sperm donor, donation frequency and donor compensation.  
• Donation contracts and the rights of donors and of the resulting offspring.  
• A study demonstrating sperm count decline from 2003-2013, The study involved 489 23-24 year old men, and 425 semen samples.  

Key Takeaways:   

• Qualifying to become a sperm donor is more exhaustive than ever: It includes an inclusive questionnaire, physical evaluation, sample analysis, genetic testing and in-person interview.  
• Donations are not only for in vitro fertilization but also for artificial insemination.  
• There was a significant decrease in semen quality over the 10-year study period.    
• All indications are that this decrease will continue in the future, impacting the need for assisted reproductive technologies. 

 "This decrease is continuing over time, and is contributing to the increase in infertility" —  Grace Centola  

Connect with Grace Centola:  

Here is a service for younger men who want to bank their own sperm for later use.   https://www.dadikit.com 

Connect with Therese:   

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net  

Twitter: @CritiSpeak