Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/G6aozfdBiuk

Big business is pushing yet another unhealthy, addictive habit on our teens and young adults.  We can now add tanning’s carcinogenic UV radiation to tobacco’s cancer-triggering smoke, vaping’s addicting nicotine, and alcohol’s liver damaging metabolites.

Community medicine and public health investigators at the University of Colorado reviewed the advertising and business practices of 94 tanning enterprises across  America.  They found that advertising preferentially targets the young with low, introductory pricing and packages that encourage overuse.

Nineteen states ban indoor tanning salon use for those under 18 years, but tanning beds are also found in many health clubs and apartment complexes with little or no oversight.  Over 80,000 cases of potentially deadly melanoma surface each year, and tanning in salons but also on the beach could make you or your child one of the next victims.

One last point to consider: a preliminary study from Georgetown University’s Cancer Center suggest that indoor tanning may well be addictive.  It’s disgusting that business once again preys on human frailty to make blood money.

Nancy L. Asdigian, Yang Liu, Joni A. Mayer, Gery P. Guy, L. Miriam Dickinson, Lori A. Crane. The high costs of cheap tanning: pricing and promotional practices of indoor tanning facilities in six cities in the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy, 2019; DOI: 10.1057/s41271-019-00175-4

Darren Mays, Jaeil Ahn, Bingsong Zhang, Michael B Atkins, David Goerlitz, Kenneth P Tercyak. Genetic Associations with Indoor Tanning Addiction among non-Hispanic White Young Adult Women. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaz021

#Tanning #adolescents #melanoma

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/G6aozfdBiuk

Big business is pushing yet another unhealthy, addictive habit on our teens and young adults.  We can now add tanning’s carcinogenic UV radiation to tobacco’s cancer-triggering smoke, vaping’s addicting nicotine, and alcohol’s liver damaging metabolites.

Community medicine and public health investigators at the University of Colorado reviewed the advertising and business practices of 94 tanning enterprises across  America.  They found that advertising preferentially targets the young with low, introductory pricing and packages that encourage overuse.

Nineteen states ban indoor tanning salon use for those under 18 years, but tanning beds are also found in many health clubs and apartment complexes with little or no oversight.  Over 80,000 cases of potentially deadly melanoma surface each year, and tanning in salons but also on the beach could make you or your child one of the next victims.

One last point to consider: a preliminary study from Georgetown University’s Cancer Center suggest that indoor tanning may well be addictive.  It’s disgusting that business once again preys on human frailty to make blood money.

Nancy L. Asdigian, Yang Liu, Joni A. Mayer, Gery P. Guy, L. Miriam Dickinson, Lori A. Crane. The high costs of cheap tanning: pricing and promotional practices of indoor tanning facilities in six cities in the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy, 2019; DOI: 10.1057/s41271-019-00175-4

Darren Mays, Jaeil Ahn, Bingsong Zhang, Michael B Atkins, David Goerlitz, Kenneth P Tercyak. Genetic Associations with Indoor Tanning Addiction among non-Hispanic White Young Adult Women. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaz021

#Tanning #adolescents #melanoma

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/aD8qLWYK4Ms

The stereotype is a very chubby teen wolfing down chips and popcorn while endlessly perfecting Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto skills.  The latest meta-analysis of some 20 studies reviewing data from 38,000 gamers show that there is no correlation between child and teen video game use and obesity.

Wait!  There IS a link between gaming and excessive weight for adults.  The German study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, suggests that, over time, good old Mother Nature catches with kids whose only physical activity is pressing controller buttons.  

Eventually there is a price to be paid for addicting, sedentary pursuits such as gaming that lead to less or virtually no time vigorously exercising your body.  That price includes heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a shorter life.

Caroline Marker, Timo Gnambs, Markus Appel. Exploring the myth of the chubby gamer: A meta-analysis of studies on sedentary video gaming and body mass. Social Science & Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.05.030

#Videogames #obesity #overweight #teens #menshealth

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/aD8qLWYK4Ms

The stereotype is a very chubby teen wolfing down chips and popcorn while endlessly perfecting Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto skills.  The latest meta-analysis of some 20 studies reviewing data from 38,000 gamers show that there is no correlation between child and teen video game use and obesity.

Wait!  There IS a link between gaming and excessive weight for adults.  The German study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, suggests that, over time, good old Mother Nature catches with kids whose only physical activity is pressing controller buttons.  

Eventually there is a price to be paid for addicting, sedentary pursuits such as gaming that lead to less or virtually no time vigorously exercising your body.  That price includes heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a shorter life.

Caroline Marker, Timo Gnambs, Markus Appel. Exploring the myth of the chubby gamer: A meta-analysis of studies on sedentary video gaming and body mass. Social Science & Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.05.030

#Videogames #obesity #overweight #teens #menshealth

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/2mYjnj9F5Tk

As our planet overheats but you still should be exercising, a cooling vest may become more important than those high tech Nike shoes.  A study from the Hiroshima University just published in Frontiers in Physiology.

Researchers there developed and tested an ice pack-laden vest.  They provided it to 8 professional soccer players whom they challenged  with a power cycling scenario that simulated a soccer game.  Wearing the cooling vest led to significantly greater mean and peak power outputs, lower heart rates, lower skin temperatures, and improved thermal comfort.

So....If you play or work in high temps and high humidities and you want your body to perform the best it can, you should try a cooling vest.  Vests with cold packs are already readily available online at reasonable prices, and you recharge the cooling packs

Yudai Chaen, Sumire Onitsuka, Hiroshi Hasegawa. Wearing a Cooling Vest During Half-Time Improves Intermittent Exercise in the Heat. Frontiers in Physiology, 2019; 10 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00711

#Coolingvest #overheating #athletics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/2mYjnj9F5Tk

As our planet overheats but you still should be exercising, a cooling vest may become more important than those high tech Nike shoes.  A study from the Hiroshima University just published in Frontiers in Physiology.

Researchers there developed and tested an ice pack-laden vest.  They provided it to 8 professional soccer players whom they challenged  with a power cycling scenario that simulated a soccer game.  Wearing the cooling vest led to significantly greater mean and peak power outputs, lower heart rates, lower skin temperatures, and improved thermal comfort.

So....If you play or work in high temps and high humidities and you want your body to perform the best it can, you should try a cooling vest.  Vests with cold packs are already readily available online at reasonable prices, and you recharge the cooling packs

Yudai Chaen, Sumire Onitsuka, Hiroshi Hasegawa. Wearing a Cooling Vest During Half-Time Improves Intermittent Exercise in the Heat. Frontiers in Physiology, 2019; 10 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00711

#Coolingvest #overheating #athletics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nWqioZcv0VA

Is your Fitbit or your Facebook page better at predicting your state of health?  Computer scientists at the University of Notre Dame now say that the strength of your social network is better than fitness wearables at predicting just how health you are.  

The investigators collected social info, Fitbit data, and a general health history from nearly 700 Notre Dame freshmen.  They developed an algorithm to quantitate the robustness of students’ friendships, and they used the wearables to  provide cardiac, exercise intensity, and sleep data.  A wellness survey permitted assessment of the students’ physical and psychological wellbeing.

It turns out that both are important, and adding the social network data significantly improves the ability of the wearable data alone to predict your state of wellness or otherwise.  The added social data improved predictability of happiness by 65%, of a positive attitude by 55%, and of stress by 38%.

So keeping healthy involves more that cycling or jogging.  Since you need solid relationships to drive wellness, exercise vigorously regularly, and with friends.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190617110533.htm

Suwen Lin, Louis Faust, Pablo Robles-Granda, Tomasz Kajdanowicz, Nitesh V. Chawla. Social network structure is predictive of health and wellness. PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (6): e0217264 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217264

#Friends #socialnetwork #fitbit #wearables #exercise #wellness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nWqioZcv0VA

Is your Fitbit or your Facebook page better at predicting your state of health?  Computer scientists at the University of Notre Dame now say that the strength of your social network is better than fitness wearables at predicting just how health you are.  

The investigators collected social info, Fitbit data, and a general health history from nearly 700 Notre Dame freshmen.  They developed an algorithm to quantitate the robustness of students’ friendships, and they used the wearables to  provide cardiac, exercise intensity, and sleep data.  A wellness survey permitted assessment of the students’ physical and psychological wellbeing.

It turns out that both are important, and adding the social network data significantly improves the ability of the wearable data alone to predict your state of wellness or otherwise.  The added social data improved predictability of happiness by 65%, of a positive attitude by 55%, and of stress by 38%.

So keeping healthy involves more that cycling or jogging.  Since you need solid relationships to drive wellness, exercise vigorously regularly, and with friends.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190617110533.htm

Suwen Lin, Louis Faust, Pablo Robles-Granda, Tomasz Kajdanowicz, Nitesh V. Chawla. Social network structure is predictive of health and wellness. PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (6): e0217264 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217264

#Friends #socialnetwork #fitbit #wearables #exercise #wellness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nt8vigRP6cA

Women in the USA thinking about starting a family choose the summer as the ideal time for conceiving that baby.  A study just published in the Journal of Applied Econometrics gathered data from American birth certificates, census information, and survey responses.

Women choose summer for conception and spring for birth since the early pregnancy and the new baby will be free from the ravages of fall and winter colds and influenza.  Women who work in education also plan their pregnancies so that the babies first 6 months will coincide with a maternity leave extended by a natural summer vacation.

The spring is an ideal time to welcome a new baby, since you can easily spend time outdoors.  The expectant mom also avoids a 3rd trimester during the dog days of summer.

Damian Clarke, Sonia Oreffice, Climent Quintana‐Domeque. The Demand for Season of Birth. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/jae.2711

#Conception #delivery #summer #spring

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nt8vigRP6cA

Women in the USA thinking about starting a family choose the summer as the ideal time for conceiving that baby.  A study just published in the Journal of Applied Econometrics gathered data from American birth certificates, census information, and survey responses.

Women choose summer for conception and spring for birth since the early pregnancy and the new baby will be free from the ravages of fall and winter colds and influenza.  Women who work in education also plan their pregnancies so that the babies first 6 months will coincide with a maternity leave extended by a natural summer vacation.

The spring is an ideal time to welcome a new baby, since you can easily spend time outdoors.  The expectant mom also avoids a 3rd trimester during the dog days of summer.

Damian Clarke, Sonia Oreffice, Climent Quintana‐Domeque. The Demand for Season of Birth. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/jae.2711

#Conception #delivery #summer #spring