Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Aug 10 1992 Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 04:17:59 EDT Message-ID: 08-10 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Aug. 10, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network YO-YO DIETING EXPLORED: Yo-yo dieting - the cycle of losing weight and gaining it back - may not hurt future weight loss as previously believed, two new studies suggest. Researchers have thought for several years that losing and regaining large amounts of weight makes it more difficult to lose weight the next time. Studies in a supplement to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show otherwise. (For more, see special Yo-Yo package below.) STRANGE ILLNESS BESETS VETERANS: Persian Gulf War veterans are blaming fumes from the Kuwaiti oil well fires for mysterious and lingering ailments. Last week, doctors found high levels of hydrocarbons in the blood of a Navy veteran in Texas. Marine Capt. Dave Fournier, 41, is too tired to do much of anything and sweats profusely at night. "Every time I take a shower, I lose hundreds of strands of hair," said Fournier. FEMALE CANCER VICTIMS SOUGHT: The American Cancer Society is seeking post-menopausal women, 48-75, who were diagnosed with breast cancer after Jan. 1, 1991 in New York. A study is under way to determine if cutting the fat in a breast cancer patient's diet will cut the chances of the cancer returning. TREATMENT BLUNTS PANIC ATTACKS: People with panic attacks are best treated with an explanation and a quick return to the scene of the attack, suggests a Canadian study. People who were urged to revisit the site of the attack as soon as possible and remain there until anxiety decreased reported fewer recurrences three and six months later. Nearly three million Americans have a disorder that causes recurrent panic attacks. WEATHER CHANGE CAN ALTER MOOD: Some people suffer from the heat, and their physical well-being could be affected. According to Dr. Lawrence Armstrong of the University of Connecticut, in extreme heat, many people feel lethargic due to changes in the body's circulation. In order for the body to keep cool, the heart sends more blood to the skin. Less blood is available to fuel the muscles, causing weakness. GROUP WANTS PUBLIC SMOKING BAN: Activists have intensified their campaign to get smoking banned in public places, just two weeks after an Environmental Protection Agency panel concluded second-hand tobacco smoke can lead to cancer. Anti-smoking groups are using the EPA report - still in its draft stage - in lawsuits and lobbying campaigns. The goal: To ban smoking in places ranging from restaurants to sports stadiums. ACTIVISTS LOBBY FOR CHILDREN: Activists say an EPA study may be used in child-custody cases by parents who do not want their children living with smokers. "The surgeon general set as a goal a smoke-free society by the year 2000, and I think that could happen - with the exception of a few diehard Southern states," said John Banzhaf, director of Action on Smoking and Health, an anti-smoking group in Washington. OSHA MAY BE UPDATED: The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee plans to meet Wednesday to write legislation to improve the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Also on the committee's agenda: Authorizing the Breast Cancer Screening Act and reauthorizing the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. NURSING EDUCATION FUNDS CUT: Federal funds for education programs to prepare registered nurses may drop to their lowest levels in 10 years. The Labor Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee cut $14.1 million from nursing programs for fiscal year 1993. The American Nurses Association says, "We can expect more deaths from preventable diseases that had been controlled." SPECIAL PACKAGE ON YO-YO: PAST DIETING NOT A MAJOR FACTOR: Obesity expert Thomas Wadden of Syracuse University put 50 obese women on a six-month diet. Most dieters were either: High cyclers - women who had been on an average of seven major diets with a loss and regain of 172 pounds; or low-cyclers - those who had been on a total of three major diets and lost and regained 58 pounds. Low cyclers lost 44 pounds; high cyclers trimmed 48 pounds. CRASH DIETING STILL NOT GOOD: A study by researchers at Cambridge University found no evidence that weight cycling increased body fat in obese people who went through three cycles of weight loss and regain. Findings shouldn't give people the message they can crash diet, Wadden says. "There's no question that the psychological damage of losing weight and regaining it is terrible." WADDEN'S FINDING BACKED UP: Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, reviewed 11 studies on yo-yo dieting. Wing says she "found no consistent evidence that weight cycling affects an individual's ability to lose weight." (End of package.) Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. 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