Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health,americast.usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Oct 5 1992 Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 04:46:08 EDT Message-ID: 10-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Oct. 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TV DESCRIBED AS HARMFUL: Researchers shared their work about the impact of television on the brains of young children in a recent conference sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. "We consistently find that heavy viewing of television - especially the action:adventure programs - is associated with more aggressive behavior," said Jerome Singer, a psychology professor from Yale University. (For more, see special TV package below.) THE NATION IS ILL: The nation's social health is not good. So says a Fordham University study out Monday. The Index of Social Health shows child abuse, teen suicide, health insurance coverage, average weekly earnings and the gap between rich and poor are at their worst levels ever. Three factors showing improvement: The high school dropout rate, food stamp coverage and infant mortality. INDEX CALLED `BALONEY': Marc Miringoff, Fordham Institute director, says the nation's social health since 1970 was best during the Nixon years and is at its lowest under Bush. But Robert Rector, the Heritage Foundation, says some of the measures are "baloney." The affordable housing measure, he says, doesn't consider that people buy homes costing more now because they expect more amenities. SCIENTIST HAS PRESSURE COOKER: Thin air at high altitudes offers an elixir to endurance athletes by stimulating the production of red blood cells. Result: Athletes tire less when competing at sea level. But not all aspiring Olympians can live in the peaks, so Igor Gamow of the University of Colorado has come up with a pressurized sleeping chamber that simulates high altitudes. Price: $9,000. TANNING BOOTH WARNINGS RETURN: Researchers at Bowman Gray Medical school at Wake Forest University published the results of a survey of 984 employees and proprietors of tanning facilities in North Carolina. Findings: 71% of the respondents had never received special training to operate tanning beds; 44% of operators knew that people taking common drugs - including certain antibiotics - could burn quickly and severely. MANY WOULD LIE IN BED: About 34% of men and 10% of women would tell some lie about their sexual history rather than risk being rejected in bed. That's according to Fitness Magazine's October issue, which reports on a University of California survey of 422 single, sexually active college students. Researchers found 20% of men and 4% of women would lie about having been tested for the HIV virus. FAMILIES CHOOSE FITNESS: Good health and fitness are priorities for the 227 families who responded to USA TODAY's search for the nation's most fit families. But too many others aren't paying attention, recent studies show: Teens in 1989 were five to seven pounds heavier and a minute slower in the mile run than in 1980. Another found that 10-year-olds in 1990 weigh about three pounds more than 10-year-olds in 1973. WASHINGTON PHYSICIANS MEET: Without universal access to health insurance, health care reform is bound to fail, said Dr. Anna Chavelle, president of the Washington State Medical Association. The 7,500-member group concluded its annual meeting Saturday by reiterating support for reform with emphasis on access to basic health insurance. GUIDE OUT FOR KIDS' HEALTH: Parents can improve their kids' health with information in a free brochure. "Fundamentals of Feeding Kids in the 90s" includes the new Food Guide Pyramid and answers questions frequently asked by parents. Write to: Feeding Kids Brochure, P.O. Box 39101, Chicago, Ill., 60639-9946. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TV: PARENTS NEED TO `TAKE CONTROL': "Parents need to take control of TV just as they control the other aspects of a child's life," says Jerome Singer of Yale University. Children don't learn by passively watching television, the experts agreed. "The brain doesn't learn just by looking and hearing," said Dr. Jane Bernstein, director of neuropsychology at Boston's Children's Hospital. "It must interact." BRAIN NEEDS STIMULATION: The relationship between heavy television viewing and behavior problems such as aggression and attention deficits has long been debated by psychologists. Research on rat brains shows lack of healthy stimulation limits growth of the rat's cerebral cortex, said Marian Diamond, a professor of anatomy at the University of California at Berkeley. STUDY DONE ON RATS: Diamond described separating a family of rats, placing one group into an isolated cage while keeping a larger group in a cage with stimulating toys. The results: The stimulated rats had larger cortexes, larger nerve cell bodies and larger blood vessels in the brain. Diamond made no attempt to draw a direct parallel from her rat experiments to children watching television. (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. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM