At my daughter Kristin's Alma Mater, West Point Cadets celebrating the demise of "you-know-who!"
Here is what I am reading today:
“Exposure to secondhand smoke, such as a person can get by riding in an enclosed car while someone else smokes, has a direct, measurable impact on the brain — and the effect is similar to what happens in the brain of the person doing the smoking. In fact, exposure to this secondhand smoke evokes cravings among smokers, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.”
“Scientists believe that the widespread use of antibiotics may be playing a significant role in exacerbating the obesity epidemic. Growing evidence suggests that oral antibiotic medicines may be affecting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the human intestine which is influencing whether some people put on weight when they overeat or take too little exercise, they said.”
“About one out of every 20 people above the age of the 65 has dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society said a healthy lifestyle could reduce the risk. Those with a body mass index (BMI) – which measures weight relative to height – greater than 30, who are classified as obese, were 288% more likely to develop dementia than those with a BMI between 20 and 25, according to the study.”
2 Comments
mdean · May 4, 2011 at 3:29 pm
For the secondhand smoke article, does the being in a smoke-filled room for an hour have to be an hour straight or does it encompass alternatives like being in a smoke-filled room for 20 minutes 3 different times during the day? If the shorter exposures that add up to an hour have the same effect of targeting receptors that are normally effected by direct tobacco smoke, then that is extremely disturbing. Either way smoking is clearly a terrible habit when it can do so much harm to someone not even actively partaking in the activity.
Annadavis · May 4, 2011 at 8:00 pm
I am not convinced about the correlation between antibiotics and obesity. I wondered what the gender distribution was in their studies. I do not know what the statistics are for men and women in the military being infected with STDs, especially when serving on remote tours in places like Korea and the Philippines. I served 2 years in Korea and I remember that STDs were so prevalent there that it was common to hear talk of this guy or that guy getting ‘burned’ but I know that most remained within the required fitness and weight standards of the military. Hmmmmm…..
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