The Checkup: November 7, 2010 - November 13, 2010

Is that right? Snack-filled diet yields 27-lb. weight loss

You may have read recently about the Kansas State University nutrition professor who lost 27 pounds while eating a diet rich in... Little Debbies. Mark Haub reportedly went from 201 pounds to 174 pounds over two months; his meals were centered around packaged snacks, sweet and savory, such as can be bought in convenience stores.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | November 12, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (8)
Categories:  Is That Right?, Nutrition and Fitness, Obesity  
Save & Share:                   

The downside of day-dreaming

We've all heard about how "living in the moment" is one of the keys to happiness. Well, some new research supports that idea, showing that people tend to be less happy when they let their minds wander. Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University are conducting an unusual study...

By Rob Stein  | November 11, 2010; 2:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Mental Health  
Save & Share:                   

Hyper-texting teens' troubling behaviors

Research reported Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association teens' excessive texting was linked to increased risk of tobacco, drug and alcohol use, fighting and having sex.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | November 11, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  Alcohol and Drugs, Family Health, Parenting, Social Media, Teens  
Save & Share:                   

New cigarette warnings unveiled

Federal health officials on Wednesday announced plans to require cigarette packs and ads to carry bigger, much more prominent and graphic health warnings, including images of dead bodies, cancer patients and diseased lungs. The Health and Human Services Department, which announced the new initiative, called the new warnings "the most significant change in more than 25 years" in cigarette packages and advertising.

By Rob Stein  | November 10, 2010; 8:49 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (68)
Categories:  FDA, Smoking  
Save & Share:                   

Do 'probiotics' work?

A lot of people these days are taking "probiotics" to help with a host of health problems. Probiotics are live microorganisms, such as bacteria. But these bugs supposedly make people feel better instead of making them sick. This may sound odd. But there's some evidence that this approach could be...

By Rob Stein  | November 10, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Travel Health, diarrhea  
Save & Share:                   

Stress in America

The American Psychological Association conducted an online survey of 1,134 adults ages 18 and older from Aug. 3 to Aug. 27, including 100 adults who were parents of children ages 8 to 17. In addition to the national sample, the association surveyed another 937 adult parents. The report also includes the results of another online survey from Aug. 19 to Aug. 24 of 1,136 young people ages 8 to 17. The survey found that a majority of Americans are living with "moderate" stress, which is a stress level of four to seven on a scale of one to 10. Although that's about the same level of stress as the survey found last year, fewer adults reported being satisfied with how their employer helps employees balance work and non-work.

By Rob Stein  | November 9, 2010; 2:31 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (30)
Categories:  Psychology, Stress  
Save & Share:                   

Are hunters locavores?

When people use the term "locavore," they tend to focus on locally grown fruits and vegetables sold at farmers' markets or harvested at CSAs, breads made by nearby bakers, goat cheese from the farm down the road. Once in a while a locally raised and butchered pig makes its way into the conversation. But locavorism seems to place little emphasis on meat.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | November 9, 2010; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Categories:  Nutrition and Fitness  
Save & Share:                   

Kids get an eyeful of fast-food marketing

Forty percent of children ages 2 to 11 ask their parents to take them to McDonald's at least once a week, and 15 percent of preschoolers ask to go every single day! And 84 percent of parents of children ages 2 to 11 said they'd taken their child to a fast-food restaurant at least once in the past week.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | November 8, 2010; 12:01 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (14)
Categories:  Family Health, Kids' health, Nutrition and Fitness, Obesity, Parenting  
Save & Share: