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According to the results of two recent studies that were reported on fruitsandveggiesmattermost.org:
A recent study shows that children are consuming 30% above the recommended amount of caffeine daily, leading to an earlier onset of medical problems including sleep issues.
According the Journal of Pediatrics, on any given day, 75% of American kids will drink at least one caffeinated beverage. Each canned soda often comes with a price tag of up to 60 mg of caffeine. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not developed pediatric guidelines for caffeine consumption, Canadian guidelines recommend no more than 45 mg/day for 4 to 6 year olds, 62 mg/day for 7 to 9 year olds, and 85 mg/day for 10 to 12 year olds.
...caffeine packs an even more powerful punch for children than adults, giving kids an amplified version of the alertness, anxiety, nervousness and insomnia. In addition, most of these sugary drinks are packed with calories, which is problematic given the national childhood obesity epidemic. It’s troubling that the favorite beverages among American youth are those high in caffeine and sugar, instead of calcium and vitamin C.
Overall, 75% of children consumed some amount of caffeine. Average intake among 8 to 12 year olds was 102 mg/day (equivalent to one cup of coffee), which is 28% higher than the maximum recommended. Even 5 to 7 year olds consumed, on average, 52 mg of caffeine a day (16% above the limit recommended for that age group). Caffeine intake was linked directly to less sleep, resulting in 9% less shut-eye for the older caffeine-guzzling kids.
According the American Academy of Pediatrics, energy drinks contain substances that act as stimulants, such as caffeine, guarana and taurine. Caffeine, the most popular stimulant, has been linked to a number of harmful health effects in children, including effects on the developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems. Energy drinks are never appropriate for children or adolescents."
Citation sources: Warzak, W., S. Evans, M. Floress, et al. “Caffeine Consumption in Young Children.” Journal of Pediatrics (2011), doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.11.022; American Academy of Pediatrics. “Kids Should Not Consume Energy Drinks, and Raraely Need Sports Drinks, Says AAP” Press Release May 30, 2011; as reported at http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=1575
Note: I started a series of blog postings about sleep last year, and I am back to finish up with what we know about sleep. See December 8 - 23, 2011 Sleep Postings
A study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research found that female shift workers may be at higher risk of heart disease.
"Women hospital staff working night shifts may be compromising their own health as they try to improve the health of patients
...approximately one in five middle-aged women who do shift work have at least three risk indicators for heart disease.
...age and current shift work status were significantly associated with increased risk. Women over 45 years, those who had reached menopause, had a shift work history of more than six years, and those currently working either 12 hour shifts or rotational shifts were more likely to have metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome was present in eight per cent of those working shifts for less than six years, in 18 per cent in those working shifts for six to 15 years, and in 74 percent of those working shifts for more than 15 years. While the increase in prevalence of risk factors is also associated with age, the influence of the combination of older age and shift work on risk raises concern.
"Just how shift work contributes to the development of such risk factors isn't clear,"..."It is possible that the disruption of biological rhythms, sleeping, eating, and exercise patterns may be factors."
Shift workers were more likely to cut back on sleep, to spend less time with their spouse, and to worry about not spending enough time with family, compared with regular day workers.
"All women should manage their weight and other risk factors, and this study shows women working shift work especially need to be aware."
On January 25, 2012, researcher reported in "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society."
"The brain's "rule book" keeps us from having to weigh the pros and cons of unthinkable moral decisions.
People weigh questions of sacred values — such as "don't murder" — in different brain regions than they do mundane preferences. These special brain regions seem to be those associated with recalling rules, suggesting that we don't weigh the costs and benefits when asked to do something against our most firmly held values. Instead, we fall back on a mental "cheat sheet" of right and wrong.
"If you had to do cost-benefit calculations for everything you do in your daily life, you wouldn't be able to come to any decisions at all,"... "So rules actually have the benefit of making decision-making much easier … you just look up in your own personal 'rule table' how to act."
Though the vast majority of people can agree that killing someone is bad, there are two main ways to come to that conclusion, Berns told LiveScience. You might take a utilitarian approach, figuring that whatever benefit would come from the murder would be outweighed by the costs in risk of punishment or pain to the victim's family.
Alternatively, you might take a rule-based, or "deontological," approach. This is the "Ten Commandments" line of reasoning, Berns said: Murder is wrong, because it's wrong, and that's that.
Instead of measuring people's willingness to break their sacred values, they measured their willingness to take money to sign a document announcing that they believed the opposite of what they really believed. "The idea is, if you feel really strongly about something, there is no amount of money that will make you say otherwise,"
There was a broad range of what people were willing to sell out, with the firmest-believing participant opting out of auctioning all but 8 percent of his (or her) beliefs. Some people named a price for everything on the list, though the average was about half.
Those values that people refused to sell out were considered to be sacred. It turned out that the values later shown to be sacred were the ones that activated two particular brain regions: the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The TPJ is the point where the temporal and parietal lobes of the brain meet on the side of the head, while the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is on the underside of the frontal lobe. Both of these areas are associated with rule retrieval and beliefs about right and wrong.
"When people engage sacred values in their thought processes, they are by and large using rule-based systems in their heads,"..."They're not using cost-benefit calculations."
This makes sense, given how inefficient it would be to weigh the pros and cons of every moral decision, he said."It's much easier just to fall back on well-worn rules that serve you well, and serve society well," Berns said.
The downside to rules is that people loathe breaking them, even when the rules are based on faulty experiences or information.
"Once a rule is in someone's head, it's going to be hard to change it, even if there is a mountain of evidence saying that it's not a good rule," Berns said.
Interestingly, the people who tended to hold their sacred values most strongly, those with the biggest brain response differences between sacred- and non-sacred processing, also tended to be those who participated in the most group activities,... The groups could be anything from religious organizations to sports teams to professional societies,... The researchers are now continuing studies to find out how group conformity might play a role in sacred values.
"It stands to reason that the more involved you are with groups, the stronger the rules become."
Citation: As reported at http://www.livescience.com/18113-brain-sacred-values-morals.html
How does all this fit into our health behaviors? Most health behaviors are behaviors that rule our daily lives. And if what these researchers are saying is true, our behaviors that affect our health are put on automatic pilot. Because we if spent the time to think about the costs and benefits of what we are doing, we would be paralyzed with inaction. It's great if our health behaviors are positive to begin with, but in most cases they are behaviors that ruin our health. Such behaviors would then get repeated over and over because it would require too much work to make the change, even though we know the behavior is bad for our health.
Then there is the whole issue of being influenced by the company we keep, like overweight people hanging out with those who are similarly overweight (http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/can-the-company-you-keep-make-you-fat-part-1/). This research does explains a lot, in terms how hard it is to making any kind of changes without taking the needed time to weigh the pros and cons, the costs and benefits, etc. For example, "Mindless eating - eating on autopilot without thinking about what your eating - is one of the biggest causes of weight gain" (http://www.helium.com/items/2267338-mindless-eating-habits-that-cause-people-to-become-overweight).
So, can we ever get living a healthy lifestyle to the point of being something so sacred to our quality of life that we would never sell out for all the money in the world? So sacred that we don't have to think twice about eating the fruit instead of the donut? Something to think about.
February 7, 2012 - Lifestyle Factors Responsible for 1/3 of Cancers
Graphic developed by bcjung from data tables at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754931
According to a supplement of December 2011's British Journal of Cancer:
"One third of all cancers are caused by 4 common lifestyle factors: tobacco, diet, alcohol, and obesity."
"Many people believe that cancer is down to fate or is 'in the genes,' and that it is the luck of the draw whether they get it," ..."looking at the evidence, it's clear that about 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change."
The figure is 45% in men and 40% in women; that difference was mostly accounted for by breast cancer in women,
In the United Kingdom, this means that around 134,000 cancers annually could be prevented - just over 100,000 of these cases were attributed to tobacco, unhealthy diets, alcohol, and excess weight.
Smoking was by far the most important factor, accounting on its own for 60,000 cancers in the United Kingdom each year, or 1 in 5 of all cancers diagnosed,
"We didn't expect to find that eating fruit and vegetables would prove to be so important in protecting men against cancer," he said. "And for women, we didn't expect being overweight to have a greater effect than alcohol."
Citation source: The Fraction of Cancer Attributable to Lifestyle and Environmental Factors in the UK in 2010, British Journal of Cancer, http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v105/n2s/index.html, as reported in:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754931
February 6, 2012 - The Cancer Genome Atlas: The Genetic Basis of Cancer
Genomics has really taken off in recent years. The application of genetics to the delivery of health care will come in the form of personalized medicine, where treatment will be tailored by the patient's genetic makeup.
Check out this video to learn the basics of genetics and cancer from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
And, check out The Cancer Genome Atlas Web site for more information about this exciting new field that has a real potential for making a difference in our quality of life.
Today is Wear Red Day to raise awareness about women and heart disease. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women. Know your family history, and if there is heart disease in your family tree, it does not mean you will get the disease; however, it means you will have to be a little bit more diligent about living a healthier lifestyle than those who don't.
Know your numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar), get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise, get adequate sleep,limit alcohol intake, eat more fruits and veggies and cut out trans fats and high glucose corn syrup (corn sugar) from your diet. Most important, if you smoke, quit! Know what the symptoms of a heart attack are so you can get medical help right away. Work with your doctor to address risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, etc.) that put you at greater risk for heart disease and you are on your way!
For more information, click on above graphic. Also, get NIH's The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women
"Neuroscience research is revealing how the chemistry and architecture of the brain make decisions for us, and how the brain's reaction to decision-making is based on confidence. Researchers has shown that a networked, hierarchical process is strung out across the brain to achieve these functions, even while specific neuron clusters are more active than others in helping us make decisions.
Confidence is a trait typically cast as a higher-order function in the brain. It’s at once the act of making a decision, recognizing the decision as thought, and measuring the degree to which that decision makes sense."
Citation source:Brain Confidence: How Our Neurons Make Decisions http://bigthink.com/ideas/24088?page=all
Well, this sounds like the concept of "Self-efficacy".
"According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations” (1995, p. 2). In other words, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people think, behave, and feel (1994).
Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple.
People with a strong sense of self-efficacy:
View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered.
Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate.
Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities.
Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments.
People with a weak sense of self-efficacy:
Avoid challenging tasks.
Believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities.
Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes.
Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities (Bandura, 1994).
So, basically, having confidence your own ability, that is, self-efficacy is more than half the battle in making the changes we need to make to improve our quality of life!
February 1, 2012 - Betty C. Jung's Web site is a Healthy People Consortium Organization
I have always supported Healthy People's goals and objectives. Now, as a Healthy People Consortium Organization I will continue to do so in a more focused way.
"The Consortium is a diverse, motivated group of agencies and organizations committed to achieving Healthy People 2020 goals and objectives." http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/consortium/default.aspx
I will continue to add new links to and post pertinent updates on my Public Health Blog.
For starters, click on "Map-It" graphic for "MAP-IT: A Guide To Using Healthy People 2020 in Your Community." Also, check out: Healthy People 2020 program planning tools, a toolkit for program development!
Links to public health pages, SCSU Thesis/Special Project documents and forms, SCSU Public Health Alumni Pages - MPH Accreditation Committee, Scholarship Committee, Service Committee (Mentor, Speaker Programs) pages; MPH Alumni Record - Main, Accomplishments, Presentations, Professional organizations, Programs & Projects, Teaching, Written Works pages
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inventory of Programs, Activities, and Initiatives Focused on Improving the Health of Individuals with Multiple Chronic Conditions;
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Betty C. Jung Web site is a Consortium Organization!; Healthy People Program Planning Tool; Healthy People 2020 Objective Topic Areas and Page Numbers; Healthy People 2010 Toolkit; Oral Health Toolkit; Measuring Progress of Healthy People Objectives; Access to Health Services;
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Public Health Sites H-L Lung Diseases and Conditions; Quick-Relief Medications for Lung Diseases; Earbuds; Progress in Global Measles Control, 2000–2010;
Public Health Sites M - N Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Psychotherapies; Finding Help for Mental Illnesses; Avoidant Personality Disorder; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder; Stress in America; Coping With the Stigma of Mental Illness;Causes of Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia: An Overview; A Visual Guide to Schizophrenia; Fact Sheet on Stress;
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CDC's Smoking Cessation; CDC widgets: GTSS, Second Hand Smoke Triggers Heart Attacks, Invest in Tobacco Control, Encouraging Moms and Dads to Quit, Freedom from Addiction; Smoking Cessation for Pregnancy and Beyond;
Wellness Resources Part II (6 - 11) Notevenonce.com - Meth addiction; Crystal Meth Before & After and its Devastating Effects; Cost of Smoking Calcuator; 15 Grossest Things You're Eating; 20 Scariest Food Facts;
Women's Health10 Cancer Symptoms Women Shouldn't Ignore; Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age;
Women's Health Bleeding Disorders in Women; USA.gov's Pregnancy page; Medication Use During Pregnancy; Diethylstilbestrol; Drug Abuse among Pregnant Women in the U.S.; When You Are Pregnant Drinking Can Hurt Your Baby; Stricter Thinking on Alcohol During Pregnancy;
Women's Health - Heart Disease and Stroke The Heart Truth®; About The Heart Truth®; National Wear Red Day; Ten Commandments for a Healthy Heart; Campaign Materials and Resources; Faith-Based Toolkit; Lower Heart Disease Risk; Media Room; National Wear Red Day Toolkit'
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Check out this video to learn the basics of genetics and cancer from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
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