Culture

Sedentary behaviors such as TV viewing and "screen time" involving computer use, movie, and video games appear to be associated with elevated blood pressure in children. This is independent of body composition, according to a report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Reducing short-distance car trips has many benefits—it decreases car accidents, has positive benefits for the environment, and increases physical health and activity, says communication professor Edward Maibach of George Mason University. An expert in climate change communication research, Maibach says that community leaders should make promotion of physical activity a priority.

A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors, like the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.

The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrates that friends may act as "permission givers" on children's food intake.

A new paper by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles and colleagues suggests "money" or more precisely the price of marriage, can significantly affect the decision to marry.

Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child's care to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School.

In particular, parents whose first language is not English were more likely to report the need to be vigilant about their child's care. Researchers also found that parents who were more confident in communicating with physicians were less likely to be concerned about medical mistakes.

SEATTLE – Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

It is widely believed that providing better access to medical care can improve the health of Americans. New research at National Jewish Health indicates, however, that having insurance and a medical provider is not enough to improve asthma control among elementary and middle school students.

Living in a three-generation household can significantly enhance the economic well-being of children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Their findings, to appear in the November 2009 Journal of Family Issues and now available online, indicate children living in single-mother families that also include a grandparent are substantially less likely to be living below or near the poverty line compared to children living in mother-only homes.

Rosemont, Ill -- A new study published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) finds that two years after anterior cervical neck operations, patients who have arthroplasty (disc replacement) or arthodesis (spine fusion) can be expected to have significant improvement in their headache symptoms.

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on food and water safety that reviews the current situation in this country, identifies new tools that can help decrease illness and encourages continued research, education and technological advances to keep the food and water supply safe.

ADA's position paper, published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on food and water safety:

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---College students who major in the social sciences and humanities are likely to become less religious, while those majoring in education are likely to become more religious.

But students majoring in biology and physical sciences remain just about as religious as they were when they started college.

July 30, 2009 -- Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health are working with Argentina's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS), and Roche 454 Life Sciences to decode the complete genomic sequences of influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus from patients with severe respiratory disease.

Scientists have joined forces in a groundbreaking assessment of the status of marine fisheries and ecosystems.

Australian Beth Fulton, a fishery ecosystem scientist from the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, was among an international team of 19 co-authors of a report on a two-year study, led by US scientists Dr Boris Worm of Dalhousie University and Dr Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington.

A collaborative team led by a University of Hawai'i at Manoa researcher has published an assessment of snail and slug species that are a potential threat to the nation's agriculture industry and the environment, should they ever be introduced in the U.S.

A University of Illinois at Chicago ecologist has tied changes in head shape and overall size of rodents to human population density and climate change. The finding is reported by Oliver Pergams, UIC research assistant professor of biological sciences, in PLoS One.