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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2000)
^ There has been a 971% increase in breast-implant removals from 1996-1998. - Health Magazine, Jan-Feb 00 j/ As many as 50 million Americans aged six and above have high blood pressure. •’ - University Health Center ^ Men have suicide rates that are 12 times the rate for women. - U.S. Department of Health, Mortality Statistics ,/ The skin cancer death rate for men is twice as high as it is for women. - Center for Disease Control ^ There are 35 different club sports at the University of Oregon. ^ 83% of child molesters are heterosexual; the remaining 17% are bisexual. - Why Men Rape v For years following a rape, 60 % of rape victims experi ence post traumatic stress dis order and 16%> still suffer with emotional problems 15 years following the rape. - HRS Rape Awareness ^ Number of annual office visits Americans make to physicians (all ayes): 300 million. - FA Stats ^ Number of suryical proce dures performed annually in the U.S.: 16 million. - Advance Data ^ Number of cases of Chlamydia reported in the U.S.: 526,653. - Health, United States: 1997 ^ More than 12 million new cases of STIs (other than AIDS) are diaynosed each year in the United States. - National Center for HIV, STD & TB Prevention Facts 60% of Americans believe that sex education should be a required school subject. - The Gallup Organization j/ Contrary to the myth that it’s a man’s disease, cardio vascular disease actually kills 43,000 more women than men each year. - American Heart Association Americans consume nearly 20 billion hot doys each year. The Fourth of July is the biyyest hot doy holiday in the U.S. with 155 million con sumed on that day alone. - National Hot Dog and Sausage Council The good, the had, and the genetically different: Is it ‘Frankenfood’? Genetically modified foods can be more nutritional and more resistant to common crop diseases; they may also be making their way to your grocery store and your favorite restaurant soon. By Christopher Ouellette Genetically modified foods have ar rived. And what is a genetically modified finr\r\ \70ii •moirVio oelrit-irf yourself? The Institute of Food Technologies defines the term “ge netically modified” as “the application of DNA technolo gy to the genetic al teration of mi croorganisms, plants, and ani mals.” Although, the debate over GMOs or Geneti cally Modified Or ganisms has only re cently heated up, crops have been geneti cally modified through traditional plant breeding for more than a hundred years. About half of the soybean and a quarter of the corn crops planted on US soil in 1999 had been genetically modified. The benefits to biotechnology in agriculture and medicine are numerous. The first biotech nology products were medicines designed to ad dress human diseases. Researchers are also try ing to create ways to boost the nutritional values of food in today’s “fast food” society. Along with improving the nutritional value of food, re searchers are modifying crops, such as wheat, to grow in areas that formerly were not arid enough. Farmers may benefit because they may be able to rely less upon insecticides and herbi cides to protect their crops, if genetic modifica tions can make them more resistant to disease. Simply put, GMO technology is the most promising and advanced strategy available L today for increasing global food production and conserving rarm lands by reducing crop losses and increasing yields while. Some of the most common genetical ly engineered crops today are cotton, corn, soybean, W ^ I tomato, and potato. M m Com, for instance, ■ m , can credit its bright W J m l yellow color to ge ' ^ M / netic engineering. Genetic modifica tion can be as simple as grafting two differ ent apple tress together or as complex as remov ing the protein component that causes people’s allergic re action to rice. Most cheese today is pro duced with an engineered enzyme called chy mosin. Prior to the creation of chymosin, its natural equivalent, rennet, was derived from the stomachs of calves. The biotechnology industry doesn’t go with out some monitoring and regulations. The Feder al government has a system to ensure that the in dustry is acting within guidelines set forth by such agencies as the Food & Drug Administra tion (FDA) and the USDA. The FDA ensures that foods derived from new plant varieties are safe to eat, holding them to the same standards of safety as any traditional food product. The US has taken a position at the forefront of this new technology, and with that, has limited its trade possibilities with other countries. Opposition to biotechnology in many European countries has been visible and vocal, and it has received exten sive media attention around the world. The reac tion to biotechnology in the UK can be attributed to its citizen’s lack of trust in their government that has come about from such recent safety con cerns as “mad cow” disease. Some common concerns attributed to biologi cally altered food arise from organic farmers and from religious organizations. Organic farmers are concerned that if their crops are next to a field that has modified crops that what may oc cur if there is run off or pollination between fields. And religious groups are arguing that a higher power has put eveiything on the earth for a purpose, and altering that is destructive. For all advances in technology there have always been concerns and downsides, but like many others hopefully this advancement will lead to the bet terment of our food supply. At some point in the near future, you just might be able to eat an orange that has all the nu trients of a multi vitamin or a slice of pizza will be recommended for one’s nutritional needs for the day. The sky is the limit for the biotechnolo gy industry and its discoveries. If you are inter ested in learning more about this “ new” science the following links contain a plethora of infor mation http://www.fda.gov www.fda.gov http://Www.aphis.usda.gov.biotechnology www.aphis.usda.gov.biotechnology. Being a man: The male health perspective The average college male will live seven years less than the woman sitting next to him in class. The key to living longer, healthier life is to start now_ By Eric Sangster Is it ever a wonder that men do not live as long as women do on average? Perhaps women have some genetic advantage over men and are less vulner able to certain diseases. The most probable reason why women live an aver age of seven years longer than men, is they simply take better care of them selves. Guys, let’s be honest with ourselves. Now that no* one is around to tell us to go to the doctor, we don’t. I’m just as guilty myself. Lately, I’ve only seen doctor to fill out health forms for specific programs. At some point in our lives, it became more masculine to ignore our health rather than to acknowledge that, at times we need help. We often fear that asking for help makes us appear weak. We’d rather be tough by showing off our scars, boasting of good health without check-ups, and by physically beating on other males. Toughness and masculinity is what often keeps men out of health centers and doctors’ offices. But what should it matter at the young healthy age of a college male? We have healthy physiques, can eat and drink whatever we want, live off of little sleep and still function fine. Right? Why would we ever need to go to a clinic? Perhaps that’s what Josh Bidwell, former punter for the U of O and Lance Armstrong, winner of the 1999 & 2000 Tour de France thought. Both of these men are professional athletes who never counted on being af fected by testicular cancer. Both men were in their mid-twenties when they discovered the disease. Often times, when something does go wrong with the bodies of males, we say, “ suck it up.” We believe that the pain or the bruise will just go away. Pain tolerance becomes a measurement of masculinity and, participating in activities that have a high risk for causing this pain can further define this toughness and what it means to “ be a man.” Based on men’s health statis tics from the U of O Health Center survey, men comprise the majority of the smokers, heavy drinkers and carriers of weapons. National statistics from the U.S. Department of Health indicate, men have higher rates for all the leading causes of death. Cancer death rates for men have increased more than 20 % over the last 35 years, according to the American Cancer Society. Paying attention to your health as a male is not a sign of weakness. Here are some things that you can do just to keep yourself in check. Going in for a physical once a year is a good idea. Often cost is a concern and it seems like a waste of time if you feel healthy. Yet for U of O students, it only costs six dollars to see a practitioner at the University Health Center. Get your cholesterol checked. It only takes a few minutes and once you have the results, you have access to people who can council you. It’s free on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30 at the Peer Health Education Office. Getting an influenza shot once a year is not always necessary, but is a good idea especially if you’re living on campus. You at least make yourself walk into the Health Center and see what other types of resources you have access to. If nothing else, try educating yourself. Read books, articles, and maga zines. Pay attention to seminars, conferences, or activities around campus. The more you understand about your health, the more inclined you’ll be to know when something has gone wrong. Check the library within in the Health Education office at the Health Center. The bottom line is, guys, we have got to pay attention to our health. A healthy life doesn’t mean a life without fun. It may even be more fun, espe cially down the road. Keeping check on your health is not wimpy, helpless, or weak. It’s smart. We males are not invincible, even though we’d like to believe so. We are in control of our bodies. Therefore, we have to start keep ing tabs on our bodies. Paid Advertising
