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Diets Bring
Lapses
In Memory
Medical Research
Supports Tobacco
Advertising Ban
D ie tin g m a k es p e o p le f o r g e t­
ful an d v ag u e - an d d o n ’t w ork
an y w a y , a c c o rd in g to B ritish r e ­
se a rc h e rs. B ut th ey sa id it w as th e
stre ss o f d ie tin g , r a th e r than the
lo w er fo o d in ta k e th a t a ffe c te d
p e o p le .
M ik e G re en o f the In s titu te
o f F o o d R e se a rc h ran te s ts on 70
v o lu n te e rs, a s s e s s in g m e n ta l p e r ­
fo rm an ce in are as su ch as m em ory,
sp eed o f re a c tio n an d p ro c e s s in g
c a p a c ity .
"The deficits we saw were invari­
ably in subjects who said they were on
diets,” G reen told New Scientist m aga­
zine.
H e s a id the s h o r tf a ll in p e r ­
fo rm a n c e w as ro u g h ly the sam e as
in p e o p le a fte r tw o d rin k s.
“T h e e f f e c ts are s im ila r to
a n x i e ty ,” he s a id . " C o n s ta n tly
th in k in g
about food and w orrying about
diet m eans that dieters d o n ’t have
enough m ental processing capacity to
deal with tasks properly.”
In a second round o f tests, he put
people on diets or took slim m ers off
theirdiets and then tested them. Again,
the dieters did worse. "The effects
were largest in dieters w ho reported
not losing w eight,” he said.
T h e I n s titu te sa id in a s ta te ­
m en t th a t s e v e r a l s tu d ie s a ls o
sh o w ed th a t food d e p riv a tio n did
not a ffe c t m e n tal p e rfo rm a n c e —
but that p e o p le sp e n t so m u ch tim e
th in k in g a b o u t th e ir d ie ts th a t it
d istra c te d them from th e ir w ork.
G reen a p s y c h o lo g is t, sa id d i ­
etin g w as n o t a s e n s ib le w ay to
lose w e ig h t, an y w a y . “ It re a lly
screw s up p e o p le ’s m e ta b o lis m ,”
he said.
¡.unaintt nuoa-jacK grom ten). sonya Stallings-Clark and Sandra Brame promote HIV/AIDS educational
awareness through the American National Red Cross and the African American Women and Youth
Committed to Making the Communication Net Work. The Portland residents are members of the Zeta
Sigma Emega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Society.
(Photo by Duane Lewis)
Yuppie Flu Laid To Blood Pressure Problem
C hronic fatigue syndrom e, a
m ysterious illness that renders many
o f its young adult victim s tired and
even bedridden, may be linked to a
blood pressure abnorm ality associ­
ated with lightheadedness, said a re­
cently published study.
R esearchers at Johns H opkins
University School o fM ed icin e found
16 o f the 2 1 patients suffering from
chronic fatigue syndrom e responded
positively to the drug and salt thera­
py used to treat neurally m ediated
hypotension, the blood pressure prob­
lem.
Nine o f the total o f 23 patients
included
the study reported their
symptoms subsided com pletely.
M any o f the patients said they
had been avoiding salt in an effort to
¡improve their diets, w hich the re­
searchers said may have contributed
to the blood pressure problem .
Up to I m illion A m ericans suf­
fer from chronic fatigue syndrom e,
which is som etim es referred to as
“yuppie flu” . It often strikes its m ost­
ly young w hite adult victim s after a
bout with a virus and leaves them
with low stam ina, lightheadedness,
and difficulty concentrating. No ther­
apy has been found effective for the
syndrom e, w hich can plague victims
for years.
“The findings o f this study doc­
um ent a close link betw een neurally
mediated hypotension and the chronic
fatigue sy n d ro m e,” study authors
Issam Bou-Holaigah, Peter Row, Jean
Kan, and Hugh C alkins w rote in the
Jourrtffl o f the A m erican M edical
A ssociation.
H ow ever, the researchers urged
caution because o f the sm all num ber
o f patients involved in the study.
“ N o n e th e le s s , n e a rly h a l f o f
tr e a te d p a tie n ts r e p o r te d c o m ­
p le te o r n e a i/y c o m p le te r e s o lu ­
tio n o f s y m p to m s w ith in o n e
m o n th o f s ta rtin g tre a tm e n t... T h e
m a g n itu d e o f im p ro v e m e n t is d if ­
fic u lt to e x p la in as a p la c e b o e f ­
f e c t,” th e y w ro te .
B esides increasing salt intake,
p a tie n ts
w e re
g iv e n
e ith e r
fludrocortisone or an array o f other
drugs used to treat hypotension.
T obacco advertising is a central
groups would do anything to dow nplay
factor l n encouraging teenagers to start the pre-em inent reason why young
sm oking, perhaps tw ice as strong an
people start smoking. It’s alm ost as if
influence as peer pressure, research­ they d o n ’t want to solve the p ro b lem ,”
ers said Tuesday.
he said.
The researchers say their finding
The industry is fighting additional
contradicts the tobacco in d u stry ’s as­ federal regulation in court and urges volun­
sertion that advertising and m arketing
tary efforts by the tobacco industry to dis­
are aimed at gaining brand loyalty and courage young smokers.
market share am ong kids w ho already
Pierce, a form er anti-tobacco of­
sm oke, not at encouraging non-sm ok­ ficial under then-S urgeon G eneral
ing teens to start.
E verett Koop, also released a second
“ M arketing is actually stronger study, to be published in H ealth Psy­
than peer pressure in having children
chology next month, tracking a ce n ­
take the first step tow ard becom ing an
tury o f cigarette m arketing.
addicted sm oker,” John Pierce, a can ­
Pierce and his colleagues found,
cer prevention expert at the U niver­ for instance, that a cam paign featur­
sity o f C alifornia at San D iego, told
ing w hat in the 1890s w ere risque
reporters.
pictures o f bare-bellied w om en tucked
Pierce released the research, pub­ in cigarette packs led to a notable rise
lished in the Oct. 18 edition o f the
in young m ale sm okers. A 1920s cam ­
Journal o f the N ational C ancer Insti­ paign linking sm oking and thinness
tute, at a news conference that c o in ­ corresponded with a surge in w om en
cided with a cam paign by anti-sm ok­ sm okers.
ing and medical groups to support
The C ancer journal study looked
federal efforts to curb youth sm oking
at the influence m arketing had on teen­
and restrict advertising and m arketing
agers, and com pared it to other influ­
aim ed at kids.
ences, such as academ ic perform ance,
Research suggests m ost sm okers or exposure to good friends or rela­
begin as teens and about 3,000 kids tives w ho sm oke. It found that adver­
start smoking each day.
tising enhanced that susceptibility
T hom as L auria, a spok esm an
considerably. Pierce said.
from the Tobacco Institute trade group,
He and his colleagues drew on
attacked P ierce’s research, w hich in­ prior research to determ ine w hich
cluded com plicated m athem atical for­ youths w ere “susceptible” to starting
m ulas for “susceptibility” indexes.
sm oking, and calculated additional
"These erroneous conclusions fly
risk from exposure to the m arketing.
in the face o f overw helm ing interna­
T h e su rv ey found th at teen s
tional evidence to the contrary,” Lauria thought cigarette ads give out a! least
s a id in a telephone interview. “T he
one positive m essage, such as that
prim ary reason (youths start sm ok­ sm oking helps people feel co m fo rt­
ing) is peer pressure.
able in social situations or m akes it
“It is appalling that anti-sm oking easier to stay thin.
Study Supports Breastfeeding
Children who have been breastfed
figure had risen to 47 percent.
are less likely to develop allergies
Those babies fed no other milk
such as asthm a and the protective
but breast milk up to the age o f six
effect lasts
m onths w ere much less likely to
until they are teenagers, Finnish
develop allergies. Eczem a, asthm a or
researchers reported last week.
food allergies developed in 65 per­
Dr. U lla Saarinen and colleagues cent o f 17-year-olds who had received
at the U niversity o f Helsinki said they
little or no breastfeeding com pared
fo u n d c h ild r e n b e n e f itte d fro m
w ith 40 percent o f those w ho had
’ breastfeeding up to the age o f 17.
m ore than one month.
The doctors, w ho started their
“B reastfeeding for longer than
research in 1975, follow ed the same one month w ithout other m ilk supple­
group o f children from birth through
m ents offers significant prophylaxis
to 17 V olunteer families were watched
(protection) against food allergy at
and the b ab ies’ diet was m onitored
three years o f age, and also against
carefully.
respiratory allergy at 17 years o f age,”
In a report in the L ancet m edical
the doctors w rote.
journal, Saarinen said 20 percent o f
“Six m onths o f breastfeeding is
the children show ed som e sort o f al­ required to prevent eczem a during the
lergy at the age of one. By 17 that first three years, and possibly also to
prevent substantial atopy (allergy) in
adolescen ce.”
The researchers, w ho will co n ­
tinue their study, said hum an milk
may help m ature the lining o f a c h ild ’s
intestine and the im m une system . It is
b eliev e d that a lle rg e n s so m eh o w
stim ulate the im m une system tooearly,
causing allergies later in life.
D ozens o f studies point to the
benefits o f breastfeeding, show ing it
protects children from disease, af­
fects intelligence and behavior and
can protect prem ature babies from
brain dam age.
It also prevents ovarian and pre­
m enopausal breast cancer, prevents
gut, chest, ear and urinary tract infec­
tions in young children, and helps
m anage diarrhoea.
To Get The Last Loan
You’ll Ever Need; Do Some Easy7
Number Crunching.
' ' Z W
*
■
< k
Forgetting
About The
Snacks
D a n is h d o c to rs re c e n tly r e ­
p o rte d th a t th e y had c o n firm e d
w h a t m an y p e o p le had su sp e c te d
fo r m a n y y e a rs - if w e ’re o v e r ­
w e ig h t w e te n d to lie a b o u t w hat
th e y ea t.
D r. B e rit H e itm a n n an d c o l­
le a g u e s a t C o p e n h a g e n H e a lth
S e rv ic e s in te r v ie w e d n e a rly 4 0 0
m en an d w o m e n a b o u t w h at they
ate an d th e n c o m p a re d it to th e ir
re a l d ie t.
T h e y fo u n d th a t le an p e o p le
te n d e d to r e p o r t th e ir fo o d in ta k e
a c c u r a te ly , b u t th o se c la s s ifie d as
o b e s e f o rg o t a b o u t th e little fat-
an d s u g a r- la d e n sn a c k s th a t add
so m a n y c a lo r ie s .
In a re p o rt in th e B ritish M e d i­
c a l J o u rn a l th e y sa id th e ir f in d ­
in g s had im p lic a tio n s fo r r e s e a rc h ­
e rs stu d y in g th e lin k s b e tw e e n diet
an d h e a lth .
H ig h -fa t d ie ts h a v e b een
fo u n d to in c re a s e th e risk o f c a n ­
c e r, an d h e a rt d is e a s e .
7
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