Big Girls Don’t Cry

A study to be published in the June 2012 issue of Journal of Adolescent Health looking at the relationships between body satisfaction and healthy psychological functioning in overweight adolescents has found that young women who are happy with the size and shape of their bodies report higher levels of self-esteem. They may also be protected against the negative behavioral and psychological factors sometimes associated with being overweight.

A group of 103 overweight adolescents were surveyed between 2004 and 2006, assessing body satisfaction, weight-control behavior, importance placed on thinness, self-esteem and symptoms of anxiety and depression, among other factors.

"We found that girls with high body satisfaction had a lower likelihood of unhealthy weight-control behaviors like fasting, skipping meals or vomiting," said Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Boutelle added that the positive relationship shown in this study between body a girl's happiness with her body and her behavioral and psychological well-being suggests that improving body satisfaction could be a key component of interventions for overweight youth.

"A focus on enhancing self-image while providing motivation and skills to engage in effect weight-control behaviors may help protect young girls from feelings of depression, anxiety or anger sometimes association with being overweight," said Boutelle.

Additional contributors included first author Taya R. Cromley, PhD, of UCLA; Stephanie Knatz and Roxanne Rockwell, UC San Diego; and Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD and Mary Story, PhD, RD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

This study was supported by a University of Minnesota Children's Vikings Grant.

Source: University of California, San Diego Health Sciences [April 27, 2012]

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Cocaine and the Teen Brain: New Insights Into Addiction

When first exposed to cocaine, the adolescent brain launches a strong defensive reaction designed to minimize the drug's effects, Yale and other scientists have found. Now two new studies by a Yale team identify key genes that regulate this response and show that interfering with this reaction dramatically increases a mouse's sensitivity to cocaine. 

The findings may help explain why risk of drug abuse and addiction increase so dramatically when cocaine use begins during teenage years. 

The results were published in the Feb. 14 and Feb. 21 issues of the Journal of Neuroscience. 

Researchers including those at Yale have shown that vulnerability to cocaine is much higher in adolescence, when the brain is shifting from an explosive and plastic growth phase to more settled and refined neural connections characteristic of adults. Past studies at Yale have shown that the neurons and their synaptic connections in adolescence change shape when first exposed to cocaine through molecular pathway regulated by the gene integrin beta1, which is crucial to the development of the nervous system of vertebrates. 

"This suggests that these structural changes observed are probably protective of the neurocircuitry, an effort of the neuron to protect itself when first exposed to cocaine," said Anthony Koleske, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and of neurobiology and senior author of both papers. 

In the latest study, Yale researchers report when they knocked out this pathway, mice needed approximately three times less cocaine to induce behavioral changes than mice with an intact pathway. 

The research suggests that the relative strength of the integrin beta1 pathway among individuals may explain why some cocaine users end up addicted to the drug while others escape its worst effects, Koleske theorized. 

"If you were to become totally desensitized to cocaine, there is no reason to seek the drug," he said. 

Koleske and Jane R. Taylor, professor of psychiatry and psychology and an author of the Feb. 14 paper, are teaming up with other Yale researchers to look for other genes that may play a role in protecting the brain from effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse. 

Shannon Gourley, now of Emory University who worked with Koleske and Taylor, is lead author on the Feb. 14 paper detailing how the structural response to cocaine protects against cocaine sensitivity. Anastasia Oleveska and Michael S. Warren are other Yale authors on this paper. Warren and William D. Bradley of Yale are co-lead authors of the latest Neuroscience paper describing the role for integrin beta 1 in the control of adolescent synapse and dendrite refinement and stability. Yu-Chih Lin, Mark A. Simpson, Charles A. Greer are other Yale-affiliated authors. 

Author: Bill Hathaway | Source: Yale University [February 21, 2012]

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Stressed kids more likely to become obese

The more ongoing stress children are exposed to, the greater the odds they will become obese by adolescence, reports Cornell environmental psychologist Gary Evans in the journal Pediatrics (129:1). 

Nine-year-old children who were chronically exposed to such stressors as poverty, crowded housing and family turmoil gain more weight and were significantly heavier by age 13 than they would have been otherwise, the study found. The reason, Evans and his co-authors suggest, is that ongoing stress makes it tougher for children to control their behavior and emotions -- or self-regulate. That, in turn, can lead to obesity by their teen years. 

"These children are heavier, and they gain weight faster as they grow up. A very good predictor of adults' ability to follow healthy habits is their ability to self-regulate. It seems reasonable that the origins of that are probably in childhood. This [research] is starting to lay that out," said Evans, the Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Ecology in the Departments of Design and Environmental Analysis and of Human Development in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. 

Evans conducted the study with former students Thomas Fuller-Rowell, Ph.D. '10, now a Robert Wood Johnson postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Stacey Doan, Ph.D. '10, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston University. 

The researchers measured the height and weight of 244 9-year-olds in rural New York state and calculated their various physical and psycho-social stressors -- for example, exposure to violence, living in a substandard house or having no access to such resources as books. They also measured the children's ability to delay gratification by offering them a choice between waiting for a large plate of candy versus having a medium plate immediately. The researchers measured the children's height and weight again four years later. 

While the study doesn't prove that a child's inability to delay gratification causes her to gain weight, there's strong evidence to suggest that it does, Evans said. First, previous studies have shown that chronic stress is linked to weight gain in children and teenagers, and that children eat more sugary, fatty foods when stressed. 

Second, there's a plausible neurocognitive mechanism that may help better understand this behavior, Evans said. "There's some evidence that parts of the brain that are vulnerable and sensitive to stress, particularly early in life, are some of the same parts involved in this self-regulatory behavior." 

The study has implications for education policies such as No Child Left Behind that emphasize testing cognitive abilities but ignore children's ability to control their behavior and emotions, Evans said. 

"A child's ability to self-regulate is not just predictive of things like whether you're going to have trouble with weight -- it predicts grades, graduating from high school. A 4-year-old's ability to self-regulate even predicts SAT scores. This is a very powerful phenomenon," he said. 

The findings also have implications for interventions and policies aimed at reducing individual stressors. "If it's the cumulative impact of stress on these families that is important, that means an intervention that only looks at one stressor -- say, just drug abuse, which is how most interventions are designed -- is doomed to fail," Evans concluded. 

Author: Susan Kelley | Source: Cornell University [January 21, 2012]

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Today's teens will die younger of heart disease

A new study that takes a complete snapshot of adolescent cardiovascular health in the United States reveals a dismal picture of teens who are likely to die of heart disease at a younger age than adults do today, reports Northwestern Medicine research. 

"We are all born with ideal cardiovascular health, but right now we are looking at the loss of that health in youth," said Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., chair and associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "Their future is bleak." 

Lloyd-Jones is the senior investigator of the study presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando. 

The effect of this worsening teen health is already being seen in young adults. For the first time, there is an increase in cardiovascular mortality rates in younger adults ages 35 to 44, particularly in women, Lloyd-Jones said. 

The alarming health profiles of 5,547 children and adolescents, ages 12 to 19, reveal many have high blood sugar levels, are obese or overweight, have a lousy diet, don't get enough physical activity and even smoke, the new study reports. These youth are a representative sample of 33.1 million U.S. children and adolescents from the 2003 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. 

"Cardiovascular disease is a lifelong process," Lloyd-Jones said. "The plaques that kill us in our 40s and 50s start to form in adolescence and young adulthood. These risk factors really matter." 

"After four decades of declining deaths from heart disease, we are starting to lose the battle again," Lloyd-Jones added. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) defines ideal cardiovascular health as having optimum levels of seven well-established cardiovascular risk factors, noted lead study author Christina Shay, who did the research while she was a postdoctoral fellow in preventive medicine at Northwestern's Feinberg School. Shay now is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. 

"What was most alarming about the findings of this study is that zero children or adolescents surveyed met the criteria for ideal cardiovascular health," Shay said. "These data indicate ideal cardiovascular health is being lost as early as, if not earlier than the teenage years." 

The study used measurements from the AHA's 2020 Strategic Impact Goals for monitoring cardiovascular health in adolescents and children. Among the findings: 

Terrible Diets

All the 12-to-19-year-olds had terrible diets, which, surprisingly, were even worse than those of adults, Lloyd-Jones said. None of their diets met all five criteria for being healthy. Their diets were high in sodium and sugar-sweetened beverages and didn't include enough fruits, vegetables, fiber or lean protein. 

"They are eating too much pizza and not enough whole foods prepared inside the home, which is why their sodium is so high and fruit and vegetable content is so low," Lloyd-Jones said. 

High Blood Sugar

More than 30 percent of boys and more than 40 percent of girls have elevated blood sugar, putting them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. 

Overweight or Obese

Thirty-five percent of boys and girls are overweight or obese. "These are startling rates of overweight and obesity, and we know it worsens with age," Lloyd-Jones said. "They are off to a bad start." 

Low Physical Activity

Approximately 38 percent of girls had an ideal physical activity level compared to 52 percent of boys. 

High Cholesterol

Girls' cholesterol levels were worse than boys'. Only 65 percent of girls met the ideal level compared to 73 percent of boys. 

Smoking

Almost 25 percent of teens had smoked within the past month of being surveyed. 

Blood Pressure

Most boys and girls (92.9 percent and 93.4 percent, respectively) had an ideal level of blood pressure. 

The problem won't be easy to fix. "We are much more sedentary and get less physical activity in our daily lives," Lloyd-Jones said. "We eat more processed food, and we get less sleep. It's a cultural phenomenon, and the many pressures on our health are moving in a bad direction. This is a big societal problem we must address." 

Author: Marla Paul | Source: Northwestern University [November 16, 2011]

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Adolescent sex linked to adult body, mood troubles... in hampsters

A new study suggests that sex during adolescence can have lasting negative effects on the body and mood well into adulthood, most likely because the activity occurs when the nervous system is still developing. 

While the research used laboratory animals, the findings provide information that may be applicable to understanding human sexual development. 

Researchers paired adult female hamsters with male hamsters when the males were 40 days old, the equivalent of a human's mid-adolescence. They found that these male animals with an early-life sexual experience later showed more signs of depressive-like behaviors as well as lower body mass, smaller reproductive tissues and changes to cells in the brain than did hamsters that were first exposed to sex later in life or to no sex at all. 

Among the cell changes observed in the animals that had sex during adolescence were higher levels of expression of a gene associated with inflammation in their brain tissue and less complex cellular structures in key signaling areas of the brain. 

They also showed signs of a stronger immune response to a sensitivity test, suggesting their immune systems were in a heightened state of readiness even without the presence of infection – a potential sign of an autoimmune problem. 

The combination of physiologic responses in adulthood don't necessarily cause harm, but do suggest that sexual activity during the nervous system's development might be interpreted by the body as a stressor, researchers say. 

"Having a sexual experience during this time point, early in life, is not without consequence," said John Morris, a co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State University. "It could be affecting males' susceptibility to symptoms of depression, and could also expose males to some increase in inflammation in adulthood." 

Morris presented the research Tuesday (11/15) at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He conducted the study with Zachary Weil, research assistant professor, and Randy Nelson, professor and chair, both from Ohio State's Department of Neuroscience. 

Previous research has most often examined the effects of adolescent sex on young women, and for ethical reasons must be done in humans as retrospective explorations of behavior. The Ohio State scientists used hamsters, which have physiologic similarities to humans, to learn specifically how the body responds to sexual activity early in life. 

"There is a time in nervous system development when things are changing very rapidly, and part of those changes are preparations for adult reproductive behaviors and physiology," Weil said. "There is a possibility that environmental experiences and signals could have amplified effects if they occur before the nervous system has settled down into adulthood." 

The scientists worked with five groups of male hamsters: two groups that had sex at age 40 days and were assessed at 40 days and 80 days after exposure to sex, two groups that had adult sex at age 80 days and were assessed at the same time intervals, and hamsters that had no sexual experience. Male hamsters reach puberty at age 21 days. 

The researchers placed the adolescent and adult males in environments with in-heat female hamsters for six hours and recorded their encounters to ensure that sexual activity occurred. 

The animals were subjected to a variety of tests when they all had reached adulthood. They were placed in mazes with options to explore open areas or hide in isolation; those that chose not to explore were showing signs of anxiety. Animals placed in water showed signs of depressive-like behavior if they stopped swimming vigorously. 

"Both groups of sexually active hamsters showed an increase in anxiety-like behavior compared to the control group, but the increase in a depressive-like response was specific to the adolescent sexually paired group," Morris said. 

A test of immune system sensitivity suggested that the hamsters with adolescent sexual experiences were at risk for excess inflammation as part of an enhanced immune response. In addition, these same hamsters had higher levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-1, or IL-1, in their brain tissue than did the other hamsters. IL-1 is one of several chemical messengers that cause inflammation, most often to fight infection or repair injury; when it circulates without an infection to fight, the body experiences excess inflammation. 

This elevated gene expression was seen in areas of the brain known not to reach maturity until well into adulthood – including the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. In some of these same areas of the brain, animals with adolescent sexual experience also showed less complexity in the dendrites, the branching segments from nerve cells that house the synapses, which carry signals to the brain from the rest of the body. 

Without further research, the scientists don't know exactly what these brain differences mean. But because they are seen most prominently in the animals that were exposed to sex in adolescence, the scientists say, there is a clear association with that activity. "Sex is doing something physiological that these cells are interpreting and responding to with shorter dendrites," Weil said. 

Finally, the hamsters that had adolescent sex had a smaller total body mass as well as a decrease in accessory reproductive tissue, including the seminal vesicles, vas deferens and epididymis, as adults. 

"This suggests to us that maybe this process is causing the animals to have a maladaptive response reproductively, as well," Morris said. 

Source: Ohio State University [November 15, 2011]

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Research reveals when and why students smoke

Discovering when and why students smoke might lead to the development of better intervention methods, according to researchers at the University of Missouri. In an article published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, the researchers showed that partying, drinking and work prompted college students to recall their smoking experience, and that smoking occurred most often at the start of the semester and on weekends. 

"Students are using social events and work as cues to remind them about smoking," said Nikole Cronk, PhD, assistant professor of family and community medicine at MU and lead author of the article. "This research is important for those working with college students to recognize when smoking is happening at its highest levels. Targeting interventions during those periods and prior to frequent smoking events would have the maximum impact on student smoking prevention." 

Nearly a half million deaths are attributed to smoking annually, costing nearly $200 billion in health care costs and lost productivity in the United States. Though cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the country, more than 20 percent of the population smokes. Every day, another 1,000 young people become new smokers.  

"We know that college is a time where we see initiation of smoking," Cronk said. "If you ask college students, many will tell you it's something they don't intend to do after they're out of school, but a significant number do continue smoking. What we know is there's no safe level of smoking and no way to know that once you start you'll be able to easily quit." 

Among college students, the rate of reported smokers spikes to nearly 30 percent. Since research shows that the majority of lifelong smokers begin smoking before the age of 24, targeting college student smokers with intervention and prevention efforts might help reduce those figures dramatically. 

"In our study, smoking rates were higher at the start of the semester and on weekends," Cronk said. "Targeting smoking prevention efforts immediately after students arrive on campus and throughout the semester in student email messages just prior to the weekend would be the most effective times to reach students." 

Partying, work, drinking, fraternity and sorority events, and vacation were among the top cues for recall of past smoking among students in social fraternities and sororities who participated in the study from 2006 to 2008. MU researchers believe their study is the first to examine smoking habits among this population. 

Cronk's study is part of a larger research project published in Preventive Medicine. The project focuses on a behavioral intervention approach known as motivational interviewing. In the approach, a clinician interviews a participant to discover what's important to that individual and how a behavior, such as smoking, might fit with that person's goals and values. Opposed to a traditional intervention approach that tells participants how to behave, motivational interviewing elicits motivation from participants to help them decide on their own whether to continue a behavior. 

"The key for intervention using that approach is identifying an individual's motivation for smoking," Cronk said. "Helping people understand why they are engaging in a behavior has much more promise for getting that person to address a behavior."  

Source: University of Missouri [November 06, 2011]

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Study examines racial and ethnic variations in substance-related disorders among adolescents

Substance use is widespread among adolescents in the United States, particularly among those of Native American, white, Hispanic and multiple race/ethnicity, and these groups are also disproportionally affected by substance-related disorders, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. 

"Adolescence marks the period of life with the highest risk for initiating substance use; thus, adolescents constitute a high-risk group requiring research to guide prevention efforts and health policy making," the authors write as background information in the article. "While eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health problems and their treatment is a mission of the National Institutes of Health, few data about substance-related disorders exist for young groups of nonwhite race/ethnicity." 

Because children and adolescents of nonwhite race/ethnicity are the fastest growing population in the United States, Li-Tzy Wu, Sc.D., of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and colleagues, examined racial and ethnic variations among adolescents with past-year substance use or substance-related disorders. Using data collected during the 2005 to 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors examined questionnaires submitted from 72,561 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years. The authors used the DSM-IV to measure substance-related disorders. 

Of the 72,561 adolescents surveyed, 27,705 (37 percent) reported past-year alcohol or dug use; 32 percent reported any alcohol, 19 percent any illicit or nonmedical drugs, and 15 percent reported using alcohol and drugs. Of this same group of adolescents, 7.9 percent met criteria for a substance-related disorder, with Native Americans having the highest prevalence of use (47.5 percent) and disorder (15 percent). 

Marijuana use (13 percent of all adolescents) was the most prevalent of all drug classes, and analgesic opioids (7 percent) was more prevalent than other drug use (range 0.1 percent to 4 percent). Native Americans (20.5 percent), multiple race/ethnicity (18.1 percent) and white race/ethnicity (16.2 percent) had a higher prevalence of using both alcohol and drugs than other groups. 

Among the 27,705 past-year alcohol or drug users, Native Americans (31.5 percent), multiple race/ethnicity (25.2 percent), white race/ethnicity (22.9 percent) and Hispanics (21 percent) had the highest rates of substance-related disorders. Additionally, adolescents of multiple race/ethnicity (19.4 percent), Hispanics (16.2 percent) and white race/ethnicity (14.3 percent) had higher conditional rates of comorbid alcohol and drug use disorders than African Americans (8.3 percent). 

After controlling for other factors, adjusted analyses of adolescent substance users indicated elevated odds of substance-related disorders among Native Americans, adolescents of multiple race/ethnicity, adolescents of white race/ethnicity, and Hispanics compared with African Americans. The authors also found that African Americans did not differ from Asians or Pacific Islanders. 

"Substance use is widespread among adolescents of Native American, white, Hispanic, and multiple race/ethnicity," the authors conclude. "Taken together, these findings call for efforts to identify and expand prevention measures that are culturally effective and address the quality and acceptability of treatment for adolescents with substance use problems." 

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals [November 07, 2011]

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Adolescent amphetamine use linked to permanent changes in brain function and behavior

Amphetamine use in adolescence can cause neurobiological imbalances and increase risk-taking behaviour, and these effects can persist into adulthood, even when subjects are drug free. These are the conclusions of a new study using animal models conducted by McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) researcher Dr. Gabriella Gobbi and her colleagues. The study, published today in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, is one of the first to shed light on how long-term amphetamine use in adolescence affects brain chemistry and behaviour. 

"We looked at the effects of long-term amphetamine use on important neurotransmitters and on risk-taking behaviour in adolescent rats," says Dr. Gobbi, a researcher in Mental Illness and Addiction from the Research Institute of the MUHC and associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. "The brain chemistry of these rodents is very similar to that of humans, so this model provided us with very useful insights into amphetamine use in a human population." 

Amphetamine is a psychostimulant drug which produces increased wakefulness and focus, in association with decreased fatigue and appetite. This drug, commonly known as "speed", is also used recreationally and as a performance enhancer. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODOC) report (2011), more than 10 per cent of adolescents in the U.S. have used amphetamines. In Europe, between two and seven per cent of adolescents have tried amphetamines, and in Canada the number is estimated at just over five per cent. 

Study subjects were given one of three dosing regimens of amphetamine during adolescence. When they reached adulthood, drugs were withdrawn and their neurophysiological activity and risk-taking behaviour were studied. "We focused on the key neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine," Dr. Gobbi explains. "We found abnormalities in brain activity associated with all three of these neurochemicals, called "monoamines". Imbalances of monoamines are associated with emotional disturbances and mental diseases such as depression or addiction." 

Researchers also noted behavioural changes in all dosing groups. Hyperactivity was observed in rodents exposed to a moderate dose of amphetamine during adolescence, while risk-taking behaviour increased in every dosage group. 

"Obviously we have to be very cautious about applying these results to a human population," says Dr. Gobbi. "However, given the basic similarities between human and rodent brains, these results are cause for concern. They suggest that the effects of amphetamine use can persist into adulthood, even if the subject is no longer taking drugs, and that these effects include a tendency toward risk-taking behaviour." 

Source: McGill University Health Centre [November 03, 2011]

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Research examines college students’ knowledge about eating disorders

They’re the prime demographic for developing eating disorders, yet new research out of the University of Cincinnati suggests that it could be difficult for college students to notice the warning signs. 

On Oct. 31, Ashlee Hoffman, a UC doctoral student in health promotion and education, will present her research, titled, “University Students’ Knowledge of An Ability to Identify Disordered Eating, Warning Signs and Risk Factors,” at the American Public Health Association’s 139th annual meeting and exposition in Washington, DC. 

Disordered eating, Hoffman explains, involves unhealthy habits over time that can lead up to, but may not yet fit the medical diagnoses of an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. 

Hoffman’s poster research presentation is based on her survey of 428 college students. The survey examined whether they could differentiate between the myths and facts surrounding disordered eating, as well as the risk factors and warning signs. 

The survey also revealed that one out of four survey participants reported “lifetime involvement in disordered eating,” and that 50 percent of the participants knew someone who had an eating disorder. 

Hoffman says the majority of the study participants could identify the most common risk factors associated with disordered eating, such as depression and anxiety. However, the students who reported longtime disordered eating were the most unlikely group – among males, females, freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors – to correctly identify risk factors. 

The study also found that only a moderate percentage of the students surveyed could identify other risk factors that could trigger disordered eating, such as a recent life change, a critical family member or involvement in a sport that emphasizes being lean. 

Females were significantly more likely than males to know risk factors as well as warning signs of disordered eating, such as abnormal weight loss, purging and distorted body image. 

Hoffman’s survey also found that college freshmen and sophomores were more familiar with the primary risk factors than upperclassmen and graduate students. 

Figures from the National Institute of Mental Health in 2004 found that eating disorders affected 24 million Americans – with the majority of sufferers between the ages of 12 and 25. “Eating disorders hold the highest death rate out of any mental illness affecting this age group, with a large number of cases ending in suicide,” Hoffman says. “The survey also found that some students mistakenly believe disordered eating is a vanity issue, when in fact, it is a compulsive, addictive behavior that sufferers can use as a coping mechanism for stress.” 

Hoffman says that her future research will explore how to better educate college-age students about identifying disordered eating, as well as how to open the doors of communication with friends who they suspect might be struggling with disordered eating. “It’s an issue that’s been long perceived as a taboo subject, partly because of the efforts that people make in hiding disordered eating,” Hoffman says. “If it’s not appropriately addressed in conversation, it can make the problem even worse.” 

Secondary researchers on the study were Keith King, UC professor of health promotion and education, and Rebecca Vidourek, UC assistant professor of human services. 

The APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition is described as the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world – addressing current and emerging health science, policy and practice in preventing illness and promoting health. 

Source: University of Cincinnati [October 31, 2011]

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The 'Freshman 15' is just a myth

Contrary to popular belief, most college students don’t gain anywhere near 15 pounds during their freshman year, according to a new nationwide study. 

Rather than adding “the freshman 15,” as it is commonly called, the average student gains between about 2.5 and 3.5 pounds during the first year of college. 

And college has little to do with the weight gain, the study revealed.  The typical freshman only gains about a half-pound more than a same-age person who didn’t go to college. 

“The ‘freshman 15’ is a media myth,” said Jay Zagorsky, co-author of the study and research scientist at Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research. 

“Most students don’t gain large amounts of weight.  And it is not college that leads to weight gain – it is becoming a young adult.” 

The results suggest that media reporting of the freshman 15 myth may have serious implications. 

“Repeated use of the phrase ‘the freshman 15,’ even if it is being used just as a catchy, alliterative figure of speech, may contribute to the perception of being overweight, especially among young women,” Zagorsky said. 

“Weight gain should not be a primary concern for students going off to college.” 

Zagorsky conducted the study with Patricia Smith of the University of Michigan-Dearborn.  The study will appear in the December 2011 issue of the journal Social Science Quarterly. 

The study uses data from 7,418 young people from around the country who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.  The NLSY97 interviewed people between the ages of 13 and 17 in 1997 and then interviewed the same people each year since then.  The NLSY is conducted by Ohio State’s Center for Human Resource Research for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Among many other questions, respondents were asked their weight and college status each year. 

Other studies have shown that college students tend to underestimate their weight by half a pound to 3 pounds.  But if people are consistent in underestimating their weight from year to year, it would not impact these results, Zagorsky said. 

The study found that women gained an average of 2.4 pounds during their freshman year, while men gained an average of 3.4 pounds. No more than 10 percent of college freshman gained 15 pounds or more -- and a quarter of freshman reported actually losing weight during their first year. 

“It’s worth noting that while there’s this focus on weight gain among freshman, we found that one in four actually lost weight,” Zagorsky said. 

The researchers examined a variety of factors that may be associated with freshman weight gain, including whether they lived in a dormitory, went to school full or part time, pursued a two-year or four-year degree, went to a private or public institution, or was a heavy drinker of alcohol (consuming six or more drinks on at least four days per month.) 

None of these factors made a significant difference on weight gain, except for heavy drinking.  Even then, those who were heavy drinkers gained less than a pound more than students who did not drink at that level. 

Zagorsky said it was particularly significant that dorm living did not add to weight gain, since one hypothesis has been that the dorm environment encourages weight gain during the freshman year. 

“There has been concern that access to all-you-can-eat cafeterias and abundant fast food choices, with no parental oversight, may lead to weight gain, but that doesn’t seem to hold true for most students,” he said. 

The results do show, however, that college students do gain weight steadily over their college years. 

The typical woman gains between seven and nine pounds, while men gain between 12 and 13 pounds. 

“Not only is there not a ‘freshman 15,’ there doesn’t appear to be even a ‘college 15’ for most students,” Zagorsky said. 

Over the course of the entire college career, students who both worked and attended college gained an extra one-fifth of a pound for each month they worked. 

The researchers also examined what happened to college students’ weight after they graduated.  They found that in the first four years after college, the typical respondent gained another 1.5 pounds per year. 

“College students don’t face an elevated risk of obesity because they gain a large amount of weight during their freshman year,” Zagorsky said. 

“Instead, they have moderate but steady weight gain throughout early adulthood.  Anyone who gains 1.5 pounds every year will become obese over time, no matter their initial weight.” 

Although most students don’t need to worry about large weight gains their freshman year, Zagorsky said they still should focus on a healthy lifestyle. 

“Students should begin developing the habit of eating healthy foods and exercising regularly.  Those habits will help them throughout their lives.” 

Author: Jeff Grabmeier | Source: Ohio State University [October 31, 2011]

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Not your mother's birth control, same troubles

Today's hormonal forms of birth control are vastly different from those used by earlier generations of women, both with lower levels of hormones and with different means of delivery (not just a pill), but many of the same problems related to women's pleasure remain. 

An Indiana University study that examined how newer forms of hormonal contraception affect things such as arousal, lubrication and orgasm, found that they could still hamper important aspects of sexuality despite the family planning benefits and convenience. 

"Contraception in general is a wonderful way for women to plan their families," said lead researcher Nicole Smith, project coordinator at IU's Center for Sexual Health Promotion. "It's something women are often on for as many as 30 years or more; it plays a huge part in their life. If they're experiencing these negative effects, they might stop using contraception correctly or altogether. They need to know that there are options, such as lubricants or other sexual enhancement products that may help to alleviate some of the negative effects they are experiencing. 

"Women should also be counseled on the many highly effective forms of birth control currently available; switching to another method might work better for them," she said. 

Smith is discussing her study at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. 

The study involved 1,101 sexually active women split almost evenly between those using a hormonal form of contraception such as the pill, patch, ring or shot, and those women using a non-hormonal form, such as a condom, diaphragm, cervical cap or withdrawal. The study, based on data collected by the Kinsey Institute's Women's Well-being study, which used an online questionnaire, found that the women reported similar levels of sexual satisfaction, which included things such as intimacy and romance, but the women using hormonal contraception experienced less arousal, fewer orgasms, difficulties with lubrication, decreased pleasure and less frequent sex. 

"A great effort has been made to make condoms more pleasurable for men," Smith said. "But you don't hear about this same effort going toward reducing the negative impact of contraception on women's sexual functioning. It's just not part of the discussion." 

Researchers have examined the relationship between hormonal forms of contraception and sexual functioning but, Smith said, few studies have been conducted since the 1980s. Previous findings were inconclusive and focused on women in Europe. Her study, conducted with colleagues from CSHP and the Kinsey Institute, provides updated findings and also important information for clinicians to use when helping women with their birth control needs. Having worked for a family planning program, Smith said it is common for women to talk about negative side effects such as these with their health care provider. 

Smith said she is very interested in seeing whether women's contraception choices change when components of the federal Affordable Care Act are implemented next year, making preventive care features such as contraception free for women with insurance. This will make the more expensive, longer-acting forms of contraception available to more women, Smith said. 

Smith, a doctoral student in the Department of Applied Health Science in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, is presenting her study on Monday, Oct. 31, at 2:30 p.m. during a poster presentation at the Wasington Convention Center. Co-authors are Kristen N. Jozkowski, College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas; and Stephanie A. Sanders, IU's Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, and the Department of Gender Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.  

Source: Indiana University [October 31, 2011]

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