Annual Editions Health 03-04

UNIT 1. Health Behavior and Decision Making 1. How Does Your Life Measure Up?, Alice Lesch Kelly, Walking , March/April 1998 Alice Lesch Kelly provides an opportunity to examine your lifestyle and health behaviors to see just how well you are doing in your efforts to achieve a long and healthy life. 2. Bad Choices: Why We Make Them, How to Stop, Mary Ann Chapman, Psychology Today , September/October 1999 Why is it that people continue to engage in negative health behaviors despite knowing that such behaviors could have serious repercussions concerning their health? Key factors seem to be the need for immediate gratification and our desire to take the path of least resistance. The author suggests possible ways to change this pattern of thinking. 3. Why Do We Do the Things We Do?, Ellen J. Langer, Psychology Today , May/June 2002 Human behavior is rarely rational, and in fact often goes against the very morals that we claim guide us in our actions. How do we reconcile this seemingly paradoxical situation ? And more importantly, what can we do to exercise more control over our own behavior? 4. Solving the Diet-and-Disease Puzzle, Bonnie Liebman, Nutrition Action Healthletter , May 1999 The constant flip-flopping on medical advice is enough to make most people believe that the medical experts do not really know what they are talking about. Who is at faultthe medical experts, the media, or John Q. Public? Bonnie Liebman explores this issue by discussing some of the most celebrated reversals in the area of nutrition recommendations. 5. Yet Another StudyShould You Pay Attention?, Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter , September 1998 How do you interpret your risk level for various illnesses when reading reports of late-breaking news that could affect your health? This article presents four questions to ask yourself that will help you make informed decisions regarding your lifestyle choices. UNIT 2. Stress and Mental Health 6. The Mind and the Heart: They Really Are Connected, Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter , August 2000 In the 1970s researchers believed that heart disease was linked to stress through one's personality, namely the Type A personality. Several recent studies support the connection between stress and heart disease, but the most important factors appear to be hostility, lack of social support, and mental depression. 7. The Way We Worry, Jane Shiyen Chou, Walking , July/August 2000 For most people the word "worry" has negative connotations; however, worry can also be viewed as a survival mechanism that helps us avoid trouble. In this article the author discusses both the positive and negative aspects of worry and provides helpful suggestions on how to avert what she calls "toxic worry." 8. Taking Humor Seriously, Consumer Reports on Health , October 2001 Medical experts have known for years that anger and hostility may increase a person's risk of coronary heart disease, but little was known about the heart-healthy benefits of humor. Now a study from cardiologists at the University of Maryland provides empirical support that humor not only provides heart-healthy benefits but may also protect the immune system from the ravages of stress. 9. How Stress Attacks You, Jerry Adler, Newsweek , June 14, 1999 Stress is an essential element of life, and our bodies have developed a complex and highly efficient pattern of response to deal with it on a short-term basis. When chronic stressors activate this same response pattern, significant bodily damage can occur. This article examines in detail how our bodies respond to stress and suggests some useful stress reduction techniques. 10. Fear Not, Brad Schmidt and Jeffrey Winters, Psychology Today , January/February 2002 The events of September 11, 2001, are far from dim in the collective American memory, and our national psyche reflects our preoccupation with this tragic day. This article traces the effects, positive and negative, that fear can have on the mind, and explores how healthy fear can degenerate into generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), with terrible consequences. UNIT 3. Nutritional Health 11. How Much Protein Is Enough?, Consumer Reports on Health , February 2001 Most Americans prefer protein-rich foods at mealtime, and the primary source of this protein is beef and poultry. While protein provides both energy and raw material for the body's growth and repair, excessive dietary intake of animal protein may lead to bone loss, kidney disease, and some types of cancer. 12. Antioxidants: No Magic Bullet, Bonnie Liebman, Nutrition Action Healthletter , April 2002 Oxidants have been linked to cancer, heart disease, eye disease, and memory loss. Are antioxidants the answer? Researchers are now beginning to reevaluate their position on these "wonder" drugs and what the evidence really shows about the promise they hold for future treatments. 13. Tips for the Savvy Supplement User, FDA Consumer , March/April 2002 Dietary supplements can be effective health-boosters when used properlyand they can create health risks and have unintended effects when overused or used improperly. This article serves as an overview of the do's and don'ts of supplements. 14. Fast Food 2002: The Best & Worst, Bonnie Liebman and Jayne Hurley, Nutrition Action Healthletter , September 2002 Everyone is pressed for time occasionally. And everyone needs to eat. The combination of these two factors has led to the rapid and successful growth of the fast-food industry. This article lists the healthiest (and unhealthiest) menu choices available at popular fast-food chains. UNIT 4. Exercise and Weight Control 15. Measure Your Fitness Level, Consumer Reports on Health , April 2002 Declining health is not an inevitability of aging, and careful monitoring of your physical fitness can ward off disease well into old age. This article lists four simple tests designed to measure your fitness level, and provides a key to compare your score with the average in your age/sex bracket. 16. How the Body Knows When to Gain or Lose, Gina Kolata, New York Times , October 17, 2000 With so many diets, so many promises, and so many books on the subject of weight loss, why aren't more people successful at losing weight? Many scientists now believe that our body weight may be controlled by endogenous chemicals that are modulating our appetite. In obese individuals, this system of control may be distorted. 17. Ten Tips for Staying Lean, Bonnie Liebman, Nutrition Action Healthletter , July/August 1999 According to recent statistics, more than [read more]