Published: February 7, 2011
Women who are satisfied with everyday life and are involved in leisure activities rarely have problems with alcohol, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Occupational therapist Christina Andersson, who wrote the thesis, has looked at how everyday life affects alcohol consumption as part of the wider Women and Alcohol in Gothenburg (WAG) population study which has been ongoing at the Sahlgrenska Academy since the mid-1980s.
In one study, 851 women aged 20-55 answered questions about their everyday life covering employment, leisure activities, the distribution of housework, how much time they have to themselves to do things they enjoy, and how satisfied they are in each of these areas.
“Alcohol dependence and abuse, high alcohol consumption and high episodic drinking turned out to be most common among women who, despite having more time to themselves, are less involved in leisure activities,” says Andersson. “Being more involved and being satisfied with the various domains of everyday life, such as work, housework and leisure activities, has only a weak link to risk drinking, even for those with little time to themselves.” [continue reading…]
Published: February 5, 2011
The Guardian’s Alex Krotoski takes a shot at untangling the effect that internet porn has on our sex lives…..Interesting, have read and let us know what you think? How has the internet changed our concept of sex? Is online porn a path to sexual enlightenment or is it the slippery slope to society’s moral corruption ?
Generally, the focus of discussions about sex online tends to be on possible dangers, rather than on enlightenment or mental intimacy. The experience most people have is of searching for information about psychosexual problems, not looking for a good time. Yes, the kinks are out there – they always have been – but there is no evidence that simple exposure to the vast database of online fetishes has sexualised our society any more or less than previous media have. If anything, it’s reversing the trend towards commercialisation. Online interaction, frank discussion and play are transforming our sexualities. The result will, with luck, be sexual enlightenment rather than social destruction. Curious? Continue reading
Source: The Guardian
Published: February 4, 2011
As we come to recognize the problem of global obesity, discussion is invariable turning to what are we going to do about it, and who’s to blame. Time delves into current research and ask the loaded question-Are Working Moms to Blame for Childhood Obesity? Good headline guaranteed to rankle all the working moms out there.
In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled. Couple that with the stat that 70% of U.S. mothers with young children work, and it’s not unreasonable to be concerned. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to childhood obesity, including easy access to cheap, prepared foods and kids’ increasing preference for apps over exercise.
Source: Time
I favour Mark Bittmann’s approach, without leveling the same proportion of blame, he adds his voice to the problem of how we should tackle the problem of growing world wide obesity in his New York Times article – A Food Manifesto for the Future
Encourage and subsidize home cooking. (Someday soon, I’ll write about my idea for a new Civilian Cooking Corps.) When people cook their own food, they make better choices. When families eat together, they’re more stable. We should provide food education for children (a new form of home ec, anyone?), cooking classes for anyone who wants them and even cooking assistance for those unable to cook for themselves.
Source:New York Times
Published: February 1, 2011
Nearly ten percent of all cases of depression are so severe that the patients do not respond to any established treatment method. Targeted stimulation of areas in the brain using a type of “brain pacemaker” has recently raised hopes: According to initial studies, half of patients with the most severe depression treated in this manner see a significant improvement in mood. Physicians from the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from the US, have suggested a new target structure for deep brain stimulation (as it is technically called). They hope to achieve an even better success rate with fewer side effects. The work has been published in the renowned “Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews” (doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.12.009). [continue reading…]
