Hormones and Anorexia

University of Sussex researchers have recently found evidence that suggests that tendency towards anorexia may be programmed in-utero. A mother's hormones may determine the likelihood that a baby will become an anorexic later in life. In keeping with previous research on the topic, "women are usually much more likely than men to have the eating disorder." However, under certain circumstances, men have the same odds of developing anorexia as men: "But a University of Sussex study found men with a female twin were more at risk...This suggests the hormones released to aid female development may be key...The only exception was among mixed-sex twins, where the male was as likely to develop anorexia as the female. The researchers wrote that the most likely reason was because of sex steroid hormones released into the womb during pregnancy."

Interesting - but how does this research tie in with body image issues and gender?

"The Choking Game" and other disturbing images

As I was watching "Football Night in America" on NBC last night, a commercial for tomorrow’s Today Show came on (side note: I've always loved the "Tomorrow, on Today" commercials; the unintended wordplay just cracks me up).

Anyhow, the top story planned to cover “The Choking Game,” a way in which young kids are asphyxiating each other in order to get high. My first instinct was to dismiss it after I got hosed by Jenkem, the not-real drug made from sewage gas. However, it turns out that The Choking Game is not a hoax, as this original report from Today in August 2005 reports, and to top that off, as this Q&A from ABC News around the same time shows, this practice is relatively horrifying.

In short, many children have died or been seriously injured from choking each other in order to get a quick high, which seems preposterous to me — I mean, whatever happened to whippits? There are plenty of good ol' fashioned inhalants around the house (markers, glue, etc.) that kids can get their hands on; why are they resorting to hurting each other?


Though the articles above are very quick to quell the idea that this is in any way sexual — similar to the way adults asphyxiate each other during sex — Freud might disagree. I'm not saying this is the case, but it might show early signs of masochism.

However, I'm not a psychoanalyst, no matter how much I may want to be, and my chosen path is simply to identify things as they are. In this context, my question is:

Should we be encouraging our kids to smoke pot and drink?

Of course not, but at the same time, demonizing these much, much safer drugs very well could be leading to people resorting to this kind of activity. Though this may or may not be true, I think The Choking Game simply proves that trying to get high is a natural human inclination (please agree or disagree at will). Would it be better, no matter what our kids are doing, just to teach them responsibility with regards to getting high? Clearly, having a sip of whiskey with their friends out back of the house is nowhere near so dangerous as momentarily killing themselves.

On that note, Happy Post-Holiday Monday!!

First Do No Harm...

Apparently, doctors don't dig it when you know what's going on. The NYT's "Health and Wellness" blog has a post today based on this Time article by Dr. Scott Haig of Columbia-Presbyterian called "When the Patient is a Googler.". Dr. Haig's point was that it's irritating as all hell for doctors to have to deal with patients who have done tons of background information on their condition and their physicians, often going so far as to read their physicians' CVs and published papers. The "Googler" is that skeptical, over-informed patient, often shopping for specialists the way most people shop for cars: checking out the competition, comparing ratings, and asking highly technical questions.

I'm a bit back and forth on the issue. On one hand, it's incredibly patronizing to hear a doctor bitch and moan about how a patient actually has an acute understanding of her own condition and has informed questions about what's going on. Not being armed with information means that you can't participate in your care, even though you are an adult wholly capable of understanding the Reader's Digest version of what's going on. On the other hand, your physician is an expert on what's going and has probably filtered through much of the information that you can find on the internet. Additionally, if you have false information, you waste time with your physician discussion options that s/he knows aren't real. Any thoughts?

Alzheimer's Patients Forget Spouses, Forge New Relationships

Alzheimer's Disease has been destroying lives all over America; even former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is not exempt.

Apparently, it is not uncommon for Alzheimer's sufferers living in nursing homes to completely forget that they are married, and begin new relationships with other nursing home dwellers. Add that to the list of weird sexual behaviors found in these institutions across America.

God makes it rain, has a little chuckle

In response to Sonny Perdue's call to pray for rain, God sent some precipitous storms toward the Southeast, providing up to an inch in some places.

As Yahoo! News reports, though, some of these storms were quite severe, damaging property and injuring several in Tennessee. Looks like God's having a little ironic moment to himself, but in the long run, we can use all the rain we can get.

Does having sex at a younger age contribute to delinquency?

According to a new University of Virginia study, results are actually to the contrary.

Under the pretense that having sex at a young age led to subversive behavior, "abstinence education" made its way into our schools, providing yet another reason why ignoring issues probably doesn't make them better. For example, I wonder if in these original studies finding that teen sex did lead to "negative" actions took into account the fact that some of these children (who were not taught about safe sex but only not to have it) had kids of their own, and then to clothe and feed them, had to resort to illegal or "delinquent" activities to do so.

I can't say for sure, but all I know is that this Washington Post article refers to "all other things being equal" in the original studies. Personally, I'm not sure all other things can be equal, because many factors contribute to a person's behavior. Responsible young adults can engage in responsible sex, but it would probably help if they were taught to do so.

The new UVA study focused on identical twins, who, for all other practical purposes, would have "all other things equal." In the end, these results are not terribly conclusive either; however, that doesn't preclude the fact that we should teach our children about safe sex instead of avoiding the situation all together.

Cyclone Sidr heads into Bay of Bengal

Apparently one of the most destructive places on Earth for a cyclone (better known as a hurricane to us Western Hemisphere-ites) to develop is in the Bay of Bengal, located on the east side of India and to the south of Bangladesh. In past years, phenomenal death tolls have risen from massively devastating storms. Fortunately, cyclones that form in the Bay usually do not gain enough steam to cause much land damage, so storms like the Bhola Cyclone (linked above) are relatively infrequent.

Unfortunately, Cyclone Sidr already has formed out in the ocean and is barreling at Category 3 or 4 strength toward the coast. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if this comes to fruition, be prepared to hear of another disheartening international tragedy, this one not caused by religious dissention or political disarray.


POSTSCRIPT: I don't mean to lighten this grim news inappropriately, but I do have a question: The subhead to the site on which I found this post refers to itself as "the consumer's guide to the green revolution." Does that seem counterintuitive to anyone else?

Does praying for rain equal an admission of incompetency?

Yesterday, Greg posted a story about a city in Tennessee that has completely run out of water, and in that piece, made brief mention of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue's call to pray for rain.

Granted, I think the people who find comfort in prayer should pray for rain; however, the American Humanist Association, like many others I'm sure, justifiably is pretty irritated by this request.

From the article: "Humanists see Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's call for a rain prayer to be a divisive distraction from the work of government." I think this is pretty cut and dry. While I would agree the water situation has gotten to the point that an act of God will be the only way it can be mediated, is a mandate for prayer an admission of the capitol's failure as a governmental entity?

My argument with this situation is not regarding the prayer itself. Clearly, we're fucked as far as our water supply goes, regardless of its causes (massive drought, poor government planning, lack of individual conservation, the list goes on). I also understand that prayer is an important part of life for many Georgians, and I won't go so far as the bitter humanists and say it doesn't work; the fact is that I don't know if it works or not, so why not try?

Yet, the message implied from this action is that God created this disaster and only He can get us out of it, which from a governmental (and individual) standpoint misdirects responsibility from our own negligence.

McDonald's: Healthier than Sit-Down Chain Restaurants?

Today's Full Disclosure Moment: I hate those national, franchised, sit-down restaurants. Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, Bennigan's, Rafferty's, Chili's, O'Charley's, Beef O'Brady's, and all the rest. They employ the lowest order of waitstaff and kitchen staff, their menu's are overpriced, the booze is insanely expensive, and the food just isn't very good.

There, I feel better. On to the news:

This article, which unfortunately abuses the statistical data a bit, inspired me to do a little research on my own, and the results are somewhat surprising. Even spotting the big sit-down chains the benefit of the doubt, and ordering a Big Mac and Large Fries at McDonalds, you will consume more calories, and more calories from fat, by sitting down and eating a $12 dollar burger, served with wilted lettuce and a pickle heated by the glow lamps, brought to you by some kid who couldn't get a job at a non-corporate restaurant.

McDonalds (McDonald's Nutrition Information):
- Big Mac: 540 cal, 260 cal from fat.
- Large French Fries: 570 cal, 270 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1110 cal, 530 cal from fat.
Ruby Tuesday's (PDF of Ruby Tuesday's Nutritional Information):
- Ruby's Classic Burger: 1,013 cal, 639 cal from fat.
- "Fresh Hot Fries" 359 cal, 117 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1372 cal, 756 cal from fat.
Chili's (PDF of Chili's Nutritional Information):
- Chili's Oldtime burger: 800 cal, 396 cal from fat.
- Homestyle French Fries: 430 cal, 236 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1230 cal, 632 cal from fat.

Feel free to do a little research on your own and add your favorite artey-clogging sit-down Americana restaurant in the comments.

Hip-Hop Lyrics + Teenagers = Sex?

Public health researchers at Columbia are studying hip hop's influence on teenage sexuality, whether the overt sexuality of the music, lyrics, and dances has an impact on early sexual behavior. Turns out the primary influences on sexual behavior are alcohol, drugs, and peer pressure.

However, researchers are still looking into whether certain types of lyrics spur adolescent sex, after the RAND Corporation's 2006 landmark study that suggested that teenagers who were exposed to sexually degrading lyrics were twice as likely to start having sex within 2 years of the beginning of the study.

My question to you, dear reader, is: "Do teenagers actually listen to the lyrics and internalize the messages therein or do they just memorize lyrics to look cool?"

Jenkem: It's all the rage

Every one of us is hesitant to say it for the first time, but I'll go ahead and do it: What IS wrong with the kids today?

That's right, Jenkem is a new drug made from human sewage, made popular here by some kids in Southern Florida. Excellent.

Criticism of the American Health Care System

The various problems with the American healthcare system are a frequent topic of debate amongst the editors here at The Pasty Quail. Can you tell which side these guys fall on?

The study mentioned in that article is even better than the piece itself. Schoen, et al. compare 8 nations, 7 of which have universal healthcare: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their findings are suspect at best, and border on the ridiculous. Who woulda thunk it, but the citizens of the United States pay the most per capita for health care, and are more likely to go without care because of money. Here's another little tidbit:

"In the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, where adults can switch their basic insurance coverage, we asked about changing plans in the past three years. German rates were relatively stable, with only 10 percent switching. In the Netherlands, at a time with new choices, 25 percent switched in the past three years. U.S. adults reported the most frequent changes: 32 percent had switched, and 14 percent had done so more than once (data not shown)."

[Two things, just for the record: (a) The healthcare systems in Germany and The Netherlands allow competition by private insurance firms on everything but price, which is set by those respective governments, (b) and that "data not shown" is theirs, not mine.]

One last nugget of wisdom:

"Based on responses about having a regular source of care with easy contact by phone, knowledge of medical history, and care coordination, the findings indicate that only about 50–60 percent of adults across countries have a primary care source with key attributes of a medical home. In the United States, having such a relationship depended on insurance and income: Insured and higher-income patients were significantly more likely than uninsured and lower-income patients to have a medical home (53 percent of the insured compared with 26 percent of the uninsured for adults under age sixty-five; 58 percent above-average compared with 42 percent below-average income for all ages)."

There are some very real problems with the healthcare system in America: not enough people have access to basic healthcare, especially amongst the poor and the elderly. And the systems we have that are designed to help those people get access to the services they need are woefully insufficient. These topics, and a few others (like the role that HMO's play in determining the level of care received by the insured party), would make great topics for comparative healthcare surveys.

Unfortunately, this study doesn't touch those subjects. Instead, the writers slant the survey so far to one side of the issue as to render their own findings worthless. Even worse than that, they have removed the focus of the debate from the issues that we can solve, those issues that do deserve our attention.

Mark Twain once said "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics." This survey is a great example of that point. By asking questions that skew the focus away from the issues that matter, and instead focusing on a political agenda, the writers have concocted a pile of data that means nothing; they have robbed the very people they are attempting to help.

How to Save a Life and Avoid Wet, Drunk, Well-Fed Swedes

The World Cancer Research Fund just released a new report identifying certain lifestyle patterns with increased risk of 6 types of cancer. Things to avoid include:
1) Weight gain
2) Belly fat -- though Slate recently mentioned that ab-etching may be possible, albeit aesthetically unpleasing
3) Processed meat (e.g. bacon)
4) Red meat
5) Alcohol
6) Failure to exercise regularly

While limiting the above makes it higly unlikely that you'll dance in a fountain with Anita Ekberg, it makes for good living.

Lots of News and nothing to say

Along many different lines, here are a few links to chew on for the next couple hours:

- Australian Rules Football may be coming to a city near you. Where its global marketing might succeed where the NFL's has not.

- Is the U.S. behind on developing its technology for this series of tubes we call the internets?

- Atlanta Airport steps into the water conservation effort. Though I hate saying "better late than never," because this should have happened long ago, it's better late than never.

- Slate's take on the deplorable state of Sports Illustrated. Lots of thought-provoking insight into current sports media.

More Halloween-related stuff (though loosely related)

Sadly, the Quail has to bring this news today, a day when candy consumption is so highly celebrated in this country. In Japan today, and for many days forward, the subject of sweet, delicious, non-expired candy will be a sore one.

Simply, two major Japanese candy companies have been lit up for fraud. One of them committed your standard infractions, you know, out-of-date milk for cream puffs, falsifying expiration dates on cookies, that kind of stuff.

The other, which just celebrated its 300th (!) anniversary, had been doing business the same way since 1707 until the 1970s. It previously had made its goods fresh every day, but in the last 30 years, has been reusing 90% of its unsold goods.

“In the minds of most Japanese, the products were associated with happy times, birthdays or days when their fathers returned from a business trip bearing sweets, said Akira Shimizu, an economics professor and expert on product brands at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo.

‘In that sense, there is a strong feeling that these happy episodes are being denied,’ Shimizu said of the scandals. ‘It's as if the sunny days were all rotten after all.’”

Jon Stewart, ruling as per usual

Here's a clip from a recent Daily Show, with Jon Stewart making up for lost time after a week off by filling us all in on the California wildfire crisis:



Though the whole clip pushes 8 minutes, it's worth your time. He begins by railing on other media types; CNN using the story as a promo for its “Planet in Peril” program was good, but Fox News suggesting ideas to terrorists was even better.

Further along, around the 4 minute mark, Schwarzenegger shows Geraldo a dog in the midst of discussing the crisis, saying that it's good for the "big and little dogs to get along." What?

Finally, Stewart brings it all home, taking charge toward the Capitol.

Enjoy!!

The Water Issue: Still an Issue

The weather here is absolutely gorgeous. I enjoy it a little cold, so this morning when I strapped on my socks, shoes, sweatshirt and stocking hat to walk to school, I was invigorated. On top of that there's nothing to fear, because the high will be in the mid-60s.

This trend looks to carry forth for the next 10 days, at least, which will be gloriously pleasant, but hopefully not so pleasant that we forget about the issue at hand: even when it's not hot, a drought is just as devastating.

Here's an article from last week denoting the myriad problems on the horizon pending we actually run out of water. It’s nice that we had some rain last week, but, we have to remember that this is a recurring and consistent problem, which will not go away even if we have consistent rain through the winter. I’m not sure if I’ve had the chance to go off on the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia's "planning," but I will again: it’s pretty damn ridiculous that a city with no zoning restrictions at all and relatively nice (read: warm) weather didn’t see 4 million people coming, especially after the first 2 million moved in.

Really, though, what happens when actually run out of water? Easy! We pump water from other states?

That seems a dubious solution. Not only will that create more strain on other water supplies, effectively dispersing the problem instead of solving it, as this article discusses, we're not the only one's feeling the heat from this.

I’m not usually a fatalist, but I’m pretty sure we’re fucked. And I can’t say that I’m holier than thou; I’m having plenty of trouble remembering to conserve water due to my usual habits. Though I never thought myself specifically wasteful, I now notice EVERY time I leave water running, which is more often than I'd like.

In that way, we’re certainly responsible, and though we’ve been raised to feel like we should trust our government officials to inform us when something goes awry — in this case, like completely running out of water — I can't use that as an excuse. Yeah, I’m pissed — I wish someone would have mentioned it, because even if I personally had been conserving water my entire life, the rest of society functions in the manner above, trusting its government. (and I do think we should be able to)

Maybe this is the inevitable decline of America-at-large’s honeymoon phase with capitalism. When other people don’t have money or resources, it’s difficult to notice when you do. No matter how much money you have, you’ll notice when there’s no water.

Although, when those people notice they don’t have water, they’ll just take their money somewhere else, and Atlanta, for one, will have blown all that money it spent on development in the past few years, basically spiraling it into economic demise.

This reminds me of that Futurama episode, when (from Wikipedia): “Atlanta moved offshore [to the Atlantic Ocean] in an effort to boost tourism and become a bigger Delta hub. The city overdeveloped and its excess weight caused it to sink to the bottom. Everyone that stayed with the city evolved into merpeople, with the assistance of leaking caffeine from Atlanta's Coca-Cola plant.”

Hey, at least we’d have water, then.

Slate is its own ombudsman

In my Slate Extravaganza last week, I posted an article written by an economist regarding "what Al Gore doesn't understand about climate change."

This week, Slate's Joseph Romm explains, in response to Steven Landsburg's article on Gore, what economists neglect when discussing this issue. (and probably many others as well)

I'm not sure where I fall on either of these positions, maybe to the left, right, somewhere in the middle, or at some random outlying point (probably the latter). However, I do respect Slate for publishing articles counterintuitive to what they previously have posted. This is nothing new for them, but just another reason they have some of the best reading on the web.

Update: So. Cal. wildfire situation

To spread some good news, the Southern California wildfires are under some measure of control. I know the authorities are trying to be optimistic, but I hope saying that "the worst is behind us" is not jumping ahead of themselves, especially since this is the first relief that's been shown.

However, if asshole arsonists continue to contribute to the situation, then this may go on much longer than expected.

In the end, though, if God is punishing the Californians for their sinful ways, then who knows what will happen. But, since that's not the case, The Pasty Quail sends its best wishes in hopes that this disaster will be mitigated and alleviated quickly.

POSTSCRIPT: While we're in a HowStuffWorks mood (in an effort to break my dependence on Wikipedia), here's their article on wildfires.

HEBBARD POST-POSTSCRIPT: Fox News is reporting that Al Qaeda is behind the wildfires. No, seriously. Raw Story has a confusing article about.

Higher Education wasting my time again

My post on Alzheimer’s from last week explained that scientists were working on a way to diagnose the disease before it happens.

Now, it appears that a different study shows that amount of formal education is directly proportional to the speed at which Alzheimer's deteriorates the brain.

Great. Does this include years of teaching as well?