TO YOUR

Mid-Valley Newspapers June 2012A guide to wellness and healthy living in the Mid-Willamette Valley

HealthHealthM

A guide to wellne

Quick reads about health topics in the news

STAT

Making time for activities like bike riding, walking and swimming as a family can help kids develop safe, healthy habits.

JESSE SKOUBO | TO YOUR HEALTH/FILE

ach summer, parents are facedwith a double hurdle: gettingtheir kids off the couch and outto enjoy the sunny weather, andthen keeping their kids safeonce they do head outdoors.

With reports lamenting boththe rise in childhood obesity

and the fact that unintentional injuryremains the leading cause of death for kids, itcan be hard for parents to know which way toturn: keep the kids in the house, wherethey’re safe but sedentary, or send them outto play, where they’re active but at risk?

Getting activeEven the most safety-focused parents

know they can’t really keep their kidswrapped up in a Snuggie on the couch allsummer — nor would they want to. Gettingkids used to a regular routine of physicalactivity is a great way to ensure your child’slifelong health.

One of the best ways to both set your mindat ease about your kids’ outdoor safety and tohelp build healthy habits is to participatewith them.

“It’s about time spent together,” saidKaren Swanger, director of KidSpirit, part ofOregon State University’s College of PublicHealth and Human Services. “It’s not allabout how many minutes you’re getting in.Make it fun.”

Exercise doesn’t have to be expensive orhighly regimented. Family walks, time at thepark, bike rides and local hikes will all do thetrick. Remember that especially for kids pre-school-age and younger, what counts asexercise for them may not exactly help youmeet your aerobic activity needs.

“Little kids are going to want to smell theflowers and look at bugs,” Swanger said. “Youhave to check yourself and remember thateven though this is not exercise for me, thoselittle legs are only about a foot long. It’s aboutcreating the habit of being on the move.”

Once kids get to be grade-school age andolder, you can create challenges to make itmore interesting — and more strenuous —for everyone. For instance, Swanger said,each Corvallis school has a 5K coursemapped out in the neighborhood sur-rounding it so that running clubs like Girlson the Run, a KidSpirit program, can usethem for training. Challenge your kids torun or walk the entire 3.1-mile route as afamily by the end of the summer, working

up to it little by little.For teenagers, make social activity a part of

getting active as a family.“Have some place in mind to go and then

invite their friends along,” suggestedSwanger. “Say we’re going to go downtownand go shopping, but we’re going to bikethere. That social piece is important to teens.”

Really, it doesn’t matter too much whatyou’re doing — as long as you’re encouragingyour kids to enjoy physical activity, especial-ly by participating right alongside them —you’ve taken a step toward a summer ofhealthy fun instead of TV-fueled apathy.

Water safetySwimming is another part of any kid’s

summer wish list. When the temperatureclimbs, cooling off in the water is the firstthing that comes to mind. But according tothe U.S. Centers for Disease Control, drown-ing remains the No. 1 accidental killer ofsmall children, claiming the lives of morechildren ages 1-4 than any cause other than

congenital birth defects.To reduce the risk of a tragedy, enroll your

kids in swimming lessons. Statistics showthat taking part in formal swimming lessonsreduces the risk of drowning in preschool agechildren; that familiarity with the water andrudimentary skills can help keep them alive.

Even kids who have had swimming lessonsstill need to be watched. Never let your kidsswim unsupervised, and brush up on yourCPR skills. According to the CDC, whenbystanders perform CPR, it improves thechances that drowning victims will survive.

If you’re going to be out boating in one ofOregon’s many lakes or rivers, everyone —even the adults — needs to be wearing a lifejacket. According to the CDC, half of allboating deaths could be prevented throughthe use of life jackets. Water wings or pooltoys like floating noodles don’t cut it — youneed to be strapped into an approved modelrated for the weight of the wearer.

How to get your kids off the couch and keep them

Safe and active

E

SEE SAFE & ACTIVE | A6

By JENNIFER ROUSE

Chubby on campusThe percent of overweight

and obese American collegestudents increased from 27.4percent in fall 2006 to 29.2percent in fall 2011, accordingto the American CollegeHealth Association.

By contrast, more thanone-third of American adults,about 35.7 percent, are obesetoday, according to the feder-al Centers for Disease Controland Prevention.

The news gets worse: Newresearch conducted by Eric A.Finkelstein at Duke University,which appeared online in theAmerican Journal of PreventiveMedicine, predicted that 42percent of Americans would beobese by 2030, including a 33percent increase over the next20 years.

— Capital News Service

Rethinking autismA greater understanding of

disorders on the autism spec-trum is ever-evolving. TheAmerican PsychiatricAssociation is reviewing thediagnosing criteria for autism— essentially outlining for clini-cians what will and will not beconsidered autism.

In March, the U.S. Centersfor Disease Control andPrevention revised its esti-mates for how many childrenhave autism — increasingrates from 1 in every 110 chil-dren to 1 in 88.

— Detroit Free Press

Chew on thisA new British study sug-

gests that chewing flavorlessgum can interfere with short-term memory.

The research, published inThe Quarterly Journal ofExperimental Psychology,challenges the prevailingnotion that chewing gum — atleast when it’s flavored — is aperformance enhancer thatcan boost brain power. Flavor,however, is a still a wild card;it’s what may contribute tothe benefits of gum chewing.

In a 2002 study participantschewed mint-flavored gum andperformed better on short-term word and memory tasksthan those who did not chewgum. But because chewinggum loses its flavor in severalminutes — and unflavored gumis generally unpalatable — “itseems advisable that chewinggum is only considered a per-formance enhancer as long asits flavor lasts,” the researchersnoted. Or as long as you havemoney to buy more gum.

— Chicago Tribune

Eyesight issuesMore than 150 million

Americans use glasses or con-tacts to correct refractiveerrors such as nearsighted-ness or farsightedness,according to a report from theeye health organizationPrevent Blindness America.And the prevalence of blind-ness and sight problemsincreases with age. In peopleolder than 40, the most com-mon diseases include age-related macular degeneration(AMD), cataracts, diabeticretinopathy and glaucoma.

– Chicago Tribune

Toll from injuriesAbout 50 million Americans

are treated for injuries everyyear, including 9.2 million chil-dren who are taken to emer-gency rooms. About 12,000children die from theirinjuries. The injuries also gen-erate $4.6 billion in lifetimecosts for medical care and lostproductivity.

— The Baltimore Sun

Laws save livesAccording to a new report

from the Trust for America’sHealth and the Robert WoodJohnson Foundation, seat beltlaws nationwide saved about69,000 lives from 2006 to2010. Motorcycle helmet lawsnationwide saved about 8,000lives from 2005 to 2009. Childsafety seat laws nationwidesaved about 1,800 lives from2005 to 2009.

— The Baltimore Sun

ETHAN ERICKSON | TO YOUR HEALTH/FILE

Adding a social element to sports and exercise helps older kids and teens stay interested in participating.Letting them invite friends along for a bike ride or getting them involved in events like the Boys & GirlsClub’s Hoop Jam, above, can motivate them to keep moving.

To Your HealthTuesday, June 12, 2012A6

Sun safetyThe other leading cause

of summer injury is a moreinsidious one, a killerwhose damage might notshow up until years downthe road: Sunburn.

We’ve all had one, andthere’s no need to shieldkids from the sun at theexpense of allowing them toenjoy their summer. Butany time you can prevent asunburn from occurring,you’re taking a step in theright direction. More than 2million people are diag-nosed with skin cancer eachyear, according to the CDC.And while many peoplewear sunscreen, not every-one does it effectivelyenough to prevent their riskof skin damage.

The biggest mistake? Notapplying enough of thestuff. Most people use only25-50 percent of the rec-ommended amount, theCDC says. You need toslather on about enough tofill a shotglass, and youneed to do it even on cloudydays. If you’re using thespray-on kind, make sureyou’re putting on enough tocover the entire exposedarea thoroughly, and witheither variety let it dry firstbefore heading outside.

You also need to makesure the stuff you’re usingoffers what’s called broad-spectrum protection and is

SPF 15 or higher. Check thelabel — does your bottle sayit protects against bothUVA and UVB rays? If not,get a new one. Withoutboth kinds of protection, itwill only prevent sunburn,not protect from the kind ofexposure that can causeskin cancer.

Put more sunscreen onyour kids every two hours,or anytime they’ve beenswimming or sweatingheavily. Don’t be fooled bybottles that claim they are“water proof” or “won’tsweat off.” In fact, accord-ing to the newest regula-tions, manufacturers are nolonger allowed to makesuch claims — all sunscreeneventually washes off, andthe most any company canclaim is that their productis water-resistant, for up to80 minutes.

The variety of constantly-changing regulations to keepin your head may seemdaunting, but the mostimportant fact to rememberis this: childhood is short,and summer only comesalong once a year. Push yourworries away, and get outthere to enjoy it alongsideyour kids.

“If parents make movingfun,” said OSU’s Swanger,“kids will associate physi-cal activity with greatmemories, for the rest oftheir lives.”

HEALTHY TRAVELSummer is the time for hitting the road — but if illness or

injury strikes while traveling, it can turn a fun trip into a majorheadache. Here are some tips to make your traveling smoother, inboth sickness and in health.

Before you go:• Make sure you have any necessary prescriptions refilled.• Get medications you think you might need for travel —

immunizations if you’re traveling abroad, motion sickness med-ications if you need them for a trip on a plane or a boat.

• Check your insurance to make sure it covers you whileyou’re traveling, especially if you’re leaving the country.

• Look up where the closest care providers are in the areawhere you’re traveling. If you are on a camping trip, you may notbe able to rely on your smartphone to tell you which is the clos-est town with medical care available.

When you’re packing:• Bring a first-aid kit.• Make sure you have prescriptions, asthma inhalers, epi-pens,

and any other medical device you might need.• Bring along your health insurance card and your ID.• Health profile: If you are taking any medications, or have

medical conditions or allergies that doctors may need to knowabout, print up that information and have it available to hand tounfamiliar doctors ahead of time.

For emergencies:If you’re hiking, camping, or driving through in a remote place,

don’t forget the “10 essentials” that backcountry experts agreeyou should have in case you get lost:

Safe & activeContinued from A1

By SYDNEY CARTERCAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

COLLEGE PARK, Md. —Control over their life choic-es is part of the college expe-rience for students. But thatauthority is not withoutcost: Schedules are jammedand in-flux; exercise, home-work and friends all competefor time. Parents aren’taround to clean up, nagabout homework and grades,or cook nutritious meals.

Faced with overwhelm-ing choices, college stu-dents often end up gainingextra pounds. Moreover, ata time when obesity amongAmericans is a nationalepidemic, the college gen-eration often is overlooked.

“People don’t look at thisage cohort as closely,” saidDr. Jeffrey Levi, executivedirector of Trust for Ameri-ca’s Health, a national non-profit, nonpartisan organi-zation dedicated to protect-ing communities’ healthand preventing disease.“Since you certainly can

find a lot of data showingthat kids today under 18,under 19 are becoming moreand more obese, they’removing on to college — thisis a trend that’s been goingon for 20 years — and clearlyadmission to college doesn’tsuddenly eliminate thoserates of obesity.”

The percent of over-weight and obese Americancollege students increasedfrom 27.4 percent in fall2006 to 29.2 percent in fall2011, according to theAmerican College HealthAssociation. The organiza-tion based its findings onbody mass index, or BMI,which is calculated from anindividual’s self-reportedheight and weight, and is a

standard indicator of obesi-ty. A BMI in the range of 25to 29.9 is considered over-weight, while a BMI be-tween 30 and 34.9 is obese.

A 2007 study on collegestudents and obesity pub-lished in the AmericanJournal of Health Behaviorfound that obesity rates in-creased rapidly during theduration of the study. Theresearchers wrote: “Stu-dents entering college maybe making independent de-cisions about their diet, ac-tivity and television view-ing behaviors for the firsttime. New environmentaland social factors mayemerge during this time pe-riod to have a greater influ-ence on their behavior.”

College students canstruggle with control. Thetough decisions about nutri-tion and exercise can sendthem on a roller-coaster ridewith their health.

“You have to find thetime, it’s not built-in for exercising,” said Emily

Schmitt, the University ofMaryland fitness programscoordinator, “and you’reselecting your own food,which may be totally dif-ferent than the mealsyou’re used to from home.”

More than one-third ofAmerican adults, about 35.7percent, are obese today,according to the federalCenters for Disease Controland Prevention.

Even the White Househas taken notice. First ladyMichelle Obama, themother of two youngdaughters, has made child-hood obesity her challenge.In February 2010, shelaunched the Let’s Move!campaign to encouragehealthy eating and physicalactivity among children.

Almost one in threechildren in America isoverweight or obese, ac-cording to the official Let’sMove! website.

But college students, itseems, are left to fend forthemselves.

Despite the success of preventative laws,

injuries remain the leadingcause of youth fatalities

By MEREDITH COHNTHE BALTIMORE SUN

BALTIMORE — Tens of thousandsof lives have been saved over the yearsbecause Americans more routinelywear seat belts and don’t drive drunk.

But there are other public healththreats from those who text while driv-ing or overdose on prescription drugs.

That’s why a group of researchersbegan looking at which preventionmeasures work and who is using themacross the country to stem the rate ofinjuries of all kinds. Injuries are thethird-leading cause of death for adultsand the biggest killer of young people.

“Injuries are a huge problem hid-ing in plain sight,” said Andrea Gie-len, director of the Johns HopkinsCenter for Injury Research & Policyand co-author of a new report re-leased by the Trust for America’sHealth and the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation. “People don’t necessar-ily recognize the toll.”

Researchers believe it’s the firsttime a report has identified 10 keyinjury-prevention measures andwhich states have adopted them.They hope their findings are used toinfluence public policy and laws andto change individuals’ behavior.

Up to now, no state has adopted allof the measures that focus on suchthings as seat belts, bike and motorcy-cle helmets, child safety seats andprescription drug monitoring pro-grams. The resulting injuries are notonly a health issue, but a financial one,said Jeffrey Levi, executive directorof the Trust for America’s Health.

Annual federal funding for injuryprevention has been cut by 24 percentin the past five years to $88.6 million,he said, and many lawmakers want toknow what the return on the invest-ment will be before boosting themoney anew.

About 50 million Americans aretreated for injuries every year, includ-ing 9.2 million children who are takento emergency rooms, Levi said. About12,000 children die from their in-juries. The injuries also generate $4.6billion in lifetime costs for medicalcare and lost productively.

But the report shows injury-prevention laws are making gains, hesaid. Seat belts saved an estimated69,000 lives from 2005 to 2010. Mo-torcycle helmets saved about 8,000lives, and child safety seats saved1,800 from 2005 to 2009.

“There are some relatively simpleand inexpensive things you can do tomake a big difference,” Levi said. “Ifevery state passed every law, millions

of lives and millions of dollars wouldbe saved.”

The report’s authors said researchwill continue to determine the bestmethods of preventing injury. Some-times recommendations change. Forexample, Gielen said, children shouldbe in booster seats until they are 8years old and babies’ seats should re-main backward until occupants are 2,longer than previously thought.

New threats are emerging that willrequire study to determine the bestmethods of prevention. They include

texting while driving, prescriptiondrug overdoses, bullying, concus-sions in school sports and falls amongthe aging Baby Boomer generation.

But unintended consequences alsocould be a problem as new laws takeeffect, Levi said. For example, simplybanning texting could make somedrivers try to hide their phones fromlaw enforcement, diverting their eyeslonger from the road.

“There is definitely an educationalcomponent, for the lawmakers andfor the public,” he said.

LLOYD FOX | BALTIMORE SUN

Stephanie Parsons, a certified health educator at Johns Hopkins University, talks with 1-year-old Nathaniel Thomas Jr. as his father, Nathaniel Thomas Sr., buys a child-proofingkit at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Safety Center in Baltimore.

Hidden in plain sight

THE 10 MOST EFFECTIVE MEASURESHere are the 10 measures that researchers believe have the greatest effect in saving

lives, and the number of states that have adopted them:• Seat belts: Have a primary seat belt law (32 states).• Drunken driving: Have mandatory ignition interlocks for all convicted drunken driv-

ers (16 states).• Motorcycle helmets: Require helmets for all riders (19 states).• Booster seats: Require seats to age 8 (33 states).• Bicycle helmets: Require helmets for all children (21 states).• Intimate partner violence: Allows people in dating relationships to get protection

orders (44 states).• Teen dating violence: Several measures recommended (6 states).• Concussions: Several measures recommended, including baseline exams for school

sports (36 states).• Accidental prescription drug overdose or use: Have an active monitoring program

(48 states).• Ecodes: Include a code on patient discharge forms from emergency rooms showing

the injury cause for research purposes (23 states).

College students’ weighty choicesbring campus obesity to forefront

‘People don’t lookat this age cohort

as closely.’DR. JEFFREY LEVI

TRUST FOR AMERICA’S HEALTH

• Map• Compass• Sunglasses/sunscreen• Extra food• Extra water

• Extra clothes• Flashlight• First aid kit• Fire starter/matches• Knife

By ANDREA K. WALKERTHE BALTIMORE SUN

No one likes to get stuckwith a needle.

But it’s the only way doc-tors can get blood to test fordiabetes, anemia and numer-ous other health problems.

Scientists at the JohnsHopkins University Schoolof Nursing say there is amuch less invasive andpainless means of detectingillnesses in patients — spit.

Like blood, spit containsproteins, hormones, enzymesand DNA that can be used totest for and combat disease.It is easy and inexpensive tocollect and analyze, makingit ideal for research.

Scientists already areusing saliva tests forresearch and believe we willone day soon see the marketopen to consumers who willbe able to test for illnessesfrom their bedsides with asimple swab of the mouth.This could be especiallybeneficial in rural areas andother places with limitedaccess to health care and forpeople who may not be ableto get to a doctor’s office.

Saliva research has beenaround for years, but spit’suse in medical settings is stilllimited mostly to detecting

HIV and hormone-relateddiseases. The field is now at acrossroads with better toolsand methods to test saliva,some researchers say. Theyexpect saliva testing tobecome more common inthe near future.

Recent studies at JohnsHopkins have found salivacan be used to detect car-diovascular disease risk andto collect DNA samples.One study even used it toshow how women’s rela-tionships with their fathersindicate how well they dealwith stress.

“We’re discovering thatby using spit we are able tomeasure more things than wewere ever able to measurebefore, and we know nowhow to design the tools tocollect samples accuratelyand to do the measurementsaccurately,” said DougGranger, director of Hopkins’Center for InterdisciplinarySalivary Bioscience Research.

Granger began research-ing saliva nearly two decadesago as a graduate studentstudying biological reasonsfor problem behavior inchildren. He found manyfamilies didn’t want to par-ticipate because it requirednumerous blood samples.

Saliva eyed for alternativeto blood testing

By MONICA ENGCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Over the last decade, the nation’swar on obesity has targeted somefairly obvious culprits, including fastfood, pastries, fried foods and soda.

But recent scientific studies and anew government-sponsored docu-mentary that aired recently on HBOhave identified a new, less obviousenemy: fruit juice.

This might surprise the many par-ents and school districts that inrecent years have proudly ditchedsoda in favor of 100 percent juice. But

health experts increasingly agree thatit is not a better alternative.

“Juice is just like soda, and I’m say-ing it right here on camera,” pediatricobesity specialist Robert Lustig said inthe documentary “Weight of theNation,” produced in conjunctionwith the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention. “There is no differ-ence. When you take fruit and squeezeit, you throw the fiber in the garbage.That was the good part of the fruit.”

Since 2001, the American Academyof Pediatrics has advised limiting dailyjuice consumption to 4 to 6 ounces for

children 6 and younger and 8 to 12ounces (the size of a soda can) for chil-dren 7 to 18. The academy’s head ofenvironmental health, Jerome Paulson,took it even further when he told theTribune in December that childrendo not need to drink any juice at all.

“Don’t drink an apple,” he said.“Eat an apple.”

An important difference betweenfruit juice and fruit, researcherspoint out, is that calories and sugardelivered in liquid form don’t triggerfeelings of fullness and can lead toexcess consumption.

Fruit juice targeted in war on obesity

To Your Health A7Tuesday, June 12, 2012