ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• Kids whose time is less structured are better able to meet their own goals, study shows
• Food poisoning cases underreported, food safety specialist says
• Exposure to TV violence related to irregular attention and brain structure
• Moral tales with positive outcomes motivate kids to be honest
• No evidence that soy food protects against endometrial cancer, study finds
• Brain imaging shows enhanced executive brain function in people with musical training
• Stress hormone linked to short-term memory loss as we age, animal study suggests
• 'Trophy wife' stereotype is largely a myth, new study shows
• Self-reported health of young adults has improved
• Sleep education program spurs preschoolers to snooze 30 minutes longer at night
• Do 'walkable' neighborhoods reduce obesity, diabetes? Yes, research suggests
• E-cigs heavily marketed on Twitter, study finds
• Combining Treatments Boosts Some Smokers' Ability to Quit
• Liver dangers from herbal supplements, OTC and RX drugs, new guidelines warn
• Gender-specific research improves accuracy of heart disease diagnosis in women
• Sedentary behavior increases risk of certain cancers
• Poorly understood postural syndrome blights lives of young, well educated women
• No correlation between baby formulas, development of diabetes-associated autoantibodies

Kids whose time is less structured are better able to meet their own goals, study shows Posted: 18 Jun 2014 09:23 AM PDT Children who spend more time in less structured activities -- from playing outside to reading books to visiting the zoo -- are better able to set their own goals and take actions to meet those goals without prodding from adults, according to a new study. The study is one of the first to try to scientifically grapple with the question of how an increase in scheduled, formal activities may affect the way children's brains develop.

Food poisoning cases underreported, food safety specialist says Posted: 18 Jun 2014 08:16 AM PDT There are distinct symptoms for food poisoning and reporting it to your doctor is an important step in improving food safety, a food safety specialist says. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19,056 cases of infection were reported in 2013 in the United States. However, it is expected that many people don't report getting sick from contaminated food because they don't realize they have food poisoning.

Exposure to TV violence related to irregular attention and brain structure Posted: 18 Jun 2014 07:05 AM PDT Young adult men who watched more violence on television showed indications of less mature brain development and poorer executive functioning, according to new results. Executive functioning abilities can be important for controlling impulsive behaviors, including aggression.

Moral tales with positive outcomes motivate kids to be honest Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:20 AM PDT A moral story that praises a character's honesty is more effective at getting young children to tell the truth than a story that emphasizes the negative repercussions of lying, according to research. The findings suggest that stories such as 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' and 'Pinocchio' may not be effective cautionary tales when it comes to inspiring honest behavior in children.

No evidence that soy food protects against endometrial cancer, study finds Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:20 AM PDT No evidence of a protective association between soy food and endometrial cancer risk has been found, concludes a new study. Soy foods are an almost exclusive dietary source of isoflavones, a plant-derived estrogen. Some studies have highlighted their potential cancer protective properties, however, research looking at the link to endometrial cancer has been inconsistent.

Brain imaging shows enhanced executive brain function in people with musical training Posted: 17 Jun 2014 06:10 PM PDT A controlled study using functional MRI brain imaging reveals a possible biological link between early musical training and improved executive functioning in both children and adults, report researchers. The study uses functional MRI of brain areas associated with executive function, adjusting for socioeconomic factors.

Stress hormone linked to short-term memory loss as we age, animal study suggests Posted: 17 Jun 2014 06:01 PM PDT A new study reports a potential link between stress hormones and short-term memory loss in older adults. The study reveals that having high levels of cortisol—a natural hormone in our body whose levels surge when we are stressed—can lead to memory lapses as we age.

'Trophy wife' stereotype is largely a myth, new study shows Posted: 17 Jun 2014 01:43 PM PDT The trophy wife stereotype is largely a myth fueled by selective observation that reinforces sexist stereotypes and trivializes women's careers, researchers conclude. Research also indicates that, contrary to the trophy wife stereotype, social class barriers in the marriage market are relatively impermeable. Beautiful women are unlikely to leverage their looks to secure upward mobility by marriage.

Self-reported health of young adults has improved Posted: 17 Jun 2014 01:41 PM PDT Since 2010, when young adults could be covered under their parents' health insurance plans until age 26, self-reported health among this group has improved, a large survey indicates, along with a decrease in out-of-pocket health care expenditures. The dependent coverage provision was associated with an increase in insurance coverage among adults ages 19 to 25 years; no statistically significant changes in health care use; an increase in the probability of reporting excellent physical health; and an increase in the probability of reporting excellent mental health.

Sleep education program spurs preschoolers to snooze 30 minutes longer at night Posted: 17 Jun 2014 11:42 AM PDT Early interventions among Head Start preschool families improve sleep behaviors for kids, parents, according to new study.

Do 'walkable' neighborhoods reduce obesity, diabetes? Yes, research suggests Posted: 17 Jun 2014 10:08 AM PDT People who live in neighborhoods that are conducive to walking experienced a substantially lower rate of obesity, overweight and diabetes than those who lived in more auto-dependent neighborhoods, according to a pair of studies. Specifically, the studies found that people living in neighborhoods with greater walkability saw on average a 13 percent lower development of diabetes incidence over 10 years than those that were less walkable.

E-cigs heavily marketed on Twitter, study finds Posted: 17 Jun 2014 06:20 AM PDT One third of commercial tweets offer coupons or discounts to purchase electronic-cigarette (e-cigs) products, a study has found. While advertising for conventional cigarettes has long been prohibited, e-cigarettes are advertised routinely in traditional media (print, television and radio) and social media. The researchers collected tweets and metadata related to e-cigarettes during a two month period in 2012. Using novel statistical methodology and carefully chosen keywords, they captured more than 70,000 tweets related to e-cigs.

Combining Treatments Boosts Some Smokers' Ability to Quit Posted: 17 Jun 2014 06:20 AM PDT Combining two smoking cessation therapies is more effective than using just one for male and highly nicotine-dependent smokers who weren't initially helped by the nicotine patch, according to researchers. The findings also support using an adaptive treatment model to determine which smokers are likely to succeed in quitting with nicotine replacement alone before trying additional therapies.

Liver dangers from herbal supplements, OTC and RX drugs, new guidelines warn Posted: 17 Jun 2014 06:17 AM PDT New clinical guidelines on the diagnosis and management of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) have now been released. DILI is a rare adverse drug reaction, challenging to diagnose, and can lead to jaundice, liver failure and even death. The frequency of DILI incidence is increasing, as the use of herbal and dietary supplements has drastically increased over the last 10 years.

Gender-specific research improves accuracy of heart disease diagnosis in women Posted: 16 Jun 2014 05:43 PM PDT Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with dysfunctions of the smaller coronary arteries and the lining of the coronary arteries, known as non-obstructive coronary heart disease. Women previously diagnosed as having 'false positive' stress tests may have non-obstructive coronary disease, placing them at risk for heart attack. Clinicians can now be armed with the tools and knowledge necessary to more accurately detect, determine risk and treatment strategies for heart disease in women.

Sedentary behavior increases risk of certain cancers Posted: 16 Jun 2014 05:43 PM PDT Physical inactivity has been linked with diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, but it can also increase the risk of certain cancers, according to a study. When the highest levels of sedentary behavior were compared to the lowest, the researchers found a statistically significantly higher risk for three types of cancer -- colon, endometrial, and lung.

Poorly understood postural syndrome blights lives of young, well educated women Posted: 16 Jun 2014 05:42 PM PDT Postural tachycardia syndrome, or PoTS for short, is a debilitating syndrome that predominantly affects young well educated women, and blights their lives because it is so poorly understood and inconsistently treated, reveals a small study. PoTS is a by-product of orthostatic intolerance -- a disorder of the autonomic nervous system in which the circulatory and nervous system responses needed to compensate for the stress put on the body on standing upright, don't work properly.

No correlation between baby formulas, development of diabetes-associated autoantibodies Posted: 16 Jun 2014 05:40 PM PDT There is no correlation between the consumption of a cow's milk-based formula or hydrolyzed protein formula and the development of diabetes-associated autoantibodies in children younger than seven, according to a worldwide research study. Some genetic subgroups may carry a higher risk for diabetes and cow's milk proteins.

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