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As Jeanne Meyers was growing up, she always assumed she'd have children someday. But when she got married in her 30s, at a time when both she and her husband had successful careers, they decided to postpone starting a family for a couple more years. A family, they felt, could wait a little while longer.

But before long, their plan of having children was turned upside down. In her mid-30s, when Jeanne and her husband had finally made the decision to become parents, she had difficulty becoming pregnant, month after disappointing month. Finally, a reproductive specialist broke the news that had seemed inconceivable to Jeanne earlier in her life: Her eggs had deteriorated in quality as she had aged, presenting a major obstacle to pregnancy.

"We tried in vitro fertilization (IVF) when I was 37, and while I did get pregnant, I miscarried, probably due to the egg quality," says Jeanne (whose last name has been changed in this article at her request). "I used to work as a nurse in the fertility field, but I never thought I'd be on the other side. I never imagined that I'd have difficulty having children myself."

Jeanne, who now does medical-legal consulting in Atlanta, says that she and her husband faced the facts: While she could probably get pregnant again through IVF, the odds were good that she would miscarry. So they stepped back, and decided to adopt children. Today, at age 40, she and her husband have two sons who were born in the Ukraine.

For millions of Americans like Jeanne, the family life they've given birth to isn't exactly the one they may have envisioned years earlier. In fact, in America today, terms like "family planning" have taken on new meaning, with couples often moving in unanticipated directions as they respond to the hand they've been dealt.

Waiting Too Long?

As part of their family planning, more women than ever are choosing to postpone childbearing into their late 30s and early 40s, due to careers and late marriages. But as with Jeanne, many may have miscalculated their ability to become pregnant. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a startling two-thirds of women will not be able to conceive spontaneously by age 40 due to factors such as changes in their eggs and the way their ovaries function.

"Ultimately, age matters," says Ruth Fretts, MD, obstetrician/gynecologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Women tend to not want to hear this. But the large, well-designed studies show that women who delay significantly are going to have an increased risk of infertility. Biology is sexist," adds Fretts. "Biology just doesn't care."

At New York University Medical Center, obstetrician/gynecologist Steven Goldstein, MD, says career women often come into his office at age 38 or 39, perhaps having just gotten married, and announce that they plan to wait a couple more years before having a baby. "I find myself gulping," he says. "Particularly in women over age 40, physicians are nervous as hell that these women are flirting with disaster by having waited. They may not get pregnant when they want to, not because they aren't ovulating, but because the quality of their eggs has diminished."

So how long is too long to wait? "Unfortunately, there's no test doctors can conduct that will tell you, 'You have two years,' or 'You have four years,'" says Goldstein.

According to Fretts, women who delay childbearing often have "more education, good jobs, and perhaps more money -- so they're socially advantaged but biologically disadvantaged. The optimal time to have children is really in the 20s."

Gayle Peterson, PhD, MSSW, a family therapist in Berkeley, Calif., says that the challenge of balancing work with the desire for parenthood is becoming very intense for many women. On the one hand, as their biological clock ticks, they understand the need to start their family, she says. "But lately the work environment has moved toward demanding more overtime, especially in certain professions, and it's almost impossible for these women to find balance."

Feb. 18, 2002 -- No matter how conscientious parents are, babies are likely to come down with colds during their first year, and colds often lead to ear infections.

"The signs and symptoms can be very general, so they need to be looked at, especially in really young children less than 2 months of age," says Anthony Magit, MD, associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Diego, and the Children's Hospital and Health Center. Left untreated, ear infections can lead to more serious problems, including meningitis and hearing loss.

The typical ear infection -- called otitis media -- occurs when a cold or allergy causes swelling of the baby's eustachian tube, causing blockage that allows bacteria to grow in the middle ear.. Otitis media is particularly common in babies because their immune systems are immature and their eustachian tubes may not effectively drain fluid from the middle ear.

There are two types of middle ear infections. Acute otitis media often causes pain, fever, and a bulging red eardrum. Otitis media with effusion (OME) occurs when the middle ear doesn't drain properly and fluid is trapped behind the eardrum. A child may not experience pain with OME. Both types of infection sometimes clear up without treatment.

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The Latest in Ears

Because they're so run-of-the-mill, you may think you know all you need to know about ear infections. But treatment and prevention strategies have changed in the past year, so a refresher course may be in order. You should know that:

• There's now a vaccination for children under 2 to help ward off one of the most common bacterial causes of ear infections.
• Doctors are using antibiotics more conservatively in an effort to prevent drug resistance.
• There's a new laser surgery that might be worth considering in certain cases of recurring ear infections.

The newest weapon in the battle against otitis media is the pneumococcal vaccine. According to new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, all children under age 2 years should receive the vaccine, along with other recommended immunizations, at 2, 4, and 6 months and between 12 and 15 months.

"It's not 100 percent [effective], but it seems to result in about a 20% reduction in ear infections," says Albert Park, MD, assistant professor of pediatric otolaryngology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. The vaccine is also recommended for children ages 2 to 5 who are at high risk for developing pneumococcal infections.

Antibiotic Balancing Act

If your child hasn't been vaccinated, or gets an infection anyway, your pediatrician will typically prescribe the antibiotic amoxicillin. The most acute symptoms should subside within 24 to 48 hours, but since the pain may continue for several days, acetaminophen and warm compresses may help relieve discomfort.

Make sure to administer the antibiotics for the prescribed time, or the infection might stick around, and your baby could need a new round of antibiotics, possibly a different kind, such as Ceclor, Augmentin, Ceftin, and Rocephin.

Concern about antibiotic overuse and the development of drug-resistant bacterial strains, has prompted doctors to look more carefully at ear infection symptoms before prescribing antibiotics. If a baby has acute otitis media, not the less-serious OME, the doctor is likely to prescribe a stronger dose of amoxicillin twice a day rather than the traditional three weaker doses, says Magit. Other, more powerful, antibiotics are reserved for harder-to-treat cases, particularly in children under 2.

Doctors are also now less likely to offer prophylactic therapy -- taking a low-dose antibiotic for several months to prevent recurring ear infections -- particularly during the winter cold season.

"People are shying away from using [antibiotics prophylactically] because of the concerns about resistance," says Dr. Magit. "It works, but you're giving a child a lot of antibiotics to prevent one ear infection."

Aug. 21, 2006 -- Problems with the body.s response to insulin that start in adolescence may be an early warning sign of heart diseaseheart disease and type 2 diabetesdiabetes in adulthood.

A new study suggests 13 year olds with insulin resistanceinsulin resistance may face a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes by their 19th birthday.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body has a weakened response to insulin, a hormone necessary to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

The researchers say the increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes found in teens with insulin resistance was independent of other known risk factors for these diseases, such as obesityobesity.

"This is the first study to show insulin resistance by itself is a significant predictor of cardiovascular disease, beginning in childhood," says researcher Alan Sinaiko, MD, in a news release. Sinaiko is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

Insulin Resistance Tied to Heart Risk

In the study, published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers followed 357 fifth through eighth grade school students in Minneapolis.

At age 13, each underwent a complete physical examination and was screened for insulin resistance. The screening for insulin resistance was repeated at ages 15 and 19.

The results showed that teens with signs of insulin resistance at age 13 were more likely to have risk factors for heart disease at 19.

The children who were insulin resistant at 13 were likely to have elevated systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) and a higher blood fat level (triglyceridestriglycerides). Higher levels of blood triglycerides are associated with heart disease and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

In addition, the higher insulin resistance scores were associated with higher blood pressure readings and blood triglyceride levels.

When insulin resistance, high systolic blood pressure, low "good" HDL cholesterolHDL cholesterol, high blood triglycerides, and obesity occur at the same time, it creates a condition known as metabolic syndromemetabolic syndrome.

That condition has been shown to significantly increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

March 14, 2006 -- Generations of parents have battled croup with humidity, but new research shows it may not actually work.

The approach has been long recommended but a rigorously designed study published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association shows little evidence that it's effective.

Pediatric emergency medicine specialist Dennis Scolnik, MB, who led the study team, tells WebMD that in the vast majority of cases, the seal-like, barking cough and labored breathing characteristic of croup resolve within an hour or so, with or without treatment.

"For a parent who has never been through it, the symptoms of croup can be more alarming than a seizure," Scolnik says. "Typically, children go to bed perfectly well or with a slight cold and wake up in the night with an alarming cough, gasping for breath."

2/3 Didn't Need Treatment

Roughly 5% of children develop viral croup before they reach the age of 6, and about 1% of kids with croup require hospitalization when upper airways become dangerously constricted.

While the cough and labored breathing usually resolve in a short time, many parents seek emergency care for their children because their symptoms are often so scary. When breathing is severely restricted, patients are generally treated with inhaled ephinephrine or steroids.

When symptoms are not so severe, however, humidity still may be the treatment of choice.

Steam and humidity are thought to soothe inflamed airways and decrease mucus, but there has been little scientific study of the approach.

The new study included 140 children with moderate to severe croup symptoms treated in the emergency department of Toronto, Ontario's Hospital for Sick Children.

Only children whose symptoms lasted for 30 minutes or more after arriving at the hospital were chosen for the study.

Roughly 300 other children with croup who sought treatment during the same time did not qualify for the study because their symptoms resolved on their own in less time.

"Two-thirds of the children who came to the ER for treatment got better within 30 minutes without it," says pediatric infectious disease specialist John S. Bradley, MD, FAAP. "ER physicians see this time and time again. But we can't say which children will get better on their own and which ones won't."

Approximately one-third of the children in the study whose symptoms did not resolve on their own were treated for 30 minutes with high humidity, using a device designed by the researchers to deliver the optimal amount of humidity to the children's airways.

The rest of the children were treated with lower humidity, at dosages more typically delivered in an ER or with a home humidifier.

The researchers found that high humidity was no more effective than low humidity in the emergency department setting.

"Our results suggest that the use of humidity in children with croup seen in emergency departments is not warranted," they concluded.

Sept. 1, 2005 - Children who live with a smoker may face a lifetime of increased risk for a variety of respiratory problems, such as dry cough.

But eating a diet rich in fiber as adults may help reduce some of those risks, according to a large new study.

Researchers found children 18 and under who lived with one or more smokers were more than twice as likely to suffer from chronic dry cough as adults. However, those who ate more fiber-rich fruit and soy as adults appeared protected from some of those negative effects of secondhand smoke exposure.

"We actually found that people who ate even a small amount of fruit fiber had less chronic cough related to environmental tobacco smoke," says researcher Stephanie London, MD, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in a news release. "However, the possible benefits of fiber should not lessen the importance of reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke."

Fiber and Secondhand Smoke Effects

In the study, which appears in the Aug. 30 online edition of the journal Thorax, researchers looked at the relationship between childhood secondhand smoke exposure and respiratory problems such as chronic cough and phlegm later in life in a group of 35,000 nonsmokers in Singapore.

The results showed that children who lived with a smoker were more than twice as likely to have chronic dry cough as adults. In addition, secondhand smoke exposure during childhood was also linked to an increased risk of phlegm.

Researchers showed that adults who ate more than 7.5 grams of fiber a day -- the equivalent of about two apples a day -- were less likely to have health effects associated with childhood secondhand smoke exposure. Major sources of fiber among the study participants included fruits, vegetables, and soy.

"Fiber may have beneficial effects on the lung," according to London. "It seems to have the ability to reduce blood glucose concentrations, reduce inflammation, and enhance antioxidant processes." All of these may help to protect the lung against environmental insults, such as environmental tobacco smokes in childhood.

Researchers say it's the first study on the long-term effects of childhood secondhand smoke exposure to include information on dietary factors.

May 27, 2005 -- The CDC recommends children receive a newly approved meningitis vaccine at ages 11-12 or before high school or college.

The meningitis vaccine called Menactrameningitis vaccine called Menactra was approved by the FDA in January. It's a single shot against a meningitis-causing bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis, or meningococcus. It's supposed to last longer than previous meningococcal vaccines, says a CDC news release.

Meningococcal disease is rare, but it progresses quickly and sometimes kills or causes long-term disability. It's also the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in U.S. babies, children, and young adults. Meningitis is an infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.

Meningococcal disease is notorious for spreading on college campuses; college students are at higher risk than their peers who aren't in college. It can be spread through direct contact with infected people (such as exchanging saliva by kissing) and is associated with crowded living conditions (including college dorms) and active or passive smoking.

Who Should Be Vaccinated

The CDC's recommendations apply to:

• Children aged 11-12 years
• Previously unvaccinated adolescents before entering high school or at age 15 (whichever comes first)
• All first-year college students living in dormitories
• Other high-risk groups, such as those with underlying medical conditions or travelers to areas with high rates of meningococcal disease, such as Africa and India.
• Other adolescents who choose to get the vaccine to reduce their risk

"As the vaccine supply increases, CDC hopes, within three years, to recommend routine vaccination [for] all adolescents beginning at 11 years of age," says the CDC's news release.

CDC 'Encourages' Getting the Shot

"This new vaccine can help protect adolescents and college students from meningococcal disease," says Stephen Cochi, MD, in a news release.

"CDC encourages those at increased risk to take the opportunity to get vaccinated to help protect them from this serious disease," says Cochi, the acting director of the CDC's National Immunization Program.

Pediatricians Endorse Meningitis Vaccine

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a news release endorsing the recommendations. In the release, AAP president Carol Berkowitz, MD, FAAP, says though drugs such as penicillin can treat meningococcal disease, the vaccine is still needed.

"About one in every 10 people who get the disease dies from it, and many others are affected for life," says Berkowitz. "That is why preventing this disease through use of meningococcal vaccine is important for the high-risk groups."

Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis include fever, severe headache, stiff and painful neck, vomiting, and confusion.

Thousands Affected Each Year

Meningococcal disease strikes up to 3,000 people and kills 300 per year in the U.S., says the CDC. Up to 15% of survivors have long-term disabilities including hearing loss or brain damage, or need limb amputation.

The disease may start with symptoms that resemble common illnesses like the flu. However, it ramps up quickly and can kill or cause permanent damage within hours, says the CDC.

Vaccine Doesn't Target All Meningococcal Bacteria

Menactra is made by the European drug company Sanofi Pasteur, a WebMD sponsor.

"This new vaccine should offer longer protection than previous vaccines, is a single shot, and the most common reaction is a sore arm," says the CDC news release. However, it does not protect people against meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B bacteria."

Serogroup B bacteria cause a third of U.S. meningococcal cases and more than half of the cases among babies less than 1 year old, says the CDC.

Jan. 14, 2005 -- Enrolling children in first grade later rather than sooner may give them a head start on building their self-esteem, a new study shows.

Researchers found students who started first grade at an older age relative to their classmates scored higher on measures of self-esteem years later.

Grouping children by year of birth is a necessity for most school systems. But in recent years a debate has emerged about whether children whose birthdays fall near the "cutoff" for their age group should be held back or encouraged to enter first grade early.

According to the results of this study, researchers say parents should consider deferring school entry if their child will be among the youngest in first grade.

"Children who enter grade one that are younger than their classmates are at a slight disadvantage, and it would usually be ill-advised to try and get them in early," says study author Angus Thompson, PhD, of the University of Alberta. "In fact, for the very young ones, it might aid their development and self-confidence to hold them back and put them in class the following year."

Researchers say building self-esteem in children is important because studies have shown that children who are self-confident are more likely to be happier, healthier, and more successful as adults.

Starting School Earlier vs. Later

In the study, which appears in the winter issue of Educational Research, researchers analyzed the records of 1,100 schoolchildren in Edmonton, Canada, enrolled in grades first through ninth. The records included general demographic information as well as information on age at which they entered first grade, family structure, and self-esteem.

The age range for entry into first grade is from 5.5 to 6.5 years old in Alberta, but parents are given some discretion regarding the year they enroll their children in school.

Researchers found that at all ages, self-esteem levels rose as age at school entry increased. The students who were older than their peers consistently scored higher on measures of self-esteem compared with their younger counterparts.

However, the study also showed that coming from a single-parent rather than two-parent home had a much bigger negative impact on a child's self-esteem than being younger than their classmates. Self-esteem levels of children from two-parent homes were consistently higher than those among those from single-parent homes, regardless of age at entry.

Many Factors Affect Self-Esteem

Experts say the results of the study are interesting, but the age at which a child starts school is only one of many factors that play a role in shaping a child's self-esteem over time.

Overall, the outlook for children of approximately the same age starting first grade is very good, but there will always be exceptions, says child psychiatrist Charles D. Casat, MD, director of the Research Behavioral Health Center of the Carolinas HealthCare System. However he says it's important not to take those exceptions out of context and attribute them to any single factor, such as age.

"I think everybody concedes that the group of kids going to school who in a given [group] are younger are at a variable kind of disadvantage," Casat tells WebMD. "But that kind of risk factor has to be weighed in the totality of risk factors of the child's life."

"It's important to remember that kids are growing up along simultaneous dimensions, including social, emotional, physical, and intellectual, and there are a myriad of other factors to be considered when you start talking about any one kid and not a group of kids," says Casat.

Thompson says another major factor that has a positive effect on children's self-esteem and emotional development is participation in clubs, sports, and other organized activities.

"There is also evidence that children who are given responsibilities and chores to do where their work is benefiting someone else also have higher self-esteem years later," says Thompson.

Casat says the absurd conclusion of the study is that in order to maximize success in school, everybody ought to enter at a significantly later age. But of course, he says that's impossible, and it's also not feasible to have kids enter school every month.

"This tendency to promote a child in a way that sort of ironically hinders the outcome, I think people are beginning to think twice about that," says Casat.

Sept. 17, 2004 -- Girls tend to lose interest in extracurricular activities, such as sports and music, about the time they reach puberty, but this is not so true when dads take an active interest, new research shows.

In one of the first studies to examine participation by girls in stereotypically male- and female-associated activities, researchers reported that moms tend to get young girls started in such activities, while dads play a bigger role in keeping their older daughters involved.

It is widely believed that a strong interest in activities such as sports, art, or music not only influences learning in general, but help shape future identity. In an effort to better understand the influences that determine how girls spend their free time, a group of developmental researchers tracked 290 white girls from working- and middle-class families over a two-year period.

The researchers examined the attitudes of the girls, who ranged in age from 8 to 15, and their parents regarding typically masculine activities such as playing sports, and pursuits considered more feminine, such as art, music, and dance.

"We wanted to identify the characteristics among the families and the individual girls that kept them involved in these activities as they got older," Susan McHale, PhD, tells WebMD. "We wondered why some girls continued to be involved in activities considered to be more masculine, and whether they felt pressure to stop."

Like Fathers and Sons

The researchers found that the girls' participation in sports and other activities typically considered masculine increased in early adolescence until about age 13, and then declined steadily thereafter. Interest in activities considered more feminine was highest at age 9.

The influence of dads on participation in both masculine and feminine activities tended to be more pronounced among adolescent girls than among young ones.

Just as fathers and sons tend to stay close through sports and other active pursuits, rather than through talking, McHale says the same seems to be true of fathers and daughters.

"Our sense is that activities are a way that fathers and daughters can stay connected," she says. "Fathers who make their enthusiasms known to their daughters can have an influence on their development in that way, even if they don't do a lot of talking."

Hormones Not to Blame

The researchers took saliva samples from the girls in the study to measure levels of the male hormone testosterone, but they found little relationship between participation in masculine activities and testosterone levels.

Their overall findings did support the hypothesis that girls feel pressure to stop playing sports and doing other typically male activities around the time they hit puberty, but the source of this pressure remains unclear.

"From age 8 to 12 interest grows, but around middle school girls start dropping out of sports," McHale says. "One explanation for this is that there is less opportunity because there are fewer organized sports for girls of this age, but one of the reasons for the lack of community activities for adolescent girls is lack of interest."

Human development professor Allan L. Wigfield, PhD, says it is not entirely clear why so many girls abandon extracurricular activities as they get older, just as it is not totally clear why boys drop out of school at higher rates than girls around this time.

"Even without the constraints that were common in the past there is still a fairly sex-stereotypical pattern among girls regarding participation in activities," Wigfield tells WebMD. "They must either still be getting strong messages from some place about this or there are other things going on in their world that lead them to abandon these activities."

July 13, 2004 -- Safety advocates say America's love affair with SUVs is risky -- pointing to the 13-year high with 46,000 deaths and 3 million injuries on roads in 2003.

One-quarter of all the deaths take place in rollover crashes, which are a particular risk in tall and top-heavy SUVs, experts say.

A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly support the idea that the government set tougher automobile safety standards and enforce laws set to protect the public.

A major focus of the survey was to study issues concerning vehicle rollover crashes, a special concern with sport utility vehicles -- the fastest selling vehicle in the U.S. SUVs, light trucks, and minivans make up 56% of all new car sales in the U.S. according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a car industry trade group.

Eighty-four percent of Americans say they support stricter government regulations to make SUVs less prone to rollover crashes, according to a poll of more than 1,000 adults conducted by the Peter Harris Research Group. Ninety-one percent of adults surveyed in this year's poll also said that the federal government's involvement is either very or somewhat important.

Eighty-six percent of Americans and 85% of SUV owners say they are familiar with the SUV rollover problem. When the participants were asked about whether they were aware of a government web site "that has customer information about how likely it is for various types of vehicles to roll over in a crash," only 31% say they are aware of such a site. Only 24% of SUV owners were aware that such a site existed. The researchers say this implies that these car owners may be less inclined to seek out car safety information.

The majority of those surveyed say they are willing to pay the $200 to $300 extra that safety advocates say would be required to make reinforced roofing and antirollover computers standard in all SUVs.

Advocates released the poll hoping to convince lawmakers to enact tougher safety regulations in a transportation bill currently before the Congress. A bill passed by the Senate includes new standards for antirollover technology, sturdier roof construction, anti-ejections seatbelts, and other technologies.

"They don't want to give up their favorite vehicles, they love them. But they don't want to die in them either," pollster Louis Harris says.

According to the poll, 84% of Americans say that "the government should create safety rules that require manufacturers to make all passenger vehicles, including SUVs, more stable and less likely to roll over.

Judith Lee Stone accuses automakers of restricting many safety advances to expensive luxury cars, leaving most buyers without the best protection against highway fatalities.

"It's as if the cures for this epidemic are being locked up in a huge medicine chest," says Stone, president of a group called Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "They decide who gets the vaccines and who doesn't."

The poll asked participants whether they would like the government to require having Electronic Stability Control (ESC) devices installed in all new cars they buy in the future. Fifty-five percent favors the government the move. ESC devices can in certain circumstances help prevent vehicle rollovers; they are available in more expensive, high-end vehicles in the U.S.

Car makers say they have worked to make SUVs and pickup trucks safer and that consumers who want antirollover devices and other safety technology can often purchase them as options.

Charles Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, argues that an increasing number of cars on the road -- and not rollover-prone SUVs and trucks -- are partly to blame for the 13-year record high in highway deaths last year.

"The increase in traffic deaths isn't just from vehicles, it's from pedestrians" and a rise in crashes involving 18-wheel trucks and other commercial autos, Territo says. "Today's SUVs are as safe as passenger cars."

That wasn't the case for 40-year-old Patrick Parker of Childress, Texas, who was paralyzed in a SUV rollover accident in 2001. Parker had swerved to avoid a deer, causing his vehicle to flip.

"It was the roof crushing in that broke his neck, nearly severing his spinal card, rendering him quadriplegic at age 37," his wife Dena says.

Advocates stress that they are not trying to get Americans to stop buying fewer of their favorite big SUVs, but that they just want the trucks better regulated, even if it costs more. "The part of the free market that we want to interfere in is only one very narrow area and that is to make these vehicles safer, says Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer group Public Citizen.

April 15, 2004 -- We rely on math heads. They tally up the bar bill, figure out our taxes, compute percentages in their head, just for fun.

These wizards draw on left brain and right brain both to perform these feats -- something that eludes the rest of us.

In fact, the past decade's research has revealed that the brain hemispheres do not work in isolation, writes researcher Harnam Singh, a doctoral candidate in psychology at Iowa State University in Ames. The study appears in this month's issue of Neuropsychology.

Information processing is a "dynamic interactive partnership between the two," he writes. Researchers now speak of a "whole-brain processing system," one that produces unified thoughts, memories, and actions.

However, "there is growing evidence that the mathematically gifted brain may be functionally organized in a different manner" than other brains, writes Singh.

Specifically, the math-head brain has enhancements in the right brain's processing abilities, explains Singh. The math-head brain also has a fine-tuned ability for rapid and coordinated exchange of information between the hemispheres.

In The Lab

Singh conducted a series of experiments involving 60 teens and college-age men: 18, 14-year-olds were math-gifted (with an average SAT math score of 620); 18 had average math ability; and 24 were college students. All were male, since math ability is more common among males.

Since the left eye communicates with the right side of the brain -- and the right eye with the left brain -- the researchers were able to text the different sides of the brain by presenting a task to just one eye at a time.

There were two types of tasks -- "local," which meant that two letters were matched or mismatched on small letters that went into making big letters. An example: A large "T" was composed of smaller T's.

There also were "global" tasks, which meant that two big letters were either matched or mismatched.

The average teens' and college students' brains showed evidence that their left brain worked faster for local matches; the right brain was faster for global matches. Previous research has shown that the left brain processes visual "parts" or details. The right brain analyzes visual "wholes," like the global shapes of the big letters.

For the math-gifted boys, however, there were no differences. They were equally good at processing global and local elements with either side of the brain --suggesting a more interactive brain, explains Singh. The college students showed more cooperation between both sides of the brain -- "presumably because they are more developmentally advanced ... than the average teen," he writes.

The math heads were simply better at processing the information because they used the entire brain.

The math-gifted brain can selectively use various brain regions for different tasks -- possibly eliminating disruptive "cross-talk" between left brain and right brain.

SOURCE: Singh, H. Neuropsychology, April 2004; vol 18.

Dec. 8, 2003 -- Schoolyard bullies may be mentally stronger than their prey, but both groups suffer from serious psychological problems that may put them at risk.

A new study shows nearly a quarter of urban sixth graders were involved in bullying either as perpetrators, victims, or both, and these students had more school problems and difficulties getting along with their classmates.

For example, even though bullies are perceived as "cool" among their classmates, they rarely enjoy their company.

"Specifically, bullies are psychologically stronger than classmates not involved in bullying, and they enjoy high social status among their classmates (although the classmates tend to avoid their company)," write researcher Jaana Juvonen, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues. "Victims, on the other hand, suffer not only emotional distress but also social marginalization (ie, classmates avoid them, and they have low social status)."

Researchers say the findings highlight the need to change attitudes about bullying and make it "uncool."

The Bullies vs. the Bullied

The study, which appears in the December issue of Pediatrics, involved 1,985 mostly black and Latino students who attended 11 middle schools in the Los Angeles area and included information on peer reports of bullying as well as self-reports on bullying and victimization and teacher-reported adjustment problems.

Researchers say it's the largest study on bullying and victimization in a large group of ethnically diverse urban students.

The study showed that 22% of the students were involved in bullying with 7% classified as bullies, 9% as victims, and 6% as both.

Researchers found that among those involved in bullying, the bullies had the fewest adjustment problems. But those who both bully and are bullied may suffer the most.

"They are by far the most socially ostracized by their peers, most likely to display conduct problems, least engaged in school, and they also report elevated high levels of depression and loneliness," write the researchers.

Researchers say that prior studies had unexpectedly found that bullies and their victims suffered from fairly similar psychological problems, including depression, but they relied on self-reports of bullying. But because this study also included other students' and teachers' reports of bullying behavior, a clearer picture emerged.

Researchers say that although the two groups share some common characteristics, such as being unengaged in school activities, they are still very distinct and different intervention strategies are needed.

Bullies Are Just the Beginning

In an editorial that accompanies the study, Howard Spivak, MD, of Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, says bullies display higher rates of conduct disorders but also experience high levels of social standing, and they have higher rates of emotional distress and social isolation. These short-term factors should be put into the context of the long-term consequences of bullying behavior.

Research has shown that students who bully are more likely to become involved in criminal behavior, and those who are bullied are at risk for depression and low self-esteem as adults.

In addition, a significant number of the high-profile school shootings over the past decade have involved individuals with histories of bullying or being bullied.

Spivak says the most important issue in combating bullying is to address the larger school environment that supports or condones bullying as reflected by the high social status accorded bullies. In other words, make bullying "uncool."

"We need to identify ways to shift the social norms and values in schools and communities to ones that promote healthy peer interactions and reject bullying, intimidation, and other forms of physical and verbal coercion as acceptable," writes Spivak.

About a decade ago, while David and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce, she unexpectedly died of heart-related problems. Overnight, David was faced with perhaps the biggest challenge of his life: Raising his 12-year-old daughter, Leslee, on his own.

In this era of "alternadads," fatherhood isn't always what it used to be. Not only are there more single dads like David than ever before, there are so many divorced dads, older dads, gay dads, and stepdads that Norman Rockwell would have to adjust his depictions of American life if he were working at his easel today.

In fact, "alternative" parenting may actually be today's mainstream. Only a minority -- 38%, to be exact -- of children born in the last three years of the 20th century will reach the age of 18 having lived most of their lives with both of their biological parents.

"About 15 years ago, we began to see courts awarding more men custody of their children in divorce actions," says Patricia A. Farrell, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and author of How to Be Your Own Therapist. "That turned the tide, and it's now more acceptable for single men and gay men, for example, to raise children without wives."

In a Family Way

David soon found that untraditional fathering can work just as well as the familiar "Leave it to Beaver"-style family life, although it is brimming with challenges. "It's tougher being a single dad than a single mom," he says. "Society looks at single motherhood as a natural state. But when it looks at a single father, it says, 'The child belongs with the mother.'"

Like many single dads, David took his role as a do-it-all dad seriously. He quit his job in the insurance industry and became a work-at-home father -- currently as a developer of Internet sites, including one of his own called Fatherworld.com. "Initially, I had tried to maintain a regular work schedule in an office," he says, "but I was constantly running home to cook meals or go to school functions. So I made a conscious decision to work at home."

Although he concedes that single parenthood is more difficult than a two-parent household, he credits his successful childrearing to keeping the lines of communication open with his daughter. "But she also always understood that the parent has the final decision after issues are talked out," he says.

Chips Off the Old Block

Although our culture tends to think of mothers as better nurturers than dads, a University of Arizona study concluded that the depth of the love that men feel for their children is no less than women have for their offspring. And when problems occur with children, fathers may be the missing link.

Kyle Pruett, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School and the Yale Child Study Center, says that fathers are "the single greatest untapped resource" in the lives of America's children. The earlier that fathers become involved in their youngsters' lives, the better, he says, noting that infants are "prewired" for attachment to both parents.

According to data from the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, there are 62% more single fathers than there were a decade ago, and they head more than 2 million households. However, they are still far outnumbered by single mothers (about 7.5 million), although the parental concerns among men and women are almost identical. A study of single fathers in the Air Force found that their worries centered around issues such as child discipline, maintaining a balance between work and family, finding good day care, and lack of adult support.

Though dads can do just fine raising daughters on their own, "they should try to ensure that there are women in the child's life who can be healthy role models," says Farrell. "These women can be friends or relatives who the daughters can talk and relate to."

The number of obese and overweight children in the United States continues to soar, and yet, over the past two decades, junk food and drinks have staked out a beachhead in America's schools.

Now a new wellness campaign has parents on the front lines of the battle, ready to turn back the clock -- and take back their children's health.

Passing Math but Flunking Lunch

Carey Dabney is one of those parents on the front lines. When Dabney moved to Austin, Texas in 1999, she attended a back-to-school night for her two daughters, then both in middle school. She was delighted to hear the health teacher talk about everything she was teaching regarding nutritionnutrition and fitness -- until the very end of the presentation.

"She said, 'But nothing I do here matters, because you should see what they eat at lunch,'" recalls Dabney.

A quick tour of the school told Dabney what the teacher meant. "There were six to eight vending machines right outside the cafeteria selling Coke, Snickers bars, Doritos -- all kinds of junk food," she says.

Even before they could pass the vending machines, students would run a gauntlet of booster club tables hawking candy, chips, and cakes.

If they made it past the one-two punch of vending machines and candy boosters, students entered the cafeteria to find the "a la carte" line selling pints of ice cream, tubs of chips with cheese sauce, and giant slices of pizza. "The a la carte line snaked out the door, while the little cafeteria line with the regular food never had many people in it," Dabney says.

If you're a parent with a child in middle school or high school, Dabney's experience probably sounds very familiar.

Deadly Diet: Kids' Health at Risk

That's why the stakes are so high, says Rallie McAllister, MD, MPH, an expert on childhood obesityobesity and the author of Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim.

"By 2010 -- in just four short years -- approximately half of all children are expected to be obese, according to the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity," says McAllister. "Many experts predict that this generation of children will be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents."

In May, the campaign to "de-junk" school menus got a boost from the former "snacker-in-chief," Bill Clinton, whose love for fries and greasy food contributed to his own cardiac bypass surgery in 2004.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation -- a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association -- worked with representatives of leading beverage manufacturers to stop nearly all sales of sugary soft drinks in the nation's public schools. Under new guidelines, only lower-calorie and nutritious beverages will be sold to schools.

"It's a great place to start," says McAllister. "I'm very encouraged. But there's so much more we have to do, such as dramatically improving the quality of the food schools offer at lunchtime."

Sept. 30, 2005 -- Eating an organic diet reduces kids' exposure to pesticides from foods, new research shows.

The effect was "dramatic and immediate," write Chensheng "Alex" Lu, PhD, MS, and colleagues. Lu is an assistant professor in the environmental and occupational health department of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta.

Lu's team studied malathion and chlorpyrifos, two pesticides commonly used in conventional agricultural production. Organic foods aren't treated with any synthetic pesticides. Pesticides derived from natural sources (e.g. biological pesticides) may be used in producing organically grown food, says the EPA.

The study, which was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recently appeared in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

Strict Standards for Safety

Pesticides are strong chemicals. According to the EPA web site, "By their very nature, most pesticides create some risk of harm. Pesticides can cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment because they are designed to kill or otherwise adversely affect living organisms. At the same time, pesticides are useful to society. Pesticides can kill potential disease-causing organisms and control insects, weeds, and other pests."

Direct exposure to the type of pesticides studied by Lu can overstimulate the nervous system, causing nausea, dizziness, and confusion. Very high exposures (such as accidents or major spills), can paralyze breathing or even be fatal, states the EPA's web site.

But foods treated with malathion and chlorpyrifos are safe to eat, according to the EPA.

The EPA has strict rules about pesticide use. Limits include the amount of pesticides that can be used in growing and processing foods and the amount of pesticide residue on foods people buy.

"Most importantly, each of these decisions must protect infants and children, whose developing bodies may be especially sensitive to pesticide exposure," states the EPA's web site.

According to the EPA web site, children are at a greater risk for some pesticides for a number of reasons. Children's internal organs are still developing and maturing, and their enzymatic, metabolic, and immune systems may provide less natural protection than those of an adult. There are "critical periods" in human development when exposure to a toxin can permanently alter the way an individual's biological system operates. Children may be exposed more to certain pesticides because often they eat different foods than adults.

For instance, children typically consume larger quantities of milk, applesauce, and orange juice per pound of body weight than do adults. Children's behaviors, such as playing on the floor or on the lawn where pesticides are commonly applied, or putting objects in their mouths, increase their chances of exposure to pesticides.

Organic Makeover

Lu's study included 23 children aged 3 to 11 in Seattle's suburbs. The kids took daily urine tests for about two weeks. The urine samples were checked for traces of the two pesticides.

The kids ate their normal diets for three days. Then, they switched to a mainly organic diet for five days. Lastly, the children resumed their normal conventional diet.

The researchers bought the organic foods at a local store. They simply chose organic versions of foods the kids typically ate.

The organic grocery list included fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, processed fruit or vegetable items (such as salsa), and wheat- or corn-based items (such as pasta, cereal, popcorn, or chips).

Organic meats and dairy products weren't provided since they aren't regularly found to contain the type of pesticides being studied, the researchers note.

Pesticide Levels Dropped

When the kids started eating the organic foods, traces of the two pesticides immediately vanished from most of their urine samples. Those pesticide levels remained undetectable until the children resumed their conventional diets, the study shows.

The researchers didn't probe or note any health problems in the kids on either diet.

The kids' parents had told the researchers that they didn't use pesticides in their homes. That suggests that the children were "exclusively" exposed to the pesticides from food, write Lu and colleagues.

Lowering Pesticide Exposure

The EPA offers these tips to reduce consumption of pesticides on foods:

• Wash and scrub all fresh fruits and vegetables under running water.
• Soaking produce isn't the same. It doesn't have the abrasive effect of running water.
• Peel fruits and vegetables, when possible.
• Discard the outer leaves of leafy vegetables.
• Trim fat from meat and skin from poultry. Some pesticide residues collect in fat.
• Eat a variety of foods from a variety of sources. Doing so will provide a better mix of nutrients and reduce the likelihood of exposure to a single pesticide.

Not all pesticide residues can be removed by washing.

Washing produce (including fresh organic fruits and vegetables) will also help reduce dirt and bacteria. Don't use detergent or soaps to wash produce, notes the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Feb. 14, 2005 -- In any given week, nearly one in five Americans takes a dietary supplement containing herbs or some other natural product. But after a surge in popularity in the 1990s, new research shows that dietary supplement use may be hitting a plateau.

Researchers say the use of alternative medicines, particularly herbal products, has increased dramatically in the past decade, with Americans spending $4.2 billion on herbs and other botanical remedies in 2001 alone.

But the study shows that after hitting a peak in 2001, the number of Americans taking a separate dietary supplement is holding steady while a growing number of Americans are now getting herbal supplements along with their daily multivitamin.

"Although the deliberate use of herbal products may have reached a plateau in the last few years, exposure to individual herbal ingredients may continue to rise as more of them are added to mainstream multivitamin products," write researcher Judith Kelly of the Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues.

The results also indicate the popularity of certain dietary supplements, such as ginkgo biloba and panax ginseng, is waning, but use of lutein, an antioxidant thought to protect against macular degeneration (a common cause of blindness in adults) is on the rise.

In the study, which appears in the Feb. 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers examined data gathered from phone interviews conducted from 1998 through 2002 on dietary supplement use. Researchers asked the 8,470 participants to identify all over-the-counter and prescription drugs, along with dietary supplements taken during the preceding seven days.

Researchers found the percentage of people using dietary supplements increased from 14.2% in 1998-1999 to 18.8% in 2002. Dietary supplement use was lowest in 2000 at 12.3% and peaked in 2001 at 19.8%.

Which Supplements Are Popular Today?

Although the 18.8% of Americans who said they used a dietary supplement in 2002 was higher than in 1998-1999, researchers say that increase is explained by a dramatic rise in exposure to lutein in 2001 and 2002. During this time the antioxidant was added to the formulation of several popular multivitamins.

When lutein use was excluded, the study showed that the prevalence of dietary supplement use was unchanged during this period.

For example, researchers say lutein was the most commonly used supplement among both men and women of all ages in 2002, but it was not among the top dietary supplements in any age group in 1998-1999.

Overall, the study showed that dietary supplement users tended to be older, female, and white. Although dietary supplement use did not change among younger people, researchers say the use of dietary supplements doubled among men and women over age 65 from 1998 to 2002.

The study also showed that the most commonly used dietary supplements have changed over time and varies by age and sex. For example:

• Panax ginseng was used by 4% of men aged 18-44 in 1998-1999 but only 2% in 2002.
• Among middle-aged men, use of ginkgo biloba, panax ginseng, and St. John's wort was also lower in 2002 than in 1998-1999.
• Use of chondroitin more than tripled among men over 65 during the study period, while use of saw palmetto and garlic declined in this age group.
• For women, none of the top six supplements used in 1998-1999 were in the top five in 2002.
• A growing proportion of middle-aged women also used chondroitin and glucosamine in 2002, but use of ginkgo biloba, panax ginseng, and garlic fell slightly.
• In older women over 65, use of glucosamine nearly doubled during the study, while use of ginkgo biloba and panax ginseng declined.

Healthy eating is a beautiful thing. And it's not that difficult. A little planning -- and careful shopping -- go a long way.

"You can have healthy meals, and prepare them quickly and easily, as long as you have the right ingredients on hand," says Karen Cullen, PhD, assistant professor of behavioral nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Indeed, wise shopping -- that's the crux of healthy eating, says Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, author of the Tell Me What to Eat book series, and "Recipe Doctor" for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic.

"The lion's share of your pantry must be healthful -- including healthy versions of junk food," Magee tells WebMD. Through trial and error, she's found the low-fat treats her family likes. That includes ice cream (light types), even chips.

"I'm not a big chip craver, but plenty of people are," she says. Try different kinds of low-fat gourmet chips, she advises. Some are better tasting than others. Some are very satisfying, Magee says.

When it comes to her big loves -- such as chocolate -- Magee is a purist. "I don't believe in purging your kitchen of all the things you like. I always have some kind of chocolate around, so I know I can have chocolate when I want it. Therefore, I don't abuse it."

Our experts' shopping tips:

Stock smart:

• Baked potato chips (low-fat)
• Canned beans (lots of fiber)
• Pizza sauce (for quick snacks)
• Popcorn (low-fat, microwavable)
• Pasta, all shapes and sizes
• Low-fat wheat crackers
• Regular oatmeal (microwavable)
• Healthy granola bars
• High-fiber, whole-grain bread ("Iron Kids" fiber-added bread is OK)
• Fat-free refried beans (serve with reduced-fat tortilla chips)
• Canned soup (low-sodium, low-fat types)
• Jell-O cups, fruit rollups, or homemade trail mix with dried fruit, sunflower seeds, and nuts

Flaxseed is also on Magee's "healthy eating" list. "Flaxseed is one of those power foods, in terms of what it offers. It increases the fiber content of any food," she says. Flaxseed can be added to soups, stews, yogurt, breakfast cereal; use your imagination.

?

Buy frozen or fresh:

• Frozen blueberries (for muffins and waffles)
• Frozen spinach
• Fresh carrots, broccoli, oranges
• Fresh no-fuss "salads in a bag"
• Fresh orange juice
• Skinless, boneless chicken breasts (freeze them)

Buy dairy carefully:

• Light ice cream
• Eggs and egg substitute
• Fat-free half-and-half
• Reduced-fat cheese
• Low-fat yogurt
• Fat-free sour cream
• Light cream cheese
• Liquid margarine (no-trans-fat types)
• Light salad dressings

Make other changes:

• Switch to 100% fruit juice instead of fruit drinks.
• Use 100% whole-grain bread (not to be confused with whole wheat, which often just has molasses added for coloring and flavoring)
• Buy whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals, whole-wheat pasta, and brown rice
• Add nuts, seeds, or fruit to salads
• Eat more fish, poultry, and leaner cuts of meat
• Add meatless entrees, stir-fry dishes, or other vegetables and grains into your menu
• Beans, canned or dried, are a great source of fiber and protein and have virtually no fat
• Keep applesauce on hand to substitute for oil in cakes and muffins (it doesn't work quite as well for cookies)

Think small:

• Stock the fridge with water bottles and low-fat milk, boxes of 100% calcium-fortified juice, yogurt, low-fat string cheese, and snack bags of mini carrots.
• Keep mini boxes of raisins and other dried fruits in the pantry.
• Break down packages of whole-wheat crackers and trail mix into ready-to-go snack bags.

Create attention-grabbing snacks:

• Place a bowl of easy-to-eat fresh fruit on the kitchen counter.
• Snip washed grapes into snack-size portions.
• Put fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dip within easy reach.

Downsize treats:

• Don't buy super-sized bags of snack foods; they just tempt you.
• Limit variety of snack foods, to reduce temptation.

Advertise:

• Post "ads" on the refrigerator or pantry door -- to let your family know what healthy foods are in the house.

?

Remember: "You have to be practical, you have to enjoy the food, and your children have to like it," Magee tells WebMD. "I'm feeding preteen girls, so I have to be real. Rice cakes aren't going to cut it. But they know they're not going to get regular potato chips in my house."

Healthy eating is all about training yourself and your family, she explains. "If all they see is junk, they're going to eat junk. There are times when you want the chocolate. As long as it's just now and then, you're keeping a healthy balance."

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July 27, 2006 -- Unless you pace the floor (or a treadmill) while watching TV, your tube time could be making your fitness profile a little fluffy.

It's not exactly breaking news that TV usually goes with couch-potato behavior, not workouts. Now, researchers are backing up that commonsense belief with scientific muscle.

For every hour spent watching television, people walk 144 fewer steps, says a study published in September's American Journal of Public Health. And, they're 16% less likely to reach the widely-touted goal of walking at least 10,000 steps per day.

The study comes from Harvard School of Public Health's Gary Bennett, PhD, and colleagues.

This news not enough to make you ditch the remote -- even briefly?

Consider this: "The amount of time Americans spend watching television weekly is rapidly approaching the length of the average workweek," Bennett's team writes.

If so, many people truly have miles to go before they sleep in order to reach daily walking goals.

While stride lengths vary, it takes about 2,000 steps to cover a mile. So the recommended 10,000 steps would have you walking five miles per day.

Counting Steps

Bennett's team studied 486 adults living in Boston in 2005.

Participants -- most of whom lived in low-income public housing -- did two things for the study:

• Report their average weekday and weekend hours of watching TV
• Wear a pedometer on their hips for five days to count their steps

The researchers made the pedometers blind. That way, participants couldn't check their steps and walk more to improve their record.

Bennett's team didn't tell participants to walk. They wanted to see how participants behaved without a specific goal.

They found that on an average day, participants watched 3.6 hours of TV and walked 5,329 steps. Tube time was similar on weekdays and weekends.

American Idle

The more TV people watched, the less likely they were to walk 10,000 steps per day.

"Average daily television viewing was associated with a reduction of approximately 520 steps," the researchers write.

That's nearly 10% of the group's average steps per day.

It's not clear if the findings apply to other groups. But Bennett's team isn't letting anyone off the hook.

The results could be even worse for people with higher incomes, who may have more free time and be less likely to walk for transportation, the researchers note.

The study's limits also include the self-reported TV time; self-reported data isn't always perfect.

But the walking data was objective, thanks to the pedometers.

When experts advise people to watch less TV, they should also provide specific recommendations on replacing television viewing with physical activity, write Bennett and colleagues.

Of course, if you've been inactive lately, consult your doctor first.

Nov. 30, 2004 -- Surfing might seem like a fun-loving sport, but its hazards may be surprising.

Doctors usually know turf better than surf, says Jeremy Kuniyoshi, MD, a radiology resident at the University of California at San Diego. "Most doctors know more about riding golf carts than riding waves," Kuniyoshi, a recreational surfer, says in a news release.

To bring his landlubbing colleagues up to speed, Kuniyoshi and two other researchers recently compiled a list of common surfing injuries. The list is based on radiological images from 135 injured surfers.

Injuries were put into three groups: getting hurt while paddling toward a wave, trying unsuccessfully to catch a wave, or riding a wave. Failing to catch a wave netted 26 injuries, more than paddling or riding waves.

Surfing injuries included dislocated shoulders, skull and facial fractures from hitting the board, head and neck trauma, broken arms and legs, and knee damage.

The ocean also has its dangers. Cold water can hurt the ear canals, foreign matter could enter the lungs, and ocean critters may greet surfers with stings and bites.

Some of those injuries might look unusual. For instance, hitting the water could cause damage without inflicting scrapes and cuts.

Health care providers who understand common surfing accidents can do a better job of treating surfers, says Kuniyoshi in the news release.

He and his colleagues presented their study in Chicago at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting.

You don't have to be an athlete -- or even aspire to be one -- to start running.

Just look at Jim Scott. In January 2003, a month after he turned 60, Scott began running. That November, he finished the New York City Marathon (it took him six hours).

Scott, a radio-talk show host in Cincinnati, Ohio, didn't do much in the way of exercise before then. He played golf as often as he could but never found the time for regular workouts.

"When I turned 60, I thought it was a good time to reassess things," says Scott. "I started thinking, 'These 36-inch (waist) pants I've worn all my life are getting a bit tighter.'"

Scott decided he wanted to get in better shape, feel comfortable in his pants again, and improve his golf game. Oh, and there was one more impetus to try running: "I'm married to a marathon runner," he says.

Scott himself never intended to run a marathon. He simply wanted to go on Sunday morning runs with his wife, Donna Hartman, and keep up, he says. But sometimes running can surprise you.

Maybe you just want to run around your neighborhood, or explore a new one. Maybe you want to challenge your body in a different way, to tone up, or lose weight. Whatever your goals, says Scott's coach, Julie Isphording, running is an excellent exercise for a beginner to try.

"It's cheap, easy, and the perfect thing to do with a friend," says Isphording, a former marathoner and host of two health and fitness radio shows in Cincinnati.

Running's benefits include improved cardiovascular hearth, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, a revved-up metabolism, and a sense of self-esteem, says Isphording.

"You can go for a run in the morning and finish at your driveway with your hands in the air and you've had success before 7 a.m.," she says. "This is a gift from you to you."

Getting in Gear

Before you take your first step, get yourself a good pair of running shoes.

"It's the most important investment you'll make," says Isphording. She suggests going to a store specializing in running gear, where the staff tends to be knowledgeable about the products, and trying on as many pairs as necessary to find the right ones for you. A good fit is essential; blisters and shin splints are not going to inspire you to run.

And don't even think about running in your regular cross-trainers, tennis shoes, or regular sneakers.

"Running is very traumatic," says Forrest Dolgener, exercise physiologist and professor of exercise science at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. "The mechanics of running creates specific kinds of forces on the body. Running shoes are designed to absorb and minimize those kinds of forces."

But don't get too attached to your favorite pair. Running shoes have a limited lifespan, says Dolgener, co-author of The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer.

"Generally speaking, running shoes have 500 miles of life," he says. "Even though they make look good, shock absorption diminishes after 500 miles."

As the beeps and whistles emanate from the family room, are you afraid Junior is going to develop thumbs the size of bananas and a belly to match?

According to Judith Sherman-Wolin, exercise specialist with the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and author of Smart?Girls Do Dumbbells, dietary guidelines may come and go, but the one constant is exercise. Over half of Americans don't get enough (now pegged at 30 minutes to an hour a day), and a quarter of us are total taters.

But -- get this -- what if playing video games did provide some exercise? Some do! It's a new trend called "exergaming" or "exertainment."

The jam-packed hit of this year's Consumer Electronics Show was a "Cardio PlayZone," featuring some of the new workout and movement video contraptions.

Dance Dance Revolution

DDR, as its many aficionados hiply call it, runs on the Xbox platform. This started out as an arcade game, played on a floor display sort of like an amped-up Twister. The system is loaded with catchy tunes and can be calibrated to different levels of intensity as the players dance to the pattern, either individually or competitively. When the manufacturer, Konami of Japan, migrated it to PlayStation in April of 1999, 3 million copies flew off the shelves.

"I am familiar with DDR," Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, tells WebMD. "My four boys play it. It can be strenuous and can really get your heart rate up. It has different levels of intensity." (Reportedly, there is even a module for the Lawrence Welk -- make that Rod Stewart -- set.)

Nicktoons Movin'

Sherman-Wolin once was asked to do an energy expenditure study on Nicktoons Movin', a game played on the PlayStation2 Eyetoy platform. "I tried it," she says. "It was fun."

Atop the TV is a motion-sensitive Eyetoy USB camera that allows the players to sort of "jump inside" the game.

The games and characters are based on Nickelodeon characters and "hosted" by SpongeBob SquarePants. Up to eight players wildly move their arms to fix Cosmo and Wanda's fishbowl, go for a drive with Mrs. Puff, help Timmy smash robots, go bowling with SpongeBob, and other cartoonishly entrancing activities.

Did smashing virtual robots really up the heart rate? Sherman-Wolin says yes. Fifteen percent of kids aged 6 to 19 are overweight, she notes. If sitting still and watching TV consumed 16 calories an hour for the average 55-pound 8-year-old and standing only expended 20 calories, sweating with the Spongester burned 50 calories.

"I liken it to Ping Pong," she says. "You are sort of standing there and sort of moving at the same time."

Golf Launchpad

In this one, back off, kiddies, you use your own golf clubs to play 800 of the most challenging golf courses in the world. The USB game controller package runs on PC and Mac platforms and is coming to PlayStation. Tiger Woods gaming software is included, and it can also be used with Microsoft's Links.

You play on a mat filled with sensors and hit a real (tethered) golf ball with your own clubs.

The company which produces it, Electric-Spin Corporation, is located in Canada, and thus far the product is available in the United States only online or at Edwin Watts golf shops, although it is expected to go wider shortly.

After you purchase the product, you can use the serial number to download special analysis software that scopes out your swing.

Is playing virtual golf real exercise? "I have been a golf pro for 20 years," sales manager Shawn Clement tells WebMD, "and I can tell you that if you hit a golf ball for an hour, it's a tremendous workout." Walloping the ball uses 200 muscles, he notes. And if you unplug and walk the course and carry the clubs, it's as good exercise as cycling.

Aug. 23, 2006 -- The tongue may have a real sweet spot for sour tastes, as well as bitter, salty, and other taste sensations.

A new study suggests that individual cells in the tongues are exclusively dedicated to detecting sour tastes, a function that may have evolved to help mammals detect spoiled or unripe foods.

The finding contrasts with the notion that individual tongue cells detect more than one type of taste and send a complicated pattern of signals to the brain to determine which of five basic taste categories it fits in: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, or umami (the taste of monosodium glutamate, MSG).

Instead, researcher Charles Zuker of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in La Jolla, Calif., says the sour receptors are found in a subgroup of taste receptor cells that do not detect sweet, bitter, or umami tastes.

The finding is "very interesting," says Zuker, in a news release, "because it seals the case that we had built before with sweet, bitter, and umami, showing that each taste is mediated by fully dedicated sensors."

Sensing Sour on the Tongue

In the study, published in Nature, researchers used DNA sequencing to isolate proteins involved in detecting sour tastes. Through a series of experiments they narrowed 30,000 candidates down to 900 possible proteins.

They were able to identify a molecule called PKD2L1 that was not found in cells that detected sweet, bitter, or umami. They tested it in an experiment using mice genetically engineered to lack this sour-sensing protein. Researchers recorded nerve signals and tongue function of the mice when they were exposed to a variety of tastes.

The results showed that no matter what sour tastes, like citric acid, they fed the mice, there were no nerve messages sent to the brain from the taste cells. But these "sourless" mice had no problems detecting sweet, bitter, salty, and umami tastes.

"Killing these cells and showing that the mice now are totally unable to detect sour proved that these cells are the sensors for sour taste, and that indeed no other taste cells detect sour," says Zuker.

Researchers say the sour-sensing PKD2L1 protein is also found in cells within the spinal cord and may help explain how the body monitors the quality of critical body fluids. For example, the body controls respiration in part by monitoring the acidity of the blood since an increase in carbon dioxide increases the acidity of the blood.

Defects in these sensing systems may underlie a wide range of disorders, says Zuker.

March 20, 2006 -- Obesity surgery might help get high blood pressure under control.

The finding comes from John Fernstrom, PhD, and colleagues of the University of Pittsburgh's medical school.

They report that among very obese people, blood pressure often dipped after weight loss surgery, especially for people with previously untreated high blood pressure.

The results could help show which patients "are likely to experience substantial improvements in blood pressure" after gastric bypass surgery and possibly no longer need medicine to control blood pressure, Fernstrom says in a news release.

Fernstrom's study appears in the Archives of Surgery. It comes on the heels of a report by other researchers showing that weight loss surgery may help avoid heart disease and stroke.

Before and After Surgery

Fernstrom's team checked the medical records of 347 people who got weight loss surgery.

The patients were "very obese" before surgery, with an average BMI (body mass index) of 50-55, the researchers write. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. Being overweight or obese can boost blood pressure, the researchers write.

Before gastric bypass surgery, 192 patients had high blood pressure. Of those patients, 103 were taking prescription drugs to control their blood pressure. High blood pressure was defined as a reading of 140 or higher for systolic pressure (top number), 90 or higher of diastolic pressure (bottom number), or both.

Average BMI fell to 35 during the first 12-18 months after surgery. That's a big drop, but a BMI of 35 is still obese, Fernstrom and colleagues note.

After surgery, 92 patients still had high blood pressure, with 68 taking blood pressure medicines. Of the 103 patients taking blood pressure drugs before surgery, 35 stopped taking those drugs in the months after surgery, the study shows.

Biggest Improvements

The biggest blood pressure improvements were seen in patients who had had untreated high blood pressure before surgery, write Fernstrom and colleagues.

Patients with normal blood pressure and those already being treated for high blood pressure had less room for improvement. Diastolic blood pressure improved more than systolic blood pressure.

The researchers checked the patients' medical charts for nearly two years after surgery. It's not yet clear if the patients' BMI and blood pressure improvements lasted longer than that, the researchers note.

The patients' medical charts don't track changes in the patients' eating habits or physical activity, which may also affect blood pressure.

Aug. 29, 2005 -- A high-protein diet may enhance the effects of exercise in helping people lose fat without losing muscle.

New research shows obese women who exercised regularly and ate a reduced-calorie diet high in protein lost more fat and less muscle than those who ate a similar diet high in carbohydrates. Both diets contained the same number of total calories and percentage of calories from fat.

"Both diets work because, when you restrict calories, you lose weight. But the people on the higher-protein diet lost more weight," says researcher Donald Layman, PhD, professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, in a news release.

Researchers say women on the high-protein diet also lost more weight around the abdominal area.

"There's an additive, interactive effect when a protein-rich diet is combined with exercise. The two work together to correct body composition; dieters lose more weight, and they lose fat, not muscle," says Layman.

Protein May Keep Muscle, Burn Fat

In the study, researchers compared the effects of a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet against a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet combined with exercise in 48 obese women.

Both diets contained 1,700 calories, 30% of calories from fat, and about 17 grams of fiber.

But women on the high-protein diet substituted high-protein foods, such as meats, dairy, eggs, and nuts, for foods high in carbohydrates, such as breads, rice, cereal, pasta, and potatoes, to get about 30% of their total calories from protein.

Women on the high-carbohydrate diet, in comparison, ate about half that amount of protein and got about 60% of their daily calories from carbohydrates.

Both diets fall within the acceptable nutrient levels prescribed by the Institute of Medicine, according to the researchers.

Both groups participated in a high- or low-level exercise program. The high-exercise group consisted of five 30-minute walking sessions and two 30 minute weight lifting/stretching sessions per week.

Exercise for the low-intensity group emphasized voluntary lifestyle recommendations of a minimum of 30 minutes of walking five days/week.

After four months, the results showed that both groups of dieters lost weight, and those who exercised more lost less muscle tissue and more fat.

High-protein dieters in the high-exercise group lost an average of 22 pounds and less than a pound of lean muscle. High-carbohydrate dieters in the high-exercise group lost an average of 15 pounds but lost more than 2 pounds of muscle.

But the real key to losing weight while maintaining muscle appears to be exercise.

The high-protein, low-exercise dieters lost an average of 19 pounds but lost over 4 pounds of muscle. The high-carbohydrate, low exercisers lost 17 pounds, but nearly 6 pounds of that came from muscle.

Nearly 100% of the weight lost in the high-protein exercise group was fat, while 25%-30% of the weight lost in the high-carbohydrate exercise group was muscle, says Layman.

Amino Acid Behind Fat-Burning Effect

Layman says the weight loss advantage of a high-protein diet may be its high level of the amino acid leucine. Leucine works with insulin to stimulate protein synthesis in muscle, he says.

"The diet works because the extra protein reduces muscle loss while the low-carbohydrate component gives you low insulin, allowing you to burn fat," says Layman. "Some people refer to this as the metabolic advantage of a protein-rich diet."

He says the average American diet contains about four or five grams of leucine and to get the metabolic effects seen in this study you need 9 or 10 grams.

The study, which appears in the August issue of the Journal of Nutrition, was funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the Beef Board, and Kraft Foods.

Jan. 6, 2005 - Feeling hefty in Houston or svelte in Seattle? You're not alone. A new report shows that Houston once again weighs in as the fattest city in America while Seattle ranks as the fittest.

Men's Fitness magazine ranked the 50 largest U.S. cities based on a variety of factors related to obesityobesity and fitness, such as percentage of obese residents, recreation facilities, sports activities, and number of junk food outlets.

After crunching the numbers, Houston emerged as America's fattest city in 2005. Houston temporarily lost the top spot to Detroit in 2004 but held the dubious honor from 2001 to 2003.

Houston was joined by two other Texas cities in the top 10 fattest cities, Dallas and San Antonio, suggesting that bigger isn't necessarily better for the residents of the Lone Star state. Three other cities, Memphis, New Orleans, and New York, also bulked up and climbed more than 10 spots to make an appearance in the top 10.

On the positive side, the report shows that some cities are slimming down, as Seattle rose from No. 6 on the fittest list to No. 1, followed by Honolulu and Colorado Springs.

Here's how the rest fared:

How They Did It

It's the sixth annual 50-city report by the magazine. The cities were ranked first to last and assigned numerical grades in 14 equally weighted categories, which are considered indicators, risk factors, or relevant environmental determinants affecting fitness, obesity, and health.

Those categories included:

• Gyms/Sporting goods: The total number of clubs, gyms, and fitness studios as well as the total number of sporting-goods retailers ranked per 100,000 population.
• Nutrition Nutrition: Based on the average frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and total number of health food stores ranked per 100,000 population.
• Exercise/Sports: Total participation in 103 sports and fitness-related activities.
• Overweight/Sedentary: Percentage of obese, overweight, and non-exercisers based on CDC data.
• Junk Food: Total number of fast-food outlets, pizza parlors, ice cream shops, and doughnut stores ranked per 100,000 population.
• Alcohol: Based on total number of bars/taverns ranked per 100,000 population and apparent alcohol consumption by state from federal statistics.
• TV: Home use of televisions.
• Air Quality: Based on annual EPA reports.
• Climate: The climate index was based on National Weather Service information combining estimated annual days above 32 degrees and below 90 degrees, amounts of precipitation and sunshine, and the August heat/humidity index.
• Geography: Accessible recreational forests, lakes, rivers, waterways, mountains, and ocean beaches, compiled from almanacs and additional sources.
• Commute: Based on the Travel Time Index, which measures traffic delays due to congestion.
• Parks/Open Space: Based on total acreage per 10,000 population of federal and state recreation areas plus all listed water areas and number of city parks per 10,000 population.
• Recreation Facilities: Number of public basketball courts, swimming pools, tennis courts, and golf courses per 10,000 population.
• Health Care: Based on city-by-city ranking of health resources and access.