Many college health clinics provide a wide range of services, including programs that encourage healthy lifestyles. There is a growing recognition that the college years are a time of transition in which healthy habits can be encouraged and dangerous ones, like excessive drinking, discouraged. Includes comments by Alan Glass, director of WUSTL's health and wellness center.

References:

1. July 26, 2009 — Campus Care Improves in the The Wall Street Journal

Eric Wolbert has been a non-smoker for 30 days. He quit his pack-a-day habit because he has watched cigarettes hurt too many people, including his grandparents, who died of lung cancer, he said. As part of his third attempt at quitting, Wolbert signed up for a seven-week group therapy program called "Freedom From Smoking" at WUSTL.

References:

1. July 5, 2009 — How to quit smoking in the Chicago Tribune

and 1 others.

Not taking some R&R could leave you carrying some heavy baggage down the line, bringing you and your company down. WUSTL entrepreneurship specialist Clifford Holekamp advises that shorter vacations are less stressful for small startups that are "very dependent on the founder to run the day-to-day operations."

References:

1. June 25, 2009 — Vacation: What the Heck Is That? in the MSN Money

If at first you don't succeed, tell the world about it -- because Web culture has become obsessed with "failure videos," mostly on YouTube. Whatever the reason, the sharing of personal missteps has become a part of today's e-culture. WUSTL psychology professor Don Fitz comments.

References:

1. May 30, 2009 — The culture of failure in the The Boston Globe

The new science of measuring happiness has transformed self-help. Now scholars suggest it could transform society — from tort law to urban planning to medical care. WUSTL law professors Samuel Bagenstos and Margo Schlanger co-wrote a law review article in 2007 suggesting that the emphasis on lost enjoyment of life in jury awards actually makes it harder for the plaintiff to recover.

References:

1. May 10, 2009 — Perfectly Happy in the The Boston Globe

Babies who gain weight quickly during the first six months of life may be more prone to obesity as toddlers, Harvard researchers report. The study suggests earliest intervention may reduce risk. WUSTL nutrition director Connie Diekman comments.

References:

1. March 30, 2009 — Rapid Infant Weight Gain Linked to Childhood Obesity in the MSN.com Health & Fitness

and 8 others.

Advice for parents explaining to children what changes may need to take place when a family faces economic hardship. WUSTL senior consultant and author Karen Levin Coburn.

References:

1. March 25, 2009 — Break It to 'Em Gently: Telling Kids About Financial Woes in the The Wall Street Journal

The dieting world screams with contradictory advice, but a new study says the key is reducing calories. WUSTL nutrition expert Luigi Fontana, who studies the effects of calorie restriction on longevity, comments.

References:

1. Feb. 25, 2009 — Low-fat? Low-carbs? Answering best diet question in the CNN.com

People in Middle America may have larger middles from frequent buffet and cafeteria eating and perceived barriers to physical activity, U.S. researchers said. "It's not that people don't want to get physical activity or eat healthy foods, but we've made it difficult in many communities," senior author of the study Ross Brownson of the Washington University in St. Louis said in a statement.

References:

1. Dec. 19, 2008 — Buffets, exercise lack linked to obesity in the United Press International

and 33 others.

WUSTL Mellon postdoctoral fellow Deborah Levine shares research on the weighing scale and how its place in society changed as the public's perception of weight changed.

References:

1. Dec. 16, 2008 — A weighty subject for the holidays in the Los Angeles Times

WUSTL nutrition expert Connie Diekman comments on a New York proposal for an 18 percent tax on sugary sodas and juice drinks — an effort that state officials said would reduce obesity while raising more than $400 million a year for health programs.

References:

1. Dec. 17, 2008 — A Tax on Many Soft Drinks Sets Off a Spirited Debate in the The New York Times

There's something about digestive difficulties that makes them hard to discuss in polite company — which leaves many of us suffering one problem or another in silence. Yet fixes can be as simple as making informed lifestyle changes or taking over-the-counter remedies. WUSTL gastroenterology professor Themos Dassopoulos, codirector of inflammatory bowel diseases, comments.

References:

1. Dec. 1, 2008 — Bringing Bellyaching to an End in the U.S. News & World Report

In the contemporary era of rampant foreclosures, credit card debt, and ever-evolving scams that prey on the economically vulnerable, few social work schools offer specialized financial training to their students, but change is under way. WUSTL social work professor Michael Sherraden devised the concept of Individual Development Accounts, which helps low-income families build assets to reach long-term goals.

References:

1. Nov. 17, 2008 — Social workers to teach money management in the CNN.com

and 1 others.

Aches and pains may be a result of walking incorrectly. Yoga practices have helped some people relearn how to walk. WUSTL orthopaedic surgery professor Heidi Prather warns that breaking bad habits is no easy task.

References:

1. Nov. 13, 2008 — Learning How to Walk (Chewing Gum Not Included) in the The New York Times

and 15 others.

New research suggests the risk of domestic violence will rise as increasing number of veterans are diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. The consequences on families and children in communities across the U.S. are an emerging concern says WUSTL social work professor Monica Matthieu, an expert on veteran mental health.

References:

1. Nov. 7, 2008 — PTSD Tied to Domestic Violence Among Vets in the PsychCentral.com (MA)

and 8 others.

The basic questions about testing children are: Do kids who are tested a lot learn more or less than kids who are not? and What is the best way to study? Research by WUSTL psychology professor Henry Roediger and a Purdue colleague that has been challenging the conventional wisdom on how best to study is included.

References:

1. Sept. 3, 2008 — Examining Exams in the Newsweek Web Exclusive

Rereading class notes may not be the best way to study. New research suggests that frequent testing -- even self-testing -- is a better bet for retaining information. WUSTL psychology professor Henry Roediger III says his study of 180 students shows the benefits of "the testing effect."

References:

1. July 27, 2008 — Ultimate Study Tool: Testing in the The New York Times

WUSTL psychiatry professor and lead author Carolyn Sartor comments on a new WUSTL study that says: Young people often begin drinking alcohol because of environmental factors, such as peer pressure. But genes appear to be a significant factor in determining whether drinking progresses to problem drinking and alcoholism.

References:

1. April 29, 2008 — The roots of alcoholism . . . in the genes? in the Los Angeles Times

The recent report that having a pot belly in your 40s roughly triples your risk of dementia in later life is just the tip of an ominous iceberg. WUSTL research on liposuction in which found no change in the women's cholesterol levels, triglycerides, insulin sensitivity or other health risks. "If they had lost that much fat by dieting, they would have substantially improved their metabolic profile, but they didn't," says Samuel Klein, director of WUSM's Center for Human Nutrition and the study's principal investigator.

References:

1. April 15, 2008 — Gut Check: Why Doctors Say Not All Fat Is Created Equal in the The Wall Street Journal

and 2 others.

WUSTL researcher Kathryn Diemer, clinical director of WUSTL's Bone Health Program, talks about bone-mineral density and other fracture risks in aging women.

References:

1. April 1, 2008 — Reverse Your Risk in the Good Housekeeping