September 21, 2004 [Volume 5, Issue 20]

To Your Health is brought to you by:

• Recommended Reading: Sitting Pretty
• Reality TV vs. the Reality of TV
• The High Price of Migraines
• Women: Here's One More Reason to Exercise

This month's featured title is Sitting Pretty: Looking and Feeling Better With Good Posture in Ten Easy Steps by Greg J. Carb, DC

Sitting Pretty: Looking and Feeling Better With Good Posture in Ten Easy Steps provides everything you need to know about changing bad posture forever in a fun, concise, and easy-to-read format, complete with detailed drawings illustrating the "do's and don'ts" of posture. The book focuses primarily on posture and ergonomics in the workplace; however, the information is clearly intended to bring about positive changes in all settings. The text describes the negative impact of bad posture, establishes why good posture is important to the body and overall health, and offers tips and suggestions for maintaining good posture. Included are three appendices: checking and recording your own posture; a tear-out placard with illustrations of good posture for the workstation; and a weekly self-care record with instructions for monitoring progress and improvement.

Click here to read the complete review.

With gimmicks like "reality TV" and catchy slogans such as "Must See TV," it's no wonder kids spend more time in front of the tube than in school.* Yet, numerous studies have shown that excessive television watching in childhood can lead to attention and behavioral problems later on. Now, viewers can add sleep difficulties to that growing lineup of television-viewing troubles.

Researchers studied a sample of 750 mothers and their children at different stages of development to assess the television and sleeping habits of the children. Adolescents who watched three or more hours of television a day were at increased risk for developing sleeping difficulties as young adults; the risk was significantly lower in those whose viewing habits decreased to one hour a day or less.

Parents: turn off the "idiot box," and encourage your kids to engage in other activities, such as reading or playing outdoors. Better yet, why not set the example? Get off the couch, join your kids in a fun activity, and enjoy the reality of family, rather than reality TV.

For more on pediatric health, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/pediatrics.

Reference:Johnson JG, Cohen P, Kasen S, et al. Association between television viewing and sleep problems
during adolescence and early adulthood. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:562-568.

*Sege and Dietz, 1994. www.limitv.org/stats.htm.

If you've ever experienced a migraine, you know how debilitating they can be. Migraines are generally characterized by extreme pain and pressure, usually over one eye or concentrated on one side of the head, and sometimes accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light. An episode can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and render a person incapable of performing even the most simple daily tasks.

Still, the price one pays for having a migraine is not always limited to physical pain; according to a recent study, fiscal pain can be an unfortunate consequence, since these headaches often result in multiple trips to the doctor and missed days of work or school. Researchers studied the health care costs of families and employers of migraine sufferers and found that the costs for families with migraine sufferers was 70 percent higher than that of other families, and 90 percent higher if both a parent and child experienced migraine, while the migraine families spent an average of 5 percent more on pharmaceuticals than those families without migraine sufferers.

How can migraine patients combat the rising cost of health care, as well as find relief for the pain? The authors suggest taking more preventative approaches to care, including decreasing stress and caffeine intake, getting plenty of rest, and exercising regularly. And don't forget, routine chiropractic care can help prevent the onset of migraine, as well relieve migraine pain.

For more information on chiropractic, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/whatis.html.

References: Stang PE, Crown WH, Bizier R, et al. The family impact and costs of migraine. American Journal of Managed Care May 2004:313-320.

Ladies, still can't think of a valid reason to exercise? How about warding off breast cancer, which will be diagnosed in an estimated 200,000 women in the U.S. in 2004 alone? Researchers examined over 170 postmenopausal women for one year and found that those who engaged in consistent, moderate physical activity experienced a significant decrease in specific female hormones. This decrease - due largely to a reduction in body fat - in turn lowered their risk of developing breast cancer. Conversely, women that did not increase levels of physical activity experienced smaller declines or even increases in those same hormones.

Conclusion? "Exercise could lower breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women by reducing body fat and ultimately circulating estrogen concentrations," note the researchers, quoted by Reuters Health. Still, the authors note that the link between regular physical activity in postmenopausal women and lowered incidences of breast cancer remains a mystery. Regardless of whether you are postmenopausal, the benefits of exercise for women at every stage in life are undeniable.

For more information on women's health issues, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/women. To learn more about breast cancer and what you can do to avoid it, check out www.komen.org.

References

1. McTiernan Anne, Tworoger SS, Ulrich CM, et al. Effect of exercise on serum estrogens in
postmenopausal women. Cancer Research, April 15, 2004;64(8):2923-28.

2. Moderate exercise may cut breast cancer risk. Reuters Health. May 7, 2004.

This issue features a number of articles you will want to share with your family, friends and co-workers. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to them via e-mail. If you have received this e-mail newsletter from someone else, you may subscribe free of charge and begin receiving your own copy by going to: www.chiroweb.com/newsletter/TYH/subscribe.php

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