Stimulant Warning

Cramming students cautioned against taking stimulant without prescription

University students hitting the books for final exams in Calgary are popping prescription stimulants that carry the risk of side-effects, doctors warn.

Dextroamphetamine, sold as Dexedrine, or "dex," is prescribed to treat narcolepsy, or sudden sleep attacks, and for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to help them focus and concentrate better. For those who do not have ADHD, the drug works like a stimulant.

"I think it is a time-release kind of drug, so it just slowly goes through your body," said a first-year business student at the University of Calgary, who did not want his name used because he buys Dexedrine for five dollars a pill from a friend with ADHD.

"Before you know it, well geez, I've done four hours of hard-core studying and I remember every bit of information," he said, adding he thinks the drug has helped him to achieve higher marks. "I take it before an exam so I'm extra focused."

Dexedrine should not be taken without a prescription, said Dr. Prem Chengalath, a physician in Calgary.

"It has side-effects. It has addictive properties as well," Chengalath said. "Anything which gives you a high is going to give you a low, and sometimes it could be a very bad low."

Taking Dexedrine without a prescription may also lead to disrupted sleep patterns, loss of appetite and elevated heart rate, said Debbie Breckner, director of the university's Wellness Centre. It's not recommended for coping with stress or dealing with exams, Breckner said.

It is not known how many students are using Dexedrine to study. Robin Tribble said its use is widespread among her friends in first year, who live in residence. Some of the people are now dependent on Dexedrine for studying, Tribble said.

Tribble questions Dexedrine use, saying it is unrealistic for students to plan to use it to deal with stressful situations for the rest of their lives.

Officials at the wellness centre are not overly concerned, saying their doctors have not seen an increase in discussions with students who may be using Dexedrine.

Source: CBC.ca

Mandatory High School Phys Ed -All Grades

Manitoba to make phys-ed mandatory for Grade 11 and 12 in 2008

As part of a push to encourage healthy lifestyles for young people, the Manitoba government is making physical education part of the curriculum for Grade 11 and 12.

Education Minister Peter Bjornson says the new requirement will take effect in September 2008.

He says students will be able to earn the required phys-ed or health credits either in class or through outside activities such as intramural and inter-school sports or community-based sports.

They will be encouraged to find activities suited to their interests and abilities.

The addition to the curriculum is one of the government's responses to an all-party committee's report on healthy kids released in 2005.

Bjornson made the announcement Tuesday at a Winnipeg high school, where he joined Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and students in a game of basketball.

Source: CBC.ca

Soft Drinks and Pancreatic Cancer Link

Source: Men's Health March 2007

15 Minute Obesity Respite

Exercise key to avoiding childhood obesity, study shows

A brisk, 15-minute walk daily may be enough to help prevent childhood obesity, British researchers say.

The study in this week's issue of PloS Medicine looked at 5,500 children who wore a motion-sensing device and had their body fat measured with an X-ray scanner, which offers more precise measurement than the body mass index.

Among children who increased their physical activity levels by 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise, the chances of being obese were lowered by almost 50 per cent, the researchers found.

"This study provides some of the first robust evidence on the link between physical activity and obesity in children," said study author Prof. Chris Riddoch of Britain's Bath University.

"We know that diet is important, but what this research tells us is that we mustn't forget about activity. It's been really surprising to us how even small amounts of exercise appear to have dramatic results."

Without accurate measurements of activity levels and body fat, it has been difficult for researchers to determine the relative importance of activity in preventing obesity in children, compared to dietary changes.

Easy to find 15 minutes

Most families would be able to add 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day as a starting point, said Prof. Andy Ness of the University of Bristol, who co-directed the research with Riddoch.

The average age of the children in the study was 12. Those in the 10 per cent levels of fat mass were classified as obese.

"Our findings, if confirmed, suggest that public health policies that increase physical activity levels and in particular [moderate and vigorous physical activity] in children may help to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity," the researchers concluded.

One limitation of the cross-sectional study is that it is possible that instead of becoming obese because of lack activity, obesity may restrict children from being more active, the study said.

Rates of overweight and obese children nearly tripled among Canadians over the past two decades, the Canadian Institutes of Health Information reported in 2004. Obesity rates are also on the rise in other developed countries.

Source: CBC.ca

Children's Cold Medicine Investigation

U.S. investigating children's cold medicines: report

Common children's cold and cough medicines are coming under scrutiny from U.S. federal drug regulators, who say the remedies and their recommended doses have not been studied enough in children, the New York Times reported Friday.

Dr. Charles J. Ganley, a top Food and Drug Administration official, said the agency was "revisiting the risks and benefits of the use of these drugs in children," especially those younger than two years old, the paper reported.

Most over-the-counter cold and cough medicines have been insufficiently tested in children, said Ganley, the director of the FDA's office of non-prescription drug products.

"We have no data on these agents of what's a safe and effective dose in children," he told the Times in an interview.

The FDA said it could not yet determine whether new regulations would result from the safety review, according to the newspaper.

A group of pediatricians and public health officials asked the agency Thursday to bar drug manufacturers from marketing remedies such as Toddler's Dimetapp, Infant Triaminic and Little Colds to children under six.

Cold medicines killed 3 children: study

A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that in 2004 and 2005, more than 1,500 children under two had experienced serious health problems — and three died — after taking common cold medicines.

The American College of Chest Physicians last year recommended avoiding giving cough and cold medicines to children, especially young ones.

In above-normal doses, cold medicines can lead to heart arrhythmias, and some have been linked to hypertension and stroke when taken in high doses, the Times reported.

In rare cases, children have had medical problems after taking recommended doses, the article said.

The president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents companies that sell over-the-counter cold drugs, noted that the medicines had FDA approval and had been used for decades. They should be taken only in recommended doses, association president Linda A. Suydam said.

The pediatricians who petitioned the FDA Thursday acknowledged that children's cold medicines were generally safe in recommended doses, but they said overdoses were common because many children were given more than one medicine, among other reasons.

They also questioned the drugs' effectiveness in children.

Many cold and cough drugs won FDA approval decades ago, when the agency's standards were less strict, the Times reported.

Source: CBC.ca

Caffeine's Transparent Coke

Coca-Cola to add caffeine content to nutrition labels

Coca-Cola has announced plans to begin disclosing caffeine content on their nutrition labels as part of an industry-wide initiative.

The Atlanta-based company says it will add caffeine content to its Coca-Cola Classic nutrition labels in May, with other products to follow. Some of the company's product labels, including Full Throttle and Enviga, already carry information on caffeine levels.

The rollout is currently limited to the U.S. Stephanie Baxter, a Coca-Cola Canada spokeswoman, says the company is reviewing the decision in the U.S. She notes that the company's energy drinks in Canada are already labelled with caffeine content information.

Pepsi launches 'invigorating' diet drink

Meanwhile, PepsiCo has announced plans to release a new version of Diet Pepsi, containing more caffeine. The soda, which will contain about one-third more caffeine than Diet Mountain Dew, will be released in June.

Beverage	Amount of caffeine (mg)
Cola (355 ml)	36-46
Diet cola (355 ml)	39-50
Cup brewed tea (237 ml)	43
Cup green tea (237 ml)	30
Cup brewed coffee (237 ml)	135
Chocolate milk (237 ml)	8

The company says its "invigorating" beverage is targeted to adults who need extra energy to get through their busy days.

The announcements come as New York City councilman, Simcha Felder, prepares to introduce a non-binding council resolution asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require product labels to include caffeine content information.

Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat, suggests pregnant women and parents in particular would benefit from the proposed resolution, saying many consumers are currently unaware of how much they consume daily. Felder plans on introducing the resolution on Feb. 28.

Caffeine side effects include alertness, irritability

Health Canada says minor side effects of caffeine range from alertness and improved concentration to insomnia, headaches, irritability and nervousness. The federal agency recommends that healthy adults should consume a maximum of 450 mg of caffeine daily, the equivalent of three 237 ml cups of brewed coffee.

Pregnant women can drink slightly more than two 237 ml cups of coffee daily if they avoid other caffeinated products.

Guidelines for children are as follows:

• Ages 4-6, 45 mg.
• Ages 7-9, 62.5 mg.
• Ages 10-12, 85 mg.

For women of childbearing age, the new recommendation is a maximum daily caffeine intake of no more than 300 mg, or a little more than two 237 ml cups of coffee.

Source: CBC.ca

Wii vs Obesity

God bless scientists. Particularly those at Liverpool John Moores University. The boffins there have been hard at work measuring gamers’ activity levels, and found that playing Wii for 15 minutes boosts your energy expenditure by 156%, compared to 60% using normal joypads on other consoles.

The Mirror has done its sums, calculating that for the average child who spends 12.2 hours a week playing games, this means a potential 1,830 calories burnt off – which could lose them a couple of stone a year.

“Motion sensor-controlled consoles can make an impact on a child’s energy expenditure and calories burned, however parents should encourage outdoor pursuits,” Professor Tim Cable tells the paper. Too late: millions of kids have already snipped that bit out of the article and gone to pester their parents…

Source: wiiwii.tv

Obeez City and the XBOX

New DVD game battles childhood obesity

JIM ELLIS Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - Obesity may be a global epidemic, but it's Obeez City that is spreading out of control in a new DVD game to be released nationwide Tuesday.

The game teaches youngsters how to avoid the ravages of being overweight, and may the healthy force be with you.

Gamers join a team of super heroes called Body Mechanics and war against the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease, battling villains with names like Col Estorol and Betes II. The fighting takes place inside the body of Jack Decayd and if Obeez City is not contained, "Jack will die soon," says Neuro, the Yoda-like wise one who narrates the game's story line.

"I remember how it started. A few snacks here, a soft drink there," Neuro speaking in an ominous tone says during the opening. "And before we knew it, the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease was threatening us all."

Neuro then makes his plea: "You must join the team of heroic Body Mechanics. They need your help in order to gain the knowledge necessary to save Jack's life. Only you can change how this story ends."

The Body Mechanics DVD game is the latest in a string of products in the video gaming industry to buck long-held notions and stress exercise and healthy living. The game is packaged with an animated movie and sold as a two-disc set. Body Mechanics will be in limited release Tuesday in retail outlets such as Target, Borders, Walgreens and CVS/pharmacy.

Viewed as sedentary pastimes, video games, and its cousins, the television and the personal computer, are typically the object of parental finger waving.

And children are becoming gamers younger than ever - 2 years old, according to a survey conducted by NPD Group, a market research firm. With sales in the U.S. totaling $12.5 billion in 2006, the gaming industry's foothold is firmly planted in American culture - and so is childhood obesity.

About 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is an 80 percent chance that overweight children will become obese adults and will be at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

But with the highly popular active video game, Dance Dance Revolution, and gaming console's such as Nintendo's Wii and now Body Mechanics, the negative hype that video games enable teens to lay around and gain weight may meet some resistance.

Imagine Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings all mixed up inside the body and that's Body Mechanics, said Tony Findlay, the game's creator, who is based in Australia.

Findlay, 40, said the idea for the game and movie came while on tour to promote his book, "DIETS SUCK."

"Parents approached me and asked how they can teach their kids to eat better and exercise more," said Findlay, who said his own father was obese and died of a heart attack at 56.

Butch Rosser, one of Body Mechanic's contributors, was once a morbidly obese medical student whose weight topped 450 pounds. He admits that he used video games - dating back to Pong in the 1970s - to escape the stresses of all-night study sessions.

Now a surgeon in New York City, father of five and yes, still a gamer, he weighs in 160 pounds lighter these days due to gastric bypass surgery six years ago. Rosser lends his acting ability in the movie as Dr. Bludd, the good doctor who stresses the importance of saving not only Jack Decayd's life but "all of humanity."

His prescription for the young and overweight today is the very thing he says enabled his weight gain early in life - video games.

"We have a new genre of video games today," Rosser said. "You can lose pounds while having fun and that's a beautiful combination."

Jake Schweizer, an 8-year-old gamer who lives in Orlando, plays his XBox about an hour every day. He is within the 5- to 11- year-old age range Body Mechanics aims to reach.

Players choose one of three main missions and then follow along on an animated adventure, answering 10 questions along the way. Answer too many questions incorrectly and Jack Decayd dies.

"I like the questions. They're fun to answer," said Jake, who only missed one the first time he played Body Mechanics during a recent video game convention in Orlando.

Video games like Body Mechanics have a difficult task, said Dr. Karen Cullen, associate professor of pediatrics/nutrition at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston.

"You can give someone an hour's worth of facts and you'll bore them to death," she said. "The games have to be entertaining to compete in the marketplace."

Cullen was one of the researchers at Baylor College of Medicine who developed a computer game that improved eating habits in children. Fourth graders from 26 elementary schools participated in the study.

Children played a medieval-themed game called Squire's Quest. Players advanced from squire to knight. But along with achieving knighthood, gamers were encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The new video games and consoles that require more than thumbs pounding a handheld controller is a positive development, Cullen said.

Rosser, who performs weight-loss surgeries, said he hopes reaching children at a young age with the message of eating healthy will prevent problems with weight later in life.

"I don't want people to have to undergo a surgical procedure to save their life," Rosser said. "I want to put my knife out of business."

Source: brandenton.com (brandenton herald)