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Women With College Degrees Help Their Partners Live Longer

TresSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Well-educated women have more to offer than interesting conversations. According to an extensive Swedish study, a woman's education and social status has more impact on her partner's lifespan than his own education.

The study, involving 1.5 million working Swedes, found that a man whose partner only had a high school education had a 25 percent greater risk of dying early than a man whose partner holds a university degree. Of course, a woman's education also impacts her own lifespan - a woman with no college education is 53 percent more likely to die early than a woman with a higher degree.

Those behind the study reason that the more educated a woman is, the more likely she is to understand her family's health needs. This conclusion suggests that a woman has a big impact on her partner and family's lifestyle. Perhaps this means that many highly educated women still have the primary responsibility for cooking, shopping, and other household needs. Does that surprise you?

Lil Links: Oh Happy Day For Violet Affleck

babysugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:52 -0800

Violet is a shiny, happy person - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Tom and Suri have a swingin' good time in Boston - Celebrity Baby Blog
Yummy lil pumpkin treats - Momologie
10 reasons why your libido ain't what it used to be - CafeMom
Shopping for your ex with your child - ParentDish
This poop doesn't stink - a diaper recycling plant set to open in the UK - MomLogic
British educators tell girls to face “reality” and accept they may not be able to “have it all” - The Laughing Stork
How do you deal with a temper tantrum in public? - Momversation
Help! My teen wants to be a vegetarian - Health

Gear Review: slotRadio by Sansa

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:20:25 -0800

I love my iPod, but there is a new music player vying for my heart: the slotRadio ($79) by Sansa.

The two-inch-by-two-inch clip-on music player comes with a data card with 1,000 songs from the Billboard music charts, with prearranged playlists by music genre. I tried the additional Health and Fitness mix, which includes the mixes for warmup, cardio, roadwork (cycling), power (lifting), yoga, cooldown, and the even more mellow spa mix.

To see what I thought of this music player, just read more.

I must admit I am a bit technically challenged - ironic since I am a blogger, I know. Even with my latent Luddite ways, I found the slotRadio super easy to use. The instruction manual was simply written with helpful graphics. Open the box, charge the radio, which took about an hour, put in your music card, and go. My inaugural run with the slotRadio was great. It clips onto your clothes and is so small and light you don't even notice it. The volume button is easy to find, as is the skip button. You can easily skip genres, too. I warmed up with Lady Gaga and Nelly and moved onto cardio with a few bands I have never heard of, like VHS or Beta. The slotRadio feels like a pop music education in a good way. This little player is a great way to introduce yourself to new music. However, I had to remove the foam covers from the earbuds to keep them from falling out of my ears.

The video screen features graphics of exercises and lets you know the next song up on the playlist so you can advance easily to find motivational music. The slotRadio is also a real radio. As an NPR junkie, I love that I can switch over to radio and catch up on news or Fresh Air while working out.

I enjoyed the Health and Fitness music card much more than the standard Billboard artist music card. Thankfully, the data cards are easy to change, and there are many options to choose from, including Christmas tunes, '80s and '90s music, Latin, and classical. The extra data cards cost $40. The slotRadio bundle comes with headphones, charger, and Billboard music card. These make a great gift for the musically impaired fitness fanatic in your life.

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E-Patients Explore Online Communities

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:00:32 -0800

Researching your health problems online can be a great way to educate yourself - or scare yourself silly. A whopping 97 percent of Fit readers 'fess up to doing some Internet sleuthing before heading to the doc. There's even a word for us: e-patients.

According to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, about 20 percent of e-patients use social-networking and similar sites to chat with medical experts and other patients.

Of course, we're big fans of community around here as a place to share information and links and get a conversation going. To find out more about the online health community revolution, read more.

Says Pew's Susannah Fox:

"They are posting their first-person accounts of treatments and side effects from medications. They are recording and posting those podcasts. They're tagging content. They are part of the conversation. And that, I think, is an indicator of where we could be going in terms of the future of participatory medicine."

In addition to connecting with fellow patients suffering from the same ailments, users are posting their health records online so they can track their test results, blood pressure, and other vital stats. All they're doing all this despite the fact that doctors are behind the times, with only about 17 percent reporting the use of online medical records.

When you're suffering from an ailment, it can be very reassuring to hear from other patients who've gone through the same thing; often, it calms me down and makes me realize I'm not alone. But do you see any danger in patients posting about their medical problems in online communities?

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out our FitSugar Community and join the conversation!

US STD Rate Highest of Developed Countries - and Rising!

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00:49 -0800

Let's talk about sex . . . or else! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reluctance to talk about sex is keeping STD infection rates on the rise in the US, especially among teens. After practically being eradicated, syphilis is resurgent, and chlamydia and gonorrhea are also at "unacceptably high levels." Thanks to our prudishness, the US has the highest rate of STDs of any developed country in the world.

It's no secret that abstinence-only sex education is popular in America. Thankfully, after confronting the fact that abstinence-only education does not effectively reduce STD infection rates, some school districts are moving to abstinence-plus education, which reasonably stresses the importance of using protection if a teen is sexually active.

Of course, parents can also do something to reduce STD risks by providing a little sex education at home. When I asked a while back, more than half of TrèsSugar readers said their parents avoided having an awkward conversation about contraception. Maybe these new statistics will remind parents that reducing health risks are worth a few uncomfortable minutes.

First Openly Gay Bishop Ordained in Sweden

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Swedish meatballs. IKEA. Abba. Free health care and education. As if those riches weren't enough for one nation to hoard, now comes the news that over the weekend, Eva Brunne, above left, was ordained as Sweden's first openly gay bishop. Another female pastor, Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, was also ordained as Bishop of Härnösand in northern Sweden. Around 75 percent of Swedes belong to the Lutheran church.

Brunne, 55, is in a civil union partnership with another woman and both of them are the parents of a three-year-old child.

Did I mention that Sweden also allows same-sex couples to adopt children and was one of the first countries to marry gay people in a major church? Yeah, I'll stop now, but I could go on. Sweden seriously has it going on.

Hump Day: I Have Little Desire to Have Sex Anymore

TresSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Welcome to Hump Day, TrèsSugar's sex advice column. Are you confused about sex? Do you have trouble having an orgasm? Is there something you'd like to try but you're worried it's too weird? Send your questions to TrèsSugar, and our friend Dr. Charlie Glickman from Good Vibrations will offer his sound advice!

Today's Question:

“When my husband and I first got married, I was so in love with him that we had sex what (for me) seemed like a lot (a few times a week). But now, three years into it, I feel like my baseline libido, which never was much in the first place, has flatlined. I simply have no interest in sex mentally or physically. My husband keeps asking me if there’s someone else, but in reality, I don’t want sex at all - with anyone. I’m worried he’s going to leave me, this is causing so many problems between us. Any advice?”

To see the answer, read more

It’s pretty common for sexual frequency for couples to lessen after a couple of years. It’s not always just the stereotypical “things are becoming routine” situation. Shifts in hormones can occur as time goes by and those shifts can affect sexual desire. Lots of people have a low interest in sex for any of a number of reasons. It’s not necessarily a sign of any kind of problem and if that has been your pattern for a long time; that may be simply how your sexuality is.

Do you consider your lack of interest in sex a problem? If you do, you might want to see if there are any medical issues causing it. You could have low testosterone for example. While we generally only think of it as a male hormone, women also have some testosterone in their systems and it’s often related to interest in sex. Sexual desire is quite complex and sometimes, the answers aren’t as easy as that, but it could be worth exploring.

Whether you think that your low desire is a problem or not, it sounds like your concerns center on how you and your husband talk about it and what his and your expectations are. Differences in desire can be one of the more tricky relationship challenges and almost all couples face it at some point or another. When you consider how much we (as a culture) equate sexual desire with relationship health, it’s no wonder that many of us feel a lot of pressure around it.

While I would NEVER suggest to anyone that they engage in sex that they don’t want, the two of you might want to explore other ways to connect physically. After all, it doesn’t have to be sex or intercourse. For example, would it work if you gave him backrubs? What if he masturbated while you help him or ran your hands across him? And are there ways that you would like to receive physical contact? As another possibility, are there ways in which the two of you could make room for him to get his sexual needs met, such as giving him solo time at home for some self-pleasure?

Whether you find your low desire a problem or not, you could also find a sex-positive therapist. One of the most helpful things that a therapist can offer is tools for talking about tricky topics and a safe space to do it in. Plus, sometimes an outside perspective can be really helpful. There are plenty of great people who know about sexuality issues and lots of them can be found on the website for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Anyone in their directory has passed a rigorous certification process, which gives them the foundation to be as helpful with sexuality topics as possible.

Ultimately, the best advice I can offer you is to be honest with each other about what’s going on for you and how you each feel about it. With that as the foundation, the two of you can start looking for new ways to be together that work for both of you.

Front Page: Busy Obama Takes on Education and Health Care

TresSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:00:37 -0700

President Obama told school children yesterday to take pride in their education and watch what they put on Facebook.
- Voice of America
Meanwhile, the president is still working on the healthcare speech he's due to give Congress tonight. - AP
A New York Times reporter being held captive by militants in Afghanistan was freed by a military commando raid this morning. His Afghan translator and a British commando were killed. - New York Times
A bill designating "Harvey Milk Day" is causing controversy in California. - CNN
Authorities in France are urging people to stop kissing each other on the cheek because it could increase the risk of spreading swine flu. - BBC News

High School Establishes HIV-Testing Center After Exposure

CitizenSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0700

Normandy High School in St. Louis, MO, sent notes home with students this week warning them of a potential outbreak of HIV. The county health department traced a positive test back to the high school and determined that several students may have been exposed, the first time such an investigation had led to a school, according to officials. The understandably frightening newsletter, much more serious than the "head lice" letters of yore, has caused a panic.

The health department spokesman said, "There is concern, but we really don't want to raise alarms here. This is not some major new outbreak or method of transmission, and there's no evidence to suggest it was deliberately being spread." Despite his efforts at reassurance, speculation over who has it is rampant. The school is establishing a testing center, though the mostly sexually-active student body is split over whether to get tested, many are opting to even though according to one student, "most of them know to use condoms."

The school fears the stigma of the publicity with one junior saying, "But now people are going to say, 'He goes to Normandy, he has AIDS.'" Currently about five percent of HIV cases in St. Louis are diagnosed to teenagers. Is transparency and testing in the school the safest and smartest idea? What about privacy implications? How did we make the jump from head lice to HIV?

Source

Baby Wellness: Yoga as Part of the Curriculum

babysugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00:53 -0700

Physical education is part of every school's curriculum though some are putting a new twist on the old subject. Climbing a knotted rope hanging from the gym ceiling is so passé. Having seen the benefits of meditation, relaxing and stretching, Fernback Elementary School in Atlanta is making yoga part of their students' daily routine.

Since the practice was adapted to the teacher's lesson plans nearly two years ago, test scores and test taking skills have improved at the school. And, the kids are loving it too.

Would you campaign for yoga classes at your child's school?

Video courtesy of CNN.