Culture

We have all been told not to grocery shop on an empty stomach, but what other tips can help us shop, and consequently eat, healthier? Cornell researchers Aner Tal, PhD and Brian Wansink, PhD write in Psychology & Marketing that shoppers can be primed to buy more produce when they eat a healthy item before shopping - individuals who ate an apple sample before shopping bought 25% more fruits and vegetables than those who did not eat a sample.

69 percent of bowel cancer patients say they weren't advised to exercise regularly after their diagnosis - despite evidence that brisk physical activity is linked to better survival in bowel cancer, according to a new study.

The research, from the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London, is the largest study of its kind, according to the authors. More than 15,000 bowel cancer patients were asked about their current level of physical activity and whether they were advised to be more active after their diagnosis.

When educating medical students or residents to perform highly technical procedures, there is always a challenge to balance the educational mission with maintaining quality results and optimal patient care. This report compared outcomes of cardiac surgery residents to those of attending physicians in performing coronary artery bypass grafting. It found no differences in patient outcomes or graft patency between the residents and attending surgeons.

There has long been a debate among scholars about the origins of the first inhabitants of North America. The most widely accepted theory is that sometime before 14,000 years ago, humans migrated from Siberia to Alaska by means of a "land bridge" that spanned the Bering Strait.

At many universities and other institutions, heartfelt campaigns are underway to divest from fossil fuel companies as a way to address climate change.

Is it possible to support urgent action on climate change without opposing fossil fuel use? Indeed it is and there are sound arguments for why those concerned about the planet need not support fossil fuel divestment.

3,000 children were treated in U.S. emergency departments in 2012 for eye injuries related to paintball guns, airsoft guns, BB guns and pellet guns,. That's less than one-third the injuries of swimming pools but advocates in California say that mandates classifying them as dangerous weapons that need stricter regulation.

A new paper argues that some countries in Western Europe, and the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have birth rates that are now relatively close to replacement, and that the underlying trend in Europe is upwards, and that population aging, although inevitable, is likely to be 'manageable'.

Reluctance to share data about personal energy use is likely to be a major obstacle when implementing 'smart' technologies designed to monitor use and support energy efficient behaviors, according to new research led by academics at The University of Nottingham.

The study, published online by the journal Nature Climate Change, found that while more than half of people quizzed would be willing to reduce their personal energy consumption, some were wary about sharing their information with third parties.

Teens no longer smoke just cigarettes. They have branched out to using alternative tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes, hookahs and little cigars. In fact, e-cigarette use is rising rapidly among both cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, according to a study to be presented Sunday, April 26 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.

If it works so well for McDonald's that places like California have tried to ban them, why not make Happy Meals for broccoli?

A paper at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego says that poor food choices in school cafeterias area risk factor for childhood obesity and students will make better choices if healthy foods are labeled with smiley faces and offe small prizes.

Pediatric research discoveries over the past 40 years have led to prevention and treatment strategies that have saved millions of lives worldwide. Seven of the greatest research achievements will be presented on Sunday, April 26 at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting at the San Diego Convention Center.

Fifteen year olds are not only able to buy over-the-counter dietary supplements from a sampling of health food stores across the country, the staff at those stores actually went so far as to recommend certain products, despite labels reading "for adult use only."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against using body-shaping supplements -- supplements are unregulated by the US Food & Drug Administration -- for males and females under age 18. Despite the adults-only labeling, it is legal for minors to buy these products in 49 states.

Do overweight kids watch more television, or does television cause weight kids? That has long been the contention for people seeking a magic bullet in obesity: If we just reduce television time, kids won't be fat.

At the end of the school year, districts often send stacks of books home with their students in the hopes of combating the "summer slide," the literacy loss experienced during the long break that hits low-income students particularly hard.

But a study by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center showed that these programs can be made significantly more effective with only a small tweak: Let the kids choose the books.

There was a time seeing a parent pushing their kid on a playground swingset looked cute, leading people to wistfully want their childhood back. Since now, that parent is likely to be on a mobile device while doing it, we are more likely to want modern children to have their childhoods back.

On the other side of that are helicopter parents who monitor every moment of their child's existence - and they are going to want to change their ways, according to a paper presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.