Australia: Healthy living campaigns seen as 'patronising'

Why? Because they are. What people do with their own bodies is their business. They don't need fad-happy do-gooders lecturing them

A Queensland researcher says healthy living campaigns are not getting through to people from low socio-economic backgrounds. Julie-Anne Carroll from the Queensland University of Technology has conducted a study which found many felt "patronised and overwhelmed" by advertising urging them to exercise. It also found they were reluctant to exercise in public because of poor body image.

She says health professionals need to create more targeted campaigns. "There's a big socio-economic divide when it comes to people being overweight and under-active," she said. "Health professionals need to respond to this public health problem in a more targeted way by designing messages and interventions that resonate more effectively within poorer contexts."

Ms Carroll says exercise is a low priority for many people from disadvantaged backgrounds due to cost and accessibility. "People from poorer backgrounds don't relate and don't feel like these sorts of goals are feasible or achievable given the number of challenges, and these need to be taken into account when physical activity is being promoted," she said. "There need to be local resources for children and even adults and mothers can go to that don't cost anything."

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Cellphones leaving teens with stress and sleep problems?

So: They found that restless people use phones more. What else is new? Once again we see researchers just ASSUMING the direction of causation. That need to discredit cellphones just will not be denied

Warning: Researchers believe teenagers can suffer from stress and sleep problems if they use mobile phones a lot. Frequent use of mobile phones may leave teenagers with stress and sleep problems, a study found. Researchers in Sweden looked at 21 youngsters between 14 and 20 who were split into two groups according to their phone use.

One group made fewer than five calls or sent fewer than five text messages a day. The other made more than 15 calls and sent more than 15 messages. The scientists found that the teenagers who used their phones often were more restless. They also had more 'careless' lifestyles, consumed more stimulating drinks, suffered from disrupted sleep or insomnia and were more susceptible to stress and fatigue.

Study leader Dr Gaby Badre, from Sahigren's Academy, Gothenburg, said: 'Addiction to phones is becoming common. Youngsters feel pressure to be interconnected and reachable round the clock. 'It is necessary to increase their awareness of the negative effects of excessive phone use on their sleep- wake patterns, with serious health risks as well as attention and cognitive problems.' She said adolescents should get nine hours of sleep a night.

The findings were presented at Sleep 2008, the annual meeting in the U.S. of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

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