SportsGeezer

Boomers Remain Stoners

Will baby boomers carry their love affair with drugs into old age? That's the less-than-scientific suggestion of three researchers at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, who write in a recent issue of Neuropsychopharmacology that "several observations suggest that (the growing population of boomers) will likely be accompanied by a precipitous increase in the abuse of drugs, including prescription medications and illicit substances, among older adults." How do they know? The Scientific American reports that the scientists looked at hospital data showing the number of people aged 55 and older who sought emergency-room treatment and mentioned using various drugs. According to Sciam, the number of cocaine mentions rose from 1,400 in 1995 to almost 5,000 in 2002, an increase of 240 percent. Similarly, mentions of heroin increased from 1,300 to 3,400 (160 percent), marijuana from 300 to 1,700 (467 percent) and amphetamine from 70 to 560 (700 percent). Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health corroborate those trends. In 2002 some 2.7 percent of adults between 50 and 59 admitted to illicit drug use at least once in the preceding year. By 2005 that number had increased significantly, to 4.4 percent. Once a year? Did they say once in the preceding year? Geezer is not ready to panic.  Read more in The Scientific American.

Boomers Remain Stoners

Will baby boomers carry their love affair with drugs into old age? That's the less-than-scientific suggestion of three researchers at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, who write in a recent issue of Neuropsychopharmacology that "several observations suggest that (the growing population of boomers) will likely be accompanied by a precipitous increase in the abuse of drugs, including prescription medications and illicit substances, among older adults." How do they know? The Scientific American reports that the scientists looked at hospital data showing the number of people aged 55 and older who sought emergency-room treatment and mentioned using various drugs. According to Sciam, the number of cocaine mentions rose from 1,400 in 1995 to almost 5,000 in 2002, an increase of 240 percent. Similarly, mentions of heroin increased from 1,300 to 3,400 (160 percent), marijuana from 300 to 1,700 (467 percent) and amphetamine from 70 to 560 (700 percent). Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health corroborate those trends. In 2002 some 2.7 percent of adults between 50 and 59 admitted to illicit drug use at least once in the preceding year. By 2005 that number had increased significantly, to 4.4 percent. Once a year? Did they say once in the preceding year? Geezer is not ready to panic.  Read more in The Scientific American.

Take the President's Latest Fitness Test

Don't worry, the latest adult fitness test issued by the federal government is not really "The President's Challenge," they just call it that. If it were, one of the events would be a mountain bike race against three Secret Service agents through the hills of Texas. No, this is just the most recent edition of the government's idea of physical fitness, complete with an online data feedback loop to let you know if you make the grade. Accept the Challenge.

Best Cities for Empty Nesters and Others

The methodology is hard to find, not to mention suspect, if only because it places Bridgeport at the top of a list of best mid-size regions for several groups of people, but the lists are, well lists. Geezer is persuaded that author Richard Florida is way ahead of the rest of us. He would have to be, wouldn't he, to describe himself as a "public intellectual"?  Read Florida's list of best cities to live in for people in different stages of life.

Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?

Can you catch up on lost sleep? To solve this mystery, Geezer turns to The Scientific American, wondering, of course, why anyone would name a magazine "The Scientific American." Does anyone publish a journal called "The Romantic Argentinian" or "The Musically Inclined Norwegian"? Probably not, but wait, Geezer struggles to get back on track. OK. Better now. The Scientific American reports that, in a word, "Yes" you can catch up on lost sleep, but the catching up must be done gradually. An hour of extra sleep a night for several nights is a good way to go. Trying to catch up on a week's worth of lost sleep with one long slumber is, Sciam suggests, a waste of sleep.
Read more in The Scientific  American.

NYT Video Looks at Boomers Who Keep on Pushing

Geezer can't decide if this short video shot by the New York Times is enlightening, inspirational, lame, or none of the above.  It is a video. And it is short. Have a look.

Remember Fat But Fit? Good. Now Forget It.

Remember fat but fit--the assertion that those of us who carry a few extra pounds were just as healthy as those who don't?  Well, forget it, because a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests researchers got it wrong, again. The Boston Globe reports that the study, which tracked almost 38,000 women, considered height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity, including walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming. Women were considered active if they followed government-recommended guidelines and got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week, including brisk walking or jogging. Women who got less exercise than that were considered inactive. Researchers found that, compared with normal-weight active women, the risk for developing heart disease was 54 percent higher in overweight active women and 87 percent higher in obese active women. By contrast, it was 88 percent higher in overweight inactive women; and 2 1/2 times greater in obese inactive women.
Read more in the Boston Globe.

Pumping Up Your Brain Is Easier Than You Think

First, readers should know that "fluid intelligence" is not knowing which kind of beer tastes best with a particular meal. It's the ability to reason and solve problems, such as figuring out which kind of beer tastes best with a particular meal. The good news is that researchers now think that fluid intelligence, once considered a constant, like height, can be improved. CBS News reports that experiments conducted at the University of Michigan suggest that a demanding memory task might kick your intelligence up a notch or two, and the more you engage your brain this way, the smarter you might become. Psychologists asked healthy adult volunteers (average age: 26) to take a standard test for fluid intelligence, and then perform a series of training exercises designed to improve their working memory. The researchers divided the volunteers into four groups; each group repeated the exercises over a different number of days. CBS News reports that when scientists retested the volunteers' fluid intelligence after the training and compared the scores to those who did not receive training they noted a significant improvement in fluid intelligence scores among those who participated in the demanding memory tasks. There were greater improvements seen in those who spent the most time training.
Read more from CBS News.

What Stress Does to Your Body: A Visual Aide

Geezer finds it far too stressful to contemplate, but more courageous readers who have been longing for a four-color illustration of the unfortunate effects of stress on the human body are in luck, thanks to the info-graphics editors at the Washington Post. Have a look. 

The Low Carbon Diet: Eating Our Way to a Healthier Planet

Gosh, the Low Carbon Diet Program, as developed by the Bon Appetit Management Company, is a complicated business. Geezer is pleased to attempt to read what is billed as " first national program to highlight the significant connections between food and climate change," and he appreciates the effort by Bon Appetit, a food service company that feeds some of America's most respected companies (Target) and universities (M.I.T.) to add a few years to life of the planet by directing us to foods that can be produced and sold with minimal energy consumption, but a slow reader could starve to death before learning what, exactly, we are supposed to eat. Geezer recommends the thoughtfully offered Low Carbon Diet Pocket Guide, which comes in PDF form, and whose five easy low carbon diet tips are presented below:
1. If you bought it, eat it. Don't waste food.
2. Make "seasonal and regional" food your mantra.
3. Moove away from beef and cheese.
4. Don't buy air-freighted food.
5. If it's processed and packaged, skip it.
Read more about the Low Carbon Diet Program.