Peer pressure trumps 'thin' ideals in the media

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Peers exert a greater influence on teenage girls' dissatisfaction with their bodies than do thin ideals in television or social media use, according to new research by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson and colleagues from Texas A & M International University in the U.S. Their study is published online in Springer's Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

The influence of the media on body image, life satisfaction, and symptoms of eating disorders in teenage girls is a hot debate. Some experts believe that media influences on body dissatisfaction may extend to symptoms of eating disorders. Others contend that the link between media exposure and body image is inconsistent. Ferguson and his team's work shed light on this debate, by comparing the effects of peers and the media on girls' body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and life satisfaction in general.To assess exposure to thin ideals in the media, the researchers asked 237 young Hispanic girls, aged 10 to 17 years, to name their 3 favorite television shows and to rate the attractiveness of the female actresses in those shows.

They also assessed their body weight and height, whether or not they had feelings of inferiority in response to other girls (peer competition), and how often they used social media. The girls were then asked about how they felt about their bodies, whether they had any eating disorder symptoms, and how satisfied they were, overall, with their lives. Six months later, the researchers repeated these measures in 101 teen girls from the initial group.On the whole, neither television exposure to thin ideals nor social media use predicted body dissatisfaction, whereas peer competition did. Similarly, television exposure and social media use did not predict eating disorder symptoms.

Peer competition predicted eating disorder symptoms long-term, though not in the short term. Interestingly, both peer competition and social media use predicted lower life satisfaction.

The authors conclude, "Our results suggest that only peer competition, not television or social media use, predict negative outcomes for body image. This suggests that peer competition is more salient to body and eating issues in teenage girls. However, social media use may provide a new arena for peer competition, even if it does not directly influence negative body outcomes."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Christopher J. Ferguson, M?nica E. Mu?oz, Adolfo Garza, Mariza Galindo. Concurrent and Prospective Analyses of Peer, Television and Social Media Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s10964-012-9898-9

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/7X4HbsMbnKA/130130143628.htm

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New Pentax camera is rugged - and a bit odd-looking

2 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

If you're looking for a rugged point-and-shoot to take with you on vacation, you could do worse than the latest from Pentax ? if you can get past the rather loud design of the things.

The new WG-3 ticks the usual ruggedness boxes: Waterproof to 45 feet, handles a drop from 6 feet?and can withstand being sat on by a full-sized human being. What the WG-3 adds is a much brighter lens and a secondary display for statistics about the environment.

That new lens is a 4x zoom compared with the WG-2's 5x, but its maximum aperture of F/2 is far better than its predecessor's or any of the other rugged cameras we've shared word about?this week. Combine that with a back-illuminated 16-megapixel sensor that can go up to 6400 ISO, and you've got quite an all-purpose picture-taking machine.

The WG-3's new ambient readings display can show cardinal directions, elevation or depth ? handy when you're going from a mountain?peak to coral reef?in the tropics. Puzzlingly, the display is on the front of the camera, probably because your elevation isn't usually critical to the composition of the shot.

There are two downsides to the WG-3. One is what you see ? the WG series has never been low-key, but the level of flair on this model borders on ridiculous. Be careful in the jungle or a tropical bird or beetle might just try to befriend it. Fortunately, it comes in sober black as well.

The other trouble is that it's a bit on the high end price-wise at $300, or $350 with built-in GPS. Not everyone is willing to pay that kind of premium for a point-and-shoot, although from the specs it appears this Pentax is worth the money. (There's also a cheaper WG-10 that will be available in April, but it makes a few too many compromises for our taste.) The cameras ship in March, so you've got plenty of time to decide.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/new-pentax-camera-can-take-hit-if-you-can-take-1B8168195

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A-Rod denies PED use report; MLB investigates

NEW YORK (AP) ? Alex Rodriguez denied a newspaper report that accused him of buying human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances from a Miami-area clinic.

The Miami New Times, an alternative weekly, reported Tuesday that it obtained records detailing purchases by Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Gio Gonzalez, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz and Yasmani Grandal from a clinic called Biogenesis, run by Anthony Bosch. The paper also posted copies of what it said were Bosch's handwritten records, obtained through a former Biogenesis employee.

Rodriguez admitted four years ago that he used PEDs from 2001-03. Cabrera, Colon and Grandal were suspended for 50 games each last year by MLB following tests for elevated testosterone.

"We are always extremely disappointed to learn of potential links between players and the use of performance-enhancing substances," MLB said in a statement. "Only law enforcement officials have the capacity to reach those outside the game who are involved in the distribution of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. ... We are in the midst of an active investigation and are gathering and reviewing information."

A baseball official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements, said Monday that MLB did not have any documentation regarding the allegations. If MLB does obtain evidence, the players could be subject to discipline. First offenses result in a 50-game suspension and second infractions in 100-game penalties. A third violation results in a lifetime ban.

Rodriguez is sidelined for at least the first half of the season after hip surgery Jan. 16. A 50-game suspension would cost him $7.65 million of his $28 million salary.

"The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true," Rodriguez said in a statement issued by a publicist. "He was not Mr. Bosch's patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story ? at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez ? are not legitimate."

Jay Reisinger, a lawyer who has presented Rodriguez in recent years, said the three-time AL MVP had retained Roy Black, an attorney from Rodriguez's hometown of Miami. Black's clients have included Rush Limbaugh and William Kennedy Smith.

Rodriguez spent years denying he used PEDs before Sports Illustrated reported in February 2009 that he tested positive for two steroids in MLB's anonymous survey while with the Texas Rangers in 2003. Two days later, he admitted in an ESPN interview that he used PEDs over a three-year period. He has denied using PEDs after 2003.

If the new allegations were true, the Yankees would face high hurdles to get out of the final five years of Rodriguez's contract, which call for him to receive $114 million. Because management and the players' union have a joint drug agreement, an arbitrator could determine that any action taken by the team amounted to multiple punishments for the same offense.

The Yankees said "this matter is now in the hands of the commissioner's office" and said they will not comment further until MLB's investigation ends.

Gonzalez posted on his Twitter feed: "I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will, I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance provided by him. anything said to the contrary is a lie."

Colon was not issuing a statement, agent Adam Katz said through spokeswoman Lisa Cohen. Sam and Seth Levinson, the agents for Cabrera and Cruz, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Cruz and Gonzalez had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Cruz's team, the Texas Rangers, said it notified MLB last week after being contacted by the New Times.

The New Times report said it obtained notes by Bosch listing the players' names and the substances they received. Several unidentified employees and clients confirmed to the publication that the clinic distributed the substances, the paper said. The employees said that Bosch bragged of supplying drugs to professional athletes but they never saw the sports stars in the office.

Rodriguez appears 16 times in the documents it received, the paper said, either as "Alex Rodriguez," ''Alex Rod" or the nickname "Cacique," a pre-Columbian Caribbean chief. The paper said the records list that Rodriguez paid for HGH; testosterone cream; IGF-1, a substance banned by baseball that stimulates insulin production; and GHRP, which releases growth hormones.

Rodriguez's cousin, Yuri Sucart, also is listed as having purchased HGH. Sucart was banned from the Yankees clubhouse, charter flights, bus and other team-related activities by MLB in 2009 after Rodriguez said Sucart obtained and injected PEDs for him.

Also listed among the records, according to the New Times, are tennis player Wayne Odesnik, Cuban boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa and Jimmy Goins, the strength and conditioning coach of the University of Miami baseball team.

Mia Ro, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami, said she could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation in Bosch or the clinic.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rod-denies-ped-report-mlb-investigates-192719778--mlb.html

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Early-onset puberty in females explained

Jan. 29, 2013 ? New research from Oregon Health & Science University has provided significant insight into the reasons why early-onset puberty occurs in females. The research, which was conducted at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center, is published in the current early online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The paper explains how OHSU scientists are investigating the role of epigenetics in the control of puberty. Epigenetics refers to changes in gene activity linked to external factors that do not involve changes to the genetic code itself. The OHSU scientists believe improved understanding of these complex protein/gene interactions will lead to greater understanding of both early-onset (precocious) puberty and delayed puberty, and highlight new therapy avenues.

To conduct this research, scientists studied female rats, which like their human counterparts, go through puberty as part of their early aging process. These studies revealed that a group of proteins, called PcG proteins, regulate the activity of a gene called the Kiss1 gene, which is required for puberty to occur. When these PcG proteins diminish, Kiss1 is activated and puberty begins.

PcG proteins are produced by another set of genes that act as a biological switch during the embryonic stage of life. The role of these proteins is to turn off specific downstream genes at key developmental stages.

OHSU scientists found that both the activity of these "master" genes and their ability to turn off puberty are impacted by two forms of epigenetic control: a chemical modification of DNA known as DNA methylation, and changes in the composition of histones, a specialized set of proteins that modify gene activity by interacting with DNA.

Using this new information, researchers were then able to delay puberty in female rats. They accomplished this by increasing PcG protein levels in the hypothalamus of the brain using a targeted gene therapy approach so that Kiss1 activation failed to occur at the normal time in life. The hypothalamus is a region of the brain that controls reproductive development.

"While it was always understood that an organism's genes determine the timing of puberty, the role of epigenetics in this process has never been recorded until now," said Alejandro Lomniczi, Ph.D., a scientist in the Division of Neuroscience at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center.

"Because epigenetic changes are driven by environmental, metabolic and cell-to-cell influences, these findings raise the possibility that a significant percentage of precocious and delayed puberty cases occurring in humans may be the result of environmental factors and other alterations in epigenetic control," said Sergio Ojeda, D.V.M., who is also a scientist in the Division of Neuroscience at the OHSU ONPRC.

"There is also much more to be learned about the way that epigenetic factors may link environmental factors such as nutrition, human-made chemicals, social interactions and other day-today influences to the timing and completion of normal puberty."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Alejandro Lomniczi, Alberto Loche, Juan Manuel Castellano, Oline K Ronnekleiv, Martha Bosch, Gabi Kaidar, J Gabriel Knoll, Hollis Wright, Gerd P Pfeifer, Sergio R Ojeda. Epigenetic control of female puberty. Nature Neuroscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3319

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/VSkMvJk5S7U/130129130947.htm

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