"Exergames" like Dance Dance Revolution aren't as good as actual exercise, researchers found, but can work as a gateway to get sedentary folks more active and eventually doing real exercise. (Sharyn Morrow/Flickr Creative Commons)
The rate of tobacco use among youth is still declining, says the Chicago Tribune, but not as much as it used to. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that from 2009 to 2011, the percentage of high schoolers using tobacco dropped from 23.9 percent to 23.2; the rate of middleschoolers using it went from 8.2 percent to 7.1 percent. Neither reduction is statistically significant, says the CDC.
A wide-ranging study on health coverage found that between 2004 and 2007, approximately 89 million Americans were without health insurance for at least one month. The research, which appears in Medical Care Research and Review also reports that 23 million folks lost coverage more than once during that time.
Another study, saying something that many southsiders already know, found that although most of America's urban hubs were designed for walking, they offer little in the way of grocery stores, healthy restaurants and other amenities. The research, appearing in the Journal of Urban Design, shows that the lack of access to basic amenities – which the author dubs "burdens of place" – shapes these community members' travel and diet.
Dance Dance Revolution, anyone? HealthDay reports on a study that may help make exercising more fun: Active video games ("exergames"), researchers found, aren't as good as actual exercise, but they can act as a gateway for sedentary people to become active and eventually start doing actual work outs.
Finally, a tip for any waitresses out there, courtesy of HealthDay: Male customers, a new study says, tend to tip better when a waitress wears red.
Photo by Sharyn Morrow via Flickr Creative Commons.
