‘Stayover’ relationships
Study subjects: Committed young, unmarried couples
Location of study: U.S.
Results: MSNBC reports one study’s findings that “stayover relationships represent a general trend that young people want to delay permanent relationships because they want to finish their education and pursue other goals.”
Significance: The study concluded that there was no evidence “of any long-term consequences of stayover relationships.”
Chewing food and obesity
Study subjects: 16 obese young men and 16 young men of normal weight
Location of study: China
Results: The International Business Times reports that a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that study participants “who chewed about 2.5 times more than the typical 15 times caused them to eat almost 12 percent less calories.”
Significance: This falls in line with the theory that satiety takes time to have impact on the brain and that eating slowly means people are less likely to overeat.
Colon cleansing
Study subjects: Adults using various colon-cleansing methods
Location of study: U.S.
Results: ABC News reports that a Georgetown University study has found colon cleansing ineffective in treating disease and concludes it might even have adverse side effects, particularly when using hydrotherapy.
Significance: Many doctors advise that colon hydrotherapy is an invasive procedure and should be used with caution. Undergoing colon cleansing or hydrotherapy is not the same as undergoing a colonoscopy, a routine medical test for middle-aged adults.
New gene linked to asthma
Study subjects: African-Americans
Location of study: U.S.
Results: Medical News
Today reports: “Geneticists in the U.S. have identified a new gene uniquely linked to asthma in African-Americans; a variant of the gene called PYHIN1 that is absent in European Americans.”
Significance: The article quoted the study results as “a significant advance in a national effort to locate the genetic roots of asthma.”
