A new study from researchers at Michigan University has shown that obesity causes later onset puberty in boys. While the opposite is true for heavier girls, who tend to develop earlier rather than later, this study suggests that increased levels of body fat in boys is associated with a later onset of puberty. 

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 In 2007, we blogged about how Rolling Stone published a comic spread dropping indie rock band names explicitly and implicitly via cartoons. Coincidentally or not, Camel ads were placed throughout this "Indie Rock Universe" spread, suggesting Camel's support of indie music, leading some of the bands to file suit against parent companies of Rolling Stone and Camel. Claiming "unauthorized use of artists' names, unauthorized use of artist names for commerical advantage, and unfair business practices," bands like Xiu Xiu and Fxcked Up shouldered the suit for 186 other indie groups, all understandably irked that Rolling Stone and Camel would commisserate to sell indie music followers cigarettes under the endorsement of the bands. Well, last week the final gavel was dropped, and sadly, indie rock took an "L" and Rolling Stone came out as the victor.

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True Story: When I was 15, my little sister (who was in middle school at the time) was just beginning her complicated, confusing and utterly aggravating journey from childhood to the pre-teen, media infused sex symbol that she, and every girl, is pressured to become by the time they hit high school. Although she was already thin, she became obsessed with losing weight and was willing to try any hair-brained, miracle diet that she came across. She eventually landed on the all ice cream diet. Seriously. She ate nothing but ice cream for every meal for weeks. To this day, I have no idea where she heard about this diet but needless to say, it didn’t work.

In a time when this country is measurably at its fattest, don’t think for one second that savvy marketing agencies working on behalf of fast food companies aren’t seeing the opportunity to combine people’s fears with people’s addictions.

Take for example, Taco Bell’s new Drive-Thru Diet. This is essentially Taco Bell’s rip off version of the Subway “Jared” campaign. The “Jared” for Taco Bell is Christine, the one person in history who actually lost weight from eating Taco Bell. Her results are completely atypical, which is acknowledged (in fine print) by Taco Bell, but that hasn’t stopped them from embracing her story and implementing their Drive-Thru Diet menu.

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It's just as easy to be numb to the barage of media messages we are hit with on the daily as it is to be critical and hyper-aware. Virtually every major motion picture is partially funded by corporations who insert their products onto the big screen for some not-so-subtle advertising via product placement, and magazines are stuffed with seemingly more full page ads than quality content. But there are limits, supposedly, to where certain companies, like those selling alcohol or tobacco, can place their copy. But um, well, not really. Recently, researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health, John Hopkins School of Public Health, and Virtual Media Resources published an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health that presents strong evidence that alcohol companies are purposely targeting youth through magazine advertising. 

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Ladies and Gentlemen, the electoronic cigar!

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Sly marketing has been the surprisingly spry crutch of the tobacco industry for decades despite a general knowing better. People get smarter - nay, more EDUCATED - but big tobacco also wises up as the sand trickles down the glass and they learn to combat new evidence with new marketing. But in recent years, compounding legislative blows have been landed on a bloody and battered industry, and although on the ropes, big tobacco just won't throw that towel. Nearly every city, state, ordinance, township, county, peninsula, and treehouse have restrictions on where and when you can smoke and big tobacco has suffered tremendously. By taking the convenience out of the act, more people decided against taking it up. That is, until the E-cig came along.

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I can’t handle coffee, and can barely stop my hands from shaking after a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. I am the lone iceberg drifting out to sea, while the off-brown colors of Starbucks and high-pitched neons of energy drinks surge through corporate America, high school locker rooms, and bohemian agoras. While caffeine through coffee is regulated by the FDA, caffeinated alcoholic beverages are not. And that type of caffeine is now under serious scrutiny for its marriage to alcoholic drinks, like the omnipotent vodka/Red Bull, the Flinstone-vitamin taste of Sparks, and the ultra-disgusting, (I know this because I had to try it) premixed Jim Beam Cola. The FDA is asking nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages to provide scientific evidence that their products are safe within 30 days. The ramifications of this could effect binge drinking, especially at the collegiate level, where such drinks are used to stay up later, thus consuming more alcohol.

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In an ADHD society propelled by sound bites, quick cuts, and rapid fire text messaging, it’s no wonder that our minds can feel a bit overwhelmed by the hysteria. Instead of pulling the plug on our television sets or generally slowing down a bit to gain focus, we’ve saddled up to the pharmacy and push Rx bottles into our increasingly crowded medicine cabinets. It’s no wonder that teens are snooping around their parents’ shelves and chucking back some pills to see what the big deal is. Now, the The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE), along with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are launching an educational campaign called Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer: What You Can Do to Help Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse to educate family and community members about how to identify and interact with teenagers that may be experimenting with prescription drugs.

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Scientific Representation of Social Networks

When I was in the 6th grade, D.A.R.E. Officer Don talked about peer pressure so much that I honestly believed that when I hit junior high, teenagers would punch my mouth if I didn't want to drink, smoke, or do drugs. The D.A.R.E. workbook had all sorts of suggestions to combat peer pressure, including the broken record technique ("No thanks, I'm cool for now. No thanks, I'm cool for now. No thanks, I'm cool for now."), using humor (?), and avoiding the situation, among others. Officer Don also framed all "users" as being one, consolidated "bad crowd" of youth. But recent research shows that different teens partake in different risks at different levels, and that  direct peer pressure is just a myth conjured by the D.A.R.E. officers and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" soldiers of yesteryear. And a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Early Adolescence contributed to the debunking of direct peer pressure.

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