February 6, 2012
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By Amanda Gardner
MONDAY, February 6, 2012 (Health.com) — Thanks to the proliferation of online dating, would-be couples are now almost as likely to meet via email or a virtual “wink” as they are through friends and family.
In 1992, when the Internet was still in its infancy, less than 1% of Americans met their partners through personal ads or matchmaking services. By 2009, 22% of heterosexual couples and 61% of same-sex couples reported meeting online, one survey found.
Single people have more options than ever before, as websites such as Match.com and eHarmony have dramatically widened the pool of potential dating partners. But that may have a downside. According to a new review of online dating written by a team of psychologists from around the country, dating websites may warp a person’s outlook and expectations in ways that can actually lower the chances of building a successful relationship. Read More
February 1, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) — Child abuse and neglect cost the United States $124 billion a year, which is comparable to the costs of other major public health problems, a new government study shows.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed 1,740 fatal and 579,000 nonfatal cases of child maltreatment over the course of one year.
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December 28, 2011
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) — A new examination of the origin of syphilis supports the theory that the sexually transmitted disease was carried to Europe aboard Christopher Columbus’ ships as they sailed home from the New World.
The disease was not spread through sexual contact at the time, but adapted to survive once it got to Europe, Emory University researchers say.
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December 5, 2011
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By Anne Harding
MONDAY, December 5, 2011 (Health.com) — “Sexting”—the practice of taking sexually explicit photos and sending them to peers via cell phones or the Internet—may be less common among U.S. adolescents than previous research and media reports have suggested, according to a new nationwide study.
In contrast to a widely cited 2008 survey in which 20% of teens reported sending or posting sexual pictures of themselves, the new survey—in a younger group of Internet users, some as young as 10—found that only 10% of teens and tweens had done so. And just 1% reported sending or receiving nude or partly nude images. Read More
December 1, 2011
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) — The data may at first seem dire: More people are living with HIV/AIDS than ever before in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But researchers say that’s actually good news because people are living with the disease through effective medical treatment, rather than dying from its relentless progress.
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November 29, 2011
TUESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) — A new study is challenging the widely held notion that men’s minds are preoccupied with one topic: sex.
The research in college-age participants suggests that while men do think about sex more often than women, the subject crosses their mind an average of only about 19 times per day, compared to 10 times per day for women.
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October 28, 2011
FRIDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) — Lowered testosterone levels are associated with the loss of lean muscle mass and lower body strength in older men, a new study finds.
Loss of muscle mass and strength contributes to frailty and is associated with mobility problems, falls and bone fractures, the study’s authors say, and men lose more muscle mass and strength than women as they age.
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October 12, 2011
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) — A new national survey finds that significantly more teenaged males are using condoms when they have sex for the first time.
Since 2002, there has been an increase of 9 percentage points in young males who reported using a condom the first time they had sex, with 80 percent now taking that precaution. There was also an increase of 6 percentage points in males using a condom in tandem with their female partner using a hormonal method of birth control.
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October 11, 2011
TUESDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) — Men with disabilities are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted then nondisabled men, a new study says.
The researchers studied data collected from nearly 22,000 people who took part in the 2005 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual health survey of noninstitutionalized adults.
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September 27, 2011
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) — Most teens don’t get enough sleep, putting them at greater risk for a slew of unhealthy behaviors, from physical inactivity to fighting, according to a new U.S. study.
The study findings also showed that sleep-deprived teens were more likely to seriously consider attempting suicide, the researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
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