Quick takes on health: Suicide prevention research detailed in book; weight loss talk planned
Rochester book about preventing suicide is part memoir
DeQuincy A. Lezine nearly ended his own life as a teenager. But he received great psychiatric care and went on to found the first campus-based chapter of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, to help others. Now, Lezine is sharing his story and suicide prevention research in a book for teens and young adults called Eight Stories Up: An Adolescent Chooses Hope Over Suicide (Oxford University Press, $30). Lezine, who just completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester doing research at its Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, co-wrote the memoir/guide with Dr. David Brent, a professor of child psychiatry, pediatrics and epidemiology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he holds the endowed chair in suicide studies.
Author gives talk Monday on vegetarian eating
Leslie Van Romer, author of Getting Into Your Pants (Advantage, $18.99), will speak about weight loss at the 7 p.m. Monday meeting of Rochester Area Vegetarian Society at Brighton Town Hall Auditorium, 2300 Elmwood Ave.
Romer, who is a chiropractor in Sequim, Wash., changed to a plant-based diet, eating predominantly whole, fresh fruits and vegetables, when one of her children had a weight problem at age 11. Romer realized that the poor health of many people seeking help at her clinic could be traced to lack of daily exercise and poor food choices they'd been brought up to make. She gives motivational health presentations and writes a weekly online newsletter.
Free vegan refreshments will be served before and after the free lecture. For more, call (585) 234-8750.
Are you infected with HIV?
Knowing whether you've been infected with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, helps you prevent the spread of AIDS. In a 25-mile radius around Rochester, 17 places offer HIV testing. To find places close to you, go to http://www.hivtest.org or send your ZIP code by text message to 566948 to receive a local testing site location.
One place offering free, confidential, walk-in testing is the Monroe County Department of Health STD Clinic at 855 W. Main St., (585) 753-5481, which is open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays; from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Fridays. That clinic doesn't take appointments.
Food diaries really help
Writing down everything you eat can help you lose twice as much weight as if you don't keep track, according to one of the largest weight-loss studies ever, USA Today reports.
In the new study, researchers recruited 1,685 overweight or obese adults, who weighed an average of 212 pounds, for 20 weekly group sessions led by nutritionists and behavior counselors. Participants were told to consume about 500 fewer calories a day, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, do about 180 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, and keep daily food and exercise records.
The August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that food-diary keepers lost an average of 18 pounds in six months, versus 9 pounds for those who didn't write down what they ate. Those who lost the most weight also did more exercise and attended most of the group meetings.
by Chris Swingle
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