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COVID-19 ALERT

It's hard to believe how much has happened in the past few weeks. As COVID-19 continues to spread in our communities and around the globe, our world has begun to feel dangerous and uncertain. Many of us are rightly worried about what the next few weeks and months have in store.
In the midst of this uncertainty, it has never been clearer that public health is urgent and essential. Our staff in the department of Public Health Research work on the multiple fronts to address the challenges wrought by the pandemic. Our strategic collaborations with the private sector and others are helping to amplify our public health voice and deepen our impact in this time of crisis and beyond.

It is sad and, at the same time, frustrating that we had to postpone all our events until further notice; however, as medical/ public health professionals ourselves, we believe that this action is inevitable during this unprecedented times.
Please come back or look out for our next newsletter to check out the CnT Lab's COVID-19 updates. We hope you are all well and continue to be safe and healthy.

Musical "Tall N Strong"

Weekend ‘catch-up sleep’ is not really "catching up" anything

People commonly increase sleep duration on the weekend to recover from sleep loss incurred during workweek. A recent study found that weekend recovery sleep is not an effective strategy to prevent metabolic dysregulation associated with recurrent insufficient sleep.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Sleep loss increased after-dinner energy intake and reduced insulin sensitivity
In total, participants slept an extra 1.1 h during weekend recovery versus baseline
After-dinner energy intake was reduced during weekend recovery sleep
Weekend recovery sleep did not prevent weight gain or reduced insulin sensitivity

(Ad libitum Weekend Recovery Sleep Fails to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation during a Repeating Pattern of Insufficient Sleep and Weekend Recovery Sleep; Current Biology, Feb 2019)

So what's the catch?
Prioritize your sleep just like your healthy diet and regular physical activities and minimize the optional "sleep stealers" such as watching late night TV shows or spending time on electronic devices. Turn off the screen, be healthy!

Heather Lee, ScD
President, Chair of the Dept. Public Health Research

Coffee and Your Cancer Risk

The Research
Coffee contains a variety of compounds that, in lab studies, can block carcinogens, reduce cancer cell growth and promote cancer cell death. This matters because if these effects hold true in humans, even a small benefit from coffee could significantly impact Americans’ health with over 60% of U.S. adults drinking coffee daily, according to a National Coffee Association survey. In epidemiological studies, individuals who drank coffee had lower risk of a number of cancers. Our latest review of the evidence concluded that drinking coffee probably reduces risk for endometrial and liver cancer. Some studies have also suggested that coffee may decrease risk of other cancers, such as prostate, oral and colon, though more research is required to determine if these are cause and effect associations. In addition, several large studies have found that coffee drinkers live longer than non-coffee drinkers and have a lower risk of dying from any chronic disease.

The Headlines
Recently, a Los Angeles County Superior Judge has ruled that all coffee shops and sellers in the state of California must label their product and warn their consumers about potential cancer risk from drinking coffee. The justification is that acrylamide, which is found in roasted coffee beans, has been linked to cancer in rats. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), acrylamide is found in many food items including French fries, potato chips, bread, corn, breakfast cereals, poultry and fish. Although acrylamide increases cancer risk for lab animals at higher doses, the studies that have measured levels of acrylamide in the blood in humans, including in high coffee consumers, have shown no hint of increased cancer risk.

The Take-away
There are hundreds of epidemiological studies on coffee and cancer and essentially none suggest increased cancer risk. Coffee and smoking should not have similar warning labels. Those who like drinking coffee should have no concerns. It’s important to remember, though, that coffee with lots of added sugar, syrups and fat turns a no-calorie beverage into a dessert. Research show that sugary beverages lead to overweight and obesity, which in turn increases risk for 11 types of cancer. Avoid calorie-loaded lattes and blended coffee drinks and be skimpy with additions like cream and sugar.

http://www.aicr.org/enews/2018/05-may/enews-coffee-and-your-cancer-risk.html

Healthy Digital Media Habits

We, as parents, always debate how long we should let kids use digital device including watching a favorite TV show, playing Minecraft on Xbox, checking emails, and watching new videos on YouTube. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated the recommendations for daily digital media usage among children and adolescents.

·    No screen time for 18 months and younger kids
·        1 hour for Preschoolers & Kindergarteners
·        ≤ 2 hours for older children and adolescents.

Then, how can parents help kids to have healthy digital media habits? Parents are children's main role models, so it is critical for us, Mom and Dad, to have healthy digital media habits. I know, it is not easy to set down your smart phone, turn off TV, and shut down your laptops at night. Your child will tell if you spend all day to look into your smartphone to check one thing after another. AAP recommends that families designate "media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.” AAP also recommends using the Family Media Plan tool, which can be found at healthychildren.org.

Heather Lee, ScD
President, Chair of the Dept. of Public Health Research