Health Tips ... from UPI

TIPS FOR SAFE TEEN DRIVING

A Maryland public health expert says the ultimate responsibility for safe teen driving rests with parents and guardians. "(Parents) need to do a much better job of monitoring and restricting the driving privileges of their teens," says Ken Beck. Research shows parents who set restrictions and monitor their children have teens who are significantly less likely to report a variety of high-risk activities, including unsafe driving. Driving restrictions should include: when -- not late at night; where -- not on high-speed and dangerous roads, and with whom -- not with multiple passengers in the car, Beck said. His study, conducted for the state of Maryland, shows the vital role parents play. Beck includes other tips on the web site parentsofyoungdrivers.com.

VEGGIES MAY LOWER CANCER RISK

A U.S. National Cancer Institute study shows eating vegetables may reduce the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The study, conducted in four states and presented at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, shows consumers of three or more daily servings of vegetables had a 40 percent lower risk of developing cancer of the lymphoid tissue than their vegetable-avoiding counterparts. The health benefits appear particularly strong in those eating one or more daily servings of green, leafy vegetables and one half or more servings a day of vegetables from the broccoli and cabbage family, including cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. To a lesser degree, lower risks also were found with higher intakes of fruit, yellow/orange/red vegetables and processed tomato products, such as tomato sauce and tomato juice.

IN JOB INTERVIEWS, LEAVE THE BOASTING BEHIND

In a job interview, praise goes farther than boasting, University of Florida researchers have found. "Kissing up, being nice and agreeing more than disagreeing do seem to be effective tactics for people to use when looking for a job," said study author Timothy Judge, professor of management. "This approach succeeds because it leads recruiters and interviewers to believe the applicant will fit into the organization." The findings show there is a large social component to the workplace, despite business schools' effort to train people to master technical skills, said Judge, whose study appears in the Journal of Applied Psychology. People like being complimented and having others agree with them, a practice that works to the job seeker's advantage, he said. "One might view these ingratiatory behaviors negatively as apple polishing or bootlicking, but, by the same token, one could consider them social skills." The study of 116 students interviewing for a job found a strong relationship between the use of ingratiating behaviors and favorable attitudes on the part of recruiters, Judge said.

FOR HEALTH ADVICE, TAKE DOCTOR OVER INTERNET

A British study shows patients who get health advice from their doctor are better off than those researching their chronic conditions on the Internet. The University College London review of studies on Internet health shows using interactive computer tools can improve the medical knowledge of people with diabetes, asthma or other chronic disorders and provide them with positive feelings of social support. However, the analysis of 28 trials involving 4,042 participants showed no evidence that cyber-medicine helps people change their behavior and, in fact, showed it may leave them in worse health, said study author Dr. Elizabeth Murray. She says it may be those who learn of small but important statistical effects of a treatment may lose some of their fear -- and their motivation for changing to healthier behavior. Also, they may make treatment choices on their own, contradicting sounder advice from their doctors, Murray says.

(Editors: For more information about TEENS, contact Dave Ottalini at (301)-405-4076. For VEGGIES, Warren Froelich at (215) 440-9300, ext. 198 or froelich@aacr.org. For JOB, Cathy Keen at (352) 392-0186 or ckeen@ufl.edu. For HEALTH, (202) 387-2829)