The Checkup

Health in the News and in Your Life

That Doughnut Ad

In the new Dunkin' Donuts TV ad, three kids (and a dog) are in a darkened room, watching television. A "tractor beam" fixes on each child and suspends the kids in midair, drawing them toward the TV. Just in the nick of time, Dad appears in the doorway and announces he's got Dunkin' Donuts. The kids swarm to the kitchen table and dig into the box for some "family time," as the voiceover puts it.

Are the folks at Dunkin' Donuts suggesting that doughnuts are better for kids than TV?

-- Jennifer Huget

crazycatlady wrote:

There have been a lot of similar ads lately: using fried chicken, pizza, etc. to pry kids away from their electronic gizmos and get them to interact with the family. All of them bother me because they imply that parents have no control over their kids except to offer them material goods as incentives. What ever happened to parental discipline?

pflugrad-dpf wrote:

It is weird, especially because in the real world, I'm pretty sure the kids would just take their doughnuts right back to the couch!

momj47 wrote:

Goodness, lighten up.

I believe the company is thinking that they want to sell more doughnuts during this recession, and hope not to have to close any stores so people lose their jobs. I buy Dunkin' Donuts every so often, as a treat for the grandchildren or for co-workers, and I don't make them part of my daily diet. If other people do, so be it.

floof wrote:

Are people still watching commercials?? I thought most people (with enough cash) had moved on to DVRs by now. I haven't seen a commercial in years. My 4-year-old has never seen one.

Taking Nexium for Asthma

For decades, it's been thought that acid reflux could worsen many of the symptoms of asthma by making the airways narrow. As a result, many asthmatics take drugs such as Nexium, which are used to treat heartburn.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins studied 402 patients at 19 centers around the country who had poorly controlled asthma. None had any acid reflux symptoms. The patients were randomly assigned to take 40 milligrams of Nexium twice a day or a placebo for six months.

Overall, the number and severity of asthma symptoms and the quality of life did not differ between those taking Nexium and those taking the placebo, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

-- Rob Stein

Advice From Our Readers

My colleague Rob Stein and I launched this health blog a year ago. Sometimes we get lots of reader comments. Sometimes we get none. Which raises the question: What do you readers want and expect from online forums such as this one?

-- Jennifer Huget

crunchyfrog wrote:

Something I think would be really useful is some balanced perspective on health studies reporting: studies with dramatic results tend to get lots of sensational coverage. I think a voice saying, "Remember, this study shows correlation, not causality" or "the participants were all white males" or "the findings have yet to be replicated" would help me in evaluating the data.

sarahabc wrote:

We've been eating more and more raw foods, and I have a zillion questions that I can't find great answers for. Here are some:

Some vegetables are better for you cooked than raw (sweet potatoes, collard greens, etc.); can we have a list of these? Does a high-powered blender really break down cell walls to unlock more nutrition than other methods of preparation? How does that compare to cooking? Are chia seeds as good for you as the chia-seed companies say? Does freezing nuts and fruits have any effect on their nutrition?

anglostyle wrote:

As an Englishman living here in the U.S., I just wonder if there is a reason why you Americans become very defensive when talk of a national health service rears its head.

I consider it the right of every citizen of a nation that the nation bears some responsibility for the health of its people.