Wellnews by Scott LaFee

Being president of the United States is an indisputably tough job, and a casual glance at its office holders suggests that it can really age a fellow. Look at President Obama, whose hair is decidedly grayer after just three years in office. Michael Roizen of RealAge argues the aging process is real, estimating that presidents age twice as fast as normal while in office, due primarily to unrelieved stress.

Not so says S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Olshansky, a longevity expert, says presidents may look visibly more aged at the end of their terms, but generally speaking, they tend to live longer than their contemporaries.

Olshansky studied the 34 presidents who have died of natural causes. Twenty-three of them exceeded the life expectancy of men the same age as they were when they were elected. Four beat expectations significantly, living into their 90s (John Adams, Hoover, Ford and Reagan). Seven of the first eight presidents averaged a life span of 81.5 years, notably longer than the 75.6-year average of the modern American male. The one exception was Washington, who died at 67.

Olshansky attributes presidential longevity to some key characteristics: All but 10 of the deceased presidents were college educated, wealthy and had access to the best healthcare of their day. And they were tough, most having already survived the mortal perils of birth and childhood in 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

By age 60, 40 percent of women and 60 percent of men snore.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

On average, 65,000 American children under the age of 5 are admitted to emergency rooms each year for accidental ingestion of medications, according to a study in the Journal of Pediatrics that looked at patient records collected by poison control centers between the years 2001 and 2008.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A single medium-sized banana contains 105 calories, 4 from fat.

It has 0.4 grams of total fat or 1 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It contains 0 milligrams of cholesterol; 1 mg of sodium (0 percent); 27 grams of total carbohydrates (9 percent); 3.1 grams of dietary fiber (12 percent); 14.4 g of sugar and 1.3 g of protein.

COUNTS

Estimated number of children worldwide who will contract seasonal influenza this year — 90 million.

Source: Lancet (November 10, 2011)

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

In the future, inadvertent body language may clue airport security officers into who more likely poses a threat. For example, according to the magazine Discover, researchers are experimenting with Doppler radar to monitor heart and breathing rates. (Suspicious folks presumably have pounding hearts and faster respiration.)

Thermal cameras can be used to look for slight temperature fluctuations in the face due to blood flow changes to the brain. Eye tracking devices (cameras with processing software) can watch where people are looking — and keep tab of changes in pupil size. And floor sensors will measure foot movements in search of suspiciously excessive fidgeting and foot shifting.

DOC TALK

Clip and strip — to remove surgical staples and adhesive sutures

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Amychophobia - fear of scratches or being scratched

NEVER SAY DIET

The world's speed-eating record for bologna is 2.76 pounds in 6 minutes, held by Don Lerman.

BEST MEDICINE

Q: Does an apple a day keep the doctor away? _A: If you aim it well enough.

OBSERVATION

"All who drink of this remedy recover in a short time, except those whom it does not help, who all die. Therefore, it is obvious that it fails only in incurable cases."

— Aelius Galenus (129AD-199AD) Better known as Galen of Pergamon, a Greek physician and surgeon in ancient Rome and one of the earliest medical researchers

CURTAIN CALLS

In 1986, a Brink's armored truck guard named Hrand Arakelian was fatally injured by several 25-pound boxes of quarters that fell on him when the vehicle's driver suddenly braked.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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