DR. WALLACE: I'm 19 years old, and I am 5'5" tall and weigh 123 pounds. I think that I have the perfect weight for my height, but my boyfriend of six weeks doesn't agree. He said that he wants me down to a svelte 110 pounds. At first, I thought he was kidding, but he continues to harp that I'm 10 to 15 pounds overweight. When we go out to eat, which isn't often, he does my ordering, and it's always low-calorie, low-fat foods.
My friends and family think I have a great figure, but not by boyfriend. I like this guy except for his stupid demand about losing weight. How should I handle my problem? —Unsure of my proper weight, via email
UNSURE: It's time to lay down the law with a control-freak boyfriend. He has no business demanding that you lose weight and certainly no right to order your meals for you. The next time he rudely crosses that line, tell him to mind his own business. If this doesn't put him in his place, make it your last date with him. You deserve a boyfriend who accepts you for who you are, as you are.
TEACHER AND DAD BOTH ARE CORRECT
DR. WALLACE: Our physical education teacher is an excellent instructor, but he has the personality of a dead snake. I don't like anything about her except her teaching methods. You always tell students to talk with teachers after school if a question needs to be answered. There's no way under the sun I would talk to her one-on-one. That's why I'm contacting you. This teacher told our class that steady exercise would eliminate colds.
My dad says the teacher is wrong. He is a former athlete and said that exercise is great for good health, but that after exercising, when the body is cooling down, if proper care isn't taken, the person is extra vulnerable to catching a cold. What gives? — Skeptical, San Francisco, Ca.
SKEPTICAL: Your teacher and your father both are correct to some degree. First, one does not "catch" a cold or the flu from being out in cold or wet weather, or cooling down after exercise.
A study conducted at Appalachian State University found that participants who exercised regularly have half the number of colds and flu outbreaks in a year's time as those who did not exercise.
Exercise stimulates the front-line immune cells — the ones that attack a cold first. But hard to very hard exercise tends to weaken the cell's defenses. The key to fewer colds is moderate, steady exercise. Walking briskly for 40 minutes a day, five days a week is considered moderate exercise. Colds and flu are caused by viruses that enter the body through the mouth and nose and are spread by hand-to-hand contact or by sharing such objects as towels, utensils and telephones with an infected person.
NUMBER OF ALCOHOL DEATHS ARE SHOCKING
DR. WALLACE: Why are you so against alcohol when it is completely legal for everyone age 21 or older? — ANTONIA, Santa Fe, NM
ANTONIA: Alcohol has ruined many families because it has high potential for misuse and abuse. Statistics compiled by the National Council on alcoholism show that one alcohol drinker in 12 is an alcoholic and over 300,000 alcohol-related deaths occur each year in the United States. I could add additional anti-alcohol facts, but I think you get my point.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
View Comments