Social Workout

Newslinks

New Pool Signs Tell People Not to Whack Each Other in the Face

A slew of pools in the D.C. area are getting an update, reports the Washington Post: Big new etiquette signs. "It's just to let everyone know how to keep order," says one pool manager. Among the concerns the signs are intended to address: 

• People who "do butterfly and hit other people in the face." 
• "Crafty retirees scheming to keep a lane all to themselves."
• "Faster swimmers [who] are hesitant to do the foot tap [which signals they want to pass] because they don't want an inexperienced person freaking out about a stranger with a fetish comping up behind them." 

Scientific

Pizza and Soda Taxes Could Save Us From The Obesity Apocalypse

Attention doubters of the potential effectiveness of a soda tax: A twenty-year study of more than 5,000 adults conducted by UNC Chapel Hill, shows that as the cost of pizza and soda increases, people's pizza and soda consumption goes down. Other things the study shows going down as pizza and soda prices increase: the weight of the study participants. That's right: when pizza and soda cost more, we lose weight. The study concludes that if there were an 18% tax on pizza and soda, we'd all lose an average of 5 pounds per year. 

Newslinks

No One Wants to Workout For Their Health, Apparently

Last week's New York Times reported that exercise was basically magic, and urged us all to exercise for the sake of our health. Today, the New York Times is back, reporting, that unfortunately, no one wants to do anything for the sake of their health. As one motivational psychologist puts it: "The ‘health’ and ‘weight-loss’ brand of exercise doesn’t create desire in people to exercise on a daily basis. It makes the behaviors feel like a chore and a ‘should,’ which undercuts our desire to do them." But apparently we're not all doomed to be fat Muggles who won't work out just because it's good for us. There is an answer. And that answer is twofold: fun and friends. If you work out with friends and your workout is something you find fun, that's when the enchantment begins. 

Scientific

Have a Drink, Ladies. It'll Make You Thinner.

From the annals of counter-intuitive research: Women who regularly drink moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers, reports the New York Times. The study cited tracked close to 20,000 women over 13 years, and found that the women who drank one to two alcoholic beverages a day had an almost 30% lower risk of becoming overweight than women who didn't drink at all.   

The biological/sociological explanation for this phenomenon isn't entirely clear, though researchers think it may be because, in women, alcohol consumption slightly speeds metabolism. Sadly, alcohol doesn't have the same metabolic effect on men, and past studies have shown that men who drink gain the weight you'd expect. Sorry fellas.  

Scientific

You'd Sleep Better If You Were Asian, But You'd Also Have Less Sex

The National Sleep Foundation's latest survey is out, and it turns out poor sleep isn't an equal opportunity affliction. Research has long shown that women are worse off than men when it comes to inadequate sleep, but the latest data shows racial divides as well:

• The award for worst sleep goes to: African-Americans. They only get, on average, 6 hours and 14 minutes of sleep a night. 
• Best sleep: Asians. 84% report having a good night's sleep most night, and their mean sleep duration is almost 7 1/2 hours. 

Turns out sleep surveys also offer up interesting data about sex. One interesting factoid: Asians are getting it on less than any other group. So while they may sleep better, 10% of Blacks and Hispanics report having sex every night and 4% of Whites do, but a mere 1% of Asians report nightly sexual activity (via NPR).