Hot MedFax

It seemed kind of obvious to me but when all the country did away with handheld cell phones in the car being legal and only allowing hands-free ones, that it really didn't make much of a difference. Hands-free?  That's brain-free. It's not the holding the phone that's the problem.  It's the thinking while you're on the phone. Who hasn't been distracted by a phone call (or, God forbid, a text) when driving?  I have all I can do just to keep my mind on my driving, as that's the time I free float and often get ideas for stories.  No way can I talk and drive at the same time. My husband, on the other hand, does it all the time (and has been ticketed in NYC).  He doesn't believe in laws (or medicine, but that's another story), and so he continues to get tickets for not wearing a seat belt, talking on his handheld phone and other expensive habits he really should discontinue. But getting back to the phone, a new study says the hands-free ones ...

Admit it.  You're never farther away from your smart phone than your wrist.  You eat with it right next to your plate.  You take it with you into the bathroom when you shower.  You sleep with it under your pillow (well, maybe not quite). But it's true.  We're all obsessed with our smart phones -- and the information they provide every second.  Where is my kid now?  What happened with the market?  Pizza for dinner?. Face it.  We can't live without them. But now there's a name for it.  We're all nomophobes . Say what?  It's a fear of being without your phone. Researchers recently did a study that asked 300 undergrads some of these questions: I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to information through my smartphone.  I would be annoyed if I could not look information up on my smartphone when I wanted to do so. Being unable to get the news (news, weather, etc.) on my smartphone would make me nervous. R...

Figures.  I just finished writing about how weight loss devices don't help you lose weight.  And now experts are saying cell phones can do the trick. That's because cell phones can besiege you with reminder texts about losing weight and maintaining it.   I say "besiege" because that's the absolute last thing I would want from my phone.  (I barely tolerate the texts from my friends.) “In conjunction with reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity, mobile messaging services could help to maintain and sustain weight loss over time,” says Tanika Kelly, associate professor of epidemiology at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, who did a study on this.   “It reminds us to continue our good behaviors.” In the study, done in China (where, admittedly, not too many people are overweight), those who got weight loss reminders and encouragement over their phones lost 3 pounds more than those who did not.  That may...