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Editor's picks: The best from around the web

9:58 AM, April 21, 2008

Exercise Check out these offerings from elsewhere in the online world:

In Slate, Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, takes the populace to task for its sometimes skewed health priorities: "Last month, the London Independent ran a sensationalist story about cell phones causing brain tumors, and the Breast Cancer Fund released a comprehensive report on carcinogenic chemicals women should avoid. Other recent cancer-causing culprits in the news include "pesticides, power lines and solvents. This thinking cleaves to a popular motif: The natural world is less toxic and more healthful than the industrial one.... Unwittingly, we've seriously impreded cancer prevention with this not-so-useful distinction between the natural and artificial. It's distracted us from the uncomfortable truth that most cancers are caused by the natural environment around us."

The Washington Post offers a new outline for talking to kids about sex: "Changes in reproductive technology, a new openness about formerly closeted subjects and the flaunting of overtly sexual imagery in news and entertainment outlets have shifted the parameters of the traditional preteen birds-and-bees talk.... Today, experts urge partents to welcome questions on sexuality by the time their kids can ask why the sky is blue."

And the Boston Globe chronicles the growing evidence that exercise is good for the body - and the mind: "Monday mornings, Theo Baars' exhausting depression often tries to seduce him into just staying in bed. But then, he says, a staffer at Appleton House, a residence for people with psychotic disorders at McLean Hospital, comes into his room and says, insistently: 'You want to go work out.' So Baars, a 22-year-old surfer and musician drags himself to McLean's new gym and sweats through a half hour of presses and curls. And then, he finds, he doesn't want to go back to bed. And more: His confidence is pumped up."

Those are three of the more interesting articles I've found today. Found a story you like? Send it along.

- Tami Dennis

Photo: Abdullah AL-Naser (from Flickr, Creative Commons license)

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Tami Dennis
Tami Dennis, who takes the word "skeptic" to previously uncharted territory, is editor of The Times' Health section. She's adamant that pitches promoting awareness days, weeks or months are, by their nature, non-stories. And, because she's an adult, she refuses to use words like "veggies," "tummy" and "yummy."
Rosie Mestel
Rosie Mestel, Health section deputy editor, studied genetics before abandoning flies, fungi and DNA for health/medical writing. Her hero is the biologist Ernst Haeckel, whose jellyfish paintings inspired snazzy chandeliers. Her favorite toast-spread is Marmite, a British delicacy made of yeast extract. Her least-favorite word is "millenniums."
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Susan Brink has made health and medicine her beat for 26 of her 28 years in the business. She’s covered a wide range of disease and health policy stories, and is always on the lookout for fresh angles. Few things make her happier than busting through preconceived notions to give readers an accurate view of people behaving as…well, real people.
Janet Cromley
Janet Cromley never met a wacky health or fitness topic she didn’t like. In her more than 15 years at The Times, she has written about everything from prison nurses to the sex life of grunion, neither of which made for good family reading. She holds a masters degree in counseling psychology, something that comes in very handy when handling reluctant sources and explaining to pitchmen why a bunion isn’t a story.
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Melissa Healy is a staff writer for the Health section reporting from Washington D.C. Healy's a veteran of The Times' National staff, having covered the Pentagon, Congress, poverty and social welfare, the environment, and the White House before shifting to Health in 2003. She writes frequently about mental health and human behavior, about federal health policy, prescription medication and ethics in medicine. More wonk than wellness freak, Healy chooses to believe in the health benefits of coffee and wine, and considers water a better work-out medium than beverage.
Shari Roan
After a brief stint as a sports writer, Shari Roan turned to health journalism and has covered the topic for The Times for 18 years. She is the author of three books and the mother of two daughters, both teenagers who refer to her as a "health freak." She likes to jog, watch baseball and is very happy that dark chocolate contains some health benefit.
Jeannine Stein
Jeannine Stein writes about fitness, sports medicine and obesity for the Health section. She’s a gym rat from way back and never met an elliptical trainer she didn’t like. Well, maybe one or two. She tempers exercise with a steady diet of reality television because she believes it’s all about balance.
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