European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 24, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 health & science news possible causes of Eye problems from dts cited Berkeley Calif. Up users of video display terminals May develop vision problems because they sit too close to them or have the screen s brightness level at extreme settings University of California scientists report. The researchers said problems also May occur if a user s optical prescription particularly for bifocals is not suited for vat work. The conclusions were contained in a study by researchers from the University s school of optometry and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. They studied 35 people working at dts using Green Amber or White letters on a dark Back ground. The study concluded neither the color of the letters nor the Type of lighting near the vat appears to affect the users efficiency although Glare from windows could have an Impact. The researchers tested the users on each Type of machine under incandescent regular fluorescent and High frequency fluorescent Light. Users performance they said improved by Only 1 per cent when Reading Green letters under incandescent Light compared to any other combination of letter color and ambient Light. Results of the study were reported at the annual meeting of the american Academy of optometry in Atlanta. Thomas Raasch a doctoral candidate in physiological optics said performance was virtually identical no matter what screen color and room lighting conditions  optometrists now suggest that when users develop vision problems such As eyestrain or headaches it May be partly because they Are sitting too close to the screen or have set the screen s brightness level too High or too Low. Glare from a nearby window can also Force vat users to Strain when Reading the screen. In addition vision related problems May occur if a vat user s optical prescription particularly for bifocals is not properly suited to vat  Many teens purging fast no Survey finds los Angeles a one in eight High school sophomores tries to lose weight by vomiting or using laxatives or other drugs according to study results that re searchers called  few of the loth graders would be diag nosed As True bulimics people who frequently Binge on food then fast or purge themselves said Joel d. Killen a Stanford University medical school psychologist who headed the study. But when he surveyed 1,728 sophomores at four California High schools Killen found 13 percent admitted at least occasional use of self induced vomiting Laxa Tives or diuretics which increase urine out put. Twice As Many girls As boys used purging to lose weight. Most of the so called purging behaviour occurred monthly or less often few of the pupils used such methods As often As once a week Killen wrote in the journal of the american medical association. What s alarming is that at age 15, we see kids beginning to use some of these unhealthy weight regulation strategies that if unchecked May develop into full blown eating disorders he said during a Tele phone interview from Stanford. Bulimia can result in potentially fatal problems such As stomach rupture heart attack and abnormal heart rhythm. Other complications include serious dental prob lems disruption of the menstrual Cycle and inflammation laceration or rupturing of the oesophagus. Researchers Don t know exactly Why some people develop bulimia. But Many note that thinness has been linked to Beauty Success and happiness in modern times. That May trigger extreme dieting measures even in some thin people who perceive themselves As overweight. The Stanford study is one of few to examine Binge purge eating habits among adolescents and among males As Well As females. We need to study even younger groups to find out at what age it unhealthy i hearing sounds that bombard us daily Doe a2q ago in decibels a Decibel is not a linear unit like a mile or Pound but rather it is a representative Point on a sharply rising curve. Thus 10 decibels is 10 times greater than 1 Decibel 20 do is 100 times greater 30 do is 1,000 times greater 100 do represents 10 billion times More acoustic Energy than 1 Decibel too 90 80 70 truck 40 Moh 50 it. Away crowded restaurant garbage disposal average factory vacuum cleaner passenger Gar 50 Mph 50 it. Away moderately loud 60 50 quiet typewriter singing Birds window air conditioner t automobile 30 Chicago Tribune graphic illustrated by Tom Heinz researched by n. Jane Hunt sources world Book Rand Mcnally Atlas of the human body encyclopedia americana Industrial noise and hearing conversation by j. B. Olishifski and . Harford eting begins Susan c. Wooley co director of the University of Cincinnati s eating Dis orders clinic said from Ohio. Wooley called the Stanford study very plausible. We should be appropriately alarmed. Parents teachers and doctors should be aware of it and  a lot of physicians May not be aware of the extent of purging in teen agers Killen said. It s important if they re going to work with adolescents on weight control to focus on healthy eating and increasing physical  he also suggested that school health classes should include information on eating Disord ers. Killen and his colleagues surveyed sophomores and measured their height weight and body fat. Although twice As Many girls As boys used purging Wooley said the proportion of males was surprisingly High considering that most studies have shown that bulimia and anorexia self starvation overwhelmingly afflict females. Killen found that boys who made them selves throw up or used drugs to lose weight tended to be significantly heavier than those who did not. But girls who purged them selves were no heavier than non burgers. It s suggesting that men arc using it Only for a More extreme problem if you will Wooley said. They re being More accurate in their estimation of their  Killen said that compared with other 15 year Olds in the study burgers of both sexes Are More preoccupied with their weight diet and count calories More often feel More guilty if they overeat and exercise  the study showed that vomiting was used by 10.6 percent of the girls and 5 percent of the boys while laxatives were used by 6.8 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. Diuretics were consumed by 3.6 percent of the girls and 2.4 percent of the boys. The totals exceed 13 percent because some teen agers used More than one method. For a few catching z s can Lead to a fatal Zap London a snoring can kill you says or. James Home director of a British sleep Laboratory. For the unlucky few Sweet dreams sound slumbers and heavy snoring can be a lethal combination especially after a few drinks Home writes in the weekly new scientist. Very heavy snoring threatens a collapse of the upper Airway at the Back of the Throat making breathing difficult he said. That can Lead to High blood pressure heart failure and accidents in the daytime due to sleepiness. Home directs studies of sleeping in the department of human sciences at Loughborough University of technology 111 Miles North of London. He wrote that during sleep the Muscles of the Airway called the or Pharynx Are relaxed. Air being sucked in through the Mouth causes the Airway to Sag inward and breathing through an open Mouth Cre ates the snoring sound. A sleeping scorer tries to regain breath with great hearings of the Chest. These attempts Only make matters worse trying to breathe against a gag causes Abnor Mal changes to air pressure in the lungs and impairs the flow of blood within the Chest heart and lungs Home said. Blood pressure soars and the heart starts to beat irregularly. Levels of oxygen in the blood fall further affecting the heart which needs plenty of oxygen in order to contract  people with advanced heart disease might die at this Point but healthy snorers Start to Wake up leading to a massive in Rush of air into the lungs producing a loud choking gasp cum snore that can be heard As the heroic snore Home said. Although the whole Cycle Only lasts half a minute it can be repeated by heavy snor ers several Hundred times during the night even though the individual May still think he has slept Well. The condition May be an important cause of High blood pressure Home said As the Rise that occurs during the incident seems eventually to extend into the waking hours As a permanent Rise and that May impair brain function. The countless episodes when the brain s Supply of oxygen is reduced night after night must eventually take their toll he said. He said that australian studies of drink ers at the University of Sydney showed that heavy snorers should not consumer alcohol in the evening but Only earlier in the Day. Drink tends to promote snoring and the combination of the two leads to dangerously Low Levels of oxygen in the blood Home said. Some people s snoring can exceed 70 decibels which is louder than some Road drills. Home said wild West gunfighter John Wesley Hardin was so annoyed by the snor ing of a fellow guest that he went into the Man s hotel room and shot him to death. Quake in . County White Plains . A a minor earthquake rocked Southern West Chester county prompting dozens of Tele phone Calls to police and radio stations but no damage or injuries were reported authorities said. The quake was the fourth temblor or aftershock to hit the suburban new York City area in six months. About 30 people living in a dozen communities called radio station we pm in Pleasantville after the quake said station spokesman James Burkett