Generation Next Blog

October 2014

Warning labels about cancer on alcohol: do we need them?

By |2020-11-02T09:58:26+11:00October 10th, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , |

How would you feel if your bottle of merlot or cider came with a health warning about the increased risk of cancer from drinking alcohol? Doesn't sound like an idea to be warmly embraced by those who like a drink but the findings of a recent West Australian survey of more than 2000 drinkers suggests [...]

Aussies might be getting kinder

By |2014-10-10T00:29:01+11:00October 10th, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

The world today is often portrayed as being less kind, friendly or giving than it used to be. So-called Gen Me, today’s teens and young adults, are the poster-children of moral decline, routinely characterised as narcissistic, selfish and hedonist. Despite such concerns we know relatively little about the social composition of kindness and how it [...]

Five foods to always avoid at the supermarket

By |2014-10-03T06:59:19+10:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , |

Want to stack the nutrition odds in your favour? The key is good food so here are five things to never let into your shopping trolley: lollies, biscuits, sugar-sweetened drinks, potato crisps and processed meats. Known as discretionary foods, all five are high in either added sugars, saturated fat or salt. Discretionary foods provide kilojoules [...]

The Requests That A Magazine Retoucher Gets Will Shock You

By |2014-10-03T06:10:56+10:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture, Technology|Tags: , , , , , |

If you want to go all the way down the rabbit hole, talk to a digital retoucher at a fashion and celebrity glossy, which is what I did. The retoucher I spoke with--who preferred to remain anonymous--is a 20 year veteran of the trade. "Everything I learned about keeping skin tone intact--taking out wrinkles but [...]

How physical exercise protects the brain from stress-induced depression

By |2014-10-03T05:56:53+10:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , , |

Physical exercise has many beneficial effects on human health, including the protection from stress-induced depression. However, until now the mechanisms that mediate this protective effect have been unknown. In a new study in mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show that exercise training induces changes in skeletal muscle that can purge the blood of [...]

The truth about Drinkwise

By |2020-11-02T09:59:03+11:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Technology|Tags: , , , , , |

DrinkWise is a Social Aspects Public Relations Organisation (SAPRO) established by the alcohol industry in 2005. DrinkWise is wholly funded by the alcohol industry and governed by a board whose 13 members include 6 alcohol industry representatives. DrinkWise describes itself as an ‘independent, not-for-profit organisation’ whose ‘primary focus is to help bring about a healthier [...]

Phillip Morris donated to Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm

By |2020-11-02T09:59:18+11:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Technology|Tags: , , , , , , |

The senator who defended the rights of smokers and said they were being disproportionately slugged through tobacco taxes has confirmed his party accepted donations from tobacco giant Phillip Morris. Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm confirmed the donation to Fairfax Media and said while he could not recall the exact amount given to his party by [...]

Getting Into A Growth Mindset

By |2014-10-03T04:43:28+10:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I wrote about the dangers of finding ourselves in what Carol Dweck terms a Fixed Mindset. This week I want to explore the concept of a Growth Mindset a little more. Much of the work I do in schools is around enhancing engagement. Often I’m asked what should ensure all kids and teachers [...]

3 Common Myths About Waterpipe Smoking

By |2020-11-02T09:59:52+11:00October 2nd, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , , , |

By Dr Colin Mendelsohn, Tobacco Treatment Specialist, Sydney www.colinmendelsohn.net.au Waterpipe smoking is becoming increasingly common among young people in some parts of Australia. However there are many misconceptions about waterpipe use. In the waterpipe (hookah, shisha, narghileh), air is drawn through heated charcoal, then through perforated aluminum foil and moist tobacco (‘Maassel’) in the head [...]

September 2014

‘Schoolies’, Alcohol And The Teenage Brain: A Toxic Combination

By |2020-11-02T10:02:17+11:00September 26th, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is that time of the year again…the impending departure of year 12 students from school and the associated ‘rights of passage’ that accompany this departure. In Australia, one ‘right of passage’ is referred to as ‘schoolies’ and the term itself elicits numerous discussion and debates. One of the most controversial issues centres on the [...]

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