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March 19, 2003
Current National Coverage
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:
Children's burden
The Chicago Tribune
Sixteen-year-old Lindsey weighs more than 200 pounds and is ashamed of the
way she looks. ... Why certain ethnic groups are more vulnerable to obesity
remains unclear, but according to a recent University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill study, it appears that income and education are not the top factors,
as once was thought. Penny Gordon-Larsen, lead author of the study that
appeared in the January issue of Obesity Research, and her colleagues analyzed
nationally representative data collected from 13,113 U.S. adolescents enrolled
in the UNC-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
Full story
(Note: The Chicago Tribune requires free registration to access articles.)
Looking for a nugget of nutrition
Chicago Sun-Times
McDonald's Corp., which has started touting its premium salads and fruit-and-
yogurt parfaits, is test-marketing a lower-fat version of its Chicken McNuggets.
... ''People assume it's all chicken, but there's been zero truth in advertising of
that food by any fast-food company,'' says Barry M. Popkin, nutrition professor
at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health in Chapel Hill.
Full story
(Note: This story was based on an article from yesterday's Wall Street Journal.)
Finding right treatment for high blood pressure is tricky
Newsday (Long Island, NY)
In December, a study of more than 42,000 white and black Americans found
that old-fashioned diuretics - "water pills" - work at least as well and sometimes
better than more expensive drugs to treat high blood pressure. ... But it's "very
reassuring" that the JAMA study found diuretics to be so effective, says Dr. Sid
Smith, past president of the American Heart Association and professor of
medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Full story
(Note: This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun.)
Regional Coverage
New weapon in battling colon cancer
Orangeburg Times Democrat (SC)
"Aspirin is not a magic bullet. Nobody can take an aspirin and think that
everything's fine, and there is no need to see a doctor, or get screened, or take
care of themselves in other ways," says Dr. John Baron of Dartmouth Medical
School in Hanover, N.H., where he is a professor and led a study on the
common over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug, one study of two in the
March 6 New England Journal of Medicine. University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, professor of medicine Dr. Robert Sandler led the other.
Full story
(Note: A UNC news release about Sandler's research is available here.)
V.O.L.S. argues economy is not a valid reason to support liquor sales
Morristown Citizen Tribune (TN)
With the virtual certainty that Morristown voters will decide the liquor-by-the-
drink question in the May municipal election, Volunteers Opposing Liquor Sales
has begun mobilizing its supporters. ... Evans says a University of North
Carolina study indicates that in counties where liquor by the drink was approved,
alcohol-related crashes rose by 20 percent, and the number of liquor outlets
increased by 250 percent.
Full story
State and Local Coverage
UNC fund raising breaks record
The Herald-Sun
Private giving to the nation’s universities declined in fiscal 2001-02 for the first
time in 15 years, but the largest universities in this region managed to buck that
trend. ... At UNC, an ongoing $1.8 billion capital campaign helped fund-raisers
record yet another record-breaking year. Carolina brought in $180 million in
2001-02, easily trumping the previous best of $160 million, which it recorded
the year before.
Full story
`Our diversity will drop'
Charlotte Observer
It's the fall of 2004. Parents are dropping off their daughters and sons at UNC
Chapel Hill, at Duke University and N.C. State. And you can't help but notice
that there are fewer African Americans and other minorities among them, fewer
than there have been in years. It could happen. ... On the other side is Gene
Nichol, dean of the law school at UNC Chapel Hill, who, with law-school
Full story
A drama in Raleigh (Opinion-Editorial Column)
Chapel Hill News
We are watching a political and legal drama being played out in Raleigh that has
considerable potential for political damage for others. ...
Full story
(Note: Thad Beyle is a professor of political science at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Study looks at infant homicides
News and Observer
The risk of being murdered is 10 times greater on the day of birth than at any
other time of life, and the killer of a newborn is most likely to be its mother. ...
"To me, the most interesting part of the study was how many of the women
don't fit the stereotype of the single scared teenager,'' said lead author Marcia
Herman-Giddens, a UNC-Chapel Hill researcher.
Full story
(Note: A UNC news release on this study is available here.)
Finding balance in school lunch
News and Observer
It was spaghetti versus chicken nuggets at Wilburn Elementary School's
cafeteria, but this food fight proved no contest. ... The kids lose, I think, because
what ends up happening is not only are they getting excessive amounts of fat in
their meal -- in what's for many their most substantial meals of the day -- but
they're also getting a model of an eating style that is going to continue to promote
health problems in their adult years," said UNC-Chapel Hill nutritionist Sue
Havala Hobbs.
Full story
Carolina 'Too' step
Chapel Hill News
In a studio deep within Woollen Gym, two women in dance leotards faced each
other and turned slowly, arms tracing graceful spirals through the air, mirroring
one another’s movements. ... Monday’s master class was the first event in
Pilobolus Too’s week-long residency at UNC ...
Full story
Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina
Fewer College Students Graduate in 4 Years, Survey Finds
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The proportion of college students who earn their degrees within four years
continues to decline, according to a study by the Higher Education Research
Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles ...
Full story
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access
articles.)
Downtown gets ‘call to vigilance’
The Herald-Sun
The fact that downtown Chapel Hill seems busy and vibrant doesn’t mean that
all is well with businesses there, a retail consultant says. ...
Full story
Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News,
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services,
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu
Note: Web links on this page are time sensitive, so stories might not be
available after the day they first appeared source publication.