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LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 24, 1998 - 3A
RESEARCH
'U' Prof. rates
exercise machines
Elliptical fitness machines are the
* hottest item in the home exercise mar-
ket, according to Kinesiology Prof.
Charles Kuntzleman.
Kuntzlenman, who has written more
than 70 books and 150 articles about
fitness, recently published his findings
in Consumers Digest.
Elliptical machines, or cross trainers,
were invented in 1995 by a former
General Motors Corp. engineer. The
machine combines the motions of a
cross-country skier and a treadmill run-
0ner. Elliptical machines were only one
part of the exercise equipment
Kuntzleman rated.
Kuntzleman used a panel of 25 exer-
cisers to evaluate more than 100
machines across eight categories.
Kuntzleman then numbered the
machines on a one to 10 scale and rec-
ommended best buys. His findings can
be read in the September/October issue
of Consumers Digest.
Research tries to
find key to blood
pressure control
A study being conducted by College
of Pharmacy researchers Stephanie
aylor, Eddie oyd and Leslie Shimp
will attempt to determine whether
receiving extra attention from a phar-
*macist could encourage high blood
pressure patients to take their medicine.
If left unchecked, high blood pres-
cure can damage the heart, arteries,
brain and kidneys.
The effects of hypertension are not
usually felt by patients, who may find it
easy to ignore the condition.
At each pharmacy, abot 25 patients
will receive individual attention from
*pharmacists, including monthly blood
pressure checks, monitoring of drug
side effects and communication
between the pharmacist and the doctor
prescribing the hypertension medicine.
Participants in the study will be given
questionnaires at the beginning and end
of the six-month period to see whether
the attention increased their compliance
with their doctors' prescription.
Study connects
sports with high
grades, alcohol
A recent study written by University
psychologist Jacquelynne Eccles found
that while teens who play sports earn bet-
ter grades on average, they are also more
likely to use alcohol illegal substances.
Eccles and University of Arizona
Prof. Bonnie Barber tracked 1,259
10th graders during six years for the
federally-funded survey.
The authors found that regardless of
sex, teens who participated in an
extracurricular activity were more like-
ly to earn higher grades and to be in
college six years later.
But the study also found that teens
who played sports were more likely to
drink and use drugs.
The authors found that 46 percent of
females and 67 percent of males were
involved in a sport as sophomores in
high school.
Vaccine triggers
Immune system
.to attack tumors
A new vaccine that uses specialized
white blood cells and cancer proteins
*has been shown to attack malignant
tumors in mice with significant levels
of success.
The vaccine not only worked against
two types of solid tumors, but it also
prevented the development of other
tumors in the mice.
The specialized white blood cells, also
called dendritic cells, alerts the imnmune
system of invading bacteria and cancer
cells so they can be located and
destroyed by other white blood cells.
The study, conducted by University
research fellow Koichi Shimizu and
University graduate Ryan Fields,
sparked a Phase I clinical trial in chil-
dren and adult patients with advanced
solid tumors.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud.
'U, prof
By Nick Faizono
For the Daily
While new students must change their
eating habits to adjust to residence hall
food, most say they are doing their best
to maintain healthy diets, and a new
University program has been estab-
lished to help them out.
"I think they do a decent job consid-
ering the number of people they
serve," said LSA junior Kevin Cox,
who works at the University's dining
hall services.
Due to the recently established M-
Smart program, labels are placed next to
almost every item served in residence
hall cafeterias.
"While I would love to personally
pick out meals for each of the 10,000
students who eat in the dorms, this is not
possible," said Paula Herzog, a
University dietitian who started the M-
Smart program last year. "M-Smart
offers this advice to students."
Every item placed under the M-Smart
label must meet a variety of nutritional
requirements.
"All foods must be nutrient dense,
with a variety of vitamins and minerals,"
Herzog said.
Food not meeting M-Smart's nutri-
tional guidelines does not have an M-
Smart label.
;ram helps students eat healthy
While planning M-Smart, Herzog
based her calculations on a hypothetical
University student who would require
the most nutrition -- an 18 to 22-year-
old pregnant man.
"Men require more protein, yet
women require more minerals, especial-
ly when pregnant," Herzog said.
The "pregnant man" requires 65
grams of protein a day, which Herzog
spread out throughout the days' meals.
She considered everything the man
consumed, including snacks, and
planned the guidelines around that.
Along with protein, Herzog calculat-
ed the preferred amount of fat, vitamins
and minerals the student should eat.
Herzog also focused on providing
protein-rich foods to vegetarians, of
which there are many at the
University.
"On a typical day, I see about 50 per-
cent of students eating a meatless meal,"
Herzog said. "About 30 percent of all stu-
dents here are intentionally vegetarian."
Due to these high numbers, Herzog
ensures there is always a protein-rich
vegetarian meal available.
She also is careful to always include
at least one M-Smart entree in each
meal for students searching for a
healthy dish.
Herzog said residence hall meals
RC Students Courtney Chalmers, Stephen Priest and Kamal Badhey eat dinner yesterday in the East Quad dining hall. The
Smart program in the University's dining halls alms to give students healthier food options.
always include healthy options.
"You might not always find a food
that turns you on, but you will always
find a nutritious meal with a balance
between the four main food groups,"
Herzog said. "While you might not
always love the food, you will feel well-
nourished after you're done with the
meal."
While most of Herzog's work consists
of analyzing food for the M-Smart pro-
gram, she also conducts about 100 free
classes a year to teach students about
nutrition.
Students who depend on the dining
hall for their meals say they appreciate
the dietary advice.
"I commend their attempt to provide
healthy food to students," said LSA
sophomore Jonathon Dalin.
Herzog works with resident advisets
and contacts about one third of the rest-
dence hall population each year through
her lectures.
Plowing away
Gore touts HMO reform
bill in visit to Dearborn
AP PHOTO
Amish farmer Harvey Troyer uses a team of four horses to harrow a field earlier
this week on his farm northwest of Beaverton, Mich. Troyer stopped every two or
three passes to rest his horses on the warm autumn day.
LGBTo e
new head, offc
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Vice President Al Gore
spent an hour as an ersatz talk-show host yesterday, running
a forum that could have been titled "IMO Horror Stories."
Gore's visit was meant to promote what Democrats had
hoped would be one of their major themes in fall elections: a
plan for a patient's "bill of rights." In the forum at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn, Gore listened as doctors,
nurses, managed-care patients and their relatives related trou-
bles with insurers.
The forum, and the fund-raiser for state candidates held
afterward, were stocked with loyalists who refrained from
uttering the name of Monica Lewinsky. Gore himself made
no reference to the scandal, but did put in a pitch for his boss.
"There's one person at the center of all the progress we're
making in the United States of America today and it's
President Bill Clinton," Gore said.
The Democrats' plan would place curbs on health plans
that limit patient choices to save money. Proposed protections
include an outside review when care is denied, better access
to specialists and coverage of emergency-room care even if
reasonable fears of a medical crisis are unfounded.
A key provision opposed by Republicans, however, is one
that would expand the rights of patients to file lawsuits
against HMOs.
"A lot of people are being told that the decisions with
respect to their medical care cannot be made by their doctors
anymore," Gore told the forum. "Instead, they're made by a
counselor or a bookkeeper or some person reading from a
piece of paper over the telephone working for the HMO or the
insurance company. That is just plain wrong."
The bill has been tied up in Congress, and Republicans
have proposed an alternative they contend would cost less
while still protecting patients. Gore criticized that bill, saying
it would do little for patients.
People at the forum had plenty of stories for Gore. Dr.
James Fox, a trauma doctor at several Detroit-area hospitals,
said one of the emergency rooms he worked at had restarted
the heart of a 47-year-old man in cardiac arrest, only to have
the man's HMO say "that it was not medically necessary."
Fox also said he had seen a 14-day-old baby's meningitis
treatment and a breathing tube for a woman with severe asth,
ma turned down for the same reason.
"I don't think I've ever heard three more dramatic exaul-
ples" Gore said. "And yet, for financial reasons, the 1IMQ
says we're not going to pay that:
Michael Pesendorfer of Novi told Gore about a five.
month battle his mother had fought to get a bone marrow
transplant approved for her ovarian cancer. Pesendorfer sail
the HMO appeals process never seemed to care that doctors
had said time was of the essence.
Pesendorfer said that after he told several media outlets
about his story, part of the treatment was approved. His motl
er died in 1996.
"Unfortunately, we will never know -- maybe her bes
opportunity had already gone by," he said.
Brian Bjorn of Clinton Township said he was suffering
from an immune system disease that requires expensive
monthly injections. When he had to change insurance conL
panics, the new insurer refused payment. The dispute hap
been going on for 15 months' Essentially, they have said Fdo
not meet their criteria," he said. "When I asked them what
their criteria is, they will not tell me. They won't tell my do-
tor what their criteria is."
Gore did not mention the Michigan patients' rights law
that lawmakers and Gov. John Engler approved in 1996.
The state also has an appeals process for HMO deci-
sions that's rarely used. In 1997, 2.3 million people werf
enrolled in HMOs in Michigan, according to state record.
The appeals panel handled just 17 consumer appeals that
year.
By Rachel Decker
For the Daily
With a new office and a new director,
the Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and
Transgender Affairs is working to make
the campus a more comfortable envi-
ronment for everyone.
Now located next to the elevator on the
third floor of the Michigan Union, and
staffed with many new faces, the office is
serving a larger group of students this
semester.
The most significant change is the hir-
ing of Frederic Dennis, the new LGBT
director, who arrived in July from Emory
University in Atlanta.
"I'm pretty excited," Dennis said. "I
have a lot of ideas, a lot of things I want
to do."
He said he is eager to meet all of stu-
dents' needs, and he hopes students will
visit the office to inform him of their
concerns.
"We especially want to make sure
that students who are in the closet, or
are struggling, will know about our ser-
vices," he said.
To do this, the LGBT office will hold
a new beginner's workshop, which will
explore same-sex attraction for students
who may be questioning their sexuality.
The workshop will take place from
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 and 6
in room 3100 of the Michigan Union.
In addition, coming out support
groups will be held in October and
November.
October 8 to 16 is National Coming
Out Week, and the LGBT office is host-
ing a variety of activities on campus, to
which the entire campus community is
welcome.
The week will kick off with a speech
on Oct. 8 by author Marc Adams, who
will discuss the impact that coming out
had on him as an evangelical student.
Other planned events include a hay
ride, roller skating and a family picnic
on Sunday, October 11, National
Coming Out Day.
On Friday, Oct. 16, the office will
hold a Queer Unity, Project rally on the
Diag. The purpose of the event is to
give students the opportunity to come
out of the closet in a supportive atmos-
phere, complete with a symbofic cfoset.
Despite the new office space and
fresh staff, the mission of the office
remains the same.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of
student-centered thinking going on,"
said LSA senior David Carter, a member
of LGBT "I think there's a lot of energy
and a lot of talent."
Office manager John Vasquez said
the LGBT office is "trying to create a
safe space" where all students can feel
comfortable.
The office provides numerous ser-
vices to make this possible.
The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on
Tuesday and Thursday.
GRouP MEETINGS
Impact Jazz Dance Theatre,
Michigan Union, Michigan
Ballroom, 7 p.m.
D "IsralaInformuInnf oe"ntrsnns7ra63
SERICES
U Dance Marathon Mass Meetings,
U Campus Information Centers, 761
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