HPV Vaccine for Men

BY GINA BRICK 

It is commonly known, after June of 2006, that girls between the ages of nine and twenty-six are suppose to receive the Human Papillomavirus vaccine. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend that boys age 11 and 12 years old get the Vaccine as well.

The vaccine may offer males protection against genital warts and cancers. And as a result of this vaccination in males it will indirectly protect women at the same time by reducing the transmission rate of HPV.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 60% of female college students will become infected with HPV by the end of there third year in college.  With this being said now is the best time to vaccinate males, since rates of getting this vaccine in females are relatively low right now. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the relatively low level of vaccination among girls was a key reason for the change.

HPV is linked to almost 13,000 cases of cervical cancer yearly in US women, 4,300 of which are fatal, and nearly 6,000 cases of anal cancer and 770 deaths in men. HPV is also said to be linked to a rise in head and neck cancers due to its transmission during oral sex. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease, with more than 40 types. HPV often causes no symptoms at all. The body can usually clear the infection on its own within two years, but with certain types, known as oncogenic strains, they can turn into cancers and at that point should be closely watched.

Ultimately the most efficient way to prevent this disease in women would be to make this vaccination mandatory for all women to get but until this happens the best way to help prevent this disease is to get men vaccinated as well.

LINKS 

http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-vaccine-young-women.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/us-panel-urges-hpv-vaccine-boys-095720371.html

What Are You Thinking About?

BY KEVIN GILCHER

Sex, food and, sleep, we all think about them during the day admit it.  A study conducted by Terri Fisher of Ohio State University set out to find out just how often men and women ages 18 to 25 actually think about these topics.  How did she do this you ask? Well it wasn’t telepathy, Fisher distributed golf tally counters to 163 female students and 120 male students who were enrolled in a psychology research participation program.  Each student was randomly given one thought category to tally.  Prior to the experiment the participants were given questionnaires that measured things such as attitudes about sex, tendency to appear socially acceptable and eating and sleep habits.  The students who were assigned to keep track of sleep and eating habits received different questionnaires that disguised the sexual questions so they did not know the main goal of the experiment was to test thoughts on sexuality.  At the end of the week the statistical analysis showed that the difference between how often men and women thought of sex was not much larger than how often they thought of food or sleep.  The men thought of sex an average of 19 times per day, food was 18 times per day and sleep 11 times per day.  Women thought of sex 10 times a day food 15 times a day and sleep about 8 and a half times a day.  Fisher found that no single variable which was determined by the questionnaires could be used to predict how often a male subject thought of sex.  These variables were how comfortable a person is with their sexuality, unrestricted attitudes about sex, and how much the person wanted to be socially acceptable.  However, the more comfortable a woman is with her sexuality the more likely she was to think about sex and women who are concerned with being socially acceptable reported less thoughts of a sexual nature.

This experiment was conducted in an interesting way the researchers were quite thorough but with an experiment like this the margin for human error skewing results is astronomical.  When people are asked to keep track of something for twenty four hours they are likely to forget to do it.  When it is an entire week and the thing being tracked is thoughts in all likelihood the subjects are going to forget to tally many of them.  This is because most thoughts of this nature occur absent mindedly when daydreaming or they pop into one’s mind and out again in an instant.  Fisher knew this and that is why she did hand out questionnaires to find out people’s personality types before beginning her research.  It would be interesting though to see if the results would differ if the same experiment were applied to different departments in the school.  Fisher works as a professor in the psychology department of Ohio State and conducted her research with students who are most likely majoring or minoring in psychology.  The results may vary with different groups of students who perhaps have an art background for example rather than a scientific one, because each subject uses different parts of the brain.  If the results were different then perhaps it would demonstrate that with an inclination towards the arts a person is more likely to think of sexuality or vice versa.  Research on this topic is not very prevalent but with studies like Terri Fisher’s emerging perhaps the myth of men thinking of sex every seven seconds will be a thing of the past.  Or at the very least maybe women will get their own fake statistic.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-debunks-stereotype-men-sex-day.html

Yawning

BY SAMANTHA SPIRA-BAUER

Most people believe that yawning comes form boredom or exhaustion. And others may think its one of my favorites, that the brains lacking oxygen. Recent research has shown that yawning actually occurs to cool down the brain. Everyone knows the brain is out CPU, or central processing unit. Acting as our computer, its clear that it would also work better cooler. According to Gary Hack from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and Andrew Gallup from Princeton University. “The brain is exquisitely sensitive to temperature changes and therefore must be protected from overheating”. When yawning, the walls of the maxillary sinuses flex. They are located in the cheeks, on each side of the nose. It is unclear what their actual function is, and this research may help to determine their purpose in the human body and its functions. Temperature in the body must be regulated at all times. Hence why we sweat when we exercise. Sweating is the body’s way of cooling down the internal organs and skin. But it has been unclear what cools down the brain besides sweating through the head.

“The researchers said their theory that yawning helps cool the brain has medical implications. For example, excessive yawning often precedes seizures in people with epilepsy and pain in people with migraine headaches.” Now doctors may be able to determine diagnoses in patients who yawn frequently and excessively. Gallup stated, “Excessive yawning appears to be symptomatic of conditions that increase brain and/or core temperature, such as central nervous system damage and sleep deprivation”. I think research like this is extremely important. It can lead to understanding more of how the body works and help determine diseases.

Article: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=151981

Dangerously Overmedicating Foster Children

BY ADAM REHMAN

New reports have recently been revealed, explaining that many children in foster care have been prescribed an alarmingly high amount and dangerous combination of anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications. The Government Accountability Office released that nearly 425,000 children were affected.

The drugs are used as a convenient solution to these children’s problems instead of proper psychotherapy or in some instances just parents. These kids are thirteen times more likely to be given these mind-altering drugs than other children. The combination and quantity of these medications is at times considered too risky even for adults according to the FDA. Some of the medicines that are being prescribed are so new that they do not know how they will react with children. Currently, half of the United States still does not have or are still in the process of developing policies for psychotropic drug use in foster children.

“You know, there are a lot of people you need to talk to, to find out as much as you can about what the child’s behavior is like in a variety of different situations before you make a determination that you’re going to use something like a very powerful medication to treat them” – Charles Zeanah, Tulane University

Psychotropic drugs are defined as medicines that alter chemical levels in the brain, which impact mood and behavior. Some examples of these drugs are: Antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.Most of the drugs used are considered “off-label.” This means they are used for purposes other than those that they are approved of.

Although these medicines have their uses and place, they should never be over used and should always be properly prescribed in order to maintain safe mental health especially for children.  It is a shame that this subject has not been given attention until recently, but at least now something can be done to fix this problem.

Are Video Games Increasing Childhood Obesity?

BY SHERWIN RICHARDSON

In the past three decades, childhood obesity has been growing at an alarming rate. In 1975 – 1980 the figures from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) estimated that only 5 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 – 19 were overweight. In 2007 – 2008 that number rose to 17 percent. Children that are now overweight are having health issues that were only seen in adults like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. There are many factors that could be associated with the rising numbers in childhood and teen obesity. However, video games might not be something you would normally consider a factor.

Indirectly, it seems as though technology has the upper hand at aiding to increase the obesity epidemic. Children and teens seem to be replacing outside activities with picking up a play station or Xbox controller. Unfortunately, we are finding that video games are increasing the rate of a sedentary lifestyle. On average, children and teens are playing video games three or more hours per day. Children and teens that are physically inactive could develop a slue of problems. In addition to obesity concerns, type II diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, kids could fall victim to cardiovascular issues, ridicule from peer groups for being over weight and/or bullying. Furthermore, children that live a sedentary lifestyle increase their chances of being sedentary as an adult.

There are measures that could be implemented to decrease the chances of childhood obesity. For one, parents should decrease the amount of time their children spend in front of the television or computer playing video games.  In addition to cutting down the hours, it is recommended that families do some form of physical activity together. By making the activity fun and family oriented, it will get children in the habit of physical activity.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html

http://children.webmd.com/news/20040702/video-games-tv-double-childhood-obesity-risk

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065609/Todays-kindergarten-kids-road-obesity-nation-gets-fatter.html

Finally! It’s the man’s turn

BY SIMRAN TOOR

Finally! No longer do we women have to be the only ones to remember to take the pill every day. Now men can also take equal control and responsibility to prevent pregnancies. Even though it is thought that the man should bring a condom, but condoms break. And lets not forget about the people who don’t believe in condoms, so the pill will provide extra protection against pregnancy. This pill will soon be available to the public sooner then you think. The male birth control pill will be available in many different forms like a patch, a injection given every three months, a pill, and a implant that is placed under the skin every 12 months.

The male birth control has been through many tests and studies, which have proved to be effective. The drug works the same way the female contraceptive works, the male contraceptive has hormones such as testosterone and progestin that stop sperm grown. This drug has proven to be safe, efficient and reversible. There were some side effects noted which included headaches, night sweats, and some weight gain. But these side effects eventually subside overtime and the side effects occur because of the additional hormones from the contraceptive. This pill will be on available in about three years and about five years till it will get an FDA approval. It sounds like a long time but it’s about time that men take equal responsibilities.

Why Women Have Sex.

BY IRENE MATTONE

Have you ever stopped to think about the main reasons women have sex? Do you think men and women both have sex for the same reasons? Two psychologists thought long and hard about this mind-boggling question, and what they found ranges from pretty predictable to positively puzzling!

The psychology behind why women really have sex is probably far more complex than you would imagine.  Psychologists Cindy Meston and David Buss from the University of Texas in Austin interviewed over 1,000 women, and later wrote a book based on their research titled Why Women Have Sex. The women they interviewed were from all around the world, and also through an online survey.  Meston and Buss ended up with 237 reasons and motivations. They found that the main reasons why women have sex include: sexual attraction, desire for physical pleasure, expressing affection, and for sexual release, which may be predictable to most people. More important reasons that woman gave were about boosting their self-esteem or sexual esteem, to get revenge, and to relieve pain.  A good percentage of women also claimed to have sex just for the health benefits. They reported having sex to relieve headaches, menstruation pain, stress, aid to more relaxed sleep, enhance mood and decrease levels of depression and anxiety, combat loneliness, and get exercise.

The authors say that many of the complexities of women’s sexual motivations can be explained by human evolution.  One common reason for women is stealing a friend’s lover; According to the researchers, this can be viewed as a way to win a more desirable partner, someone with better genes.  Fifty-three percent of women in the study admitted that this was their reason for stealing a friend’s lover. Some women act in “mate-guarding”: having sex out of a duty to please the other partner. Buss, who happens to be an evolutionary psychologist, states that “One of the things we realized early on was that there’s this huge gap in the field of study in that we thought women’s sexual motivations were sort of intuitive and understood. But what shocked me was the sheer complexity of women’s psychology.” Buss also told the Times that he “was surprised by the importance of revenge.” He even mentioned that he was particularly surprised by the explanations he got from women about why they were vengefully having sex.  “A few had sex in order to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease.” – How disgusting!

In their research of finding out why humans have sex, Meston and Buss found that among men’s top 20 reasons are attraction and “it’s fun”, but also ranging to “I realized I was in love.”  This may seem pretty straight forward, but too bad it’s not that easy for women. For the woman, her brain is the primary driver of her arousal.  This means that women tend to overanalyze and dissect to the point that their motivations don’t have much impact on their physical desire. Other ways men and women differ can be as simple as their anatomical differences. When a man’s blood flow is increased by seeing an attractive woman, Viagra, or even through acts that are not related to sex, it can lead to an erection and therefore trigger sexual desire.  This is in no way true for women.  Simply increasing a woman’s blood flow will not help her sexual desire increase. Meston states that she could write a whole book on the topic of low female sex drive, including the fact that more than half of women under 60 still suffer from low sex drive, and a quarter are unable to orgasm.

Christopher Lynn, Ph.D., from the University of Alabama quotes Why Women Have Sex when he explains what it is about a man that attracts women.  He says, “Evidence suggests that women prefer male bodies with the classic V-shaped torso with a high shoulder-to-hip ratio, which are hypothesized to have signaled good hunting and protection ability in the ancestral environment.” According to research, females find men with symmetrical faces most attractive because such symmetry tends to allude to male genetic quality and developmental stability.  Another point is voice attractiveness, in which women tend to prefer deep voices. Females are most often attracted to elegant movement, interesting personality, and a good sense of humor as well. These traits function as fitness indicators. By reviewing this evidence from their studies, the researchers believe that human females choose mates based on what animal behaviorists call “mate-copying”, which involves females judging males as more attractive if the males are known to be successful with women. According to a 1979 study by Weatherhead and Robertson, this can be parallel to the idea of “sexy-sons”: the hypothesis by which mating with males who are seen to possess the ability to attract females makes a female desire to unite her genes with his in order to build bodies of sons and grandsons that are attractive to their generation of females.

It should come as no surprise that some women have sex with men to get material things, or even to get the man to do household chores.  It is no secret that most sexual courtships involve some form of gift-giving on the male’s part. One study among undergraduates at a Midwestern school found that 9% of women had initiated sex for a tangible benefit and 82% of those women did so outside of an ongoing romantic relationship. Buss told the Times that women have sex based on what they call “sexual economics,” which includes a woman having sex in order to get her partner to take out the garbage, getting free dinners, or even getting expensive gifts. Women also have sex for an ego boost, or to enhance their self-perception of attractiveness.  Women’s self-perceptions are altered by media and social standards; however studies show that “only 5% of women even have the genetic potential to look like a runway model.”

Do women have sex more often because they are in love? In Chapter three of Why Women Have Sex, love is described as “a combination of intimacy, passion, and commitment.” Some women in this study did report using sex to attain or express love and commitment; however, at the physiological level, certain parts of the brain are affected by “emotional love” through drug-like effects.  In newer relationships, there is a decrease of serotonin, and in more evolved relationships, later stages of attachment are characterized by vasopressin and oxytocin changes.  These hormones are the body’s way of ensuring the process of reproduction by producing a chemical concoction in our bodies to form attraction and attachment.

Vasopressin and Oxytocin are hormones that are very chemically similar in respects to how they are structured.  They are located on the same chromosome separated by a very tiny distance. Vasopressin is released directly into the brain, where it plays an important role in social behavior and bonding, especially for men.  In an book by Jennifer Roback Morse, Smart Sex:Finding Life-Long Love in a Hook-Up World, the economics professor states that although men may have a desire to have sex with multiple women, vasopressin helps them to counteract this tendency.   She also explains how oxytocin in the brain is “involved in social recognition and bonding”, and effects women more-so than men due to women’s estrogen levels.

To further expand this study, I would be interested in seeing more research on why men have sex. It would be a lot more helpful to see men’s top reasons compared side-by-side to women’s. It’s understandable that they would want to understand the psychology behind women’s reasons for sex, but I don’t think they should under mind the reasons men have sex. They had previously done a study in 2007 on why humans have sex, and I think they should have used their results from men in that study, or conducted a new study, to compare the results they found from women in this study. I also think they could have explained more about the chemicals vasopressin and oxytocin. I was curious after I saw they mentioned it and didn’t explain it, so I took the liberty of looking up the hormones’ effects myself.  I do find it interesting that this study shows connections between women’s reasons for sex to evolutionary facts. An example of this being how women choose men with specific physical features because in evolution it was thought signal good hunting and protection ability.  Although seeing women’s reasons for sex through an evolutionary eye is interesting, I think they should have done more personal studies with people to see why some individuals in particular have their reasons for having sex.  It would give more of a concrete foundation to their study if they were able to tell us that a specific group of women, for example, from the north eastern coast of the United States have sex because of x-y-z and they know this because of possible stressful life events they previously experienced, or their geographical location, or even because they all have similar personalities.

References:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1928189,00.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1211624/Why-women-sex-To-relieve-boredom-win-favours-stop-headache.html#

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-14/man-woman/29864769_1_cure-women-headache

http://thenewviewonsex.blogspot.com/2008/04/oxytocin-vasopressin-and-tale-of-two.html

http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP08275283.pdf

Attention Nice Guys (and Girls): Good News

BY SARAH GARSON

When it comes to success, are you the type to say, “screw them!” and do whatever it takes to get to the top? Or do you put others ahead of your own personal advancement? If you fall into the latter category, there’s good news: a new study has been done that challenges the old idea of “nice guys finish last.”

Dr. David Rand from Harvard University conducted a study and found that real-world social networks- that is, social networks that are dynamic and always changing- actually encourage cooperativeness and punish selfish behavior. Rand’s research, based on these complex social networks, finds that cooperation and friendliness is rewarded by an expansion of the social sphere, whereas greed results in being shunned and cut off.

Rand recruited 800 volunteers for his study. In groups of 20 to 30 players, the subjects played an online game. Each player began the game with an equal number of points, and was randomly assignd one or more “connections.” Throughout the game players were given the opportunity to generously give 50 points to each player they were connected to, or to keep the points for him or herself. After each round 30% of the players were given the opportunity to “update” their connections: they could either break certain connections and make new ones, or maintain connections that they liked. The unusual design of the experiment was especially important because of Rand’s idea that social networks are constantly changing and evolving. Previous studies on social networks were often based on static snapshots of a group. However Rand’s method is much more congruent with the way that complex social networks actually exist and work in the world.

“This model is closer to real life, thus the results are closer to real life,” Rand explains. “What this is showing is that a key aspect of real-world social networks is the dynamic component. The point of this paper is to say that those networks are always shifting, and they’re not shifting in random ways.”

In his experiment, Rand found that the subjects were much more likely to make new connections or maintain existing ones with players who had acted generously. Connections were often broken with selfish players. From this finding, Rand describes what he calls a “correction mechanism” that is inherent to social groups. Players who were initially selfish or uncooperative were twice as likely to become cooperative after experiencing the unpleasant predicament of being shunned. Therefore being cut off or shunned from the group acts as an “internal discipline,” which ensures that levels of cooperation and generosity remain high within the network. Rand’s theory implies that social networks execute a kind of natural classical conditioning.

Rand’s research is compelling, and definitely a breath of fresh air compared to all the negativity out there, however it raises some questions. My first and foremost problem with his experiment is as to how well an online game can replicate an actual social network. The decision-making process involved in deciding whether or not to be generous with points in a game is markedly different from a more real life decision, such as whether or not to hook up with your best friend’s girlfriend, or screw over a co-worker to secure a promotion. Also, in an online game it is obvious when someone is not being nice, however in real life people don’t walk around with a sign over their head that says “generous” or “selfish.” Of course, Dr. Rand’s topic is very difficult to study, and while I may criticize his methods, I’ll admit that I have absolutely no idea what could have been done to improve the study. While his study may have flaws and his findings might not be applicable in all situations, they definitely still have value. It would have been interesting if Dr. Rand had also collected information about each participant’s age, gender, race, and other demographics. It seems like a very simple thing to include in a study, especially an online one, so it would have been quick efficient and would provide extensive information.

Dr. Rand’s findings come as a relief for anyone who worries that they are “too nice,” and possibly a wake-up call for anyone who tends to put their own interests above all else. However one must still remember the importance of making sure you are doing what is best for you as well. I think it’s best to be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum…don’t be a total doormat, but don’t be so aggressive that you screw over your friends to get what you want.

Sources:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/11/16/nice-guys-can-finish-first/31520.html

Marijuana: The Proscribed Medicine

BY DANNY TAY

An apple a day keeps the doctor away while a puff from a joint can keep chronic pain away.  Throughout the years there has been much controversy relating to the use of medicinal marijuana.  Can the controlled use of cannabis really benefit us? While media turns and twists marijuana into something harmful and ugly, what they don’t tell us is how beneficial marijuana can be to certain people.  From diseases as serious as cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy to less severe health conditions such as migraines, nausea and arthritis, the inhalation or consumption of marijuana has been proven to actually help with pain relief.

Many studies have shown that the active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can provide some medical benefits to certain patients.  While there is no evidence that marijuana can cure diseases and ailments, there have been many proven studies showing that the use of medicinal marijuana as a controlled substance can diminish pain associated to many illnesses.  According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), “cannabis and cannabinoids may have benefits in treating the symptoms of cancer or the side effects of cancer therapies” (Cancer.gov).  Furthermore, cannabis has been shown to actually kill cancer cells when studied in the laboratory at the NCI.

Of course there are many drugs in the market that can alleviate pain or help with certain diseases, however each bottle of medication comes with warning labels that list the risks and side effects of each drug.  Furthermore, these prescribed and over the counter drugs can prove harmful to our livers.  Marijuana on the other hand, in its purest form, is completely natural and has no proven harmful side effects.  There is a lot of unfounded rhetoric stating that smoking pot can cause lung cancer being that you’re inhaling smoke as you do with cigarettes.  On the contrary, cigarette  causes cancer because the tobacco is radiated where as in marijuana it isn’t.

I am not promoting the use of marijuana or an advocate for those who are pro prop 19; I am simply showing some insight on the other side of the spectrum.  We are taught never to judge a book by its cover, yet we dismiss and belittle the thought of legalizing medicinal marijuana solely on what is portrayed by the media.  So, before you chose to fight for or against the legality of marijuana, I ask that you consider all sides of the spectrum and educate yourselves further before passing judgment just because something is depicted a certain way in our society.  Think outside the box.

 (Dr. speaking about Marijuana).

References:

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/marijuana

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/patient

http://mpp.org/

http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/medical_marijuana_review.html

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000087

Need a Good Reason to Cut Class?

BY LAUREN RUF

Tell your professor that sitting down for too long is killing you.  Yes, literally killing you.  According to Marc Hamilton, PhD, “sitting is a health hazard on the order of smoking.”   Sitting for too long can wreak havoc on your metabolism because it reduces muscle movement drastically.  When you are standing you shift your weight back and forth resulting in many quick, tiny movements.  Standing also engages your leg and hip muscles, and when muscles are engaged, they release an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase.  This enzyme is responsible for burning fat that is floating around in your blood.  When you are sitting for too long and the amount of lipoprotein lipase drops, the HDL levels, or the ”good cholesterol” in your body also drops.  The insulin in your body also becomes less effective, increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.  Some of these effects can happen over the course of just one day, and they can really add up to be even more harmful over time.

The American Cancer Society conducted a study by tracking people’s health from 1992 to 2006.  The subjects were 123,000 Americans broken up into categories based on gender.  “The men in the study who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20 percent higher than the men who sat for three hours or less. The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40 percent higher.”  This may have been due to the fact that people who sit more often are at an increased risk for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, etc. and those diseases can cause premature death.

Interestingly enough, there was a somewhat similar study conducted in Australia that showed that the more television a person sat to watch on a daily basis, the higher their risk of dying was.  At first this seems extreme, but David Dunstan, the author of the study, calculated many possibly contributing factors only to find that, “age, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, waist circumference, body-mass index, glucose tolerance status and leisure-time exercise did not significantly modify the associations between television viewing and all-cause . . . mortality.”  Sitting really was the main culprit.  These studies seem to show that making a habit out of sitting too much can literally shed years off of your life.

A new trend attempting to counteract the negative effects of sitting is that people are replacing office chairs with exercise balls.  It was thought that by taking away the backrest of a traditional chair people would have to sit up straight and engage their muscles.  Leaning back in a normal chair you are forcing your back into an unnatural curve.  Unfortunately, a British study in 2009, “found that prolonged sitting on a therapy ball led to just as much slumping and ‘poor sitting position’ as a desk chair.”  But exercise balls are not all that bad because they do engage the muscles more, and one can burn more calories sitting on these than on chairs.  They are still not as effective as standing up or moving around.  So ask your parents to buy you Wii or an Xbox Kinect, it can save your life.

Sources

http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20535043_2,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=homepage

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/21really.html

http://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/09/sitting-down-all-day-really-bad-for-you/