Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year


CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines.


"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.


In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.


The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.


It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs — which include OxyContin and Vicodin — were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.


Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.


They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.


Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.


Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.


The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.


The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.


Some experts believe these deaths will level off. "Right now, there's a general belief that because these are pharmaceutical drugs, they're safer than street drugs like heroin," said Don Des Jarlais, director of the chemical dependency institute at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center.


"But at some point, people using these drugs are going to become more aware of the dangers," he said.


Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" — doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.


Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.


One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.


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Stobbe reported from Atlanta.


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Online:


JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org


CDC: http://www.cdc.gov


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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com


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Former Navy SEAL on Coming Out of Shadows












It used to be that Navy SEALs didn't just operate in the shadows. They trained in them too. Their whole story stayed shrouded in mystery. Their secret missions stayed secret to the rest of us.


But when they got Osama Bin Laden, snatched back an American cargo ship taken by pirates and rescued two air workers held hostage in Somalia, then suddenly, it seemed that SEALs were headline-makers.


Add to that some SEALs wrote books about SEAL adventures and even acted in a movie about the SEAL experience using live ammunition when they made "Act of Valor." They can't quite be called "the military unit that no one ever talked about" any longer.


Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET


Rorke Denver played Lt. Commander Rorke in "Act of Valor," a film that used dozens of SEALs and went on to gross $80 million at the box office. Now, with the help of a writer, Denver is doing some pretty decent storytelling in a new book, "Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior."


He agrees that with SEALs like him telling their stories that these guys are out in the open like never before.


"We are, at this moment in our history, when the heat is on, the missions are getting press and coverage," Denver said.










Acts of Valor: Four Boyfriends Took Bullets to Save Girlfriends Watch Video









'Zero Dark Thirty' Screenwriter Responds to Film's Controversy Watch Video





When asked if it was a good thing, he said, "time will tell."


"We are in the public eye and I think that mythology is something that people are hugely, hugely interested in and they have an appetite for it," Denver said. "So for us with the movie and then also with 'Damn Few' I had an opportunity, I feel, to authentically represent and hopefully do it from an honorable point of view and accurately do so."


It's mostly his own story Denver tells in "Damn Few," how he joined the SEALs after college -- they didn't want him at first.


"I put in my first application and they said no, and I am glad it went that way. I think the community really values resiliency and toughness and focus and a 'never quit' attitude. For me, when they said no I thought, that ain't going to cut it."


Denver didn't quit. He reapplied and went on to survive the SEALs brutal Hell Week and training, joined the team and deployed all over the world, including the deadly Al Anbar province in Iraq when the war there was at its hottest. His family waited for him to return stateside.


"The families, I feel, are the ones who pay the price of our choices," Denver said. "But I didn't appreciate how much I was asking my family to bear and experience it with me. They really are every bit a part of our experience and frankly they are the ones who are back home and praying and believing that you are going to come home."


But even his family didn't quite know what Denver did at work every day.


"I never ask questions about what he does," said his wife, Tracy.



But "Act of Valor" was revealing in that way, and Denver's wife watched the film.


"For me it was incredibly eye-opening to actually see a submarine mission or running around in the jungle, jumping out of a plane, shooting his weapons," she said. "For me, it was like, oh, so this is what you are doing when you are away. I appreciated it actually."






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Chavez back in Venezuela, on Twitter with four million followers


CARACAS (Reuters) - After Hugo Chavez spent two months out of the public eye for cancer surgery in Cuba, the Venezuelan government hailed his homecoming on Monday and said the president had achieved another milestone - four million followers on Twitter.


The 58-year-old flew back from Havana before dawn and was taken to a military hospital. No new details were given on his health, and there were no images of his arrival. Officials say his condition remains delicate.


The normally loquacious socialist leader, who is struggling to speak as he breathes through a tracheal tube, took to Twitter with a passion back in April 2010, tweeting regularly and encouraging other leftist Latin American leaders to do likewise.


His @chavezcandanga account quickly drew a big mixed following of fans, critics and others just curious to see how his famously long speeches and fiery anti-U.S. invective would work within the social media network's 140-character limit.


But as he fought the cancer and underwent weeks of grueling chemotherapy and radiation therapy, he began to tweet less and less frequently, before stopping altogether on November 1.


Early on Monday morning, he made his reappearance.


"It was 4:30, 5 a.m. He got to his room and surprised everyone: rat-tat-tat, he sent three or four messages, and at that moment fireworks began to go off around the country," Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised cabinet meeting.


During the day, Maduro added, the president's number of followers had shot up to well over four million.


"It's incredible, in just a few hours ... he's the second most-followed president in the world (after Barack Obama), and the first if we make the comparison by per capita," he said.


Obama has more than 27 million Twitter followers and is No. 5 most followed globally. Chavez is Twitter's No. 190 globally.


4TH MILLION FOLLOWER


Maduro said Chavez's four millionth follower was a 20-year-old single Venezuelan woman named Alemar Jimenez from the gritty San Juan neighborhood in downtown Caracas, near the military hospital where the president arrived earlier in the day.


"She's one of the golden generation of youth who support the fatherland and have been waiting with growing love for commander Hugo Chavez," Maduro said, before presenting a dazzled-looking Jimenez to the cameras and giving her a bunch of flowers.


"We were really emotional" she said, recounting how she was with her mother when they heard Chavez had returned. "I sent him a message on Twitter saying he must get better."


There are still big questions over the president's health. He could have come back to govern from behind the scenes, or he may be hoping to ease political tensions and pave the way for a transition to Maduro, his preferred successor.


Chavez has often ordered followers to fight back against opposition critics of his self-styled revolution by using social media, leading from the front himself on Twitter and referring to the Internet as a "battle trench."


As his ranks of followers grew, Chavez said he hired 200 assistants to help him respond to messages - which he said were a great way to receive first-hand the requests, demands, complaints and denunciations of citizens in the thousands.


During his re-election campaign last year, the government launched an SMS text message service that forwards his tweets to cellphones that lack Internet service, broadening their reach to the poorest corners of the South American country.


"He's a communication revolution!" Maduro said, later unbuttoning his shirt on TV to show he was wearing a T-shirt bearing Chavez's eyes emblazoned across his chest.


For the tens of thousands who signed up on Monday to follow Chavez on Twitter, it is unclear how much will be posted there in the weeks and months ahead. Venezuela's 29 million people are mostly wondering something similar.


(Additional reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Todd Eastham)



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Asian markets fall, Japan weighed by strong yen






HONG KONG: Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday as Tokyo slipped following an uptick in the yen while Chinese shares fell on fears Beijing may act to rein in soaring property prices.

With US markets closed for the Presidents' Day public holiday, there were no drivers from New York.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.31 percent to end at 11,372.34 on profit-taking and as the yen rose after Japan's finance minister said the central bank's independence was safe for now.

Seoul added 0.20 percent to 1,985.83 and Sydney ended 18.5 points, or 0.37 percent, higher at 5,081.9.

Hong Kong lost 1.02 percent, or 238.03 points, to 23,143.91, while Shanghai shares closed down 1.60 percent, or 38.65 points, at 2,382.91 amid fears Beijing may tighten regulations in the sector to try to control home prices.

"Negative factors, including rebounding property prices and inflation pressures, are gaining momentum," Tebon Securities analyst Zhang Haidong told Dow Jones Newswires.

In Tokyo, Finance Minister Taro Aso moved to reassure on the independence of the Bank of Japan and also said the government had "no intention" of asking the central bank to buy foreign bonds as part of its monetary easing policy.

The yen rose after Aso's comments took the edge off Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's warning on Monday that he would consider changing the law to take control of the bank if it could not achieve a new two percent inflation target.

"We are not thinking about a law change at the moment," Aso said at a regular news conference on Tuesday.

Abe's remarks had added to selling pressure on the yen, which was already weakened by the Group of 20's decision not to label Tokyo a currency manipulator over its recent monetary easing policy.

In foreign exchange trade, the dollar slipped to 93.67 yen in Tokyo from 93.95 yen in London on Monday, while the euro was weaker at 125.02 yen against 125.43 yen.

The euro was also at $1.3348 against $1.3353.

"The pair (dollar against the yen) fell on Mr. Aso's remarks on foreign bond purchases," said a senior dealer at a major Japanese trust bank.

Oil prices turned lower, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March falling four cents to $95.53 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April slipped 27 cents to $117.42.

Gold was at $1,612.50 at 1050 GMT, compared with $1,610.52 late Monday.

In other markets:

- Singapore closed 0.23 percent, or 7.63 points, higher at 3,295.77.

Property developer City Developments was down 0.61 percent to S$11.34 while United Overseas Bank gained 0.05 percent to S$19.35.

- Bangkok added 0.58 percent, or 8.78 points, to 1,532.07.

Airports of Thailand dropped 2.98 percent to 114.00 baht, while coal producer Banpu rose 1.88 percent to 380.00 baht.

- Kuala Lumpur lost 0.36 percent, or 5.86 points, to 1,615.07.

CIMB shed 0.3 percent to 6.98 ringgit, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.4 percent to 21.20 and Malayan Banking dipped 0.3 percent to 8.84 while YTL Corp gained 1.3 percent to 1.58 ringgit.

- Jakarta slipped 9.98 points, or 0.22 percent, to 4,602.06.

Palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari fell 2.12 percent to 18,500 rupiah, food manufacturer Cahaya Kalbar lost 4.29 percent to 1,560 rupiah, and cigarette producer Gudang Garam rose 0.59 percent to 50,950 rupiah.

- Taipei added 0.22 percent, or 17.35 points, to 7,960.88.

HTC climbed 3.68 percent to Tw$282.0 while Hon Hai Precision was 1.57 percent higher at Tw$84.1.

- Wellington ended 0.71 percent, or 29.73 points, higher at 4,244.21.

Contact Energy rose 3.4 percent to NZ$5.25, Telecom added 1.1 percent to NZ$2.28 and Sky City was flat at NZ$4.02.

- Mumbai advanced 0.69 percent, or 134.64 points, to 19,635.72.

Tech Mahindra climbed 4.82 percent to 1,034.0 rupees while ailing Kingfisher Airlines rose 5.0 percent to 10.53 rupees on hopes of fresh funding.

- AFP/de



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India, UK to start negotiations on civil nuclear pact

NEW DELHI: Adding a new dimension to their strategic ties, India and the UK today decided to start negotiations on a civil nuclear pact to facilitate entry of British companies into emerging atomic power sector here.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the announcement after delegation-level talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron during which both sides reviewed entire gamut of bilateral relations.

"We have also decided to commence negotiations on a bilateral Civil Nuclear Agreement," Singh said.

India has already signed civil nuclear pacts with a number of countries including United States, France, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mongolia and Canada.

The Prime Minister said he thanked Cameron for Britain's support for India's full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control regimes.

Cameron said Britain was in favour of transferring high-technology to India.

India has planned to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63,000MW in 2032 against its current installed capacity of 4,780MW and a number of countries have been vying to get a share of India's lucrative atomic energy market.

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Russian Meteor: Close Encounter, Preventing Impacts





Feb 18, 2013 7:03pm



MOSCOW — As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.


And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a fireball, apparently entering Earth’s atmosphere.


It’s a barrage from space that has people asking: Are we ready for the big one?


Nearly 100 tons of space debris enters Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most of it burns up or falls harmlessly into the ocean, but experts still worry that eventually something big will come our way.


PHOTOS: Meteorite Crashes in Russia


epa russia meteor Chebarkul lake jt 130217 wblog Russian Meteor: Close Encounters and Plans to Prevent Impacts

Image credit: Chelyabinsk Region Branch of Russian Interior Ministry/HO/EPA


The prospect of Earth getting hit by a giant hunk of space rock is concerning enough that the United Nations is gathering top minds in Italy this week to discuss it.


Scientists say the idea of blowing up an asteroid — as Bruce Willis’ character did in the movie “Armageddon” — is pure Hollywood fantasy. Even if we could hit it, it’s unlikely to stop it.


Existing sky-watching programs run by NASA and others can only spot the biggest asteroids, not the small ones that sneak up on us.


But fear not, citizens of Earth. Scientists have a plan.


RELATED: Russian Meteor: Rushing to Cash in on the Blast


One group, the non-profit B612 Foundation, proposes sending a telescope, called Sentinel, into space to detect incoming objects decades before their orbits intersect ours. Then, unmanned spacecraft could fly to them and nudge them clear of Earth’s path.


The group is trying to raise $200 million to make it happen and hopes to launch the telescope by 2016.


Another project, proposed by the University of Hawaii, aims to give earthlings a heads-up when necessary, starting by 2015.


RELATED: Meteor Events: Rare, but Dangerous


It is called the Atlas program, and the plan is to deploy a string of telescopes that would search for even smaller objects in the sky, hoping to be able to give people at least a few day’s notice that could allow time for an evacuation.


Until then, better keep Bruce Willis on speed dial.



SHOWS: World News






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U.N. says has list of Syrian war crimes suspects


GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrians in "leadership positions" who may be responsible for war crimes have been identified, along with units accused of perpetrating them, United Nations investigators said on Monday.


Both government forces and armed rebels are committing war crimes, including killings and torture, spreading terror among civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict, they said.


The investigators' latest report, covering the six months to mid-January, was based on 445 interviews conducted abroad with victims and witnesses, as they have not been allowed into Syria.


The independent team, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, called on the U.N. Security Council to "act urgently to ensure accountability" for grave violations, possibly by referring the violators to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.


"The ICC is the appropriate institution for the fight against impunity in Syria. As an established, broadly supported structure, it could immediately initiate investigations against authors of serious crimes in Syria," the 131-page report said.


It added: "Individuals may also bear criminal responsibility for perpetuating the crimes identified in the present report. Where possible, individuals in leadership positions who may be responsible were identified alongside those who physically carried out the acts."


Karen Konig AbuZayd, one of the four commissioners on the team of some two dozen experts, told Reuters: "We have information suggesting people who have given instructions and are responsible for government policy. People who are in the leadership of the military, for example."


"It is the first time we have mentioned the ICC directly. The Security Council needs to come together and decide whether or not to refer the case to the ICC. I am not optimistic."


But its third list of suspects, building on lists drawn up in the past year, remains secret. It will be entrusted to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, upon expiry of its current mandate at the end of March, the report said.


Pillay, a former judge at the ICC, said on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be probed for war crimes and called for immediate action by the international community, including possible military intervention.


"The evidence collected sits in the safe in the office of the High Commissioner against the day it might be referred to a court and evidence would be examined by a prosecutor," said a European diplomat.


The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 people, Pillay told the Security Council last week in a fresh appeal for it to refer Syria to the ICC, the Hague-based war crimes court.


Government forces have carried out shelling and aerial bombardment across Syria including Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs and Idlib, the independent U.N. investigators said, citing corroborating evidence gathered from satellite images.


"In some incidents, such as in the assault on Harak, indiscriminate shelling was followed by ground operations during which government forces perpetrated mass killing," it said, referring to a town in the southern province of Deraa where residents told them that 500 civilians were killed in August.


"SPREADING TERROR"


"Government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law. This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder. Where murder was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, with knowledge of that attack, it is a crime against humanity," the U.N. report said.


They have targeted queues at bakeries and funeral processions, in violence aimed at "spreading terror among the civilian population", it said.


"Syrian armed forces have implemented a strategy that uses shelling and sniper fire to kill, maim, wound and terrorize the civilian inhabitants of areas that have fallen under anti-government armed group control," the report said.


Government forces had used cluster bombs, it said, but it found no credible evidence of either side using chemical arms.


Rebel forces fighting to topple Assad in the protracted and increasingly sectarian conflict have committed war crimes include murder, torture, hostage-taking and using children under age 15 in hostilities, the U.N. report said.


"They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas," it said. Rebel snipers had caused "considerable civilian casualties".


"The violations and abuses committed by anti-government armed groups did not, however, reach the intensity and scale of those committed by government forces and affiliated militia."


Foreign fighters, many of them from Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, have radicalized the rebels and helped detonate deadly improvised explosive devices, it said.


The two other commissioners are former chief ICC prosecutor Carla del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand.


"It is an investigative mechanism and its evidence can be given to relevant judicial authorities when the time comes. In the interim, it is the one piece of U.N.-approved machinery shining a light on abuses," the European diplomat said.


Referring to del Ponte, who joined in September, the diplomat said: "She brings a harder-edged prosecutorial lens so when they are looking at the evidence she is very well placed to know what sort of evidence would assist a later judicial process."


(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alistair Lyon)



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Sony slashes price on PlayStation Vita in Japan






TOKYO: Sony said on Monday it was slashing the price on its hand-held PlayStation Vita console in Japan by as much as one-third as the electronics giant and its rivals face stiff competition from online games.

The company said its 3G/Wi-Fi model would sell for 19,980 yen ($210) from later this month, down from the current 29,980 yen, with the price of the Wi-Fi model also reduced to 19,980 yen from the current 24,980 yen.

Sony warned earlier this month over slow sales of the Vita. On Monday it said the price cut was designed to "make the platform more accessible than ever and will appeal to wider audiences looking to buy the model best suitable for their own game play style".

Sony, which is aiming to return to profitability after four years in the red, is expected later this month to announce the successor to its popular PlayStation 3 home game console.

Xbox maker Microsoft is also expected to unveil a new versions of its console. The consoles have been evolving into home entertainment hubs for films, television, music, social networking and more.

However, the once-mighty gaming firms are struggling to retain market share as they fend off a challenge from cheap - or sometimes free - downloadable games for smartphones and tablets.

- AFP/de



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British PM David Cameron seeks 'special' relationship with India

MUMBAI: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday began his India visit seeking a "special relationship" between the two countries, saying it is "about the future and not the past" for which sky is the limit.

"I want Britain and India to have a special relationship...this is a relationship about the future, not the past," Cameron said in his first public engagement here-- an interaction with the staff of Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of British consumer products' giant, Unilever.

Describing India as one of the "great phenomena" of the century, Cameron, who is on a three-day visit to India, his second since assuming office in May 2010, said the enormous growth of the country is going to make it the third largest economy by 2030.

"I am heading the biggest-ever business delegation to leave British shores. India's rise is going to be one of the great phenomena of the century and it is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy, the great strength of your diversity and the enormous power of your economy that is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030," he said.

"As far as I am concerned, sky is the limit.. it's about business, economy and trade. But it is also about culture, politics, diplomacy. India is going to be one of the leading nations in this century and we will be partners and that's why I am here today," he said.

Britain wants to be India's partner of choice, the visiting premier said, adding the two countries have a lot in common such as history, language, culture.

"You are the largest democracy in the world, and we are the oldest," he said.

He also said both India and Britain face the extraordinary challenge of fighting terrorism.

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Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior


SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.


The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said.


"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel. What children watch is as important as how much they watch," said lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute.


The research was to be published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.


The study involved 565 Seattle parents, who periodically filled out TV-watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child's behavior.


Half were coached for six months on getting their 3-to-5-year-old kids to watch shows like "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" rather than more violent programs like "Power Rangers." The results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead.


At six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their TV watching.


By one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. Low-income boys appeared to get the most short-term benefit.


"That's important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression," Christakis said.


The study has some flaws. The parents weren't told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results.


Before the study, the children averaged about 1½ hours of TV, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. By the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. Those in the TV coaching group increased their time with positive shows; the healthy eating group watched more violent TV.


Nancy Jensen, who took part with her now 6-year-old daughter, said the study was a wake-up call.


"I didn't realize how much Elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own," she said.


Jensen said her daughter's behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what Elizabeth and her 2-year-old brother, Joe, watch. She also decided to replace most of Elizabeth's TV time with games, art and outdoor fun.


During a recent visit to their Seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching TV.


Another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended Christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive TV programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent TV.


"I think it's fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. Because no one's going to stop watching TV, we have to have viable alternatives for kids," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.


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Online:


Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org


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Contact AP Writer Donna Blankinship through Twitter (at)dgblankinship


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