OPINION

DANA D. KELLEY: A study a day

One of the marvels of the Internet is its utility in connecting inquisitive minds with an overabundance of research studies, surveys and resources.

Whatever the subject, somebody at some time has probably "studied" it--though the form and fashion and focus of research often requires a "reader beware" cautionary caveat. In lieu of primary methodological research, some organizations analyze metrics and data about a given subject or thesis, and draw statistical conclusions and rankings among states or groups.

If you have a browser window and a search engine, the Internet is your research oyster.

Even a leisurely scroll through the "news" results for recent studies is eye-opening to the time, money, energy and resources devoted to understanding more and answering questions about, well, everything. Topics can and do range full-spectrum, from the trivial and trifling (healthy coffee consumption) to the important and imperative (deadly opioid crisis).

If you've ever wondered, in a particularly jittery afternoon moment, how many daily cups of java might be too many, there's a recent study for that.

Reviewing the dietary patterns and health records of nearly 350,000 participants between the ages of 37 and 73, researchers at the University of Australia cross-referenced caffeine intake and illness reports. They concluded that drinking six or more cups a day increases the risk of heart disease by as much as 22 percent. The entire study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

It's good to know that "Under six and you're A-OK," as the Aussie authors subtitled their news release.

In another beverage-health study, the Journal of the American Medical Association published results this week indicating that soda taxes were shown to reduce sales of sugary sodas in Philadelphia by 38 percent. That's a larger decline than reported in similar studies conducted previously in other places with beverage taxes aimed at reducing obesity.

The Philadelphia soda-tax structure funnels proceeds to fund free preschool and other community services. Last year, the Arkansas Legislature removed the grocery exemption from sugary drinks, but there is no surcharge tax on sodas (yet) here in the Natural State.

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages has been shown to lead to obesity, which is not only a nationwide problem, but also the subject of numerous studies. The problem is, ahem, bigger in some states than others. Using 25 key metrics in a recent study, WalletHub compared all 50 states, and published its findings as the "Fattest States in the U.S."

The good news is Arkansas is not the fattest state in the nation. This time we can thank goodness for West Virginia as well as Mississippi.

Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, we led the pack in the highest percentage of physically inactive adults. The bottom line is that we have to bring our collective bottomry more in line if we hope to ever improve our overall health index.

Stress is also a health-risk initiator, and workplace stress is widely recognized as the leading source for Americans.

In April, results from a year-long survey that garnered 20,944 responses, conducted by career data company Comparably, revealed surprising information about the nature of job stress. Asked to name their biggest stressor at work, four out of 10 employees said "unclear goals" was the main culprit. That's more than twice as many of the other runner-up responses, which included bad managers, difficult co-workers and too-long hours.

If fake news and social media polarization push your blood pressure higher, two recent studies might have a calming effect.

A study published in Science Advances examined shared Facebook data from a panel of users in the months before and after the 2016 election. It turns out that only 8 percent of the users in the study overall ever shared a link from a fake news site. But factoring in age, the over-65 crowd shared nearly seven times as many fake news articles as 18- to-29-year-olds did--and the propensity held even when controlled for party affiliation or ideology. Medicare-age users were also four times more likely to share a hoax.

It's probably time to trot out the old Abraham Lincoln quote again, about how you can't believe everything you see on the Internet.

Science Daily published a study this week that also dispelled anxiety over polarizing "echo chambers," or politically homogeneous groups. Pundits had previously claimed that socializing exclusively with like-minded people only amplified existing biases.

"When it comes to factual matters," one co-author noted, "...we find [echo chambers] doing the opposite."

"Remarkably" (in the words of the senior author), the study showed that information-sharing within homogeneous groups leads to better factual accuracy and actually decreases polarization.

A recent behavioral analysis bodes ill for our social peace of mind, and that is the state ranking by WalletHub of drug abuse.

Two key statistical points stand out alarmingly: Arkansas ranked first in percentage of drug transactions by teenagers on school property, and second in the nation in most opioid prescriptions per 100 people.

The state's drug problem presents perplexing complexity with no easy remedies, but it's something we should all agree needs to become more of a priority.

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Dana D. Kelley is a freelance writer from Jonesboro.

Editorial on 05/17/2019

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