Most studies measure mental health and social media use just once and at the same time, finding that people with greater mental health issues tend to use social media more and concluding that social media use contributes to those issues. By measuring social media use and mental health two years apart, this study is able to get a much better sense of whether high social media use causes mental illness or is a symptom, Dr Winstone said.

In the METRA group, each participant received a 10-session group-intervention with 2 modules. Participants in the METRA group also had significantly greater reductions in the secondary outcomes, including anxiety, Afghan-cultural distress symptoms, and psychiatric difficulties compared to the treatment as usual group. “In this randomized clinical trial, those in the METRA group had significantly greater improvements in psychiatric symptoms relative to those in the TAU group,” the authors wrote.

If the user wants the avatar to walk, the avatar will. Four theories explain how we may learn from avatars. Avatar factors that promote positive outcomes include similarity to the user, normal body size, ideal avatars, the ability to customize an avatar, avatar transformations, and avatar behaviors. Fox, J.; Bailenson, J. N. Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors.

In the APP condition, patients receive only the app without any additional contact with therapists, while in the TG-APP condition, therapists provide 8 sessions of video-based treatment in addition to using the app. The main goal of the present study is to evaluate whether the use of the app-based intervention helps to decrease symptoms of social anxiety disorder and has positive effects on mental health. In addition to our study purposes, the app provider intends to use the results of the pilot study and the main study for the licensing process of the app as a digital health product.

Climate change is causing sea levels to rise. However, research from the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food has shown that modifying rice genetically to have fewer stomata—tiny openings used for water loss—makes it more resistant to salt. Scientists from Sheffield discovered many years ago that rice plants could use up to 60% less water by having fewer and smaller stomata, which is extremely advantageous in drought-prone areas.

The council complements the work of other American Heart Association youth initiatives such as the in-school programs, Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge, and the American Heart Association Leaders for a Resilient Generation National Council. “The American Heart Association continues to bring great support and value added to education and student programming for the children of Niagara Falls,” Laurrie said.

Under 30% of American children had high cardiovascular health scores. According to the first research to use the American Heart Association’s new “Life’s Essential 8” metrics and scoring methodology for assessing cardiovascular health levels in adults and children, most children and adolescents in the United States have poor scores for cardiovascular health. Only three CVH metrics were available in NHANES for all children aged 2 to 19 years.

New research from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago shows that heart health is a concern for many long before adulthood because fewer than one third of children aged 2-19 years scored highly on the American Heart Association's checklist for ideal cardiovascular fitness. Only 2.2% of children in the study had optimal heart health, according to the Life's Essential 8 scoring system, which spans poor, moderate, and high. In the 2- to 5-year age group, over half of the children had good heart health.

About 80% of American adults have low to moderate cardiovascular health based on the American Heart Association checklist for optimal heart health, which now includes healthy sleep as an essential component for heart health. “The new metric of sleep duration reflects the latest research findings: Sleep impacts overall health, and people who have healthier sleep patterns manage health factors such as weight, blood pressure, or risk for type 2 diabetes more effectively,” AHA President Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, said in a news release.

Using data compiled through the American Heart Association’s new Life’s Essential 8 heart health scoring system, researchers determined that less than 30% of children aged 2 to 19 have high cardiovascular health. Kids with high cardiovascular health are less likely to have subclinical cardiovascular disease in middle age. For U.S. children, perhaps unsurprisingly, diet was a leading factor in low cardiovascular health scores. Of the eight metrics considered, U.S. adults scored lowest in diet, physical activity, and weight/BMI, and scores generally decreased with age.