In 25 states, one attempt to battle rising obesity rates among youth has been for schools to send home reports to parents on their children's body mass index, with the idea that the reports might inform and inspire lifestyle changes.

But a study of 29,000 elementary and middle school students in California found that the reports led to little change in subsequent BMI scores. In fact, researchers found that compared with a control group with no reports, kids whose BMI was screened at school expressed more weight dissatisfaction and talk about weight among their peers, but also no real weight or behavioral change.

Body of Knowledge

In 2009, Japanese scientists mapped the dopamine-based reward system in the brain that encourages women, when looking at themselves without makeup, to apply makeup.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in pain relievers such as Tylenol, is well-known for its ability to ease minor aches or reduce a fever. It may also make it easier to deal with the scary weirdness of life. A 2013 study found that acetaminophen reduced existential dread in test subjects, reducing their fear of uncertainty and death.

"We think that Tylenol is blocking existential unease in the same way it prevents pain, because a similar neurological process is responsible for both types of distress," study author Daniel Randles told LiveScience.

Doc Talk

Secretin: a happy hormone to have during these times of big meals. Secretin is released into the small intestine in response to acidity, stimulating the pancreas and bile ducts to release a flood of bicarbonate base to neutralize the acid. It's also not really much of a secret anymore: It was the first hormone to be discovered, back in 1902.

Phobia of the Week

Cherophobia: fear of gaiety (this is not a good time of year for cherophobes)

Best Medicine

A recent scholarly paper reported that men's beards have more germs than dogs. Of course, most men's beards don't contain any dogs.

Food for Thought

Maltodextrin is a common additive to salad dressings, ice cream and reduced-fat foods. It's a hybrid starch-sugar. Starches are long chains of sugar molecules that don't taste sweet; sugars are short chains that do taste sweet. Maltodextrin is created by breaking down cornstarch (or rice or potato) into smaller chains that are added to improve the texture of foods, and sometimes sweetness. The human body produces maltodextrin naturally when enzymes in the mouth begin to break down foods.

Observation

"Eat; drink; and be merry, for tomorrow, we may diet." — unknown, likely dead

Medical History

This week in 1845, ether was first used as an anesthetic during childbirth by Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, who gave it to his wife, who successfully delivered a baby girl. Three years earlier, Long had administered inhaled ether to James Venable prior to removing a neck tumor, well before William T.G. Morton's more famous public demonstration of ether, but Long's effort was not disclosed until 1849. Still, Long's accomplishments are now widely considered to represent the discovery of surgical anesthesia, and in 1940, he was honored with his face on a U.S. postage stamp.

Sum Body

Seven vestigial features of the human body:

1. Palmar grasp reflex: the automatic grasping action seen in newborns. It can appear as early as 16 weeks gestational age. Young monkeys also display the reflex, where the need to quickly hold on to things seems more of a necessity.

2. In the sixth week of gestation, human embryos possess a tail with multiple vertebrae. Over development, the tail disappears, fusing to form the coccyx or tailbone.

3. Wisdom teeth were employed by human ancestors to grind hard, fibrous foods. A softer, easier-to-chew diet means wisdom teeth are becoming increasingly absent.

4. In some animals, a nictitating membrane serves as a third eyelid, used to help keep the eye clean and moist. Sometimes they're clear enough to enable continuous vision when closed. Gorillas have them, but chimpanzees do not.

5. Auricular muscles enable species like dogs and giraffes to wiggle their ears and position them to better hear or localize sounds. Humans have the muscles, too, but they are now nonfunctional.

6. The palmaris longus muscle runs between the wrist and elbow. In 10% of humans, this muscle is absent. Presumably, it was intended to strengthen grip, particularly when hanging, but the muscle's absence has no impact on grip strength in modern humans.

7. People can have two, one or no pyramidalis muscles, located in the lower abdomen. Their function is unknown.

Epitaphs

"I finally stopped getting dumber." — Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos (1913-1996)

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: StockSnap at Pixabay