Daniel Radcliffe Reveals Alcohol Problem, Newfound Sobriety (ContributorNetwork)

Daniel Radcliffe hadn't been associated with alcohol, drugs, or most other addictions that young stars generally have. Yet Radcliffe disclosed a past alcohol addiction in the new issue of Britain's GQ, which had gone on behind the scenes of the last Harry Potter movie. However, he reassured fans that he has been sober since last summer, which makes this summer even more of a milestone for the former boy wizard.

Radcliffe's final duels as Harry Potter will be revealed July 15 when Deathly Hallows Part 2 finally comes out. It will be the last victory lap for the movie series and the three young stars who powered it from the beginning.

Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have been hailed as a unique trio of child stars, having lived under the Potter spotlight for a decade. But through it all, they appeared to have avoided the pratfalls of childhood stardom, unlike so many of their peers.

Yet it turned out to be a different story for Radcliffe a few years ago, as he became "reliant on alcohol" after drinking whiskey on the set of Half-Blood Prince. However, in spite of all the tabloid attention and intense buildup to the end of the series, the press, blogs and paparazzi somehow managed to miss catching him with a drink.

Other teen stars would have been caught, labeled party animals, and gone through the usual scandals. But perhaps Radcliffe is different from the pack, since he claims to have overcome his vices after Deathly Hallows was complete. Not only did he become sober afterward, he kicked off the next stage of his career on Broadway by starring in How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

Entertainment Weekly reports Radcliffe told GQ that the traditional "famous person's lifestyle" isn't suited to him after all, which most already figured out long ago. That is why these revelations about alcohol are probably so surprising to most fans and onlookers. Yet since he claims to have overcome these problems on his own and away from the spotlight, it shouldn't be such a blow to his image -- in fact, it only backs it up.

This kind of story about regaining sobriety and committing to a quieter lifestyle cements Radcliffe's reputation for being level-headed and grounded, even though fans now know he wasn't always that way. Although there are bound to be a few jokes about Harry Potter being a drunk, they will be a mere drop in the bucket in the long run, assuming there's no relapse.

In any case, the alcohol revelations are a mere subplot for Radcliffe and the Potter team compared to the buildup for Deathly Hallows Part 2. The countdown is down to a mere 10 days before the big opening day July 15.

Sources

Entertainment Weekly- "Daniel Radcliffe reveals problem with alcohol"

People Magazine- "Daniel Radcliffe Reveals His Alcohol Problem"

Study Reveals Bariatric Surgery Less Effective in Middle-Aged Adults (ContributorNetwork)

If you're morbidly obese and middle-aged, weight-loss surgery may not decrease your chances of dying, according to a study published Sunday in the online Journal of the American Medical Association. Morbidly obese is defined as having a body mass index greater than 39 and generally means someone who is 100 pounds or more overweight.

Researchers were interested in studying the mortality rates of middle-aged and older adults after bariatric surgery. Data available prior to this study was based almost solely on young, white females who had had the weight-loss surgery. That group of individuals has a lower incidence of mortality related to obesity even before bariatric surgery than do older adults, according to study researchers.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of weight-loss surgery in populations with an increased risk of death related to obesity; these populations were identified as being highest in men and minority populations.

The research team studied follow-up data for 850 men with a mean age of 49.5 years and a mean BMI of 47.4 for an average of 6.2 years. The men in the study had the weight-loss surgery between the years 2000 and 2006. Their mortality (death) rate was compared to a control group of 41,000 other men who did not have the surgery, reports Yahoo! News. All the men were patients at medical centers of Veterans Affairs.

Researchers concluded that bariatric surgery in morbidly obese middle-aged men did not decrease their risk of death compared with care that did not include the surgery. Still, this population may opt for weight-loss surgery based on factors other than mortality rate, such as the reduction of body weight, control of obesity-related health conditions and improved quality of life.

In the United States, weight-loss surgery usually involves one of four procedures, explains the Weight-Control Information Network. The four procedures, each with its own risks and benefits, are: adjustable gastric band (AGB); Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB); biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch (BPD-DS); and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). The AGB works by decreasing food intake while the other surgeries involve not only the decreased ability to take in food but also affect food absorption and other factors.

Your physician will weigh conditions such as your health, obesity-related health conditions and your eating behaviors in helping to determine which, if any, of the weight-loss surgeries would be to your benefit. The outcome of this new study into mortality rates following bariatric surgery may be a factor in your consideration of the procedure now also.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation, L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.

Nicotine's Appetite Suppressant Effect Now Understood (ContributorNetwork)

People have long turned to smoking to help curb weight. I know: I was one of them. I didn't know it was the nicotine that did the trick, I just knew I ate less when I smoked. The scientific community now understands how nicotine does this. The discovery may open the flood gates to successful new weight-loss drugs in the future.

Science, the weekly journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) published Friday the results of research into the mechanism of nicotine in the brain, written by Yann S. Mineur, et al.

NPR reports that the insight into the effect of nicotine on appetite happened by accident. Mineur was performing a research study on chemicals for the treatment of depression, part of which was to give mice a chemical similar to nicotine. Mineur noted that the mice who were receiving the nicotine-like chemical ate less than the mice who were not receiving it. Mineur shared this observation with other scientists and the quest was on to determine how nicotine affected appetite.

It's fair to note that only experiments with mice and nicotine as an effective appetite suppressant have been done to date, but it is only a matter of time before clinical studies are conducted on humans.

Researchers explain that nicotine latches onto to certain brain cells that influence appetite. By developing a drug or drugs in the future that perform in the same manner, a new weight-loss method may be available.

With the epidemic of obesity in Western cultures and related chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, a safe and effective weight-loss aid can come none too soon.

Marina R. Picciotto, lead author of the nicotine study and professor of psychiatry at Yale University, told Bloomberg News via a telephone interview that one of her concerns is that a survey revealed that curbing appetite is the top reason teen females give for smoking.

Smoking is the top cause of preventable disability, disease and death in the United States, report the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emphysema, a chronic pulmonary disease, is caused almost exclusively by smoking. Still, nearly 50 million Americans smoke cigarettes. Whatever fraction of these millions who smoke to control weight, perhaps their smoking will be curbed or will stop when a safe and effective appetite suppressant can be developed.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation, L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.