Eating reality
OK, how much — and what — do you really eat?
If you're like most people, the perception is very different from reality.
"People have this notion that their diet is better than it is," says Adam Drewnowski, author of several studies on food intake.
"People will say, 'Oh yeah, I drink orange juice every day.' " But food record studies — the kind of research where participants record everything that passes their lips for about two weeks — often show otherwise, he says.
Most people overestimate intake of healthful foods and — you may as well fess up — underestimate consumption of unhealthful foods. But research also suggests some gender differences.
For example, men tend to exaggerate their consumption of vegetables, while women are more likely to underreport eating such high-calorie foods as chocolate and ice cream, Drewnowski notes.
Homework help
Veteran middle-school teacher Kevin McCarthy tells Parents magazine it's the top question he hears from parents every year: Should I help with homework? Here's his advice:
• Help develop a system for keeping track of assignments. If your child is having a hard time, ask his teacher to initial his assignment pad at the end of the day to confirm that he's written everything down.
• Encourage a set time for doing homework, either right after school or later in the evening. Ban distractions such as TV, phone calls and computers until all work is complete.
• Don't sit alongside your child, correct his mistakes or do his work for him. His teachers need to know what he's learning and where he could use some extra help.
Dr. Phil on the air
Dr. Phil McGraw specializes in straight talk, hold the whipped cream and the whining — and his largely female audience loves it.
Faced with the physically imposing, sharp-tongued McGraw, guests are defenseless. (A balding and husky 6-foot-4, he looks like a bulky Jeffrey Tambor, who played Hank "Hey now!" Kingsley on "The Garry Shandling Show").
After some four years of dispensing prickly advice on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in regular guest appearances, McGraw has his own one-hour daily program. An impressive forum it is.
"Dr. Phil," created by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and produced by Paramount TV, debuts today at 3 p.m. on KHON. He's been picked up by 97 percent of television markets, an astounding start for syndicated fare.
It must jockey for attention with a pack of other new syndicated hopefuls, including John Walsh, Wayne Brady and Caroline Rhea.
— Advertiser staff and news services
