Pulse

Healthline

DISCOVERY CHANNEL begins airing a new series about health called Second Opinion with Dr. Oz at 5 p.m. Monday.

Each hourlong show focuses on a single medical issue as presented by New York heart surgeon and host Dr. Mehmet Oz. A celebrity guest familiar with that particular problem will also make an appearance. Oprah Winfrey, Picabo Street and Quincy Jones are slated for upcoming shows.

Oz, who is vice chairman of the surgery department at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and who has been dubbed one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" by People magazine, always urges viewers to make lifestyle changes first.

From sitting up straight to straightening one's diet, we are each responsible for our own health, he says.

For the first three weeks, Second Opinion will air every weeknight at 5 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Saturdays. Beginning Nov. 11, the show goes to its regular Monday-only schedule.

INGENIOUS GADGETS and smarter body language to ease arthritis and other chronic pain will be among the topics at a daylong event Saturday in Largo.

"Devices and Abilities: Take Control 2003" will run from 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m. at the Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive.

Participants will learn how to adapt a computer, the kitchen, even their vehicle, to compensate for physical limitations.

Tickets are $25, with discounts for members of the Arthritis Foundation.

For information or to register, call toll-free 1-800-850-9455.

MANY FAMILIES have no time for family, according to time-diary surveys by the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center.

The center gathered information in 1981 and again in 1997 to compare. According to a story on loss of family time in the September/October issue of Experience Life magazine, the surveys show several factors conspiring against togetherness:

--An average American family works 388 hours more per year than in 1969.

--A 100 percent drop in household conversations was measured over 16 years, meaning that in 1997, when the latest survey was taken, periods in which "talking as a family" was the primary activity were virtually down to zero.

--Time for family meals decreased from about nine hours per week to eight - troubling in light of studies showing that mealtime at home is one of the strongest predictors of high achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems in children.

--A decline of 12 hours per week in overall free time for children and three hours a week in playtime. Meanwhile, structured sports doubled from about two-and-a-half hours per week to about five-and-a-half hours. There was also a fivefold increase in time spent watching family members play sports, from 30 minutes to more than three hours per week.

--Time children spend studying increased by almost 50 percent.

What to do?

Experts suggest making time for family in little ways. Schedule a weekly china-and-candles dinner. Brush your child's hair or rub his back at bedtime. In addition to closeness, such connections are good for one's health. People who are socially disconnected are two to five times more likely to die from all causes, reports Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam.

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