Financial Debt Causes Real Physical Health Problems, Concludes Survey

    The stress caused by debt is a major health risk linked to a variety of health problems, according to a recent survey conducted by Associated Press-AOL Health.

Scientists have known for a long time that stress can be hard on the body, due to the effects of stress hormones designed to prime the body for "fight or flight." Over the long term, these hormones can hamper everything from digestive, immune and heart health to reproduction, growth and memory.

Researchers conducted a phone poll of 1,002 adults from every state but Alaska and Hawaii between March 24 and April 3. They found that people with high levels of debt-related stress had a 44 percent chance of experiencing migraines or other headaches, compared with only 15 percent of those with low debt stress. They also had a 27 percent chance of ulcers or other digestive problems, a 29 percent chance of severe anxiety and a 23 percent chance of severe depression - compared with an 8, 4 and 4 percent chance, respectively.

Fifty-one percent of those with high debt stress had lower back pain or other muscle tension, compared with only 31 percent of the less stressed. The risk of heart attacks was also twice as high among the highly stressed.

The findings suggest that the increasing prevalence of financial stress is likely to lead to a significant publichealth crisis.

The researchers reported that debt stress has increased 14 percent since 2004, rising along with debt itself. Total consumer debt, mostly from credit cards, has increased to $957 billion from the 2004 figure of $800 billion - or nearly 20 percent. The average car loan has increased from $24,888 to $27,397 and the total amount currently owed in mortgages has increased a whopping 35 percent from the 2004 total of $7.8 trillion to the current $10.5 trillion.

The average household now puts 20 percent of its after-tax income into paying off financial obligations, as compared to 18.5 percent in 2004.

Cell Phone Antenna May Pose Health Hazards

There is growing consensus that cell phone antennas may be harmful to humans due to the huge volume of electromagnetic waves that get concentrated around it during the receipt and placing of calls. This danger is even further aggravated by cellular manufacturers who place the internal antennas close to the earpiece.
Mobile phones are basically radio sets and therefore emit energy radio signals that can penetrate the body and cause harm.
There have been several commissions on the study of the effect of mobile phone on the human body and the most pronounced has been The Stewart Report which suggested that radio waves indeed penetrate human bodies from mobile phone antennas and specially recommended that children who obviously have softer skulls be extra careful and use the device sparingly. The report further went on to state that the brain cells of children are not as fully developed as those of adults and can therefore be at greater risk as they absorb the radiation more than fully hardened adult skulls.
These hazards may exist but cell phones have become part of everyday living like cars and cannot be dispensed with. In the light of this fact, doing away with our phones may not be a practical approach to solving the health hazards issue. Rather we can adopt some habits to mitigate the effects of the radiation.
Children should not use cell phones for long calls. They should sue land lines instead so as to minimize the length of contact with the radiation emitted by the device.
Consumers should buy phones with low specific absorption rate (SAR). Mobile phones should be kept away from the body as much as possible. They can be put in the purse or bag and only brought into contact with the body when there is the need to make or receive a call.
Users should try to keep their conversations short.
If possible, SMS messages can be sent instead of calls so that there is less contact with the body especially around the skull area.
Keep switching between both ears so that one particular ear does not absorb the full brunt of the radiation all the time.
Radiation emission is at the highest when the phone is trying to connect so keep the phone away from the skull till you see the call fully connected.
Weak signal results in higher radiation so avoid making calls in areas where reception is poor as the device will try to boost its power to get you a connection and resultantly bombard you with more radiation.
We cannot do away with cellular devices looking at the convenience they have ushered consumers in. Nevertheless, we can adopt some helpful attitudes to minimize the harmful effects this technology is bringing to mankind.