Experts Available to Discuss Study Claiming Teens with TV in Their Bedroom Less Likely to Have Healthy Habits

Business Wire, April 14, 2008

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TOPIC: Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found older adolescents who have a television in their bedroom are less likely to exercise and eat fruits and vegetables, according to an article by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents do not allow children to have a television in their bedroom, the study found two-thirds of the 781 participants had them. Researchers also found that boys who have a television in their bedroom tend to have lower grade point averages compared to those who do not.

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Dr. Daniel Kirschenbaum is Clinical Director and Chief Program Officer of Wellspring. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois and California, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School, Fellow and Diplomate in Clinical Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association and former president of its Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology. He has served as a consultant to the United States Olympic Committee, the National Basketball Association, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the Chicago Bears, numerous professional journals, and several major corporations. Dr. Kirschenbaum has provided addresses at many professional conferences worldwide, received numerous grants for research, and published nine books and 125 journal articles on weight loss, sport psychology, and related topics.

Dr. Kirschenbaum's books include: Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity (1987); Weight Loss Through Persistence (1994); The 9 Truths About Weight Loss (2000); and The Healthy Obsession Program: Smart Weight Loss Instead of Low-Carb Lunacy (2006)

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Amy Hendel, R-PA, IDEA, ACSM, CEO of www.healthgal.com , is a well-known health/medical/lifestyle television correspondent & expert. In her private Family Lifestyle Therapy practice, Ms. Hendel trains and counsels patients with her own unique blend of nutrition, fitness, and psychology approaches, targeting the whole family. Currently, she is a columnist and blogger (Your Best Life) on ivillage.com, contributing expert to The Today Show, Fox cable news -- The Big Idea, host/producer/writer of Healthy Home segments on Housesmarts.

(NBC) and radio host of Westwood One's Good Eating Good Living. Amy's book, Fat Families Thin Families, will be released in June 2008, by BenBella Books. Amy Hendel began her media career as a weekly health contributor to KCBS from 1999 to 2002 on Women 2 Women and the afternoon news. To date, Ms. Hendel has completed over 600 live and taped segments covering medical/health topics, nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle. Noted appearances include: Rachel Ray show, Fox News, KNBC News, Discovery Health, Smart Solutions (HGTV), TLC, KNBC Morning News, EXTRA, KTLA Evening News, and Good Day LA.

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Renowned clinical psychologist, Gerard J. Musante, Ph.D. founded Structure House in 1977 and understands firsthand the struggle faced by overweight people. After spending his overweight adolescent years trying countless diets that never worked, he devoted his professional life to developing and teaching the principles of behavior modification for overweight people. Today, his internationally respected weight control program, Structure House, has helped more than 30,000 people change their attitudes, perceptions and lifestyles with diet, exercise and education. Structure House is a residential center for weight control and lifestyle change in Durham, N.C. Dr. Musante was the first person to adapt the principles of behavior modification to the eating habits of significantly overweight people and food abusers alike. Thousands of people have benefited from his methods and guidance at Structure House. Participants learn why they have been making negative food choices and move on to learn about taking personal responsibility for their food choices and habits to maintain a healthier lifestyle. A respected leader in the field, Dr. Musante testified as an expert witness on obesity before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in October 2003 in support of Sen. Mitch McConnell's Commonsense Consumption Act. He also serves on the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission's Study Committee for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight/Obesity.

Dr. Musante is the author of The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (2007). Additionally, he has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsweek and People magazine. Dr. Musante has appeared on national television shows, including a feature segment on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, and with Morley Safer on the acclaimed CBS news program "60 Minutes" as well as "Donahue" and "Good Morning America." He wrote the introduction to James Coco's book, If I Can, You Can. Dr. Musante's road to personal success - the loss of 50 pounds - and professional success began when he undertook the study of obesity as a psychologist at Duke University Medical Center. There, he developed the techniques that not only enabled him to lose the weight, but to keep it off. He says, "Once I realized that my relationship with food needed to change, and that food was for nutrition, not for comfort and support, I lost the weight and kept it off." Dr. Musante received his professional training from New York University, the University of Tennessee, Duke University Medical Center and Temple University Medical School. He is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy. He has served on the editorial board of Addictive Behavior, and as a consultant to the National Board of Medical Examiners. He also continues to serve as a consulting professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences for Duke University Medical Center and the Duke University School of Medicine.