Mormons May Be Happiest Americans; Fat is the “New Normal”; and More!
DNA Study Declares Detrimental Damage Caused by Smoking
It should come as no surprise to anyone (especially those of us that have read D&C 89, a.k.a. the Word of Wisdom) that smoking is far from beneficial for one’s health. However, a comprehensive DNA study conducted by scientists across the globe yielded frightening results about the addictive habit: it causes mutations in DNA.
Smoking, according to this study, speeds up one’s molecular clock (or changes their DNA far more rapidly than would naturally happen). The leads to mutated cells that harm the body and may cause cancer.
“There is a message here for people who are occasional or social smokers who think it doesn’t do anything,” said biologist and first author of this study, Ludmil Alexandrov. “If you smoke four to five packs of cigarettes in your lifetime it doesn’t sound that much, but you still get several mutations in every cell in your lungs and these are permanent, they do not go away. ”
Read more at The Guardian.
Is Fat the “New Normal”?
Personal Finance site WalletHub recently released a report ranking America’s “fattest states.” For a country with an obesity rate among adults over 35% (causing people to declare that fat is “the new normal”), much work and research had to be performed in order to accurately judge the nation’s states.
The study went from interesting to alarming when it revealed that the 20 most obese states were all clustered in the same area: the Southern U.S.
For anyone who ever watched Paula Deen, this may not come as a huge shock. Southerners love fried foods and butter, and rightfully so! Yet understanding that this problem of obesity is highly prevalent in specific areas may also allow individuals in those regions and across the country to recognize the importance of moderation in all things.
Read more at MSN.
Are Mormons the Happiest Americans?
Provo, Utah may be known to most of the country as the home of Brigham Young University, but Gallup polls know it as something else entirely: one of America’s happiest cities.
British journalist Ruth Whitman decided to put this title to the test. She traveled to Provo to find the authenticity of the Gallup poll findings — and it turns out, those polls were right. Well… Sort of.
“There’s a lot of positive things to say about this community. If you have a problem, 20 neighbors will step in to help you. It’s not fake, it’s genuine and lovely,” said Whippman. “But at the same time, it’s not as simple as that.”
And it’s not simple. Despite being consistently cited as one of America’s happiest places, the anti-depressant use in Utah paradoxically doubles that of the national average. Yet Mormons typically rate their happiness in the higher brackets.
And indeed, we are happy. We just may need a little help sometimes, that’s all.
Read more at The New York Post.
David Archuleta Releases First Post-Mission Pop Single
David Archuleta had girls all across the country swooning after his debut as an American Idol contestant in 2008. But when he announced in 2011 that the following year, he would be serving a mission? Well, it just made the Mormon girls swoon a little harder.
After returning home in 2014, the former Elder Archuleta collaborated on music with other artists such as JamestheMormon, but mostly directed his talents toward religious music.
Last week, however, Archuleta returned to his original genre of pop. And his return is a glorious one. (And in case you’re wondering, yes, that is a not-so-subtle reference to the title track he recorded for Meet the Mormons. #noregrets)
Read more at LDSLiving and check out his single “Numb” in the attached video above. It’s been released as a lyric video, with an action video promised in the near future.