Talking Stick - May/June 2010 - 63

Diet Spam Stalks Students
You’ve likely seen some e-mail spam in your time, and as quickly as you saw it, you probably deleted it. Or perhaps you never saw the spam in the ﬁrst place, as your e-mail program ﬁltered it for you. One would think this ﬁlter-trash-delete process would be even more automatic for college students, since they’ve been immersed in the online world since birth. However, a study of students at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York suggests that young adults may be more vulnerable to these pitches, particularly if the person in question is overweight and the pitch is a weight-loss product. Researchers talked to 200 students, 65 of whom self-identiﬁed as having weight problems. The students answered questions about their online habits and their reactions to different sorts of spam. Researchers were surprised at how many of the students read spam and, in some cases, ordered the advertised product. Among the normal weight students, 18 percent said they read weight-loss e-mail offers and only 5 percent bought a product. Among overweight students, an amazing 42 percent opened spam messages promising weight loss and almost 19 percent ordered a product. Given that viewing spam and purchasing the product would likely be under-reported, due to embarrassment, these percentages might be low. The overweight students also reported receiving more weight-loss offers, perhaps because they visit more Web sites concerned with weight loss and their e-mail addresses wind up in spammers’ databases. Dr. Joshua Fogel, the study’s author, was also alarmed that many of the students reported that they don’t have spam or virus protection programs on their computers, noting, ironically, the additional cost. Dr. Fogel and his colleagues are planning future research to see if students use the products they buy. Most weight-loss pills, supplements, and drinks are ineffective at best, and some are outright dangerous, causing heart palpitations, increased blood pressure, and suppressed immunity. Dr. Fogel suggests that doctors attempt to educate their patients on the dangers of these products and the beneﬁts of slower, steadier weight loss through a healthy diet and exercise plan. Housing professionals can do this as well, in addition to offering education on spam, phishing, and virus-protection software. A report on the study is published in Southern Medical Journal and available here: http://journals.lww.com/ smajournalonline/Fulltext/2010/01000/Weight_Problems_and_ Spam_E_mail_for_Weight_Loss.9.aspx.

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http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Fulltext/2010/01000/Weight_Problems_and_Spam_E_mail_for_Weight_loss.9.aspx http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Fulltext/2010/01000/Weight_Problems_and_Spam_E_mail_for_Weight_loss.9.aspx http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Fulltext/2010/01000/Weight_Problems_and_Spam_E_mail_for_Weight_loss.9.aspx http://www.acuho-i.org/Foundation http://www.acuho-i.org/Foundation

Talking Stick - May/June 2010

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