Experts fear that with the rise of the gym selfie, there is a much darker side to the example these men are setting - warning it could lead to serious psychological issues for guys who feel they need to achieve near-impossible body goals. Dr James Byron-Daniel, senior lecturer in sports and exercise psychology at the University of the West of England , says: "There is massive pressure on men now because they see so many body images on social media, which we didn't see 10 years ago."The problem comes when young men are not sure how to attain the body ideals they see but just want to get bigger and bigger.

Mirror, March 11, 2016

"Despite higher levels of general inflammation in HIV-infected females, HIV-positive males in our study showed both lower bone mass and higher sCD14 levels. This is perhaps because estrogen is protective against some of the inflammation seen in chronic HIV, as estrogen represses macrophage function," said Aldrovandi, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Medical Xpress, March 10, 2016

10 Things I Wish Someone Told Me as a Teenage Boy

As a young man, I thought this was normal: men were just brutal to each other and going through punishing physical rites of passage was the way to man up and prove oneself. Many young men at my school created their own rites of passage -- from racing cars to violent physical battles. I was lucky to make it through my adolescence without a serious injury but others as my school were not so lucky. Some died in gang violence; others died drunk driving. Across our country, young men from all backgrounds are initiating themselves and the results are terrifying: There are over 1,000,000 adolescents in gangs around the country; over 90 percent of them are young men. Numerous young men have died at fraternity hazing over the years.

Huffington Post, March 10, 2016

Doctors should screen for poverty during child-wellness visits, American Academy of Pediatrics recommends

Pediatricians just declared war on child poverty. For generations, a visit to the pediatrician involved the familiar tongue depressor, a stethoscope, and some vaccinations. But if a professional pediatrics organization has anything to do with it, it will soon also involve a new question: "Do you have difficulty making ends meet at the end of the month?" On Wednesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 64,000 pediatricians, announced new recommendations to screen for poverty in a bid to reduce its health effects.

Washington Post, March 9, 2016

This report highlights the importance of engaging adolescent boys and young men in sexual and reproductive health and rights and in gender equality. It reviews current research on boys' and young men's specific risks and realities - and the implications for women and girls - in relation to their general health status, violence, sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, media violence, sexual exploitation, and other vulnerabilities.  

Promundo, March 9, 2016

A Canadian co-authored study critical of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) has now been permanently spiked by a prestigious medical journal, with one outside expert suggesting it contained numerous "gross errors." The small animal study had actually been accepted by Vaccine and published online, then pulled temporarily last month by the editor, who had it peer-reviewed a second time - an unusual sequence of events. The paper concluded that mice injected with the Gardasil HPV vaccine exhibited behavioural abnormalities and suggested putting a curb on mass programs to immunize girls against the cancer-causing virus.

National Post, March 8, 2016

A recent study examines rates of vaccine hesitancy among pediatric providers, the reasons for these concerns, and suggested educational interventions that might improve vaccine confidence and adherence to guidelines.2 The researchers administered a one-page questionnaire regarding healthcare provider vaccine attitudes and practices to 680 attendees at American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)-sponsored vaccine conferences between June and November of 2013. Participants included physicians and nurses and encompassed practitioners in rural, suburban, and mixed geographical regions.The researchers found that 99% of participants routinely recommended standard pediatric vaccines, but 5% stated that they did not routinely recommend influenza and/or human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. The most often-stated concerns focused on vaccine efficacy (31%) and safety (13%). Providers demonstrated "misperceptions" regarding vaccines, including the belief that vaccines cause autism (5%).

MPR, March 8, 2016

Sun, Sex, and STDs: Are You Ready for Spring Break 2016?

Spring break is just around the corner, and it's projected that more than half of college students nationwide are preparing to invade the beaches of Miami, the strip of Las Vegas, and the tropical paradise of the Caribbean, among other popular destinations. While students on spring break are eagerly enjoying some "fun in the sun," they're more likely to participate in binge drinking, engage in casual sex, and fall victim to alcohol-related injuries. During the months of March and May, there is a spike in sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates, which is believed to be associated with spring breakers' participation in those casual activities.

Pharmacy Times, March 8, 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at dbarbour@partnershipformaleyouth.org.

The  Partnership for Male Youth is a collaboration among 23 national organizations and representation from six federal agencies. It is led by a multidisciplinary and multispecialty steering committee and advisory council. The Partnerships's flagship effort, released in January 2014, is  The Health Provider Toolkit for Adolescent and Young Adult Males.