The eight-month-long study of three churches in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area—an evangelical black church, a liberal Protestant congregation, and a Latino parish— found that each faced distinct pressures on the family unit. The Latino parish faced problems related to immigration and cultural assimilation; the black church dealt with a preponderance of single-parent households; and the liberal Protestant congregation grappled with extending leadership roles to its gay and lesbian congregants. Each of these pressures consistently bumped up against church structures that reflected a bias for traditional gender roles of woman as caretaker and mother and man as provider and father.

Researchers noted that the tension within churches comes from religious institutions’ traditional adherence to the belief that men’s and women’s roles are fundamentally different and that there’s such a thing as an ideal family, even after those roles have been reshaped by the realities of modern life.

The study is part of the University’s American Mosaic Project, a three-year project that looks at race, religion, and cultural diversity in the United States.

Telltale Toenails
A chemical derived from a cancer-causing agent in tobacco can be found in the toenails of nonsmokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke, according to research at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. The chemical is also found in the toenails of smokers. The study is the first to show the accumulation of cancer-causing chemicals in toenails, and indicates that toenail analysis could be a useful method of studying the role of exposure to tobacco smoke in cancer. Fingernails and toenails, as well as blood and urine, are already commonly used for detecting exposure to drugs and toxins, but toenails, because they grow more slowly than fingernails, better reflect cumulative exposure over a longer period. Toenails are also less likely than fingernails to become environmentally contaminated, and are easier to collect and store than blood and urine.

In another tobacco-related discovery, researchers with the U’s Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center found that heavy smokers who reduce their number of daily cigarettes still take in two to three times more total toxins per cigarette than light smokers. Researchers cited “compensatory smoking” as the cause. The more heavy smokers reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked, the more likely they were to take in more toxins by puffing more frequently or inhaling more deeply. The conclusion: Heavy smokers are better off quitting altogether than reducing their smoking.

Early Jump on Brain Disease
A brain disease that typically begins to show symptoms in middle age and beyond has its beginnings in brain development that occurs shortly after birth. That is the conclusion of University of Minnesota Institute for Human Genetics researchers who studied spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, a fatal degenerative brain disease that causes loss of coordination for such activities as walking, talking, and swallowing. There is no treatment, and patients typically die 10 to 15 years after symptoms first appear. The discovery suggests that in the future, doctors may be able to target treatment to coincide with critical times in brain development, thus lessening the impact of the disease in later years.

Internet Access and Success
Libraries, schools, and other public institutions that provide access to the Internet make a demonstrable difference in paving the way to better life opportunities such as living-wage jobs, according to a finding by the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. A survey of more than 80 community technology center directors and more than 400 individuals who use public computer labs showed a strong success rate in public labs’ ability to link patrons to job-related resources and outcomes, including résumé development, interviews, and job offers.

The High Price of Fast Food
It’s a good bet that families who eat fast food for dinner three or more times a week also stock their shelves with more salty snacks and sodas and fewer fruits and vegetables, according to University of Minnesota Medical School research. The study concluded that frequent fast food dinners are likely only one element of a pattern of overall unhealthy food choices that lead to higher health risks. Researchers said that while fast food can be a convenient choice for busy families, frequently choosing it can negatively affect overall household food choices and the family’s health. For instance, a higher frequency of fast food dinners was also associated with obesity and a higher body mass index in adults.

Scale Back on Self-Weighing
Frequently stepping on a scale may be an acceptable practice for adults, but it can be disastrous for teens. Recent research in the U’s School of Public Health found a strong correlation between frequent self-weighing and increased rates of binge eating, smoking, vomiting, and skipping meals among teenage girls. Further, girls who frequently weighed themselves were found to gain nearly twice as much weight in a five-year period as girls who did not. Researchers concluded that self-care strategies that focus on behavioral change, rather than weight, may be best for teens.