Wednesday Edition: Getting Thin with "Clen"

Monitoring school activity funds... One in five U.S. adults has arthritis... Parents underestimate college costs...
Clenbuterol, a drug that is used to help treat asthma in horses, is a new and dangerous favorite for people who want to drop serious weight fast. It is widely and easily available on the Internet. Hollywood stars call it the "size-zero pill." The Daily Mail (London) said:

Legal only for use in horses -- it was developed as an equine asthma treatment -- its use in professional sport is banned in Europe and the U.S.

But possession and purchase for private use isn't illegal and 'clen', as it's known, is frighteningly easy to buy over the internet. It was first used by bodybuilders who discovered it can burn fat while increasing muscle mass.

"It's a long-acting agent that increases the body's temperature and heart rate, which helps burn fat, even when the user is not exercising," says John McVeigh, an expert in substance use.

The reason behind its ability to build muscle, though, isn't fully understood. "It's not been tested on humans -- this is an animal vaccine," says Harrison Pope, a Harvard psychiatrist who has been researching bodybuilding drugs since the '80s.

"Most of the data available is veterinary, and it reveals a lot of bad reactions in rats. After taking the drug, their hearts started to stiffen. So it seems safe to predict that clenbuterol in high doses when taken by humans increases the risk of strokes and heart arrhythmia."

But despite the dizziness and palpitations, the ladies who don't lunch are getting it from their trainers, who sell it as a 'safe' alternative to steroids. "In looks-obsessed L.A., the appeal of this drug to women is obvious," says Professor Charles Yesalis, head of sports science at [Pennsylvania] State University.

"It's short-sighted, but they see it as a quick fix to get the lean, toned physique [popularized] by actresses and models." Brooke Hailey, of L.A.'s New Directions Eating Disorder Center, agrees. "I see more and more patients with bundles of disordered behaviors: over exercising, over-zealous exclusion of certain foods, the use of anti-anxiety medicines to curb the appetite -- it's the culture and it's very, very accepted." Adderall is a drug that's finding its way into the cocktail mix of cocaine, smoking, dieting and purging that many actresses rely on to curb their hunger.

Introduced a decade ago as a prescription drug for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, its major side effect is weight loss because it suppresses the appetite for up to nine hours.

"For the jet-setting, hard partying, over-extended girl, who naturally is concerned with her figure, it's become the miracle pill -- one, however, with potentially dangerous consequences," reported W magazine recently. Even when taken as instructed, Adderall can cause psychotic episodes, depression and even serious heart problems.

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Monitoring School Activity Funds

WFAA-TV in Dallas has been following the story of public school activity funds that go unaccounted for. Some of these funds, which are supposed to be used on things like field trips and even books and supplies, have turned out to be some fairly serious money. In the Dallas Independent School District alone, these activity funds added up to $15 million. But the TV station found:

Of the 168 schools that sent copies of their records, News 8 classified 83 as satisfactory. But 85 schools, more than half of the schools that turned in records, were found to be inadequate or substantially out of compliance with district policies.

Also, Board of Control minutes from 10 schools appeared to have exact duplicate signatures from week to week.

Have you ever looked to see how school activity funds are being spent in your area? How are they audited?

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One in Five U.S. Adults Has Arthritis

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention says that, by 2030, 67 million American adults will suffer from arthritis. The disability is growing so prevalent that the Arthritis Foundation even has a list of products that it says are easier for people with arthritis to use.

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Teen Drinking Series

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer is trying an interesting technique to get inside the story of teen drinking. The paper explains its special 6 part series:

A survey of Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school students this month revealed that 1 in 5 had consumed five drinks in a row in the previous month. One in 4 had climbed into a car with a driver who had been drinking.

For most teens who try alcohol, drinking is a rite of passage among peers, a perilous decision with thankfully few consequences.

For others, there is a price. Beginning today, we'll bring you their stories.

Each is in the person's words, as told to an Observer reporter. Each offers insight into the reach of alcohol -- and its impact on any family.

Included in the series: The messenger. The daughter. The abstainer. The friend. The survivors. The counselor. The voices of teen drinking.

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Parents Underestimate College Costs

American parents tend to overestimate how much money their kids will receive in scholarships and grants -- and underestimate how expensive college will be, according to a new study by AllianceBernstein Investments Inc., an asset management firm based in New York.

(Of course, the company sponsoring the study offers college investment tools and would like to see people save more.)

The Associated Press points out:

The study found that 87 percent of parents believe scholarships and grants will cover at least part of their children's undergraduate expenses, and nearly three-quarters think their children are "special or unique" enough to win a scholarship.

Financial aid administrators said 92 percent of parents overestimate the amount of scholarship money their children will receive.

Meanwhile, parents are not saving much on their own for their kids' educations, the study found.

"Parents with children ages 14 to 17 plan to have an average of $12,000 saved when their child reaches college age," the study found.

That would just cover the cost of one year's schooling at a four-year public college or university, according to the most recent data from the College Board, a nonprofit association based in Washington, D.C. It would fall far short of the $29,026 College Board estimate for one year at a private institution.