NOTEWORTHY.

• Position: Economic benefits of weight loss; teenage allowances; other topics - Brief Article

Losing weight, if you're obese, not only will make you look and feel better, says Gerry Oster of Policy Analysis Inc., Brookline, Mass., it will put money in your pocket. An analysis of the health and economic benefits to be gained from losing 10% of weight -- and keeping it off -- shows that it would reduce lifetime medical care costs of obesity-related ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease by $2,200-5,300.

American teenagers who get an allowance from their parents average around $50 a week, according to an Ohio State University, Columbus, survey. Adding that to outside income, about 9,800,000 teens have $1,050,000,000 to spend each week.

Universities in Asia are lacking in adequate computer technology, maintains Melody Alexander, who teaches business education and office administration at Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. Her survey of five schools in Japan, China, and South Korea found that computers are just being introduced into college classrooms there, so students are struggling to keep up with advances in computer technology.

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is important now that drugs are being developed that can slow mental decline. However, clinicians shouldn't rely solely on cognitive tests, cautions John C. Morris, co-director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Washington University School of...