In Brief

By Rebecca Winters

LUNCH LOBBY While school lunches have got healthier, kids are still getting chubbier as the cafeteria menu increasingly competes with in-school soft-drink and snack machines. School nutrition directors last week urged Congress to regulate these unhealthy temptations. But the lunch lobby may be in for a tough battle. Cash-strapped schools rely on the sales for extra funds.

DRINKING DAYS Fraternity and sorority members who drink heavily while in school don't tend to drink after graduation any more than other students, according to a study in this month's Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, an American Psychological Association publication. College Greeks drink as a group, the study says, but when they leave the party environment of campus and adopt adult responsibilities like holding a full-time job, they tend to leave the binge drinking behind as well.

POOPED OUT Boys who don't get enough sleep are more likely to suffer such accidents as a tumble or a bump on the head, according to researchers at the University of Alabama. Their study of 292 children seen at a hospital in Udine, Italy, found that boys ages 3 to 5 who slept fewer than 10 hours a night sustained 133% more injuries than those who got more rest. The injury risk was highest when the children had been up for at least eight hours.

--By Rebecca Winters