Researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn have deemed the freshman 15 a media myth, finding that college freshmen, on average, only gain about half a pound more than young adults not enrolled in college.

Connie Diekman, director of University nutrition said that the findings reflect the way the human body continues to develop as students move into their twenties.

“If you look at that age span of 18 to 22, no matter where you are, you are going to see weight gain due to the cessation of teenage growth,” Diekman said.

The new study was the first to investigate college weight gain using a national, randomized sample.

The authors of the report noted that the term freshman 15 was never scientifically proven. It first appeared in a 1989 edition of Seventeen magazine and was based on a 1985 study, which suggested that women gained about 9 pounds during their first year at college.

Junior Amanda Elder noted that fear of the freshman 15 has become a cultural phenomenon. Elder is a member of Reflections, a student group that promotes healthy body image and eating disorder awareness on campus.

“The threat of the freshman 15 definitely influences girls’ perceptions of their bodies when coming to college. This often can cause them to feel like the only way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is to eat only salads and exercise for an hour every day,” she said.

Elder agreed with the recent study’s conclusion that use of the phrase “freshman 15” might have negative consequences on how college students perceive their bodies.

“Health is not determined by weight,” she said.

Other students were surprised to hear that the freshman 15 may be incorrect, some noting that they had personally gained more than 10 pounds during their first year in college.

Sophomore Emma Bethel said that the researchers’ findings ignored the breadth of student experience as well as her personal observations.

“That statistic comes from an average. I think that there is a rise of students coming to college and losing instead of gaining weight, partly because of eating disorders,” she said. “I think that boys come to college and lose weight a lot.”

Only about 10 percent of students polled in the study reported gaining more than 15 pounds over the course of their freshman year. More than double that number reported losing weight.

Some students suggested that Washington University undergraduates may not be representative of students nationally.

“It’s very school dependent. I have friends that went to state schools and they ballooned,” junior Alyssa Stein said.

But Diekman disagreed with that logic.

“My suspicion is that what we see here is duplicated at comparable institutions, ” she said.

The study is expected to be published in Social Science Quarterly in December.

Center for Disease Control | MCT

Above: an election microscope image of an E. coli bacterium, a “quorum-sensing” microbe that can send and receive chemical signals from others like it, in effect conducting a head count of its neighbors. The little bugs are genetically programmed to wait until enough of them have assembled before they launch an infectious attack.

An outbreak of E. coli in St. Louis has, thus far, left Washington University students unscathed.

The St. Louis County Health Department has yet to find the cause of the breakout of over 30 cases in the area, which were originally rumored to be linked to salads at nearby Schnucks locations.

So far there have been no cases of E. coli on campus, according to Lisa Ross, Washington University’s director of clinical services. She said the University did not notify students of the outbreak because it did not pose a significant threat to the campus community.

“The dining services here are really careful, so I think eating campus food is safe,” Ross said. “If people [are] cooking their own food and take precautions, the likelihood [of contracting E. coli] should be fairly low.”

The St. Louis County Health Department came up with a list of suspect sources of the bacteria by interviewing the people who were infected by it.

Rodger Mallison | Fort Worth Star | MCT

A doctor works with a colony of laboratory-grade E. coli cells.

“Thus far, nothing explains more than about two-thirds of the cases, so we are still investigating because it is kind of a mystery at this point,” health department spokesman Craig LeFebvre said.

The county’s health department is not expecting any new cases tied to this outbreak.

“We haven’t had any new ones lately. All of them are clustered around a given incubation period time. If we don’t receive any new ones, then hopefully it’s the end of this particular outbreak,” LeFebvre said.

Ross said this strain was caused by the E. coli O157:H7 strain, commonly referred to as E. coli 157. The most common symptoms of E. coli 157 are abdominal cramping and bloody diarrhea. Severe cases can lead to such complications as kidney failure.

Ross urged anyone with symptoms of E. coli to go immediately to Student Health Services.

Most students noted that their eating habits have not changed significantly.

“This is where I have to eat, so I have to trust that the food here is good,” sophomore Cong Chang said. “It’s not like I can go off campus and eat or make my own food—[there’s] not enough time.”

Some agreed that they felt safe eating campus food.

“I trust Bear’s Den a lot, [but] I’ll probably be a little bit more weary of trying new places in St. Louis,” sophomore Amanda Packer said.

Others, however, did note concern with the possibility of E. coli despite the lack of documented cases on campus.

“I’ve stopped eating salads and stuff,” freshmen Beenish Qayum said. “[I’m] sticking to cooked things.”

The most common reservoir for E. coli bacteria is the intestine of cattle. Ross said that around 10 percent of healthy cattle in the United States carry E. coli and about 1 percent of retail ground beef has E. coli in it. If meat is fully cooked, however, the risk of contracting is E. coli is slim.

The most likely sources of E. coli are undercooked meat, unpasteurized milk products and produce that has been cross-contaminated with uncooked meat or cattle feces.

Normally, the fact that I am younger than most people here doesn’t affect me at all. It’s always a bit of a surprise when people hear I won’t turn 18 for another few weeks, but they get over it. The only time my age became an issue was when I attempted to get checked out at SHS.

Earlier this year, I developed a bad cold. My head was hurting, my throat was sore and achy, and I had the chills often associated with fever. After a few days of hoping it would go away, I dragged myself to the health center to get myself checked out. While the staff at the health center let me make an appointment and led me to a room without any mention of my age, it was only after I had been waiting for a little while that someone stopped by to confirm my minor status. And subsequently told me they had to track down my mom and get her permission in order to examine me.

I was confused. So I can legally drive, move almost 900 miles away from home by myself and get a flu shot with potentially serious reactions, but I can’t have someone look at my throat without phoning my mom? That doesn’t seem to make sense.

If we compare the flu shot and its potential dangers side by side with a typical doctor’s visit, it would seem easy to determine which is more likely to require parental permission. At a doctor’s appointment, someone comes in and checks your temperature, nose, throat and ears and feels your glands to determine if you are potentially sick. The most dangerous thing they’ll probably do is swab the back of your throat for a strep test or perhaps refer you for further testing, which, although possibly painful, is not really all that hazardous. The sheet that I received with my registration form for my flu shot, however, came with a list of potential reactions, including soreness/swelling, fever, aches and itching. In some rare cases, it can even cause a serious allergic reaction.

If someone’s status as a minor requires special treatment, it should be the same across the board. If the law requires parental permission for minors to have any medical treatment, the least that could happen is that the practice not be stricter in some areas than in others. Or perhaps parents acknowledging that their child is capable of making medical decisions for him- or herself could sign a blanket waiver. Either way, the system as it stands right now is uneven and perhaps even a bit hypocritical. Wash. U. makes a big deal out of treating its students like adults, and yet the idea that someone perhaps a little younger than the rest of the students cannot get their cold checked out without parental permission is a bit ludicrous. Then again, perhaps it makes more sense to allow students to expose themselves to a potentially dangerous allergic reaction than get their throats swabbed.

Let’s fix that.

Hanna Xu | Student Life

The one thing I really made an attempt to do was to eat healthily. And I did, avoiding pizza and half-and-halfs in favor of sandwiches on whole wheat and salads from the salad bar. But of course, you have to give in sometime—just last week I caved during my lunch run and bought a burger and fries. Carrying it to the cash register, I expected it to be a little more expensive than my usual, because it was a burger and fries, after all. Imagine my surprise when it rang up to nearly a full point less than my normal Paws & Go salad.

Here at Wash. U., healthy living is promoted all over the place. The gym runs free trial classes for students. Bear Bikes rents out bicycles to students who want to get some extra exercise in on their way to and from class. I dare you to go on a quick walk to main campus at any time of day and not find at least one person out on a run. You would think that eating well would factor into the equation somewhere. Without a healthy diet, all that exercising won’t do you much good. You may lose a few pounds, but actually being healthy is about more than that.

The worst part of this seems to be that the higher pricing is restricted solely to the South-40 eateries. Students entering college hear horror stories about the freshman 15, and many will try as hard as they can to subvert the 15 pounds they’ll supposedly put on before the end of the year. And while options such as the DUC dining facilities or the Village Café might offer cheaper options for healthier food, when your stomach is rumbling on the way back to your dorm, it’s just that much easier to swing through Bear’s Den than it is to walk back across campus.

Everyday, WebSTAC shows a suggested amount of meal points to have on your card, and more often than not, the actual amount is far below the suggested number. It’s funny, because everyone tells you to purchase the smallest meal plan possible. Maybe that should be amended to “purchase the smaller meal plan if you aren’t planning on eating a salad this semester.”

While I’ve managed to get my meal points back under control through some careful crafting, I don’t want to have to think about my meal points every time I consider passing over the fries in favor of greens. I’m relieved to know that, should my meal plan run out, my parents would gladly put some extra money on my Bear Bucks account, but I’m lucky. For many students it is: “If you eat through your meal plan, you aren’t getting any more.”

Maybe I could go exercise so that I can have that delicious greasy meal (after all, joining the fitness center here is far less expensive than joining a gym almost anywhere else off campus), but I’m already spending hours holed up in a studio or my room working hard. The least I could hope for would be a not-too-expensive, quick and healthy fix on one of my short breaks.

Or maybe that’s too much to ask for.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

“Connie’s Choice” stickers demonstrate suggested food options from Washington University dietitian Connie Diekman at campus dining locations. The stickers are part of larger efforts to promote healthy eating.

Campus eateries not only feature new menu items but also significant changes to current foods, including new, comparatively smaller tater tot portions.

While students in the past may have gotten more than 40 tater tots for $1.75, Dining Services has instructed servers to hand out closer to 12, due to an intern’s study last semester that showed vast inconsistencies in portion sizes.

According to Connie Diekman, the director of University nutrition, 12 tater tots was always the designated portion size.

“We weren’t giving people what they were paying for; we were giving them extra bonuses,” Diekman said.

Dining Services has not yet determined an effective method for the staff to allocate portions.

“We need to come up with a better portion for our staff, because it’s probably not fair to ask them to count out tater tots,” Diekman said.

According to Bear’s Den employees, the current method is simply learning to eyeball the appropriate serving size. Although this does not guarantee a consistent portion, the hope is that students will receive portions that better correspond to the recommended serving size.

“We were giving a bigger amount, and students have asked for the bigger portions, but we can only give what the chefs say,” a server at the grill said. “They were just telling us to give a nice portion, and some [servers] were just a little more heavy handed than others.”

Some students note that although the portions are smaller, they are still receiving far more than 12 tater tots.

“When you used to order tater tots by themselves, you’d get tons. Now you get 20-something instead of 30-something,” freshman Chris Au said.

Dining Services is also introducing “Connie’s Choice” healthy options across campus this semester. These options, named after Diekman, fall within the “healthier guidelines,” based on the USDA’s 2005 dietary guidelines.

There is at least one of these options at each dining location. The Bear’s Den grill now features a 375-calorie turkey burger, specified as containing 100% pure turkey on a light wheat bun.

Items designated as “Connie’s Choice” have less than 35 percent calories from fat, smaller amounts of sodium and either lean meat or plant-based protein.

According to Diekman, the “Connie’s Choice” items are not the only healthy options on campus.

“There are plenty of options. What we’ve tried to do though is make it easier,” Diekman said. “As we go forward, this is going to evolve, both in terms of more options, and maybe a variety of options.”

Despite the changes, many students continue to view nutrition on campus to be subpar.

“How healthy can something be, that one little tot fills an entire napkin with grease? I was horrified,” freshman Ali Ames said. “You have to eat the same thing every day if you want to eat healthy; all you eat is grapes and cheese, or the soup half the time, or salad.”

Dining services has also removed nuts from all salad bars and pre-packed foods to better serve students with nut allergies. Baked goods containing nuts will also be placed on lower shelves so that nuts do not fall on other items.

While Diekman admitted that some options on campus may not be nutritious, she contended that campus food cannot be written off as unhealthy and that students have started moving away from those less healthy options.

“Half-and-halfs are no longer the number-one selling item; fruits and vegetables actually are,” Diekman said. “We definitely have the options on campus for healthy—it’s just [about] trying to educate students what they are.”

This leads us to question why Student Health Services (SHS) cut EST funding by $8,000. Nothing about this service renders it ineffective enough to warrant a budget cut. EST, which is jointly funded by SHS and Student Union, receives block funding from SU and therefore cannot request more money from SU until next year. Even then, there is no guarantee that the student body will approve the new funds.

We recognize that SHS, like all other University departments, faces budget difficulties in light of the economic recession. Painful decisions must be made without sacrificing essential services such as mental health counseling and treatment for eating disorders. It seems that the hands of SHS are at least partially tied. But given that SHS does not extend care past business hours, we believe that administrators should not have made cuts to EST, the only source of emergency and late-night care for students other than calling 911.

SHS administrators have not returned several phone calls from Student Life regarding this matter last week.

As a result of this cut, each student will have to pay up-front costs of approximately $1,000 for the certification course required to become a member of EST, with some of the money being refunded upon completing a certain number of hours on-call. According to EST director Stephanie Higgins, this cut will not affect the services that EST provides.

What it could do, though, is seriously limit interested students’ ability to join EST. Few college students have an extra $1,000 lying around, and even fewer can actually spend a few months waiting for reimbursement.

Especially in light of recent initiatives that aim to promote socioeconomic diversity, we feel that this fee is unfortunate. We encourage Student Financial Services to look into assigning grants to students interested in working for EST, and we strongly recommend that the Diversity Affairs Council and Washington University For Undergraduate Socioeconomic Diversity (WU/FUSED) investigate how this fee will affect the students who wish to join EST.

We find it particularly unfortunate that, at a school with stellar residential capacities, high tuition and well-ranked food, more money can’t be found for EST –a service that is valuable for both the students it employs and the students it serves. This is a classic problem of budget allocation that the University often must deal with, solely on the basis of its size: Because money is funneled into many administrative departments, bureaucratic complication often stands in the way of efficient allocation.

Matt Lanter | Student Life

The University installed seven automatic external defibrillators in various high traffic locations across campus last week, including this one in the Danforth University Center.

An automatic external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that can assess potentially life threatening heart problems and re-establish a regular heartbeat through an electric shock.

The AEDs have been placed in the Danforth University Center (DUC), Mallinckrodt Center, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Olin Library, South 40 House, Village House and Whittemore House. They are in clearly marked metal cabinets with glass windows.

“[The] South 40 House has the largest dining facility on campus along with a fitness center where emergencies can occur,” said Mark Bagby, the emergency management coordinator.

According to Leslie Heusted, the director of the DUC, an AED was installed in the DUC because the building is open 19 hours a day and is so large.

Bagby does not anticipate all buildings on campus receiving an AED. They have already been installed in the Athletic Complex, Simon Hall, Knight Center and on North Campus and West Campus.

The AEDs are funded through the emergency management department, and each unit costs approximately $1,700.

“The funding we are given this year is enough for seven new AEDs and the training for two personnel for each location,” Bagby said.

The University started installing AEDs on campus four years ago and has been adding more as funding becomes available.

Emergency management services proposed putting an AED in every building, which was denied. The medical school also tried appealing for funding for an AED on every floor of all of their buildings, but only received one in each building.

Both the Emergency Support Team and the Washington University Police Department have AEDs as well.

There are currently no plans to install AEDs at off-campus areas.

Some locations, such as the DUC, are allocating their own funds to enroll more employees in the AED training program. The Career Center, Community Service Office and Graduate Student Center each have one employee participating in training. Four additional DUC employees will be trained in addition to the two mandatory employees.

Heusted hopes that by ensuring that each major office in the DUC has at least one trained employee, so that the availability of trained staff to operate the AED at times of emergency will be increased.

Consider two changes to the system that take effect almost immediately: no lifetime coverage caps on plans and no denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. According to Charles E. Phelps’ textbook “Health Economics,” insurance coverage is priced based on two factors: administrative markup and the expected payments by the insurance company for medical services. Markup is a flat percentage across all subscribers, so it’s relatively unimportant to the argument.

The expected payouts, however, are entirely dependent on the health of an individual. Riskier individuals who are expected to require more medical care will undoubtedly cost the insurance companies more. Insurers, in turn, charge them higher premiums, as the company’s expected costs for that individual are higher. Prior to the health bill, one way that companies controlled risk, and hence costs, was by capping the amount that could be paid out for an individual.

Instead of raising insurance costs to account for the possibility of extreme costs, premiums were kept relatively low by preventing the most financially damaging scenarios. Additionally, those who were already sick (i.e., demonstrably riskier) were refused coverage because they cost the system more money.

The effects of removing these financial safeguards ought to be obvious. The health care bill forces insurance companies to accept riskier customers into their coverage pools. The insured will be weighed down by increased fees from high-risk individuals’ policies. Financially speaking, the question becomes, why would this happen?

The previously uninsured, many of whom are the sickest Americans, must now receive coverage. To begin with, their premiums are going to be astronomical, almost to the point of making insurance not a worthwhile investment. This is because on an actuarial level the cost of buying insurance will be higher for individuals identifiably sick.

What about the rest of us in the pool? Since the risk (and costs thereof) must be spread around, our premiums will rise too. Naturally low-risk individuals will drop their plans since it’d no longer be advantageous to purchase insurance. Now what’s left for the rest of us hovering around an average level of risk? Higher costs. Perhaps nobody’s noticed, but higher costs are what preclude most of the lower-middle class from affording insurance in the first place.

It’s time people started looking past the idea that the health care bill will provide low-cost insurance for all. It will not. Instead, its most lauded provisions will serve only to exacerbate the problem of rising costs. Supporters of the bill need to start thinking logically. While it may seem good to have the sick be insured, adding these individuals to the insurance pools will only serve to drive up costs for the average American. Analyzing the latest health care reform is a question of weighing the needs of the many versus the needs of a few. The idea of throwing a bone to the few to the severe detriment of the many is just senseless.

Read the opposing view here.

South 40 Fitness Center
One of the most basic workout areas available, the South 40 Fitness Center is filled mainly with cardiovascular exercise machines, such as treadmills, bicycles and elliptical machines. Also available is weightlifting equipment, but the selection is very limited. So, if you’re looking to build up some upper body muscle, this may not be the place for you. On the plus side, the center is perfect for that spur-of-the-moment-type workout, since it offers a place near the dorms for a nice, air-conditioned run. The new fitness center is located in Wohl.

Athletic Complex
For those a little more serious about fitness, the Athletic Complex (AC) provides a treasure trove of athletic facilities. On the main floor, there is a large recreational gym that can be altered for games of basketball, volleyball and tennis. If you venture down to the lower levels, you can find several racquetball courts and, for the select few who play the sport, two squash courts. For those who like a traditional workout, there is a vast cardio section complete with the standard treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines. Into heavy lifting? The AC is the place to go because it has its very own weightlifting section on the bottom floor. But the conveniences don’t stop there—also included for your workout pleasure are locker rooms, complete with separate saunas for both genders.

For those who prefer to take a more Michael Phelps approach to keeping fit, the Olympic-sized pool in the AC is perfect for swimming laps and diving. Also, near the AC are the Bushyhead Track and the Tao Tennis Center, which are great for training athletes. Chances are, no matter what workout mood you are in, the AC has what you need. The AC is located on the northwest side of the Danforth Campus.

Forest Park
This large park located directly east of Wash. U. is more than just a great picnicking area or a place to see penguins at the zoo: the many paths throughout the park offer a great opportunity for a long run, in which you can forget your worries and just appreciate the beauty of the scenery. You can stick to the basic paths or be a little more adventurous. Either way, Forest Park is a great area for jogging, walking, and biking…weather permitting, of course.

Sports/Clubs
Not into machine-based workouts or solitary runs? Wash. U.’s wide array of clubs can solve your fitness dilemma. All sports are represented and available for joining, from the completive to the intramural level. There are also clubs dedicated to keeping active through enjoyable means. For example, the rock climbing club takes you off campus to a compound where you can rock climb to your heart’s content. Also, the running club allows for you to run in a decently sized group of other students across campus. What’s great about keeping active within clubs is the level of commitment is flexible. They also provide a great opportunity to meet other students while letting you stay fit at the same time.

Miscellaneous/recreational
At Wash. U., fitness can be maintained with even the tiniest of effort. This is made evident by the small pool available next to the upperclassmen housing in the Village. Unlike the AC’s 25-meter pool, this mass of water is intended for a more relaxing swim. The best part: You are still burning calories. Unfortunately, this pool, like most, requires a lifeguard to be present, and it seems there is rarely one available when you want one.

Don’t fret, though, if you don’t have time to set aside a specific workout period/swim time for the week. Just taking that long walk to classes every day keeps your heart racing. It may not seem like much, but you will soon come to appreciate that small level of fitness once you discover that yes, that carrot cake in the Wash. U. café is indeed delicious.

This recent e-mail is part of the University’s response to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus—more commonly known as swine flu.

An earlier e-mail announcement was sent to all students, faculty and staff on April 27 to inform the community that the University is making efforts to address the issue of swine flu, one day after the U.S. government declared a public health emergency due to several confirmed cases within the country.

The e-mail assured the University community that, at the time of the announcement, there had been no cases of swine flu reported on the University campus or in the state of Missouri. Since then, however, Missouri has had 14 confirmed cases and four probable cases of swine flu as of May 11.

Similar to the seasonal flu, the e-mail noted that symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

Students with flu-like symptoms were ordered to report to Student Health Services immediately, while faculty and staff were told to see their private physician.

The University-wide announcement also provided recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for those experiencing flu-like symptoms to keep others safe by avoiding crowds and public transportation, covering one’s nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing and throwing away one’s used tissues into the trash.

According to the e-mail, the University has assembled its Emerging Infectious Disease Task Force, led by Assistant Professor of Medicine Steven Lawrence, to monitor the flu outbreak and keep the community informed and updated.

Summer abroad program terminated

Though the campus has had no reported cases and has experienced little visible health-related changes as a result of the outbreak, the situation has had a direct effect on some University students.

On April 29, the University canceled its Spanish Language and Latin American Studies summer study abroad program in Puebla, Mexico following the CDC’s recommendation to avoid traveling to Mexico for unnecessary reasons.

The administration e-mailed the program’s participants earlier to inform them that the fate of the trip was being discussed before finally notifying them of its decision to cancel the program.

16 students had enrolled in the study abroad program to Mexico.

Following the cancellation, the University credited the students’ deposits to their student accounts. The students were also provided with the option to switch into another study abroad program and there was a group meeting to help them with the decision.

Several students with high-level proficiency in Spanish were permitted to participate in the study abroad program in Quito, Ecuador.

Freshman Christina Correa, a student already registered in the Ecuador program, estimates that approximately half of those who were planning to go to Mexico are now going to Ecuador, though she believes there are several students who have decided not to study abroad this summer.

Sophomore Marissa Smith is one of the students who eventually enrolled in the Ecuador program after the Mexico program was canceled.

“Canceling the Mexico program completely changed my summer plans at the last minute. It was frustrating, but I understand that they had to make a decision with our health in mind,” she said. “I decided to go on the Ecuador program, because it was very comparable to the Mexico one,” Smith said.

“I’m excited about Ecuador and I’m sure it will be a great experience,” Smith added.

Other universities, including Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, also canceled their summer programs to Mexico. The University of Missouri-Columbia recommended that its students who are currently abroad in Mexico City to return to the U.S.

Japanese precautions delay students’ travels

The swine flu outbreak also has affected the travels of several University students heading to Japan.

Freshman Ryang Cho was delayed in Osaka during his flight home last week when all passengers on board were required to remain in quarantine for approximately 40 minutes and have their photos taken and temperatures measured by authorities.

Sophomores Brian Chen and Joshua Gross had been aboard a flight headed to Narita from Detroit that carried the first confirmed case of swine flu for Japan.

Airline officials first made efforts to ensure that no passengers on the plane had a fever. All passengers were required to fill out their home contact information so that they can be contacted later. Sick passengers and those in nearby seats were transferred to the hospital to be quarantined.

“Me and my friend Brian were both given a clean bill of health and we went along our way,” Gross said.

The following day, however, a ward office official along with the manager of the hostel where Chen and Gross were staying met with them after learning that the two had been on the same flight as the passenger with the first confirmed case. Once the official had checked their temperatures, Chen and Gross were informed that they could not leave the hostel for the evening.

Gross had measured a slightly high temperature on the following day. Despite the fact that he showed no symptoms of swine flu, Gross was taken to the hospital, tested and quarantined. He was released the next day—though not without a $640 charge for his hospital stay.

The process had shortened the students’ vacation by a day and a half, according to Gross, but they are both doing well and have since continued with their travel plans in Japan.