For less foot pain, pick sneakers over heels

• This article is rich with data:
  it's important to pay attention to the shoes that you're buying and make sure they fit
• for women, wearing "good shoes" reduced the likelihood of having pain in the heel, ankle and lower Achilles tendon

Now let's not be too hard on the researcher, Alyssa Dufour - she's only a graduate student at Institute for Aging Research Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston- maybe drop her an email and congratulate her on her dubious debut on News that Vexes. May she have a long career here!

If both parents have Alzheimer's, your risk soars

New research from UW! If both parents have a hereditary illness, there's increased risk their offspring will have it too.

One of the researchers humbly implies this is obvious old news:

"I think it confirms that there's a strong genetic component in the disease and that's not a surprise," said Dr. Thomas Bird, whose study was published in the Archives of Neurology.

Ya think? So what's next for Dr. Bird?

The researchers have been doing the study for about two decades and intend to continue for at least another decade.

OK Doc, we'll get back to you.

Family dietary coach fuels healthy eating: study

Why do people do studies about topics as obvious as this? Perhaps to help 'diet coaches' feel worthwhile? I think a follow-up study on why diet coaches have low self-esteem might be in order.

The other idea is that these sorts of results are reported at fancy Club Med type resorts where committees meet, so this study gets the "scientist" a free trip to a posh vacation. That doesn't seem to be the case in this groundbreaking (?) study however.

Thus I'm at a loss about this study. One might even say I'm vexed. Here's the leadoff paragraph:

Having a nutrition coach actively coach families on how to make healthy changes in their diet appears to help parents and their children improve their nutritional intake, researchers found.

This result thanks to Damien Paineau, manager of scientific studies and coaching for Nutri-Health, in Rueil-Maimaison, France. Sadly I couldn't find M. Paineau's email for us to congratulate him on this 'breakthrough'.