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Stress-induced cortisol, mood, and fat distribution in men. Obes Res. 1999;7:9-15. Objective: A previous study in our laboratory (Moyer et al., Obes Res. 1994;2:255-62 found that, in response to uncontrollable laboratory stress, women with a high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) had higher cortisol reactivity, poorer coping skills, and lower anger responses than women with low WHR. We aimed to compare high WHR men's stress responses to these women. Research Methods and Procedures:The current study examined cortisol reactivity and psychological data of 27 healthy high WHR men exposed to the same laboratory challenges as the women from our previous study. Men's data are discussed in relation to that of the high and low WHR women.Results: Men responded to the stress with increases in both cortisol and blood pressure. In comparison with the high and low. WHR women, men had significantly higher total cortisof on the stress day. However, when comparing a subsample of men and women matched in WHR's, differences in cortisol secretion were greatly diminished and no longer significant. In addition, men had higher desire for control than both high and low WHR women, and lower mood reactivity than low WHR women. Despite the lower mood reactivity of high WHR groups, the high mood reactors among the high WHR women, and to a lesser extent, men, tended to have higher cortisol reactivity. differences and greater exposure to cortisol observed amon, the high WHR men and women may have played a role n contributing to their greater abdominal fat depots. Discussion

Two studies are presented investigating the role of attitudes toward death in self- reported health-protective behavior. The Multidimensional Death Attitudes Scale (MDAS), based on three existing measures of death attitudes, was administered to a group of health professionals (N = 348). A principal components analysis revealed five factors, labeled Acceptance, Fear, Death as Passage, Death as Relief and Avoidance. The five- factor structure also was replicated in a second, somewhat different sample (N = 100). Twenty-three items loaded highly on the five factors, and the subscales showed good internal consistency. The relationship between the five death attitudes and self-reported health behaviors was explored. Acceptance of death was associated positively with physical exercise controlling for demographic and psychological variables. Accepting death but not viewing death as relief were associated with self- reported lower levels of drinking and driving.

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