It's Not the Super Bowl, It’s The Silver Bowl.

1. The Hidden Secret Behind America’s Obesity Crisis: Traffic.

It’s not hard to imagine how traffic jams undermine our health.?Exposure to pollutants can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and the stress of traffic can lead to heart disease, sleep problems, anxiety and other mental health challenges, as well as occasional rigidity of the middle finger. Even prolonged sitting in cars can lead to back pain, muscle soreness and poor circulation.?

If that wasn’t bad enough, a new study gives us another reason to be agitated about the consequences of traffic.?According to research from the University of Illinois, unexpected traffic jams drive up fast-food consumption, on average by about 1%.?Based on cell phone tracking data, the researchers found that even relatively small variations in traffic speed would increase fast food visits and depress trips to the grocery store.?While a 1% increase may not sound like a lot, that totals about to about 1.2 million more fast food visits each year in LA County alone.?And if you want to take that one step further, then roughly speaking, that’s about 1 billion calories consumed at fast food restaurants in LA thanks to unexpected traffic jams.???

But buckle up, the problem is getting worse.?Three US cities (New York, Chicago and LA), rank among the top 10 cities with the worst traffic in the world, and five more (Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, and Houston), fall just outside the top ten.??

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2. It's Not the Super Bowl, It’s The Silver Bowl.

The Super Bowl may have been a snooze (or worse) to anyone outside the 215 area code, but for those of us on the ageism beat, there was a “silver lining.”?The Super Bowl, typically an homage to American youth and vitality, was a bit different this year, giving a discreet nod to the increasing role that older Americans are playing in culture and in commercial life.?The game itself, maybe not:?the upstart Eagles coached by Nick Sirianni, age 43, easily outclassed the more seasoned Kansas City Chiefs, helmed by 66-year-old Andy Reid – but everywhere else you looked, the demographics were changing.?

The halftime show featured 76-year old Samual L. Jackson as Uncle Sam, and a vast range of commercials showcased older actors.?Billy Crystal (age 76) and Meg Ryan (age 63) replayed their classic scene from When Harry Met Sally, this time over Hellman’s mayonnaise on a sandwich.?William DaFoe (age 69) and Catherine O’Hara (age 70) hustled younger pickleball players to win vast quantities of Michelob Ultra.?Eugene Levy (and his eyebrows, all of them - age 78) shilled for Little Caesars, and Martha Stewart (age 83) pitched for UberEats. And all those commercials took a backseat to the four unnamed actors featured in the “Born to be Wild” advertisement for WeatherTech car mats.?WeatherTech’s bid to glam up a rather dull product involved a group of hopped-up older ladies breakdancing, vandalizing other cars, and then flashing some overheated octogenarians at a bingo game, all before getting busted for speeding and general hell raising.?And it worked: Born to be Wild was one of the highest rated commercials of the Super Bowl.?

None of which is to say that we have forsaken ageism and a cultural view that the real lives of older people (as opposed to the wildly air brushed Madison Avenue version) are best swept under the rug, but it is a small marker on the road to a more positive depiction of the role that older Americans can and must play in society.?And it is a long overdue recognition that consumers over 50 comprise more than half of consumer spending in the US, according to AARP, and need to be respected in the marketplace.?

3. They Really Should Have Put Mona Parsens into a Commercial.

We loved the fact that former president George H.W. Bush celebrated every 5th birthday with a sky diving adventure.?He last did it on his 90th birthday back in 2014, and seven of his 19 grandchildren celebrated his life by jumping out of an airplane for what would have been his 100th birthday last summer.???

We love that story but as great as it was, the Bushes have nothing on Mona Parsons, who last month celebrated her 102nd birthday by doing her first sky dive.?It was, to be sure, of the indoor variety in a wind tunnel at the iFly Center in Sydney, Australia, but who are we to quibble with the adventurous choices of a woman who defied her family’s wishes to join the Australian Army in time for World War II.?

This isn’t the end for Mona.?Still on her bucket list is learning to swim, and swimming with sharks, which we hope she takes in that order.??

And finally, just because TNSB is edited by 15-year-old boys or their emotional equivalents, a bonus segment: “fart gas” may hold the key to longer, healthier life.?Scientists at the University of Exeter have found that hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) may play a key role in supporting cellular functioning and slowing the processes of aging.?Researchers injected a specialized H2S emitting molecule into the cells of worms and found that the worms showed significant improvement in health and vitality as they aged.?Specifically, the gas appeared to improve mitochondrial health, a key measure of healthy aging.?Declines in mitochondrial health have been tied to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and muscular dystrophy, among other serious ailments.???

So next time your teenage son farts in the back seat of your car, please take time to thank him for sharing good health.