A study by the Consumer Federation of America shows that single women are the most likely to get subprime rates on mortgages.

What’s more, women are likely to receive subprime loans regardless of income level. Although, on average, women have better credit histories than men, they are more likely than men to receive more expensive mortgages. And the disparity rises as income levels rise. In the lowest income brackets the rate of women receiving subprime rate mortgages is only slightly higher than men, but women earning twice the median income are 28.1% more likely to receive a subprime loan.

Meanwhile, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, it is these types of loans which become unsustainable and are most likely to fall delinquent or subject to foreclosure.

Women Most Likely to Receive Subprime Home Loans

Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center are saying that Internet-addiction is a more widespread problem than people may think. They say that 1 in 8 Americans shows at least one sign of problematic Internet use.

They also pointed out that it isn’t just pornography and gambling sites that people are addicted to but other sites as well. They cite computer users’ strong drive to check email, shop online, visit web sites and chat rooms and write on their blogs as other signs of possible compulsive behavior.

Strong drive to check email… Does this mean that if you stop and look inside your snail mailbox daily that you have a postal addiction?

According to Elias Aboujaoude, MD, lead author of the study, people use the Internet to escape a negative mood and compares it to alcoholism.

What? When was the last time you heard of anyone being injured by a web addict who was recklessly surfing too fast?

As a compulsive blog-writing Internet addict, I like to think that bloggers, such as myself, give visitors something interesting to read and focus on. If it improves their mood, why is this a bad thing?

The researchers admit that there are no criteria for establishing what is or is not an Internet addiction so they used questions associated with diagnosing other compulsive and addictive behaviors. In this way, simply using the Internet regularly, not wishing to go without the Internet for several days and finding it relieves stress or a negative mood is interpreted as dangerous addiction.

Now ask the people who aren’t on the net regularly, how often they watch TV, whether they like going without TV for several days at a time or if they ever watch TV to relax when they are stressed. Then ask women during football season if TV ever interferes in their relationships.

I think the basic problem is that those who don’t understand the exciting and satisfying interactive experience of the Internet assume that to enjoy being online for “non-essential” reasons, signifies some problem.

Oh yeah, the study focuses on “non-essential” computer use, like checking email and making blog entries.

Don’t tell me I am not essential…

Internet Addiction: Stanford Study seeks to define whether it’s a problem

Women and shopping. The image we all grew up with was one of a woman going from store to store, arms loaded with boxes and shopping bags.

But the sterotype of women as compulsive shoppers is not an accurate one according to a study to be published by Stanford University Medical Center. According to their study, the rates of compulsive and binge buying are nearly the same for men and women.

Men and women with compulsive buying disorder get irrestible urges to buy unnecessary items and go on shopping binges, accumulating large debts which create financial hardship. The results can lead to broken relationships, bankruptcy and even suicide attempts.

Men,women have similar rates of compulsive buying

ABC News reports that researchers in Australia offered people participating in an Internet shopping experiment the opportunity to get dietary advice as they shopped for food. They could choose general advice or specific advice that offered lower fat alternatives to their food choices.

The researchers found that those who got tailored dietary tips bought lower fat foods on average than those getting the general advice. Read the article here.

Dr. David Katz, an ABC News Medical contributor and nutritionist at Yale University wants to see the technology make its way to America.

This could be the new wave of grocery shopping online. But do American consumers really want a nagging voice of conscience following them to the food aisle? How can we sneak that purchase of Dove bars with our Internet shopping service looking over our shoulder and shaking its disapproving programming at us? Don’t we sometimes deserve those guilty pleasures?

If the programming can be used to help us make better nutrition choices, could it also be used to beautify the general population? Why not use it for clothes shopping online? We could get helpful advice like “those pants will make your butt look huge” or “don’t you think you’re too old to wear a mini-skirt?”. Perhaps it could rid the malls of overweight women in spandex.

I know, that’s just a dream.