Calendar

Game time: The Central Parkway YMCA needs dodgeball players. Games are held at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday. A league is forming. Cost: $10 for members; $15 for non-members. Information: 241-5348.

For kids: Babies Milk Fund Pediatric Care will hold a health fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Victory Park in Norwood. Free. Information: Call Sarah, 281-8000, Ext. 2.

Recovery: The St. Elizabeth Behavioral Health Center in Edgewood will offer a seven-week recovery program to explore the effects of alcoholism and chemical dependency on the family starting at 7 p.m. July 27. Cost: $224. Information: (859) 578-5900.

Help wanted

Patching up: The University of Cincinnati is recruiting women to study the effectiveness of a patch made by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals in increasing sexual desire among menopausal and postmenopausal women.

Candidates must be naturally menopausal and between the ages of 40 and 70 or surgically menopausal and between the ages of 20 and 70. Women who have taken hormone replacement therapy within the last 12 weeks do not qualify. Information: 584-4100 or www.researchforwomen.com.

Tips

Excess baggage: It's hard to resist the lure of the buffet or smorgasbord during summer travel season.

Karen Miller-Kovach of Weight Watchers International has advice to keep the buffet line from landing on your waistline:

• Don't skip meals and remember to fill up on low-calorie fruits and vegetables before hitting the buffet so you're less likely to overeat.

• Cut portion sizes so you can safely enjoy a wide variety of items. Use a side dish plate rather than a dinner plate and serve your food with a teaspoon rather than the usual serving spoon.

• Don't sample everything in one trip. Try a few new items each day.

• Remember that alcohol also has calories. Alternate it with water or diet pop, or mix it with seltzer for a wine spritzer.

• While on vacation, consider making weight maintenance - not weight loss - your goal.

Resource

Mealtime: "Homemade for Health," a new brochure from the American Institute for Cancer Research, has tips on preparing healthy family meals. To order, visit www.aicr.org and click on the "Homemade for Health" link or call (800) 843-8114, Ext. 414, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Shelf help

Get fit: Cancer Fitness: Exercise Programs for Patients and Survivors (Fireside Original/Simon & Schuster; $13) by Anna L. Schwartz helps readers create balanced aerobic and resistance exercise routines. The book also offers advice on how and when to start exercises, which exercises can help treatment, why exercise builds confidence and well-being and how exercise can cut the risk of secondary cancers.

Contact Peggy O'Farrell by phone, 768-8510; fax, 768-8330; e-mail, pofarrell@enquirer.com.