* WINNER: Southern California. Why? Because of its earthquake, strangely enough. Economists now estimate that the flood of federal, state and insurance money into the Los Angeles area in the wake of the Jan. 17 Northridge quake will prompt the start of an economic recovery in California three months earlier than previously predicted.
LOSER: The medical profession - and many patients. For the second time in three years, the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research has sharply criticized pain management practices in the United States. National studies show that up to 50 percent of acute pain is under-treated. As a result, the healing process is slowed, hospital stays are lengthened, and the size of medical bills increased. Ouch!LOSERS: Americans - for not exercising enough. Just look at the latest figures from the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Though exercise can lessen stress, control weight and reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, at least 40 percent of Americans are completely sedentary. No wonder that about 66 percent of adults are overweight, compared to 58 percent in 1983. The council's recommendation: appropriate exercise involves large muscle groups in movement for 20 minutes or longer, three or more days a week.
- BEST ADVICE: If you've been drinking, stay out of a car - even if you're not the driver. The advice comes from University of Michigan researchers, who found that if you've been drinking and are involved in a serious car crash, you're twice as likely to die of injuries than a fellow passenger who hasn't had a drop. So much for the old notion that someone who has been drinking is protected from injury because he or she is relaxed.