A new study finds that between 1993 and 2009, antipsychotic drug prescriptions skyrocketed among U.S. children and adolescents.
A study published yesterday in JAMA has revealed some surprising results: Normal weight Type 2 diabetics are nearly twice as likely to die compared to those who are overweight or obese.
The full-body X-ray scanners used to screen airport passengers could potentially account for one new cancer per 10 million exposures over a person's lifetime, according to a recent study published in the journal Radiology. It is also true, however, that, the amount of radiation that a person receives from a scanner is equivalent to the amount of radiation exposure from just a few minutes of flying time.
After Mayor Bloomberg s latest proposal a program called Latch on NYC that would ban free formula samples in participating hospitals and promote exclusive breast-feeding new mothers are under even more pressure to breast-feed. But as critics point out, such public health campaigns take a very simplistic approach to the issue, which may fuel some unintended consequences.
On a more optimistic note, a recent study by the CDC reports an across-the-board improvement in the average cholesterol levels of U.S. children and adolescents over the past two decades.
Instead of actually trying to combat excess calorie consumption the real root of obesity health officials seem to be focusing their efforts on fighting the soda industry. Thus while carbonated sodas are increasingly being banned in schools, other high-calorie drinks seem to be immune to such proscriptions. For instance, a new study finds that half as many U.S. adolescents can now buy soda in school as compared to 2006.
n a recent Op-Ed for Reuters, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg boasted about the success of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The news would be quite welcome if only it were true.
The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act can take credit for banning candy-flavored cigarettes and requiring tobacco manufacturers to list their ingredients. And according to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, the law has been a success. But as ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross points out in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, such legislation will save exactly zero smokers.
Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new Guidelines for Child Passenger Safety. These include the recommendation that kids remain in a rear-facing car seat until at least the age of two, and in booster seats until they reach about 57 tall the average height of an 11-year-old. Though such protective measures may seem stringent to some, it s important for parents to remember that, in the U.S., motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for kids older than three and are responsible for sending over 140,000 children to the emergency room each year.
According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure (hypertension) affects nearly one in three U.S. adults. And while a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that half of Americans had their blood pressure under control in 2008, many doctors are still coming up short when it comes to finding treatment for patients whose hypertension has not been adequately controlled on their current regimen.
