Obesity seems to be the medical concern of the day. One New York Times article references a study to be published in today s Journal of the American Medical Association that determined that adults who were overweight as teens were twice as likely as similar adults who had never been overweight to develop pancreatic cancer later in life, and people who were obese as young adults were at more than twice the risk of adults who had never been obese.

On a related note, Swedish researchers published a study in today s Lancet Oncology medical journal that seemed to indicate that women who had their stomachs stapled were at a reduced risk for cancer, though the same results were not obtained for men.
In a way, that would make sense, since being overweight is a risk factor for many cancers, says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. However, so many journalists fall into the trap of treating cancer like one disease, and this article does the same.

Venture capitalist Bob Metcalfe has an op-ed in today s Wall Street Journal that champions the use of modern nuclear energy as a means to alleviate the economic and environmental strain of fossil fuels: [I]f it s cheap and clean energy we want, we should clear the way for fission energy start-ups. We should lower the barriers at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the approval of new nuclear reactors, especially the new small ones.

Yesterday, Mintel Menu Insights revealed in a press release that people overwhelmingly disregard the health quality of food when dining out, opting instead for certain menu items based on taste, hunger satisfaction, and price.
This revelation comes as no surprise to ACSH s Todd Seavey: America loves donuts. The rest of this public health haranguing is as irrelevant and futile as confessing to a priest once a month about impure thoughts and serves much the same guilt-acknowledging social function.

Recently, Nestle USA voluntarily recalled its prepackaged, refrigerated cookie dough products after they had been linked to E. coli infections across twenty-eight states. Nestle is fully cooperating with FDA and CDC efforts to inform people of the dangers of eating this and other raw foods intended to be cooked before consumption.
ACSH staffers are glad to see this being addressed, and we view it as an unfortunate example of occasional contamination that no degree of oversight could prevent every time.

In an unabashed rejection of nanny-state diet micromanagement, a restaurant in Arizona called the Heart Attack Grill uses hospital themes to make light of eating the egregiously unhealthy food they serve.
Menu items include the quadruple bypass burger that tops out at about 8,000 calories, and unlimited flat-line fries. Customers called patients are even warned before entering that this place is bad for your health.

A large, government-sponsored study has been designed to test the effects of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements on a patient s risk for heart disease, cancer, or stroke.

According to an article in this morning s USA Today, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act to the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, indicate that rubber used to surface playgrounds can be contaminated with lead and other toxins: The Environmental Protection Agency has endorsed rubber play surfaces since 1991, both to protect children from head injuries and prevent tires from ending up in landfills, where they can catch fire or become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

California s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment declared on Friday that the smoke from marijuana is carcinogenic and therefore falls under the purview of the state s Proposition 65, which requires all products with suspected carcinogens to carry warning labels.
Prop 65 is an unproductive law which provides no health benefit except to lawyers, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. It has done nothing but encourage California s thriving bounty hunter litigation so that companies can be sued for not using the right warning labels.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senator Amy Klobuchar have not withdrawn their proposal to introduce breast cancer screening in junior high school, despite the warnings of the chief physician of the American Cancer Society, an NIH cancer prevention expert, and a prominent breast cancer epidemiologist, all of whom believe that the bill could do more harm than good.
As usual, ACSH staffers agree with legitimate medical professionals. This is a ridiculous proposal, says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Still, it is difficult to criticize an idea that sounds so proactive.