The latest in health news: there are many benefits to curbing obesity in women: remission of urinal incontinence after bariatric surgery and risk lowered for gestational diabetes if weight is maintained, and a back-to-school reminder to get your children up to date with immunization.

The 2013 National Immunization Survey (NIS) provides mainly great news the overwhelming majority of American babies are receiving vaccinations. However, there is room for improvement.

According to the Institute of Medicine guidelines published in 2009, obese women those women with a BMI of 30 or greater should gain no more than five to nine kilograms (about 10-20 lbs) when pregnant. A new study, published in the journal Obesity, found that obese women who were part of a weight management

Dr. Leslee Subak reported on yet another benefit of weight loss via bariatric surgery amelioration of urinary incontinence in severely obese women.

An article in today s New York Times has some sobering news about the enormous narcotic addiction problem that is so prevalent in this country. Since 2010, there has been a sharp increase in deaths from heroin overdoses in New York City.
According to the Times, The death toll from heroin has more than doubled over the last three years, presenting a growing challenge to city officials who have so far been unable to reverse the rise.

In today s issue of the Wall Street Journal, ACSH friend Lenore Skenazy and co-author Peter Gray discuss the educational importance of child s play and why missing out on playtime can hinder the development of valuable life skills.

There seems to be new excitement in the world of vaccine-autism conspirators. As explained in a masterful debunking essay by David Gorski on Science-Based Medicine, the Internet abounds with new evidence that the CDC purposefully hid evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and an increased risk of autism in African-American boys.

There s not much good news coming from the world s major energy producing regions, according to an editorial in USA Today. Yet, in the

New policy statements from the WHO, the AHA, and the CDC spew baseless, distorted allegations, warning smokers not to try e-cigarettes and spreading false concerns about second-hand vapor. They should be ashamed for selling out.

Today s Wall Street Journal examines an age-old question: What does the expiration date on a drug mean? Is it safe to take drugs after this date? Do they still work?
The Journal piece gives some general guidelines most of which are correct but there is information that is not included, says ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom, and what is not there is probably more interesting.