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If you went by the headlines, you’d be sure that the widespread obesity problem is due to consumption of too much sugar — especially from sodas and other sweetened beverages. But according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you’d be wrong. Examination of data on adults’ (20-60+ years) intake [...]
The post Too much sugar—but not just from soda appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross appeared — again — before the FDA advisory committee on tobacco products regulation. That panel, officially the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, is required to meet periodically by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act and get public commentary on various relevant topics. Yesterday’s meeting was a discussion about how the FDA’s Center [...]
The post Latest FDA tobacco panel hearing: same old, same old? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

A new meta-analysis suggests that breast cancer may be more deadly for women who have cosmetic implants, largely thought to be a result of receiving the diagnosis at a later stage. Study authors explain that the breast implants are “radio-opaque” — meaning they appear “light” on the dark breast tissue background — which makes it [...]
The post Breast implants linked to greater risk of dying from breast cancer? Not so fast. appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Today’s announcement by the FDA’s Commissioner Margaret Hamburg approving Plan B One-Step for women and girls age 15 and up, while welcome in the “better late than never” category, does not come close to complying with Federal Judge Ed Korman’s ruling of April 5th. That ruling, finding for the plaintiffs in a 2001 lawsuit against the Bush-II [...]
The post FDA goes almost halfway towards complying with Plan B ruling appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Leeches used to be used as a medical cure-all, but today are of course almost entirely discredited. It’s worth wondering how many other medical tests — from the prostate-specific antigen to routine mammography — will one day be relegated to the dust bin of history. The latest exam to undergo scrutiny are routine pelvic exams [...]
The post Routine pelvic exams may be harming women appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

On Thursday, April 25th, Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn., held a conference entitled “Changing the Community: A Symposium on Childhood Obesity.” The one-day conference included presentations by three speakers, as well as two workshop sessions. The keynote speaker, Dr. William Dietz, former director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in the Center for [...]
The post Fighting childhood obesity one community at a time appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

In a recent op-ed in the The Daily Caller, ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan addresses the health risks (or lack thereof) of fracking. Dr. Whelan says, “While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vacillates on whether to allow fracking in New York State, a coterie of publicity savvy activists posing as public health experts are spearheading [...]
The post Dr. Whelan on fracking appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

An infant has died of whooping cough in Florida a tragedy that underscores just how important it is to get vaccinated.
The 6-week-old baby boy was too young to have gotten his first pertussis vaccine, but not all of his family members were up to date with theirs, Sarah Matthews, an epidemiologist for the Orange County Health Department, told the Orlando Sentinel.

Somewhat similar to routine mammography of younger women, prostate-specific antigen screening in men without symptoms of prostate cancer has been shown to do more harm than good.

Here's your Friday Medical Wrap covering our top stories: Why women are getting needless mammograms, Another way to treat high blood pressure, A new vaccine that could control autism, Why some are silent over e-cigarette's surge in popularity, and more on labeling genetically engineered foods.

Once again the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seeks to perpetuate its myth of dangerous fruit dangerous, they say, because of trace amounts of pesticides found on them. Although their list of the most dangerous fruits garners wide attention, there seems to be little attention paid to the science or lack thereof in this listing.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS), such as tamoxifen, are widely used to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in women who have been treated for the disease. SERMs are drugs that may block or accentuate the action of estrogen, depending on the tissue being examined. Tamoxifene and raloxifene, for example, inhibit the action of estrogen [...]
The post SERMS: Valuable tools for breast cancer prevention appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Former ACSH trustee Dr. Henry Miller, now a Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, argues in a recent letter to the Wall Street Journal that the major beneficiaries of genetically modified foods are small, poor farmers. Miller says, “[the] assertion that genetic engineering of crops leaves ‘cash-poor farmers dependent on buying seeds, fertilizer [...]
The post GMO crops help poor farmers appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

ACSH publications for July 2012- December 2012.

Once again the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seeks to perpetuate its myth of dangerous fruit — dangerous, they say, because of trace amounts of pesticides found on them. Although their list of the most “dangerous” fruits garners wide attention, there seems to be little attention paid to the science — or lack thereof — in [...]
The post Here we go again: EWG libels apples, other fruits appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Our top stories for Monday, April 29, 2013: The shocking truth about American teens and driving under the influence, and why some asymptomatic men still opt for regular PSA testing.

Many teens somehow believe driving under the influence does not affect their safety, according to a survey published by the insurance company Liberty Mutual and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Worse still — nearly 25 percent of American teenagers drives under the influence of some drug. Not surprisingly for teenagers, there is a disconnect between [...]
The post Teens and DUI- disturbingly common appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

The regulators in Europe continue to ban chemicals at the drop of a rat. In the latest instance, the head of the European Commission has decided to take it upon himself to ban a class of pesticide called “neonicotinoids,” on the slimmest evidence that this class of chemicals might have contributed to the loss of [...]
The post More chemophobia from the EU: banning pesticide to save bees? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

It seems like neither women nor their docs are getting the message about mammograms, which have been proven to do more harm than good in younger women. Mammogram rates actually increased slightly from 2008 to 2011, going from 51.9 percent to 53.6 percent, according to researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. [...]
The post Women are getting needless mammograms, study indicates appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Reports of recent sales and earnings from tobacco companies and surveys of e-cigarette users (“vapers”) yield a drumbeat of near-miraculous good news: parallel historic declines in Big Tobacco’s cigarette sales, paired with annual doubling of e-cigarette sales. Remember two key factors: 1-electronic cigarettes provide vapers with their craved drug, nicotine, along with water vapor and [...]
The post The e-cigarette phenomenon: why the silence? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Fans of irony will be hard-pressed to suppress a smile here. Researchers at The University of Guelph in Ontario are developing a novel vaccine which may help control the gastrointestinal symptoms that are commonly seen in children with autism. The vaccine will have no direct effect on the behavioral aspects of the disease, nor will it in any [...]
The post Irony anyone? A vaccine to help autistic children. appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

According to an American Heart Association scientific statement published earlier this week, engaging in an aerobic exercise or resistance training program can be seen as an “adjunctive” therapy to standard medical and dietary therapies for treating hypertension. However, evidence to support the use of biofeedback techniques, isometric handgrip exercise, device-guided slow breathing, meditation, yoga, relaxation [...]
The post Exercise as ‘adjunctive’ therapy for treating hypertension appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Although last year’s move in California to require labeling of genetically engineered foods went down to defeat, the issue isn’t dead yet. Senators Boxer (D-Calif.) and DeFazio (D-Ore.) have introduced legislation that would require the FDA to mandate labeling of all genetically engineered foods, and those made from genetically engineered ingredients. Proponents of these labeling [...]
The post GE labeling garners Congressional support appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

According to a study published in Diabetologia, one can of soda can significantly raise your risk of developing diabetes. Good headline, maybe, but some of the worst garbage science we’ve seen. Because, by the second paragraph of the study summary in today’s MedPage Today, it becomes patently obvious that this is so-called study is not only [...]
The post Diabetes and soda consumption? With a straight face? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Today marks the 7th annual celebration… no, that’s not exactly the best word…the 7th annual official recognition, via World Malaria Day, of the horrendous toll taken by the mosquito-borne infection: Malaria. Historically, malaria has been so severe and widespread as to determine the fates of entire civilizations. A little-known fact is that malaria remained a [...]
The post On World Malaria Day, recognizing its grim toll appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.