Are American citizens hurting themselves with bad habits? The bottom line is mixed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Americans are imbibing alcohol and overeating more yet are smoking less (black lines in center graphs).
Continue reading… “Americans are getting fatter and drunker”
Shared decision making helps patients be better informed about their treatment choices and make better decisions.
Quality-improving and cost-cutting innovations don’t sit around for years while people keep muddling through with old technology in most industries. When an innovation is ready for widespread use, it disrupts the market, whether the market wants it or not. In the process, some entrepreneur usually makes a killing.
New government nutrition standards went into effect this year in a bid to combat childhood obesity.
School lunches for the first time this year are required to be healthier but they are getting some push back from students and teachers across the USA who say they are still hungry after eating the noon meal.
Continue reading… “Students and teachers push back on healthier school lunches”
An estimated 3 million patients visit urgent cares each week.
In Annapolis, when Emily Auerswald and her children need care for minor illnesses or injuries, they head to a shopping center that has a Starbucks, a Five Guys hamburger joint and an urgent care center. Doctors Express, an urgent care center, is open nights and weekends, and accepts walk-ins without an appointment.
Continue reading… “Growth of urgent care centers worries some doctors”
Complaints about doctors jumped by 69% in three years.
In the UK, the number of complaints made to the General Medical Council about doctors has risen 23% in the past year, the regulator says. The GMC report showed there were 8,781 in 2011 compared to 7,153 in 2010.
Continue reading… “Complaints in the UK about doctors has risen 23%”
The rate of children entering private schools without all of their shots jumped by 10 percent last year.
An Associated Press analysis has found that parents who send their children to private schools in California are much more likely to opt out of immunizations than their public school counterparts, an Associated Press analysis. Even the recent re-emergence of whooping cough hasn’t halted the downward trajectory of vaccinations among these students.
Continue reading… “Vaccination opt-outs on the rise in private schools”
The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate.
According to a new study, eating a moderate amount of chocolate each week may be associated with a lower risk of stroke in men. The study was published in the August 29, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “While other studies have looked at how chocolate may help cardiovascular health, this is the first of its kind study to find that chocolate, may be beneficial for reducing stroke in men,” said study author Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Continue reading… “Chocolate may help lower risk of stroke in men”
There’s an epidemic of overtreatment.
Many patients and doctors believe more is better when it comes to medical care.
But there’s an epidemic of overtreatment. Doctors are ordering too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures for their patients and it is costing the nation’s health care system at least $210 billion a year, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is also taking a human toll in pain, emotional suffering, severe complications and even death.
Continue reading… “The epidemic of overtreatment is taking a harmful toll”
Father’s age is linked to increased genetic risk.
Solid evidence has been found by scientists that older men have more random mutations in their sperm cells. They’re warning that can cause autism, schizophrenia and a long list of other genetic diseases in their offspring.
Continue reading… “Older Dad’s linked to kids’ risk for genetic ailments”
Tobacco companies fear the law will set a global precedent that could slash billions from the values of their brands.
The highest court in Australia upheld the world’s toughest law on cigarette promotion Wednesday. The law prohibits tobacco company logos on cigarette packs that will instead show cancer-riddled mouths, blinded eyeballs and sickly children.
Continue reading… “World’s toughest law banning logo’s on cigarette packs upheld in Australia”
The rate for the South was 29.5%, followed by the Midwest at 29%, the Northeast at 25.3% and the West at 24.3%.
On Monday, the federal government released its “obesity map”, outlining the rates of obesity and how rates in the states compare. Colorado gets the svelte bragging rights, with 20.7% of its adults obese. At the other end of the scale is Mississippi, with a rate of 34.9%.
Continue reading… “New federal obesity statistics show Mississippi fattest, Colorado thinnest”
Most of your body is made out of water, fat and muscle.
Just by losing 10 pounds there are a ton of benefits to be gained – from having a healthier heart to feeling better in a bikini! But did you ever wonder exactly what happens to your bod when you do drop that weight?
Continue reading… “What happens to your body when you lose 10 pounds?”