After a quarter century of increases, obesity prevalence has not measurably increased in the past few years but levels are still high - at 34 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, “Obesity Among Adults in the U.S. [click link for full article]
A National Institutes of Health draft assessment of the risks associated with a proposed biocontainment laboratory at Boston University is “not sound and credible,” according to a National Research Council report requested by the state of Massachusetts. [click link for full article]
In an effort to reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke, the American Medical Association (AMA) today testified to the Food and Drug Administration urging immediate action to reduce excess salt in food. The AMA asked the FDA to set strict limits on salt in processed foods and work to better educate the public on the benefits of a low-sodium diet. [click link for full article]
The Canadian Diabetes Association applauded the Government of Ontario’s commitment to tackle diabetes in Ontario, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne. [click link for full article]
The New York Times on Thursday examined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S., as part of a series on the six leading causes of illness and death. COPD can occur as emphysema, which “destroys air sacs deep in the lungs,” and chronic bronchitis, which “causes inflammation, congestion and scarring in the airways,” according to the Times. In the U.S. [click link for full article]
AIDSVote.org: The Web site — launched by Housing Works, Gay Men’s Health Crisis and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago — is a nonpartisan voter and candidate education project. The site includes the results of a poll conducted among 16 presidential candidates about HIV/AIDS issues. [click link for full article]
Sixty percent of adults believe the benefits of using electronic health records outweigh the potential privacy risks, according to a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll, the Wall Street Journal Online reports. The survey, conducted from Nov. 12 to Nov. 14, included 2,153 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. [click link for full article]
Reuters on Wednesday profiled a project called the Stara School in the Kenyan slum of Kibera that works with AIDS orphans and their grandmothers, who often are left to take care of the children when their parents die. At least 12 million children in Africa have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related illnesses, according to United Nations figures. [click link for full article]
Examining the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Pacific countries could help improve the lives of those affected by the disease in the region, Langi Kavaliku, chair of the Commission of AIDS in the Pacific, said recently at the commission’s inaugural meeting in Fiji, the Pacific News Agency Service reports. [click link for full article]
Interventions by a critical care pharmacist in a surgical intensive care unit helped a hospital avoid spending almost $280,000 over four and a half months, and 85 percent of those interventions were judged to have prevented medication-related injury in patients, according to a study in Dec. [click link for full article]