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Reducing children's sugary beverage intake may help manage obesity

Sugary drinks are the single biggest contributor to the obesity epidemic in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, two-thirds of adults and one-third of the children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Registered dietician Leah Holbrook, Coordinator of the Long Island Center for Pediatric Obesity Prevention in the Department of Family Medicine at Stony Brook School of Medicine, says that these sobering statistics and the fact that beverages account for nearly half of the added sugars in our diet are a wakeup call for Americans to reduce their sugary drink intake.

21 Mar 2012

Various State Legislatures consider insurance exchanges, HMO audits, mental health care

A selection of health policy news from Iowa, Oregon, California, Oregon, Maryland, Connecticut, Kansas and Texas.

14 Mar 2012

Top-line results from Inviragen's INV21 Phase 1 trial on HFMD

Inviragen today reported top-line results of a placebo-controlled, randomized Phase 1 trial of INV21, the Company's highly purified virus particle vaccine against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus 71.

12 Mar 2012

States use retiree health care, Medicaid cuts to stare down budget gaps

State budget cuts are targeting health care and retiree health care programs in states around the U.S. In Maryland, a "doomsday" budget scenario could reduce Medicaid spending by $101 million while advocates push for reinstatement of Medicaid dollars in Idaho and Arizona.

8 Mar 2012

Home health industry fights minimum wage rule

USA Today reports about the effort by home health care companies fighting an administration proposal on pay. Meanwhile in Connecticut, officials are considering changes in pay rules.

17 Feb 2012

One in four low-income cohabiting couples with children maintain romantic relationship

When low-income cohabiting couples with children decide to no longer live together, that doesn't necessarily mean the end of their romantic relationship.

10 Feb 2012

DF/CHCC specialists recommend genetic counseling for children with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

Genetic specialists at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) are recommending that children being treated for sarcoma should be offered genetic counseling for Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare condition that greatly raises a person's risk of developing additional cancers.

9 Feb 2012

FDA approves ivermectin lotion for treatment of head lice

Sanofi announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sklice® (ivermectin) lotion, 0.5% for the topical treatment of head lice, in patients 6 months of age and older. Effective and well-tolerated, Sklice Lotion treats lice in most patients with a single 10-minute application of the lotion, without nit combing.

7 Feb 2012

Societal, parental values about injury prevention affect outdoor physical activity for children

Three-fourths of preschool-age children in the United States attend child care, and many are not getting enough outdoor physical activity, which may be due in part to parental and societal values about injury prevention and kindergarten readiness.

11 Jan 2012

Childcare centers aren't spending enough time playing outdoors: Report

According to a new study children in daycare may spend more time sitting around and not enough time being active. Pediatric experts recommend preschoolers get 90 - 120 minutes of activity daily such as running and playing games like tag, and that children be taken outdoors twice a day.

5 Jan 2012

Relationship between mum and toddler may predict obesity later in life: study

A new study published in the December 26th online issue of the journal Pediatrics suggests that the extent of attachment security between mother and child when the child is aged between 15 and 36 months appears to be related to the risk for obesity in that child when it is 15 years old. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

28 Dec 2011

Researchers analyze link between maternal-child relationship and adolescent obesity

The quality of the emotional relationship between a mother and her young child could affect the potential for that child to be obese during adolescence, a new study suggests.

26 Dec 2011

GOP pauses 'doc fix' fight, averts 27 percent Medicare pay cut

The House GOP leadership's agreement to a Senate proposal averts a 27 percent paycut to doctors scheduled to take effect in January. The deal delays the cut until March 1, and lawmakers hope to hammer out an agreement on a longer-term fix to the payment formula before then.

23 Dec 2011

Dads may be helping out but Moms still multi-tasking and stressed: Study

A new study shows that in dual earning families, fathers and mothers are spending roughly equal amounts of time doing paid and unpaid work, but mothers are spending nine more hours a week multitasking.

4 Dec 2011

CCEI offers trial course on recognizing infectious diseases in the early childhood setting

ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), an IACET approved, nationally accredited, distance training institution dedicated exclusively to the child care and education workforce, offers new users the trial course CCEI114B: Recognizing Infectious Diseases in the Early Childhood Setting at no cost in December.

2 Dec 2011

Boys may benefit from high-quality kindergarten friendships

High-quality friendships in kindergarten may mean that boys will have fewer behavior problems and better social skills in first and third grades, said Nancy McElwain, a University of Illinois associate professor of human development and co-author of a study published in a recent issue of Infant and Child Development.

30 Nov 2011

Obese boy’s mother loses custody

An eight year old boy in third grade from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, has been removed from his home after he grew to 218 pounds, weighing nearly as much as four times the usual. The average weight for an eight-year-old boy is 57 pounds - about one quarter of what the Ohio boy weighs.

28 Nov 2011

Financial incentives effective at altering 'simple' behaviors in socially disadvantaged groups

Financial incentives work for doctors. Could they work for patients, too? Could they encourage them to change unhealthy behaviors and use preventive health services more? In some cases, yes, according to Dr. Marita Lynagh from the University of Newcastle in Australia, and colleagues. Their work, looking at why financial incentives for patients could be a good thing to change risky health behaviors, indicates that incentives are likely to be particularly effective at altering 'simple' behaviors e.g. take-up of immunizations, primarily among socially disadvantaged groups.

21 Nov 2011

State roundup: Calif. cuts make public health outlook bleak

One thing Gov. Mitch Daniels believes with absolute conviction is that consumers need to pay more of the cost of their health care. ... No one can say Daniels isn't practicing what he preaches. Indiana has been using a version of consumer-driven health care for state employees since 2006. Starting next year, 90 percent of Indiana state workers will be covered by a consumer-driven plan with low premiums and high out-of-pocket expenses for actual care.

18 Nov 2011

Novel program aims to improve nutrition, physical activity among young children and prevent obesity

A Kansas State University research group is jumping ahead to improve nutrition and physical activity among young children and prevent childhood obesity.

17 Nov 2011