By Rebecca Jones EdNewsColorado Keeping kids thin and fit is no small order in 2011. Schools experiment with countless ideas to battle childrens obesity. Theyve tried cooking classes, nutrition education, inviting kids to work in school gardens, improving cafeteria food, banning sugary snacks. Theyve upgraded playgrounds, tinkered with recess, mandated daily physical activity, organized bike clubs and revised physical education standards. Theyve coached parents, coached teachers, coached lunch ladies, coached coaches. Yet for all the different approaches, the empirical evidence proving what works and what doesnt is remarkably sketchy. Evidence-based anti-obesity programs that repeated studies have proven effective simply dont…
Category: Health and Wellness - Part 17
By Diane Carman Dr. Daniel Feiten has been shepherding babies and their parents through the challenges of childhood and adolescence for more years than he cares to count. He is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he received the Career Teaching Scholar Award in 2009. He is one of the founders of Greenwood Pediatrics, one of the largest practices in Colorado. And, to his dismay mostly out of necessity he has become an expert on childhood obesity. So lets start with a little good news. Its my favorite success story, he said….
The emotional health of college freshmen who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago. Read the New York Times report.
Federal health officials announced Wednesday that they were investigating a possible association between saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants and very rare form of cancer known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Read the Washington Post report.
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Major national health insurance carriers that have dropped child-only health plans in Colorado and throughout the country may be forced back into the childrens market if they wish to continue selling lucrative individual health insurance policies in Colorado. Childrens advocates, industry representatives and state officials have been meeting with lawmakers to draft a new law that likely will move forward in the coming weeks in the Colorado legislature. The measure has not been introduced yet. Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, will be sponsoring the measure in the Senate while Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver and Rep. Ken Summers,…
A key congressional oversight committee announced today that it was opening an investigation into the basis of a decision by the Pentagons health plan to deny a type of medical treatment to troops with brain injuries. Read Report on ProPublica.
Lakisha Stinson and her daughter, Rashyia, who was born last month and is healthy, live in a Milwaukee neighborhood where the rate at which African-American babies die is worse than Botswana. Read Report on JSOnline.
Is health insurance coverage of infertility treatments an essential benefit to help people manage a medical disorder? Or is it a life-enhancing benefit, nice to have perhaps but not essential because it doesnt sustain a persons life? Read the report from Washington Post
In response to a new federal food safety law and growing consumer interest, vast amounts of new data are being generated about the complicated path that food takes from field to supermarket shelf. Read Report on The Washington Post
There are many reasons why patients may not be getting preventive services. But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health reform law passed this year, is attempting to remedy at least one of them: cost. Read the Los Angeles Times story.