Selected articles on health: Care of the elderly falling on shoulders of the young. Why we’re losing the battle against obesity? Whither the AMA? The big profits of non-profit hospitals.
Cut the growth in rates of obesity by just 1 percent a year over the next two decades, and you’ll slice health costs by $85 billion. Keep obesity rates at their current levels – which is well below a 33 percent increase being projected — save nearly $550 billion.
The 5-year Million Hearts Campaign hopes to help millions of Americans improve their heart health by preventing and treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and tobacco use.
Overweight doctors discuss weight loss less frequently with obese patients than doctors with normal weights and they’re significantly less confident of their ability to provide effective counseling about diet or exercise.
Signs that read, “Burn Calories, Not Electricity” posted in lobbies of New York City buildings, motivated more people to take the stairs and continue to use them even months later.
Want to lose weight? Quit smoking? Get fit? It can be done, but you’re more likely to reach your goals if you take a slow, step-by-step approach, experts say.
A pick of the best articles about health from this week: Rick Santorum’s war on contraception, the “Fat Trap” that makes is so hard to lose weight, and even with health care reform millions will remain uninsured.
“I lost 90 pounds with the Lap-Band!,” read the billboards. Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? But there are serious risks with the weight-loss surgery promoted by these ads.
Chef Eric Eisenberg, executive chef at Swedish Medical Center, has come up with some healthy holiday drinks to help those watching their weight get through the season’s celebrations.
After tobacco-related diseases, diseases due to out lack physical activity are the top killers of Americans. But research suggests that getting out of our cars and onto our bikes would do us a world of good. The average person will lose 13 pounds their first year riding to work.
Experts want kids to exercise at least 60 minutes every day, but among all children, black girls are most likely to report they got no physical activity in the past week.
As obesity among young people continues to rise, a growing number of clinicians say that weight-loss surgery may be their best chance to take off significant weight. But although health plans frequently cover bariatric surgery in adults, coverage for patients under age 18 is spotty.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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