US obesity rates seem to have leveled
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:28:11 GMT
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA - Obesity rates in U.S. women seem to be staying level, and the rate in men may be hitting a plateau now, too, according to a new government report released Wednesday.
With more than 72 million Americans counted as obese, adult obesity rates for both sexes seem to be holding steady at about 34 percent, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The rates are still too high, said Mark Swanson, a researcher who studies childhood obesity and school nutrition at the University of Kentucky's College of Public Health.
"Until the numbers start to go the other direction, I don't think we can consider this a success at all," he said.
The adult obesity rate has generally been climbing since 1980, when it was 15 percent. The entire adult population has grown heavier, and the heaviest have become much heavier in the last 25 years. Obesity is major risk factor for heart disease, certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes.
The CDC's new report is based on a comprehensive survey by the federal government that includes physical examinations. The results are based on what was found in about 4,400 adults ages 20 and older in 2005 and 2006.
About 33 percent of men and 35 percent of women were obese. The new rates were slightly higher than the 31 percent and 33 percent reported in 2003-2004 surveys.
However, in generalizing the results to the U.S. population, researchers calculated a margin of error that swallows up the differences between years. In other words, the increases were not considered statistically significant.
The obesity rate for women has been about steady since 1999-2000, at around 33 percent. But the male rate trended up, from 27.5 percent in 1999-2000. People with a body-mass index — a standard measure of height and weight — of 30 or greater are defined by the CDC as obese.
The new CDC report compared data over four years. While it looks like the male rate is leveling off, more years will be needed to confirm a trend, said Dr. William Dietz, a CDC expert.
If there is a trend, perhaps women are having an influence on the eating and exercise habits of men, Dietz added.
Childhood obesity rates for 2005-2006 have not been released yet. Through 2003-2004, they were rising.
So what might be behind leveling adult rates?
Increased exercise is one possibility. Last week, the CDC released results of a national telephone survey that found that about half of men and women reported getting regular physical activity in 2005, an increase from the rates reported in 2001.
Physical activity prevents new cases of obesity, but it's not clear that explains the new findings, CDC officials said.
Experts believe reducing consumption of high-calorie and fatty foods have an impact.
Some restaurants cut back their super-size servings in recent years and that may be helping, said J. Justin Wilson. He's a senior research analyst for the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit coalition of restaurants and food companies.
In the new report, obesity was most common in adults aged 40 to 59.
There were large differences by race for women — the female obesity rates in the 40 to 59 age group were 39 percent in white women, 51 percent in Mexican-American women and 51 percent in black women.
However, there were no racial or ethnic disparities in the male obesity rates, the CDC said.
The report also found that about a third of obese adults had not been told by a doctor or health care provider that they were overweight. That statistic has held about steady from earlier years, said Cynthia Ogden, a co-author of the report.
___
On the Net:
CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs.
Government outs chronically underperforming nursing homes
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:52:30 GMT
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Fifty-four nursing homes are being told by the government that they're among the worst in their states in an effort to goad them into improving patient care.
Lawmakers and advocacy groups have been pushing the Bush administration to make it easier for consumers to identify poorly performing nursing homes. They complain that too many facilities get cited for serious deficiencies but don't make adequate improvement, or do so only temporarily.
The administration agreed, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will list the homes on its Web site Thursday.
"Very, very poor quality nursing homes do not deserve to be left untouched or unnoticed," said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "This is not to be punitive. That's not our goal. Our goal is to see to it that the people in these nursing homes get better quality care or that they get the opportunity to move somewhere else."
The homes in question are among more than 120 designated as a "special focus facility." CMS began using the designation about a decade ago to identify homes that merit more oversight. For these homes, states conduct inspections at six month intervals rather than annually.
The homes on the list got not only the special focus designation, but also registered a lack of improvement in a subsequent survey.
The nursing homes to be cited come from 33 states and the District of Columbia, according to a list obtained by The Associated Press. There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide.
Among Colorado homes, Eagle Ridge at Grand Valley in Grand Junction and Kindred Healthcare & Rehab Center of Northglenn in Northglenn were listed. Representatives for both were not available for comment Wednesday night.
Nursing home administrators have concerns that homes showing significant improvements will still show up on the Medicare Web site. They said it takes time for inspection results to make their way through the bureaucracy. Still, administrators support the concept of greater disclosure, said Bruce Yarwood, president and chief executive officer of the American Health Care Association, the trade association for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
"Every time you go under a microscope like that, especially in our profession, you want to get out from under that microscope," Yarwood said. "There will be a heck of a lot of effort not to stay there."
One of the homes on the government's list was Franklin Hills Health & Rehab Center in Spokane, Wash. Brian Teed, the facility's administrator, said he did not have a problem with Medicare publicizing the list. But he said regional differences play a huge role in how nursing homes are graded. He said he recently helped run a facility in Portland, Ore., and nursing homes were graded much easier there. He took over the Spokane facility in September, and found it to be well run.
"In the Portland, Ore., area, this facility would be deficiency free or close to it. Instead we got 15 tags. We got tagged because there was bird poop on the bench outside," Teed said.
"I would put my mother in here," he added.
About 1.5 million elderly and disabled people live in nursing homes. Taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion a year to subsidize the cost of nursing home care.
Every nursing home receiving federal payments undergoes inspections about once a year. In such inspections, surveyors assess whether the facility meets standards focused on safety and quality of care. Among the things inspectors look for are giving residents the proper medicine, assisting them with daily living activities such as bathing, and assisting them with their medical needs and diet, as well as the prevention of accidents and infections.
Typically, homes that get the special focus designation do show improvement. Federal data indicate that about half the special focus homes improve their quality of care significantly within 24-30 months. However, about 16 percent are terminated from Medicare and Medicaid.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he's concerned about those homes in between — the ones that don't make much improvement but still continue operating.
"The federal agency responsible for nursing homes is doing the right thing by letting the public know which homes yo-yo in and out of compliance with the minimum requirements of care," Grassley said. "It gives these nursing homes the incentive to get off of that list, and it lets consumers know what they're getting into."
Kerry Weems, acting administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said states pick from a list submitted by CMS when determining those that get the special focus designation. He said that because of regional differences, a home that makes the list in one state may actually provide better care than a home that's not listed in another state.
"I'm careful in saying they're not the worst performers, but they are chronic underperformers," Weems said.
Weems said he hopes that naming the homes makes it easier for them to improve.
"We're hopeful making this disclosure will put the right kind of pressure, helpful pressure, on the facilities to move to the path of improvement rather than the path to termination," Weems said.
The AARP also applauded the administration's action.
"People in nursing homes have a right to know how well they're performing," said David Certner, director of legislative policy for AARP, an advocacy group for people 50 and older. "Their families certainly have a right to know what kind of care their relatives are receiving and if that care is substandard."
Medicare officials said families with relatives in a special focus nursing home should visit the home and talk to staff and residents. They can also review the survey history for the home on Medicare's Web site called Nursing Home Compare.
Another source of information about a home is the state's nursing home ombudsman.
___
On the Net:
Nursing Home Compare: http://www.medicare.gov
Pope calls for new efforts to fight AIDS
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:42:32 GMT
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday called for intensified efforts to stop the spread of the HIV virus, saying he felt "spiritually close" to those suffering from AIDS.
"I am asking all people of goodwill to multiply efforts to stop the spread of the HIV virus, to oppose the scorn that often strikes those affected and to take care of the sick, especially the children," Benedict told his weekly public audience in connection with World AIDS Day, which was Saturday.
"I am spiritually close to those who suffer as a result of this terrible illness as well as to their families, in particular those struck by the loss of a close relative," the pope said. "I assure my prayers for all."
Also on Wednesday, a U.N. food agency said that reducing hunger in poor countries was key to fighting AIDS and other infectious diseases.
Hunger and disease create a vicious cycle, as famished people are more likely to fall victim to infectious and chronic diseases, which then reduce their ability to provide food for themselves and their family, the Rome-based World Food Program said in a report.
Malnutrition also makes recovery more difficult even when proper drugs are available, so the international community must take care to couple medical help with food aid, the agency said in its "World Hunger Series" report for 2007.
"Food is often cited by people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS as their greatest and most important need," said Elizabeth Mataka, the U.N.'s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. "Nutrition interventions for HIV programs are often overlooked in the international HIV policy debate and they remain critically underfunded."
Speaking at a presentation of the report in Rome, Mataka said that, according to U.N. figures, the number of people affected by HIV in 2007 was 35.2 million, down from 39.5 million in 2006.
"It seems that we are witnessing a slowing down of the epidemic, but we have to do more," she said. "Setting a limit to hunger and HIV is an absolute imperative."
China reports sharp drop in HIV cases
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:17:44 GMT
BEIJING - China has 223,501 people infected with HIV, the official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday, a sharp drop in previously reported figures.
The brief dispatch from Xinhua did not give any more details.
In 2004, China scaled back the estimated number of people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from nearly 1 million people to 840,000, and then further lowered the estimate to 650,000 in 2005.
Experts have said the figures are probably accurate because they are in line with a change in the way data are collected.
HIV gained a foothold in China largely due to unsanitary blood plasma-buying schemes and tainted transfusions in hospitals.
After years of denying that AIDS was a problem, Chinese leaders have shifted gears dramatically in recent years, confronting the disease more openly and promising anonymous testing, free treatment for the poor and a ban on discrimination against people with the virus.
But the topic still remains very sensitive and authorities regularly crack down on activists and patients seeking more support and rights.
Global health officials said earlier this month that the estimated number of people infected with HIV around the world fell from almost 40 million last year to about 33.2 million this year.
Previous estimates were largely inflated and the new numbers are the result of a different methodology, which show that the AIDS pandemic is losing momentum.
The old AIDS numbers were largely based on how many infected pregnant women were at pre-natal clinics, as well as projecting the AIDS rates of certain high-risk groups like drug users to the entire population at risk. Officials said those figures were flawed, and are now incorporating more data like national household surveys.
Last week, David Ho, a well-known AIDS researcher who also runs a public awareness and prevention program in mainland China, said Beijing's previously revised figures likely reflected the change in method of calculation.
Program to fight obesity in kids expands
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:46:18 GMT
By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON - Ivonne Borrero liked that her son's teacher was pushing him to do good work. She just didn't like the rewards: The pizza parties and Burger King coupons weren't helping 11-year-old Jose's waistline.
So Borrero and other parents asked for changes. The teacher responded by stopping the fatty prizes, and health officials introduced parents to We Can!, a federal anti-obesity program for children that pushes subtle changes at home. It's now helping Jose and other kids avoid growing out as they grow up.
"Little, bitty changes have really made a big difference in all of our lives," Borrero said.
National Institutes of Health officials were to announce Thursday that the We Can! program is teaming up with the Association of Children's Museums, as well as the cities of Boston, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, the three largest cities yet to adopt the 2-year-old initiative.
We Can! — short for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition — is aimed at kids 8-13 and pushes commonsense steps to keep off weight, such as eating fewer high-fat foods, exercising more and spending less time staring at television and computer screens.
But it doesn't just try to persuade kids to give up the fun foods and activities that pack on pounds. It relies on parents to make it easier for kids to make healthier choices.
In the Borrero home, the family staple of rice and beans is now cooked in canola or sesame seed oil, not vegetable oil. Portions are smaller. The Borreros drink more water and less juice. Jose's grandmother has been asked to please not send those delicious cream-filled wafer cookies.
Meanwhile, Jose has joined a city tennis program and, with his mother and 18-year-old sister, is walking more. Everyone feels better, said Borrero, 48, a school psychologist.
Previous federally funded childhood obesity programs didn't include parents as much, so the message didn't stick as well, said Karen Donato, We Can! program manager.
"Parents are role models for kids. They provide food for kids. They're the people in charge," Donato said.
The program began in 2005 amid sobering data about Americans and weight problems: About a third of U.S. children are overweight or obese. When obese children become obese adults, it's much tougher for them to shed the weight, research shows.
A community that officially commits to We Can! agrees to host numerous parent and youth events that promote the program. Besides the three cities being announced Thursday, five others — Roswell, Ga., South Bend, Ind., Gary, Ind., Armstrong County, Pa., and Carson City, Nev. — already are official We Can! communities. About 450 communities in 44 states are using some part of the program.
Borerro's gradual approach has paid off with her son. She's been surprised and thrilled to see him request a wrap, not a burger, during visits to the mall. He also voluntarily got rid of the unhealthiest candy from his Halloween bag.
It's not that Jose isn't interested in junk food anymore, his mother said. But now he knows what's better for him, and there's more room to negotiate an occasional treat.
"A brownie once in a while is not a bad thing," she said.
___
On the Net:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/
US company to launch 39safe sex passport39
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:46:52 GMT
WASHINGTON -
A US company is poised to launch the world's first safe sex passport, aimed at giving users of dating and social networking websites extra &;information protection,&; the man behind the idea said Wednesday.
&;Some years ago I met an individual who had intercourse with someone they met online, who didn't disclose that they had an STD&; or sexually transmitted disease, Gonzalo Paternoster of Florida-based SSP BioAnalytics said ahead of the launch of the Safe Sex Passport on December 1, World AIDS Day.
&;The idea popped into my head that people know but don't tell the truth, and we needed an independent way to verify someone's health status,&; he told AFP.
The Safe Sex Passport will be available -- at a cost -- to anyone over the age of 18 who goes online and orders the credit-card-size article.
&;As soon as you order your card, you are referred to an affiliated laboratory where you can get tested for five major STDs,&; Paternoster said.
Card holders are tested for HIV, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis
&;When you go to the test facility, you will have to show your official ID to make sure you are the person who owns the safe sex passport.
&;The test results are tied to the card. So let's say now you meet someone: they can call a phone number and get the test results and test date for you, plus identification information so that they know for sure that you are really the person who was tested,&; he said.
&;In the old days, you had to take someone's word for it when they said they had been tested and were in the clear. Now you can ask for proof.&;
Subscribers will also be provided with virtual health certificates, which can be posted on their online dating or MySpace profile page.
Nearly 15,000 people and several dating websites have already expressed an interest in the safe sex passports and online health certificates, Paternoster said.
The biggest age group showing an interest in acquiring the card are aged between 27 and 47, he said.
&;A lot of them are divorced or have broken up after a long-term relationship, and now they're back in the dating world and they're terrified.&;
China lists substandard WalMart Carrefour goods
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:15:23 GMT
BEIJING - China has published a blacklist of
substandard toy jugs and children's shoes sold at Wal-Mart
stores and drawing pens from French retailer Carrefour in a
quality sweep on children's goods sold at Beijing supermarkets.
China has been buffeted by food, drug and other product
safety scares in past months. More than 20 million toys made
there have been recalled worldwide over the past four months.
In response, Beijing has promised to crack down on faulty
manufacturers and suppliers, but also said much responsibility
lies with foreign regulators and buyers. It has also made a
point of naming foreign companies it claims also have problem
products.
A Wal-Mart Stores Inc spokesman, Jonathan Dong, said the
blacklist -- which appeared on an official Web site on Thursday
-- was more than two months old and the products, made in
China, had long been cleared from the shelves.
Inspectors had also blacklisted children's toys at Wal-Mart
stores in Beijing for problems regarding parts that could come
off and cause harm if swallowed, the Beijing Administration for
Industry and Commerce said on its Web site .
The 54-item blacklist also included substandard children's
glasses, toothbrushes, building blocks and bikes with shoddy
brakes and handlebars, at a number of Chinese retailers.
&;If consumers have bought the substandard goods, with proof
of purchase they can request the vendor to recall the goods,&;
the notice said.
Six children's products stocked at Wal-Mart branches in
Beijing had failed to meet standards, the notice said.
Wal-Mart's &;Bo bo&; brand of &;water jugs&; had failed plastic
integrity standards, according to the notice.
&;Over a long period of use, toxins could accumulate in the
body and cause harm,&; the notice said.
Wal-Mart spokesman Dong confirmed the blacklist and said
the retailer had been notified of the quality results. He said
he was not sure why the notice had appeared on the Web site on
Thursday.
&;I guess they just wanted to be transparent about it,&; he
said.
Dong said any versions of the products now on sale had been
deemed safe, but customers with doubts could nonetheless return
them.
Last week, Wal-Mart was one of 20 companies sued by the
California attorney general and Los Angeles city attorney for
manufacturing or selling toys with unlawfully high levels of
lead.
Chinese-made Carrefour drawing pens were found with
excessive levels of lead and chromium. A Carrefour spokesman
contacted by phone was unable to provide immediate comment and
requested an e-mail of questions.
The Chinese producer of the bead toys that caused recalls
in the United States and Australia has apologized for using a
toxic &;date-rape&; drug and damaging the reputation of the
made-in-China label, state media said on Thursday.
Vice Premier Wu Yi arrived in Guangdong on Wednesday for
&;secret&; spot checks on food safety, Hong Kong's South China
Morning Post reported.
She heads one of 12 inspection teams that were checking
hundreds of outlets on Thursday, officials were ed as
saying.
Elderly too benefit from newer heart stents
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:36:54 GMT
NEW YORK -
Stents coated with the drug
sirolimus are safe and effective for treating elderly heart
patients with blocked coronary arteries, according to a new
report.
For elderly patients undergoing angioplasty with insertion
of stents to prop open their coronary arteries, the risks are
2- to 4-fold higher than for younger patients, the authors
explain in the American Heart Journal.
The so-call sirolimus-eluting stents, which go by the brand
name Cypher, have been shown to reduce the chance of arteries
becoming blocked again, and therefore the need for another
operation. However, so far, there has been limited experience
using the stents in patients older than 75 years.
Dr. Marcus Wiemer from University Bochum, in Bad
Oeynhausen, Germany and colleagues compared outcomes in 954
patients older than 75 years with 5801 younger patients
enrolled in the German Cypher Registry.
The team found that the mortality rate in the hospital was
higher in the older patients than in the younger
patients , but there was no significant difference
in heart attacks or the need for repeat procedures.
After 6 months, the overall mortality was 3-fold higher in
the elderly group, but both groups showed significant
improvement in symptoms, the report indicates.
The investigators say even between octogenarians and
patients younger than 80 years old, there were no differences
in hospital deaths or major adverse coronary events after 6
months.
These results provide &;strong evidence that
sirolimus-eluting stent implantation in the elderly and in very
old patients is feasible and ... should be recommended,&; the
authors conclude.
&;A common concern of doctors and patients that the elderly
will have more problems or side effects during or after
interventions&; was not seen in this study, Wiemer told Reuters
Health.
He explained that even these newer stents don't improve the
prognosis for people with coronary artery disease, &;but we can
improve the symptoms significantly.&;
Angina caused by coronary disease is not only painful, &;it
causes fear of death,&; he continued. To deny elderly patients
treatment that eases these symptoms is &;unethical.&;
SOURCE: American Heart Journal, October 2007.