New research says that rising obesity numbers worldwide could have the same impact on global resources as an additional billion people. (Credit: Davidd/Flickr Creative Commons)
Here are the latest health headlines folks in South Los Angeles ought to know about:
American Kids Getting Fewer Prescription Drugs: Study: The number of prescriptions written for children went on the decline between 2002 and 2012, in the areas of antibiotics, cough/cold, allergy, pain and depression meds in particular. In the same timeframe, there was a rise in asthma, ADHD and birth control prescriptions. The study only looked at whether a change occurred, not why. | U.S. News & World Report
Global weight gain more damaging than rising numbers: Rising obesity numbers worldwide could have the same effect on global resources as an additional billion people, says a new study. Researchers found that although only six percent of the world's population lives in North America, the continent accounts for more than 33 percent of the world's obesity. | BBC
Study of the Dad: Persistence Comes From Your Father's Parenting: Unlike "authoritative mothering," researchers found that authoritative fathering – that is, parenting that makes kids feel loved, subject to rules and accountability, and like they can exercise some level of autonomy – was associated with a child's ability to be persistent. | The Atlantic
State Laws Cut Teen Drinking and Driving, Large Study Shows: Graduated driver licensing laws restrict new drivers to less risky driving situations until they gain enough experience to be fully licensed; use-and-lose laws allow for the suspension of a teen's license if she or he is caught drinking. New research shows that both of those kinds of laws can help reduce drinking and driving among teens, and make teens living in states with those kinds of laws be approximately half as likely to drink and drive than teens living in states with the weakest laws. | MSN/HealthDay
EPA Proposes New Cuts on Levels of Soot in Air: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new standards that would call for a reduction in fine particle air pollution from the current 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 12 or 13. | MSN/HealthDay
U of M researchers find natural antioxidant can protect against cardiovascular disease: Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have found an enzyme – glutathione peroxidase – that, when found at high levels alongside low levels of "good" cholesterol, can dramatically cut the risk of heart disease. | Press release, PLoS One
Photo by Davidd via Flickr Creative Commons.
