The kids of women who drank low-to-moderate levels of alcohol during the early stages of their pregnancy weren't any worse for the wear, challenging the notion that pregnant women should abstain from drinking completely. Researchers are far from giving the go-ahead to drink to pregnant women, though. (Credit: J. Henry Rose/Flickr Creative Commons)
Here are the latest health headlines folks in South Los Angeles ought to know about:
'Moderate' Drinking During Pregnancy Has No Effect on Young Children: Study: Let's get one thing straight: Researchers aren't saying it's OK to drink during pregnancy. They're just saying they found that five-year-olds whose mothers drank low-to-moderate levels of alcohol during early pregnancy weren't any worse for the wear. Kids of mothers who drank beyond that moderate marker, however, seemed to have lower attention spans. One more time: The standard recommendation to stay alcohol-free during pregnancy still stands – for now. | U.S. News & World Report
Most Americans won't like healthcare ruling – whatever it is: You just can't win: A survey by the Pew Research Center found that whether the Affordable Care Act is upheld, struck down or stripped of the individual mandate, fewer than half of the respondents would be happy with the outcome. | Los Angeles Times
More Than 46 Million Americans Uninsured in 2011: Report: According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly one in five Americans – 19.2 percent – were without health coverage during at least part of 2011. That adds up to about 46.3 million Americans. Seven percent of children went without coverage that year. | MSN/HealthDay
Eye Diseases Rising at Rapid Rates in U.S.: In the past 12 years, diabetic retinopathy – which involves damage to the eye's blood vessels – has risen 89 percent, according to a new report. About 1.3 million Americans are blind and nearly 2.9 million have low vision. | WebMD
Discount Supermarkets Tied to Rising Obesity Rates: Prices might be the key to the fight against obesity: A new study says people who shop at lower-cost grocery stores are more likely to be obese than those who get their food at higher-priced outlets. Researchers pointed to the importance of people's having equal access to healthy and affordable foods. | MSN/HealthDay
Apples Again Top 'Dirty Dozen' List for Pesticides: The Environmental Working Group's annual list of produce with unacceptable pesticide residues includes: Apples, celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, imported nectarines, grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, domestic blueberries and potatoes. The group also issues the "Clean Fifteen," a list of the produce least likely to have pesticides on it. | WebMD
Does night work put women's health at risk?: A French study found that among women who had worked nights at some point in their career, the risk of developing breast cancer was 30 percent higher. That was particularly pronounced in women who had worked nights for more than four years, or in women who worked less than three nights a week. Researchers cited the disruption of the body's circadian rhythm as the reason. | Press release, International Journal of Cancer
Study finds that single mothers can reduce stress by playing, engaging with children: It's been shown that single mothers often have higher levels of parental stress than married mothers, and now researchers are saying there's an easy way to alleviate some of that: Play with your kids. The finding was unexpected, as the original study had been focusing on pinpointing ways single mothers could improve their relationships with their kids. | Press release
Parents say that healthy eating is challenging for youth who play sports: Oh, the irony: Interviews with parents of athletes revealed that the most common foods in sports settings were junk food, and that they often feed their kids fast food because their schedules become so busy getting their kids to practice and games. | Press release, Journal of Nutrition and Behavior
Photo by J. Henry Rose via Flickr Creative Commons.
