Both pregnancy and abortion rates have been declined since 1990, in large part due to use of more effective birth control. (Credit: Tony Kwintera/Flickr Creative Commons)
Here are the latest health headlines folks in South Los Angeles ought to know about:
Study: Lack of health insurance causes thousands of Californians to die prematurely: The Golden State leads the nation in deaths primarily caused by a lack of health insurance, says a new report. Researchers estimate that more than 3,100 uninsured folks in the state died prematurely in 2010 because they delayed treatment due to finances. | KPCC
20-somethings less likely to get pregnant, have abortion: Women in their early 20s aren't getting pregnant at the rate they used to – pregnancy rates for women in that age range fell by 18 percent and abortion rates fell by 32 percent over 18 years, in large part due to their use of more effective birth control. | MSNBC
Too Old For Weight Worries? Eating Disorders Are Common Among Women Over 50: A startling 62 percent of women over 50 reported that their weight negatively impacts their lives, often to the point where it drives an eating disorder. That's according to a new University of North Carolina study, which says the data indicates that eating disorders are far from being a condition that only affects teens and younger women. | TIME
Vicious cycle: Heart attacks can trigger PTSD, study says: People who suffer heart attacks may as a result suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder – which raises the risk of another heart attack. About 12 percent of nearly 2,400 heart patients developed PTSD symptoms, while four percent developed full-on PTSD. | Los Angeles Times
How active is your child really?: Researchers looked at more than 1,000 kids between the ages of eight and 10 and found that children only spend about 20 minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and that at age eight, girls are already less active than boys. | Press release, PLoS ONE
Adolescents who have more than four meals a day are thinner: A Spanish study indicates that certain habits, like eating more than four scheduled meals a day or not eating too fast, are associated with lower body fat levels, independent of exercise levels. | Press release
High-fat/calorie diet accelerates development of pancreatic cancer: Yet another negative health outcome of an unhealthy diet: Eating lots of calories and fat can speed up the development of pancreatic cancer. | Press release
Photo by Tony Kwintera via Flickr Creative Commons.
