Americans Are Often Clueless About Their Own Obesity, Survey Finds
And doctors are too busy, to embarrassed or ill-equipped to help them. In other public health news: arthritis, diabetes, genetic tests, the shingles vaccine, sickle cell, and soda.
Los Angeles Times:
Survey Reveals Surprising Mismatch Between Perception And Reality Of Obesity In America
Nearly 40% of American adults and 20% of children carry enough extra weight to warrant a diagnosis of obesity. That’s the highest obesity rate among the world’s affluent nations, and it’s already shortening Americans’ lifespans by driving up rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancers, arthritis and dementia. (Healy, 11/3)
The New York Times:
If You Tear A Knee Ligament, Arthritis Is Likely To Follow In 10 Years
When Jason Lalli tore his left anterior cruciate ligament at age 26, he thought he would be fine as soon as he had his knee repaired. As a soccer player who competed through college and then on recreational teams, he knew that A.C.L. injuries could be debilitating but also that orthopedists could fix them. He figured that he would miss a season, but that he could play and coach the game he loved for the rest of his life. (Kolata, 11/6)
Bloomberg:
U.S. Diabetes Patients Are About To Get Some High-Tech Relief
Diabetes devices may be having their iPhone moment. For decades, the daily routine of diabetics involved painful needles, finger-pricking lancets and imprecise glucose meters. Now, manufacturers have begun incorporating the slick and consumer-friendly designs of Silicon Valley, linking to phones and other tech devices. (Rausch, 11/3)
Politico:
Politically Connected Cancer Mogul Faces Questions Over His Genetic Tests
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the medical entrepreneur who has expanded his influence in Washington by cultivating close ties to both parties, has struggled to meet analysts’ expectations for sales of his GPS genetic test, the key to his plan to transform cancer treatment by matching patients with tailored drug treatments. At the same time, sales of the GPS test are being boosted by purchases from hospitals and clinics associated with doctors who have financial ties to his network of for-profit and non-profit companies. (Tahir, 11/4)
WBUR:
Why Experts Are Excited About The New Shingles Vaccine
This summer, Dr. Ben Kruskal learned firsthand about the famously hellish pain that comes with shingles, the blistering rash that afflicts one in three Americans, usually later in life. "There was a sort of a baseline pain that is not easily described but very, very unpleasant," he said. And "an extreme sensitivity to touch, such that even a very light touch in certain areas of my face was exquisitely painful." Weeks later, "I'm back to normal," he said, "and that is something I'm devoutly grateful for." (Goldberg, 11/3)
Kaiser Health News:
Sickle Cell Patients Suffer Discrimination, Poor Care — And Shorter Lives
For more than a year, NeDina Brocks-Capla avoided one room in her large, brightly colored San Francisco house — the bathroom on the second floor. “It was really hard to bathe in here, and I found myself not wanting to touch the walls,” she explained. The bathroom is where Brocks-Capla’s son Kareem Jones died in 2013 at age 36, from sickle cell disease. (Gold, 11/3)
San Jose Mercury News:
Kids And Soda: It’s Even Worse Than We Thought
Two-thirds of kids drink at least one soda on any given day, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bad news is that nearly a quarter of American children aged 12 to 19 have either Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, according to a 2012 study in the journal Pediatrics. (D'Souza, 11/3)
