Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Easy To Blame A Flagging Willpower For Binge Eating, But Study Shows Hormones Play A Role
The New York Times: Binge Eating At Night? Your Hormones May Be To Blame
Most dieters know the hard truth: Sticking to a weight loss regimen gets more difficult as the day wears on. But while those who give in to food cravings and binge at night may blame flagging willpower, a new study suggests the problem could lie in the complex orchestra of hormones that drive hunger and signal feelings of satiety, or fullness. (Rabin, 1/30)
The Washington Post: Canadian Couple Contracts Hookworms After Vacation In Punta Cana
It started with an itch after a stroll on a Caribbean beach, but in just a few days it had morphed into a gut-churning travel nightmare. In mid-January Eddie Zytner and Katie Stephens, a couple from Windsor, Ontario, went on a vacation to Punta Cana, a resort town on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic. At some point, they assumed they had been bitten by bugs during one of their walks because their feet wouldn't stop itching. (Wootson, 1/30)
The New York Times: Like Fevers, The Number Of Flu Patients Is Rising
Student absences. Contagious colleagues at work. Time-draining hospital visits. Thousands of Americans nationwide are grappling with what officials say is turning out to be the worst flu season in nearly a decade. And New Yorkers are falling ill, too. On the third week of January, there were 7,779 confirmed influenza cases and 1,759 people hospitalized in New York, the highest weekly numbers since the state began reporting them in 2004, according to the New York State Department of Health. (Ferre-Sadurni, 1/30)
The Washington Post: A Woman Tried To Board A Plane With An 'Emotional Support Peacock.' United Airlines Wouldn't Let It Fly.
K-9s, felines . . . and peacocks. Airlines that have begun talking about tightening restrictions on a proliferating array of “emotional support” animals on commercial flights may have found their case bolstered this week after a picture of a peacock that was reportedly denied a seat aboard a United Airlines flight traveled far and wide. (Bever and Rosenberg, 1/30)
