Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Not Just Kids Being Kids: Panel Warns Of Serious Public Health Consequences Of Bullying
Tribune Wire Service: Report: Bullying Is A Serious Public Health Problem
Bullying is a "serious public health problem," and should no longer be dismissed as merely a matter of kids being kids, a leading panel of experts warned Tuesday. "Its prevalence perpetuates its normalization. But bullying is not a normal part of childhood," the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said. (5/10)
In other public health news, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks out again about Zika funding, and a new study reevaluates the death risk associated with a higher BMI —
The Associated Press: Rubio Says Congress Needs To Approve Zika Virus Funding
Sen. Marco Rubio is pressing his congressional colleagues to approve nearly $2 billion to fight the Zika virus. In an interview Tuesday with CNN's Jake Tapper, the Florida senator said he's disturbed that members of his own party are standing in the way of fully funding a response to what's an emerging public health crisis. (Bustos, 5/10)
NPR: Does Putting On A Few Pounds Help You Cheat Death?
A body mass index under 25 is deemed normal and healthy, and a higher BMI that's "overweight" or "obese" is not. But that might be changing, at least when it comes to risk of death. The body mass index, or BMI, associated with the lowest risk of death has increased since the 1970s, a study finds, from 23.7, in the "normal" weight category, to 27, which is deemed "overweight." That means a person who is 5-foot-8 could weigh 180 pounds and be in that epidemiological sweet spot, according to the NIH's online BMI calculator. The results were published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. (Shute, 5/10)
