When Unhealthy Sugary Drinks Are Taxed More, Sales Fall
A new study published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum shows the benefits of applying soda taxes to unhealthy sugary drinks: Sales fell in five cities in the study, with benefits lasting over time. Separately, the FDA has found contaminated applesauce pouches also contained chromium.
NPR:
Sales Of Sugary Drinks Fell In Cities With Soda Taxes, Study Finds
Sales of sugary drinks fell dramatically across five U.S. cities, after they implemented taxes targeting those drinks – and those changes were sustained over time. That's according to a study published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers say the findings provide more evidence that these controversial taxes really do work. A claim the beverage industry disputes. ... Kaplan and his colleagues found that, on average, prices for sugar-sweetened drinks went up by 33.1% and purchases went down by basically the same amount – 33%. (Godoy, 1/6)
USA Today:
How Soda Taxes Across The US Have Helped Trim Sales Of Sugary Drinks
Reducing people's sugar consumption is a boon to American health care, said Dr. Dean Schillinger, who directs the Health Communications Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco and led the research, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum. "When you think about the fact that one in four dollars of our health care spending goes to diabetes alone, any kind of incremental improvement we can get will have massive effects," Schillinger said. (Weintraub, 1/5)
Updates on the applesauce recall —
The Washington Post:
FDA Finds Chromium, A Second Metal Contaminant, In Applesauce Pouches
Federal investigators have discovered a second contaminant in recalled applesauce pouches — the naturally-occurring metal chromium, which in a certain form can cause a number of adverse health effects. The finding is the latest development in the Food and Drug Administration’s international investigation of high levels of lead found in cinnamon applesauce pouches marketed to children. The pouches of fruit puree that have been recalled were manufactured in Ecuador and sold under the brand names WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking at least 287 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of lead exposure in 37 states linked to the applesauce recall. (Amenabar, 1/5)
On mental health —
Military.com:
Sailor Who Died By Suicide On Roosevelt Carrier Faced Lack Of Resources, Poor Leadership By Enlisted Supervisors
A Navy investigation of a suicide aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier last year has revealed deadly shortcomings in the service's peer-based method of addressing mental health, which depends on fellow sailors and deckplate leadership to provide support. The command-directed probe of the death aboard the Roosevelt as it was undergoing a long maintenance period in Washington state details failures by friends on the ship to report warning signs and poor leadership by enlisted supervisors that may have contributed to the death. It also suggests a separate recent suicide cluster aboard another carrier, the USS George Washington, was not an isolated issue. (Toropin, 1/5)
If you are in need of help —
Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.
NBC News:
Online Racism Is Linked To PTSD Symptoms In Black Youth, Study Finds
Mounting evidence shows the devastating toll online racism takes on Black youth. According to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Black children and teens who experience racial discrimination online may develop symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder. Those PTSD symptoms, the researchers found, were also potentially linked to suicidal thoughts. (Bellamy 1/5)
The Colorado Sun:
Injury's Link To Depression Is Real. Just Ask This Champion Athlete
When Andrew Alirez felt a pop in his left knee, it sounded as if someone had snapped their fingers, like a wizard finishing a spell. It made sense. It was as if he’d been transformed. (England, 1/5)
On Alzheimer's and dementia —
WUWF:
Development Of Alzheimer's Detection Goggles Is A Team Effort At University Of West Florida
A student capstone research project at the University of West Florida is literally shining a light to help detect Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders. The light comes from a set of pulsed medical LED goggles that were developed, researched and designed by faculty and undergraduate students in different departments on the Pensacola campus. (Barrett, 1/5)
WLRN 91.3 FM:
Planning Ahead For The Costs Of Alzheimer's Disease In Florida Is Key
Miami-Dade has the nation's highest prevalence of Alzheimer's. But with monthly memory care costs in Florida averaging at more than $8,000 per month, one family talks about the difficult choices to come. (Zaragovia, 1/5)
