I fear that this phrase-du-juor “common ground” will come to replace
any real discussion of the issues. What is “real discussion”? It’s talking about what, exactly, “abortion reduction” means in policy terms. It’s talking about why family planning funding still, in this day and age, needs to be not only defended but explained as a critical health service? It’s talking about why, if comprehensive sexual health education includes strong abstinence messages, Read the rest of this entry »

“With the current state of the economy, we made the difficult decision to adjust the size of our workforce as we continue to meet our members’ needs while appropriately controlling operating expenses,” Angela F. Braly, WellPoint’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.
WellPoint didn’t say how much the job cuts would reduce expenses. WellPoint will record a $24 million after-tax charge to fourth-quarter 2008 earnings to reflect costs Read the rest of this entry »

January 26, 2009
NEW YORK — Warning: Peanut butter products could leave your pets at risk for salmonella, according to the Federal Drug Administration, which issued an alert on Sunday.
More brands and major pet product stores are now likely to follow the lead of PetSmart, which preemptively recalled seven Grreat Choice dog biscuit products last Tuesday.
The FDA has now listed 12 sources, both grocery stores and brands, from which it has identified Read the rest of this entry »

“We’ve known for years that mercury is toxic to the brain and other organs in varying amounts depending on the individual’s status. For FDA to suddenly change the equation to say that benefits outweigh risks is like once again declaring the earth is flat after discovering it was round,” concluded Jane M. Hightower, M.D., an internal medicine physician in San Francisco, CA, who published a landmark study that brought the issue of mercury in seafood Read the rest of this entry »

HAMILTON, Ontario, Jan. 21 — Gym class and other school fitness initiatives should be pursued even if their benefits don’t include weight loss, according to a systematic review.
School-based fitness and exercise programs improved duration of physical activity and fitness as measured by lung capacity while reducing television viewing and blood cholesterol, reported Maureen Dobbins, Ph.D., of McMaster University here, and colleagues in a Cochrane Read the rest of this entry »

It seems clear that change is coming to the U.S. healthcare system. President-elect Barack Obama wants it. Congress wants it. Even the insurance industry says the time is ripe to do things differently.
But not too differently. The idea of doing away with the employer-based insurance system — which has become increasingly unsustainable for businesses and has resulted in 47 million Americans going without coverage — seems to be off the table.
Read the rest of this entry »

It seems clear that change is coming to the U.S. healthcare system. President-elect Barack Obama wants it. Congress wants it. Even the insurance industry says the time is ripe to do things differently.
But not too differently. The idea of doing away with the employer-based insurance system — which has become increasingly unsustainable for businesses and has resulted in 47 million Americans going without coverage — seems to be off the table.
Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, February 8, 2009 11:54 PM PST
Kids and teens need to move more and sit less, but finding ways to keep them physically active continues to be puzzling.
School-based programs have had some success, however, according to a new study that examined previous research on interventions offering education and exercise. But the programs aren’t the total solution, since they fall short in some areas, including increasing leisure time activity, Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s more than 10,000 scientific,
technical, and support staff effect the lives of every American every
day. Consumers spend nearly $1.5 trillion each year on FDA-regulated
products, which represents over 20 percent of all consumer
expenditures. The FDA believes that developing a process-centric
approach to IT development will provide improved support in advancing
the public health by helping to speed innovations Read the rest of this entry »

Headquartered in Fresno, California, Slimtree, Inc. is a leading
production company and Web TV channel dedicated to creating original,
best-of-breed free access online fitness and wellness programming
available to consumers on-demand, both from its own Web site located
at
, and as a MySpaceTV.com channel partner from
. Along with an array of other weight-loss tools and
resources, the company offers The Broadband Gym(TM) — a free online
video-based Read the rest of this entry »