Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

After a period of improvement, U.S. kids are eating as much fast food as they were in the early 2000s, new government figures show. Researchers found that between 2003 and 2010, there was a decline in U.S. kids’ intake of fast-food calories — dipping from an average of 14% of daily calories, to just under 11%. The positive trend was short-lived, however. By 2018, that figure was back up to 14%. The study, by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), did not go into the underlying reasons. But other research gives some clues as to what could be driving the reversal. One possibility is that social media and “digital marketing” have a role, according to Frances Fleming-Milici, a researcher with the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. “Fast-food companies have been pioneers in using digital marketing,” said Fleming-Milici, who was not involved in the NCHS report. Admittedly, she said, it is hard to get a handle on how often kids encounter fast-food promotions on their smartphones. But a recent Rudd study found that 70% of teens “engaged with” food and beverage brands on social media — meaning they followed the brands, or “liked” or shared their content. More than half of kids said they engaged with fast-food brands. Another Rudd study found that the percentage of parents… read on >

Be careful that the COVID-19 information you’re getting is accurate and not opinion masquerading as the real McCoy, says the American College of Emergency Physicians. Watch out for bold claims and instant cures touted on social media or by friends. Get health and medical information from experts like the ACEP and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the physicians’ group says. “A troubling number of purported experts are sharing false and dangerous information that runs counter to the public health and safety guidelines endorsed by ACEP and the nation’s leading medical and public health entities,” said Dr. William Jaquis, president of the college. “This kind of misinformation can not only be harmful to individuals, but it hinders our nation’s efforts to get the pandemic under control,” he added in a college news release. You should know that there is no cure or vaccine for COVID-19. Scientists keep learning more about the virus and how to treat it. COVID-19 can be spread by anyone — even people who don’t think they’re infected. About 40% of those infected don’t have symptoms, but can spread the virus. The virus isn’t harmless, and its long-term effects are still being studied. Without a cure, the best defense is making smart choices and safe behaviors, the college says. “There are still many questions about COVID-19, but we know these… read on >

Depression, anxiety and inactive lifestyles are all too common among college students, and a new study finds they may have escalated during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Using a mix of smartphone data and online surveys from more than 200 students, researchers at Dartmouth College determined that the coronavirus pandemic had an immediate impact on the mental health of this particular undergraduate group. The students involved in the study were participating in a research program tracking mental health at the New Hampshire university. They reported spikes in depression and anxiety at the beginning of the pandemic in early March, just as the school pushed students to leave campus and begin remote learning. While their self-reported anxiety and depression lessened slightly later on in the semester, the study found that their overall anxiety and depression levels remained consistently higher than in previous years. “We observed a large-scale shift in mental health and behavior compared to the observed baseline established for this group over previous years,” said study author Jeremy Huckins, a lecturer at Dartmouth. In addition, around spring break period in mid-March, the students reported that their day-to-day lives were dramatically more sedentary than previous terms. “This was an atypical time for these college students. While spring break is usually a period of decreased stress and increased physical activity, spring break 2020 was stressful and confining… read on >

New data shows that many of the community outbreaks of coronavirus that have cropped up in the United States this summer have originated in restaurants and bars. In Louisiana, roughly a quarter of the state’s 2,360 cases since March that were outside of places like nursing homes and prisons had their origins in bars and restaurants, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, 12% of new coronavirus cases in Maryland last month were traced to restaurants, while 9% of cases in Colorado have been traced to bars and restaurants, the newspaper said. Whether the infections started among workers or patrons is unclear, but the clusters concern health officials because many restaurant and bar employees are in their 20s and can silently fuel household transmissions, which have soared in recent weeks through the Sun Belt and the West, the Times reported. This summer, scores of restaurants, including ones in Nashville, Las Vega, Atlanta and Milwaukee, have had to close temporarily because of COVID-19 cases among employees, the Times reported. Texas and Florida also had to shut down bars following surges in new cases in those states. In a recent week in San Diego, 15 of the 39 new community cases were traced to restaurants. And in Washington, D.C., cases have climbed since the city reopened indoor dining, the newspaper reported. Indoor dining remains banned in New York… read on >

As coronavirus cases continue to surge across America, scientists on Wednesday called for widespread adoption of simpler, less accurate tests, as long as they’re given often and quickly. “Even if you miss somebody on Day 1,” Omai Garner, director of clinical microbiology in the UCLA Health System, told The New York Times. “If you test them repeatedly, the argument is, you’ll catch them the next time around.” The strategy hinges on having an enormous supply of testing kits. But many experts believe more rapid, frequent testing would spot people who need immediate medical care while also identifying those most likely to spread COVID-19, the Times reported. Of the dozens of coronavirus tests that have been granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, most rely on complex laboratory procedures, such as PCR, the Times reported. Only a few tests are quick and simple enough to be run in a doctor’s office or urgent care clinic, without the need for lab equipment. And these tests are still relatively scarce nationwide, though government officials say they plan to ramp up production of such tests by the fall, the newspaper said. “If you had asked me this a couple months ago, I would have said we just need to be doing the PCR tests,” Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the University of Southern California,… read on >

The coronavirus pandemic has fueled big increases in video visits between patients and doctors, but older Americans haven’t easily taken to the trend, a new study finds. More than one-third of those over 65 face difficulties seeing their doctor via telemedicine — especially older men in remote or rural areas who are poor, have disabilities or are in poor health. “Telemedicine is not inherently accessible, and mandating its use leaves many older adults without access to their medical care,” said lead author Dr. Kenneth Lam, a clinical fellow in geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “We need further innovation in devices, services and policy to make sure older adults are not left behind during this migration,” he added in a university news release. Video visits are a good way to reach patients at home, but they require patients to be able to get online, use computer equipment and fix technical problems when they arise. For the study, Lam’s team analyzed 2018 data on more than 4,500 Medicare patients. The researchers reported that about 38% weren’t ready for video visits, including 72% of those 85 or older, mostly because they were inexperienced with technology or had a physical disability. Even with outside support, 32% were not ready, and 20% couldn’t cope with a phone visit because of dementia or difficulty hearing or communicating, the… read on >

As the U.S. coronavirus case count neared 5 million on Thursday, a new model predicted that nearly 300,000 Americans could die of COVID-19 by December if more people don’t wear masks or practice better social distancing. Researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) on Thursday issued a forecast of 295,011 deaths from coronavirus by Dec. 1. However, if 95 percent of people were to wear a face mask in public, some 66,000 lives could be saved, they added. “We’re seeing a rollercoaster in the United States,” institute director Christopher Murray said in a statement. “It appears that people are wearing masks and socially distancing more frequently as infections increase, then after a while as infections drop, people let their guard down and stop taking these measures to protect themselves and others which, of course, leads to more infections. And the potentially deadly cycle starts over again.” His team’s model also identifies which states will need to re-impose mask mandates between now and the winter to slow the spread of transmission. In other pandemic news, the U.S. State Department on Thursday lifted its 5-month-old blanket warning against international travel for Americans. Instead, the department will now issue travel recommendations by country. Why the change? “Health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others” influenced its decision,… read on >

Researchers say a new test can tell which patients with gonorrhea will benefit from treatment with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The low-cost drug has been out of use amid concern that the bacterium that causes gonorrhea was becoming resistant to it. In this study, 106 patients identified as having a gonorrhea strain called wild-type gyrA serine were cured with a single dose of ciprofloxacin. A test to screen for that strain has been available for three years, but this is the first time it has been systematically studied in humans, researchers said. “Gonorrhea is one of the most common drug-resistant infections worldwide and is becoming harder to treat. Current treatment methods require an antibiotic injection, which is expensive and painful,” said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “This new test could make it easier and safer to treat gonorrhea with different antibiotics, including one pill given by mouth. Using a pill instead of a shot would also make it easier and faster to treat sex partners of patients with gonorrhea,” he added in a UCLA news release. The DNA test that researchers developed identifies a genetic mutation that makes the gonorrhea bacterium resistant to ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin works against infections without that mutation. In 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease… read on >

With evidence mounting that COVID-19 can damage the heart, experts urge people to take precautions when doing vigorous exercise. Up to 30% of patients hospitalized with coronavirus infection have signs of cardiac injury, according to Dr. Sunal Makadia, health director of sports cardiology at LifeBridge Health in Baltimore. The prevalence of heart damage in milder cases of COVID-19 is unknown. Still, experts worry about the potential for serious heart complications from engaging in vigorous exercise while infected with the virus. The American College of Cardiology’s Sports and Exercise Council recommends that people get a COVID-19 test and heart screening before playing sports or exercising. Even if they show no symptoms, those who test positive for COVID-19 should avoid exercise for at least two weeks, Makadia recommended. “After this, you can return to activity after being evaluated by a medical professional or cardiologist,” he said in a health system news release. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, a fluttering or a rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, leg swelling, muscle pains and unexplained fatigue may indicate a severe heart problem. “We’re still learning more, but those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and previous heart issues such as coronary artery disease, stents or coronary bypass surgery and heart failure are susceptible to the most severe complications of COVID-19,” Makadia said. Experts suggest exercising outdoors rather… read on >

The makeup of bacteria that colonize a man’s penis can help predict the risk of a serious and hard-to-treat vaginal infection in his female partner, new research suggests. Bacterial vaginosis, also known as BV, can lead to problems in pregnancy and make a woman more vulnerable to several sexually transmitted diseases. More than 20% of women worldwide get BV. For this study, researchers tracked 168 couples and found that women whose partner had BV-related bacteria on their penis were more likely to develop BV within a year. “Our results show that penile bacteria can accurately predict new cases of BV in women who did not have BV to begin with, up to six to 12 months in the future,” said lead author Supriya Mehta. “This is important, because it suggests that reducing these bacteria from the penis may reduce BV cases or improve treatment outcomes in women.” Mehta is an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The study authors stressed that they are not saying that exposure to certain types of penile bacteria actually causes BV, though that’s possible. But it’s also possible that, over time, or with repeated exposure, penile bacteria may upset the natural balance of microbes in a woman’s vagina, indirectly raising her BV risk. Mehta noted that BV can be related to behaviors other than sex,… read on >