Our weekly round up of the latest news in the world of health. This week we look at why being active does not eliminate the heart risks of excess weight in women, at good news about the number of women breastfeeding their babies and bad news about the number of people in the United States with measles. We also look at new efforts to make the painkiller OxyContin harder to abuse.
Stay well.
This Issue:
Fit and Fat? More Women Breastfeeding Measles Cases Up OxyContin Harder to Abuse In the News:
Fit and Fat? When it comes to your heart, weight matters. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that heavy women can lower their heart risks by being active, but can't eliminate them. The study looked at nearly 39,000 women aged 54 on average. The women filled out questionnaires about their height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity in the past year, and were followed for about 11 years. Women who got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week were considered active, while women who got less exercise were considered inactive. The researchers found that the risk of developing heart disease was 54 percent higher in overweight active women and 87 percent higher in obese active women compared to active women or normal weight. Heart risk was 88 percent higher in overweight inactive women and 2 1/2 times greater in obese inactive women compared to active women of a healthy weight. The Associated Press quotes the researchers as saying that the findings show that physical activity has an effect on heart disease risk, but that physical activity alone is not enough to cancel out the risk in overweight or obese women.
More Women Breastfeeding
About 77 % of new mothers in the United States are breastfeeding their babies, the highest rate in 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 1993-1994, the rate was 60% overall, the CDC said. Among black infants the rate rose from 36% in 1993-1994 to 65%, while among white it rose from 62% to 79% and among Mexican-Americans from 67% to 80%, according to a CDC study. The agency attributed the increased number of breastfeeding mothers to public health campaigns on the benefits of breastfeeding, the Associated Press reports. The study looked at information on 434 infants from the years 2005 and 2006.
Measles Cases Up
The number of cases of measles has reached a six-year high of more than 70 cases this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most of the cases could be traced to outbreaks overseas, and most were in children who had not been vaccinated or were too young to be vaccinated, the CDC said. Although there were no deaths, there were 14 hospitalizations, the CDC said. This year marks the largest number of cases since 2001, when there were 116 cases reported, the Associated Press reports.
OxyContin Harder to Abuse
A highly addictive painkiller may get harder to abuse. Drug maker Purdue Pharma is pursuing a version of OxyContin that has a plastic coating fused to the pill; the coating makes the pill hard to crush and turns into a gelatinous mass if someone attempts to inject it, the manufacturer said. They said the new formulation is as effective as the old when taken correctly. Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet Monday to determine if the reformulated drug is tamper-resistant enough to be allowed on the market, the Associated Press reports. The FDA still has some questions about how effective the new formulation will be at preventing deaths from abuse of the painkiller, the AP says. Two other are also working on an abuse-resistant form of oxycodone, the generic name for OxyContin.
Used with the permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. The above summaries are not intended to provide advice on personal medical matters, nor are they intended to be a substitute for consultation with a physician.
