Friday, August 24, 2007

Let Them Eat SCHIPs

Nobody likes to read boring stories, which is why most of us skip articles about healthcare policy. Unless, of course, they have to do with children, especially sick children.

And so the avalanche of recent news articles and blog posts about the current fight between Congress, the Adminstration and various states of the Union over the State Children's Health Insurance Program have made for riveting reading.

That's because paying for kids' medical bills is something that many folks know about from deep personal experience.

Check out Bill Scher's roundup of editorials on SCHIP at Common Sense. (Hat tip to Larry Hollon, who hinted at his own tale of woe on kids' medical bills in Perspectives.)

See also Marilou Johanek in the Toledo Blade and the back and forth between the editors of the Wall Street Journal (subscribers only) and the critical reply by folks at the American Association of Retired Persons and the American Medical Association (important enough to look up at the library).

Somewhere Molly Ivins, rabble-rouser extraordinaire, is rooting.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

What Do Colds Have to Do With Obesity?

Not much. It's silly season again with all the reports that a viral infection may make some fat cells fatter. Some journalists--or their editors--apparently couldn't resist headlines that suggest that you can "catch obesity." No doubt visions of anti-fat vaccines are dancing in their heads.

Here's a clunker, by Roger Highfield, Science Editor of the U.K.'s Telegraph: "Being Fat May Be Catching, A New Study Says."

No. If you sit down next to a fat person you are not going to get fat. If you eat a fat person's diet, however, you might. Or if you sit down and never get up to run, jump or play.

At any rate, whenever you read or hear or see a story like this, you're first question should be "What's the evidence?" And then your second question should be "How good is the evidence?"

Believe it or not, you can tell a lot about scientific evidence based on where it's found--whether in a peer-reviewed journal (no guarantees there either, of course) or at a poster session at a scientific conference, as in fact this latest research was.

Poster sessions are like gossip fests among scientists. It's a chance for them to say, "Hey look at this neat thing I think I found. What do you think?" They're sort of like trial balloons--easily shot down.

As for me, I know that watching what I eat and getting plenty of exercise is the only thing that keeps the pounds off. Sigh.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Lead Kills Whether in Toys or Jewelry

Say what?! It's against the law to put lead in toys but the U.S. still does not ban lead in jewelry. Lead-containing trinkets are particularly dangerous if swallowed since that can lead to acute lead poisoning, resulting in seizures, brain damage and even death.

Under growing public pressure, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is now considering adopting a ban on lead in children's jewelry and has asked for comment.

Meanwhile, toy-making giant Mattel is set to announce another recall of lead-tainted products manufactured in China.

Update: complete list of toys in latest Mattel recall.

Cross-posted in Global Health Report.