New York Times – Study Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off
For years, studies of obesity have found that soon after fat people lost weight, their metabolism slowed and they experienced hormonal changes that increased their appetites. Scientists hypothesized that these biological changes could explain why most obese dieters quickly gained back much of what they had so painfully lost.
LATimes – Three thoughtful critiques of the recommendation against PSA testing
When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft report this month recommending that men with no symptoms of prostate cancer stop using the PSA test to screen for the disease, the task force members surely braced themselves for some serious criticism. And it came swiftly – from urologists who administer the tests routinely, from men (and their loved ones) who believe the test saved their lives, and from opponents of healthcare reform who viewed the report as another attempt to ration medical services, among others.
Politico – Health care reform review decision could come on Nov. 10
The Supreme Court could decide Nov. 10 whether it will review President Barack Obama’s health care reform law this term. The Obama administration and five opponents of the law are asking the court to review whether the law’s requirement that all Americans buy insurance is constitutional. Five of the six pending requests have been sent to the justices ahead of the November conference, at which the justices will decide which cases it will accept.
Associated Press – Report: Industry decides US food ingredient safety
Thousands of ingredients that go into food have been classified as safe by private industry alone, without any U.S. government oversight, according to a new report published Wednesday.
The Week – Time to vaccinate kids for anthrax?
Better safe than sorry? The U.S. government is mulling the idea of testing healthy children with a vaccine meant to protect against potential bioterrorism attacks. The anthrax vaccine in question has already been tested on adults and given to more than 2.6 million people in the military. But critics worry that testing the vaccine on kids could be dangerous.
