New York City health department defends its use of scare tactics in latest health ads, aimed at changing health behaviors. A third U.S.-based cruise ship experienced an outbreak of stomach illness among passengers. A recent study finds rate of child abuse higher that SIDS, yet doesn’t receive the same attention. National Wear Red Day aimed to bring awaress to heart disease in women, and provides heart healthy tips, rounding out the health headlines for Monday, February 6, 2012.
The New York Times – New York City Defends Health Ads That Frighten the Viewer
The city’s health department uses no sugar-coating in its latest ads, which feature images of overweight people whose mobility is impaired to warn of the dangers of ever-growing portions of unhealthy food and soft drinks.
Associated Press – 3rd US Cruise Ship Sails After Virus Outbreak
A third U.S.-based cruise ship with an outbreak of stomach illness has sailed again after being decontaminated in Florida. The vessel Ruby Princess sailed Sunday. It was one of three cruise ships that docked in Florida and Louisiana over the weekend with outbreaks of norovirus.
Time – Study: Child Abuse Kills 300 U.S. Kids Each Year
When it comes to child abuse, the first year of life is the most dangerous for children. Although SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, attracts far more attention, the rate of hospital admissions related to SIDS is actually lower than the rate of child abuse — 50 per 100,000 children under age 1 for SIDS, compared with 58.2 per 100,000 births, according to research published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
San Francisco Chronicle – Sugar is as toxic as tobacco and liquor, needs government regulation according to researchers
Like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is a toxic, addictive substance that should be highly regulated with taxes, laws on where and to whom it can be advertised, and even age-restricted sales, a team of scientists contends. In a paper published in Nature on Wednesday, the University of California, San Francisco researchers argue that increased global consumption of sugar is primarily responsible for a whole range of chronic diseases that are reaching epidemic levels around the world.
CBS News – National Wear Red Day spotlights heart disease in women
An estimated one in four women dies from heart disease in the U.S., according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. That’s more deaths from heart disease than the next four causes of death combined, says the AHA. But 80 percent of those deaths could be prevented if women eat right, exercise, and don’t smoke. That’s why the AHA spreads awareness through its Go Red For Women campaign so women “don’t become a statistic.”
