Health Notes
Health Notes: A look at the latest medical studies and trends
Obesity set at early age
Children who are overweight or obese by the age
of 11 are likely to carry their excess weight into
adulthood and to suffer from related health problems,
researchers said recently. A study by scientists at
University College London who tracked nearly 6,000
children in Britain over five years showed about a
quarter had a weight problem when they entered secondary
school. The research, published online by the British
Medical Journal, suggests that by the age of 11 a tendency
to be overweight or obese is already set.
Figuring out calories burns energy
People are stumped when it comes to the number
of calories they should eat each day, a new poll shows.
In fact, 43 percent won't even venture a guess when
asked to estimate how many calories they should be
consuming; 34 percent underestimate the number; and
11 percent overestimate it. Only 12 percent estimate
calories correctly, according to a poll of 1,000 adults
for the International Food Information Council Foundation.
The bottom line: the calories you consume must equal
the calories you burn or you'll gain weight.
Mild winter may mean more ticks
The milder than normal winter around New England
could lead to a rise in Lyme disease this year. Medical
experts at a regional meeting said they want to spread
awareness of the disease because the deer ticks that
carry it are most active between May and July. Early
symptoms include a reddish, bull's-eye rash where the
bite was, followed by fever, headache, fatigue and
muscle or joint pain.
Backus receives more national recognition
Backus Hospital was recently featured in Performance
Improvement Advisor, a national journal that focuses
on quality improvement efforts in the healthcare field.
The April 2006 article went into detail about Backus Hospital's consistent rankings among the top hospitals in the nation for clinical quality.
Peter Shea, MD, Medical Director at Backus, was interviewed for the story. He explained the protocols that Backus has in place, and how they result in quality healthcare on a consistent basis. Backus has been named a Top 100 Hospital twice in the past two years, and was ranked among the top 5 percent nationally for clinical quality once.