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Researchers Suggest Taxing Pizza, Soft Drinks to Curb Obesity
U.S. researchers predict an 18 percent tax on soft drinks and pizza would lower U.S. adult calorie consumption enough to reduce their average weight by 5 pounds annually, Reuters reports. Writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers say using taxes could be an effective weapon in fighting obesity. “While such policies will not solve the obesity epidemic in its entirety and may face considerable opposition from food manufacturers and sellers, they could prove an important strategy to address over-consumption, help reduce energy intake and potentially aid in weight loss and reduced rates of diabetes among U.S. adults,” the team wrote. Kiyah Duffey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill led the group. The group predicts that by taxing pizza and soft drinks 18 percent, daily calories would be lowered by 56 per person, which would result in a weight loss of 5 pounds per person annually.

Welsh families offered action plans to reduce obesity
Families in Wales are to be offered tailored action plans on how to eat healthily and do more exercise to fight rising levels of obesity. The Change4Life programme will be rolled out through advertising in the media and the community. It gives parents the chance to fill in questionnaires about eating and activity habits. They will then receive regular advice on healthier lifestyles. 

Higher Fast Food Prices Lead to Lower Weight, Diabetes Risk
A new study that followed participants for 20 years shows both weight and risk for diabetes decreased for people in communities where fast food prices increased. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, published in the March 8, 2010, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, also showed the reverse – when fast food prices fell, then consumption, weight and diabetes risks rose. “These results indicate that increasing the price of fast foods and sodas can affect adult behavior, and steer them toward healthier diets, lower weight and less risk of diabetes,” said senior author Barry Popkin, Ph.D., the Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. 

Black and Hispanic patients with heart failure less likely to use hospice
Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure appear less likely to receive hospice care than white patients with the same condition, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. “Underuse of hospice care is well documented, especially among racial and ethnic minorities,” the authors write as background information in the article. “Racial and ethnic differences in patients who use hospice care have been found across a spectrum of patients with cancer diagnoses and may be more pronounced in patients with non-cancer diagnoses.” Heart failure affects nearly 5 million people in the United States; advanced heart disease is the second most common hospice diagnosis, accounting for about 12 percent of all hospice enrollees. Jane L. Givens, M.D., M.S.C.E., of the Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, and colleagues studied a national sample of 98,258 Medicare beneficiaries age 66 or older who had a diagnosis of heart failure. None of the participants was enrolled in hospice at the beginning of the study, in 2000. 

Immigrants with disabilities more frequently employed than US-born persons with disabilities
Currently, foreign-born people make up approximately 13 percent of the total U.S. population. As the immigrant population grows, understanding its disability status and employment characteristics becomes increasingly important. People, both native and foreign-born, with disabilities make important contributions to our society, and many individuals continue to work despite a wide range of impairments. A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital focuses on disability and employment among working-age immigrants in the United States. According to the study, released online in advance of print as an early view by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, there were an estimated 24 million U.S. working-age adults with disabilities in 2007. Of these, 8.5 million (35 percent) were employed. The study revealed that for each type of disability, including sensory, physical, mental and emotional conditions, both foreign-born citizens with disabilities and non-citizens with disabilities were more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to be employed. “The employment decisions of immigrants with disabilities may be impacted by eligibility for public assistance,” explained Huiyun Xiang, MD, PhD, the study’s lead author and principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Whereas U.S.-born people with disabilities have greater access to public assistance and may depend less on salary income. Also, eligibility for foreign-born people is complicated by length of residency, citizenship, refugee status, work history and other factors.”