Health Beats: January 12, 2011
January 12, 2011 | Ginny
Beats this week:
1) After months of back and forth debating, the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives passed a massive tax income increase to help the state claw its way out of its $13 billion dollar deficit. While many are happy, many are not. To read more about what this means for Illinois, click here.
2) A recent study in the January issue of Pediatrics, released another positive benefit of breast feeding – improved academic performance. This finding however only applied to boys who were breast fed for six months or more.
3) As children spend more and more hours of the day participating in sedentary activities, the importance of strong physical education programs in schools continues to become more apparent. Click here to learn about the benefits for children who participate in physical education.
4) Research has previously shown a link between the consumption of soft drink and sugar sweetened beverages and obesity. Now, current findings are showing that those who consume 1-2 servings of these sugary drinks a day have a 26% higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes compared to those who consume less than 1 serving a month.
5) What will they think of next? A new app for your smart phone allows you to scan bar codes and receive an overall grade for a food product. This grade is based on the amount of certain ‘bad ingredients’- such as additives, high fructose corn syrup, and high levels of sugar and/or salt.
