SNA releases Back to School Nutrition Trends Report: results show what schools are doing to increase healthy options for kids.
The trend towards more healthful school meal choices continues this fall with district nutrition programs emphasizing whole grains, fruits, and vegetables while cutting back on trans fats, added sugar, and sodium, according to the School Nutrition Association's 2008 Back to School Nutrition Trends Report released on Aug. 19. The...

A latent class analysis of nicotine-dependence criteria and use of alternate tobacco.
A NUMBER OF TOBACCO RESEARCHERS have argued that the substitution of smokeless tobacco (SLT) for cigarettes would substantially reduce the morbidity and mortality (90%-95%) associated with smoking (Gartner et al., 2007; Levy et al., 2004; Royal College of Physicians, 2007; Savitz et al., 2006). Proponents of what is commonly...

'Junk food' at age three years may impact on school attainment.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 'junk food' diet at the age of three can affect a child's school attainment, a study has concluded. There is evidence that early diet affects children's ability to think and perform in the long term, suggesting that an appropriate early childhood diet...

Relationship between particulate matter measured by optical particle counter and mortality in Seoul, Korea, during 2001.
Introduction Particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of particles suspended in the air that vary in size and composition. On the basis of recent findings, many government agencies have re-evaluated regulatory standards or guidelines for levels of PM in the air (Lipp-mann, Ito, Nadas, & Burnett,...

The Alamosa Salmonella outbreak; A gumshoe investigation.
"On March 19, we had infants with no other exposure than formula reconstituted with tap water," said Ned Colange, chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). "That's when we pulled the trigger." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Salmonella outbreaks from drinking...

Special challenges for remediation.
In devising a plan to eliminate the Salmonella from Alamosa's water system--and to protect the public for the future--CDPHE faced some unusual circumstances. Arsenic The aquifer supplying the system contained naturally occurring arsenic at levels higher than those allowed by recent drinking-water standards. In fact,...

The emergency response: "a great story".
The Alamosa Salmonella outbreak, according to CDPHE Public Information Officer Mark Salley, was the "the largest public health emergency that the state has faced in recent memory." By the time it was over, more than 400 people had been sick. The community had been subjected to severe economic hardship....

Household products may promote resistance.
BETHESDA, MD. -- Use of household cleaning products that contain benzalkonium chloride may decrease the susceptibility of bacteria to other antimicrobial ingredients in cleaning products and increase their resistance to antibiotics, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind study. This is the first randomized intervention study...

Cochrane Evaluates Herbal Medicine from Schwabe Pharmaceuticals.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-5 August 2008-Cochrane Evaluates Herbal Medicine from Schwabe Pharmaceuticals(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com A recent report by the independent Cochrane Collaboration adds further weight to the growing international popularity of standardized Pelargonium sidoides extract EPs 7630 (Umckaloabo) in the treatment of acute respiratory tract...

(Not so) gently down the stream: choosing targets to ameliorate health disparities.
Health disparities in the United States exist by race and ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status (SES), and geography and can occur in screening, incidence, mortality, survivorship, and treatment. The Framingham Heart Study, for example, found that 35 percent of women suffered a second heart attack...