This week - Those smoke breaks don't make you just stink, they cost billions ... Bad news, kids, there are new sugar guidelines your parents might stick to ... Some are using coding to hack the opioid crisis ... And why don't more kids walk to school? It's probably our fault ... These stories and more ...
In A State With High Smoking Rates, Tobacco Use Costs Billions Lost productivity, higher health care costs. In Indiana, which sees 11,000 people per year die from smoking-related diseases, research shows the addiction costs $6.8 billion annually. For Side Effects, Jake Harper reports on ways the state can kick the habit.
The American Heart Association Wants Your Kid To Eat Less Sugar (Good luck!) Kid-tested, mother unapproved. Kids ages 2-18 should have no more than six teaspoons of added sugar per day, according to new guidelines. Sound like a lot? The average child consumes more than triple that already. For Delaware Public Media, James Morrison reports that in a country where a soda typically has about 10 teaspoons of added sugar, selling the idea may prove difficult.
Only one In Eight Kids Walk To School. What's To Blame? A few decades ago, almost half of all students in the U.S. walked or biked. That number has dwindled as kids live farther from their school and options to walk -- like available sidewalks -- make it harder for children to safely get to school and back. It'll come as no surprise to you that obesity has also risen as walking has decreased. Jake Harper reports on school administrators and officials who have ideas to get more kids pounding the pavement.
Should You Wait To Get Your Flu Shot? Maybe. Some experts say those signs telling you to get your flu shot sooner rather than later may not be telling you that the effectiveness could wear off -- particularly for older people. Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News says some are urging people to wait until closer to flu season to get their vaccine.
Quick Hits
We're coding just about everything these days -- medical records, spending habits -- and now hackers are setting their sights on helping the opioid addiction crisis in Boston.
There's a lot of fat in bacon. Like, A LOT. That little window on packaging that shows you just how fatty it is, that's federally regulated. Here's some history on it.
Drug coupon cards are popular, but in light of recent controversy surrounding the EpiPen, and Mylan's plans to widen their coupon program to help people afford it, how much do they really help?
Finally, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump released some medical records this week. The verdict? Clinton has a mild case pneumonia and Donald Trump takes cholesterol-lowering medicine.
