American Healthcare

A new study shows one in four high school students drink soda every day – a sign fewer teens are downing the sugary drinks.

The study also found teens drink water, milk and fruit juices most often – a pleasant surprise, because researchers weren’t certain that was the case.

“We were very pleased to see that,” said the study’s lead author, Nancy Bener of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, a quarter have at least one soda each day. And when other sugary drinks like Gatorade are also counted, the figure is closer to two-thirds of high school students drinking a sweetened beverage every day.

That’s less than in the past.

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At least 19 large restaurant chains — including Burger King, Chili’s, IHOP and Friendly’s — plan to announce Wednesday that they will include healthier options on their children’s menus. At least 15,000 restaurant locations will focus on increasing servings of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The items will have less fats, sugars and sodium.

Less healthy foods like burgers and fries will still be on the menu, but the restaurants say they will do more to promote healthier options. Chili’s, for example, will highlight a chicken sandwich with a side of pineapple or mandarin oranges on their kids’ menu. Bur

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

The White House issued regulations Monday outlining how states should operate the insurance exchanges that are central to the new U.S. health care law, enabling individuals and small businesses to obtain more affordable health care coverage.

The insurance exchanges “will offer Americans competition, choice and clout,” Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, told the . By pooling insurance risks and premiums, the exchange will give individuals and small businesses “the same purchasing power as big businesses,” she said.

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(CNN) — When the heat hits, you can see it on the outside of your body with the buckets of sweat you’re pouring out, but it’s affecting you on the inside, too, doctors say.

As the temperatures soar outdoors, the temperature in your brain goes up slightly, according to Dr. Michael Bergeron, the director of the National Institute for Athletic Health & Performance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This explains why people sometimes get confused when they’ve spent too much time in the heat.

When it’s hot outside, the body sends extra blood to the vital organs to keep them functioning, and to the skin, to help it cool off. Full Post…

Pregnant women should no longer have to assume theyll give birth in hospital with a doctor on hand, a major new report has concluded.

They should be given far more opportunity to have their babies in their own homes because a maternity ward is not necessarily the safer option.

One suggestion is that women should give birth without a doctor going anywhere near them.

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