Black children twice as likely to have food allergies than white children

A recent study that involved 1,100 2 year olds in Boston found that black children were twice as likely to have an immune response to foods such as peanuts, milk, eggs and almost four times as likely to have a sensitization to three or more foods in comparison to white children. In addition, if a child's DNA had more African ancestry, the child was more likely to have a food sensitization to any food, especially that of peanuts. The foods tested included eggs, milk, peanuts, soy, shrimp, walnuts, wheat and cod. Many of the children involved in the study were from an urban area and low-income homes.

Excessive weight in youth can lead to an early death

A recent study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that people who are overweight as young adults had a higher risk of death, even if the weight was lost later in life. The risk of death was 21% higher in young adults with a higher BMI and 28% higher when adjusting for other risk factors such as smoking, physical activity and alcohol consumption.

The study also found that being overweight at age 25 had a larger impact on black women versus white women and a greater impact on men than on women. However, the impact of obesity early in life was negligible in black men when adjusting for weight change throughout adulthood.

Breast cancer more lethal in black women

According to a recent Reuters article, breast cancer appears to be more lethal in Black women according to the results of a new study. Researchers had thought that obesity differences between Black and White women might explain the breast cancer survival difference between the two groups five years after the initial diagnosis (78% Blacks to 90% Whites). While this was not proven, researchers believe that differences in tumor biology as well as health care access could be at play.

Racial violence in Philadelphia school

A recent MSNBC article describes the racial violence occurring between Asian and African-American students at a Philadelphia high school. According to some, the friction has been caused not because of racial hatred but because of simmering resentment against the perceived benefits for Asian students. The resentment came to a head one day with close to 30 Asian students being injured by mostly African-American students. Past attacks had been reported to school officials and police, but students said that nothing had changed.

Most students blame the attacks on a small group of trouble-makers and don't endorse the violent actions that have been taken against another minority group. In the wake of this violence, the school has established 50-50 programs that bring together groups of Asian and African-American students to participate in school-sponsored group outings. In addition, more bilingual trainers and diversity training has been added.