Asthma More Likely Among Children of Overweight Mothers

A recent post in the New York Times Well blog details new research that shows overweight/obese women who become pregnant have a higher rate of their children developing asthma when they grow to be teenagers.

The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Gym class and better grades

A recent article in the New York Times takes a look at studies who looked at children in Rome and the effect exercise/gym had on their school performance. They were then asked to take a written test right after. It seemed that endurance exercises had the most positive effect test performance.

Study finds recession hits Hispanics hardest

According to a recent New York Times article, a study published by the Pew Foundation found that Hispanics as a group had the largest single decline in wealth of any ethnic or racial group in the country. The study used the data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau to find that the median wealth of Hispanic households fell by 66% from 2005 to 2009.

Benefits in health insurance for the poor

An interesting post today on the NYT Economix blog focuses on how health insurance affects health. The post highlights a new study being released today that focused on an Oregon health insurance experiment. The study found that while expanding health insurance does not save society money, it does make people mentally and physically healthier.

Obstacles for farmer's markets in poor NY areas?

According to an article in the New York Times, farm markets face obstacles in New York city's poor areas. A report released by the borough president, Scott Stringer, takes notes of "roadblocks" put in the way of community groups looking to implement farmer's markets in low-income neighborhoods. In order to address some of the issues, the report recommends several changes including creating a central entity to manage the farmer's markets and a uniform application process.

Vulnerable patients may lack access to trauma care

According to an article on MSNBC, vulnerable patients may have trouble accessing trauma care. The researchers found that urban communities where many of the members are foreign-born, faced up to twice the odds of having difficult access to trauma care compared to other populations with predominantly U.S.-born residents.

Is small always better in education?

According to a NYTimes article, Brockton High School has been successful in a school-wide effort to improve performance in a school that originally had only a quarter of students passing state-wide exams and 1 in 3 students dropping out. This year, with Brockton surpassing 90% of Massachusetts high schools in state educational tests, many are looking to learn more from a school whose large scale success seems to be an exception to the opinion that smaller is better.

Employers pass on more health costs to workers

According to a recent article in the New York Times, a survey has shown that employers are passing on more of the health costs to employees. The employee contribution towards family coverage rose an average of 14% or $500 more than what employees paid last year. Workers now pay close to $4,000 for a family policy, which translates into a jump of 47% since 2005.