Toys Remain Viral Playground for 24 Hours

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — You probably keep your kids away from playmates who cough or sneeze. But how much thought do you give to toys at the doctor’s office or day care?

A new study finds toys help spread the flu and other viruses because germs can survive on plastic surfaces for as many as 24 hours, a new study shows.

“People don’t really think about getting viruses from inanimate objects,” said study author Richard Bearden II, of Georgia State University. “They think about getting them from other people.”

The study findings suggest taking a good look at the playthings your children handle, Bearden said.

“I think the main focus should be for parents, daycare facilities, doctor’s offices and other places where children share toys to implement some type of strategy for decontamination to make sure those toys aren’t a reservoir for disease,” Bearden said in a university news release.

Kids contract infectious diseases more readily than adults because they put their hands and foreign objects in their mouths, and their immune systems aren’t fully developed, he explained.

Previous studies have shown that contaminated toys in common play areas spread infections. Bearden’s team investigated how long viruses could remain active on a toy’s surface at typical indoor temperatures and humidity levels.

Specifically, they tested the ability of so-called enveloped viruses to survive after being placed on a plastic squeaking frog. Enveloped viruses, which have protective outer layers that help them thrive, include the flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

At 60 percent relative humidity, 1 percent of the virus remained infectious on the toy, the study showed.

“It’s likely the research team could have retrieved infectious virions beyond 24 hours,” Bearden said.

At 40-percent relative humidity, which is more typical indoors, the virus was less stable. Within two hours, just 0.01 percent of the virus remained. The researchers noted, however, they were able to recover 0.0001 percent of the infectious virus after 10 hours, which still puts kids at risk for infection.

To lower odds of infection, disinfect shared toys frequently with effective cleaning solutions, such as household bleach, Bearden said.

Also, toys should be removed from waiting rooms in healthcare settings, the researchers advised. They added that door handles, elevator buttons and other commonly touched surfaces should also be routinely decontaminated.

The findings were published recently in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on preventing flu.

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Many Men Ignore Testicular Cancer Symptoms for Months

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Early detection and treatment of testicular cancer is key to beating the disease, a urology specialist says.

Yet many men who feel something abnormal in a testicle wait a few months before seeing a doctor.

But, when diagnosed while still confined to the testicle, the five-year survival rate for testicular cancer is 99 percent, Dr. Jay Raman, chief of urology at Penn State Medical Center said in a university news release.

“I think part of it is the macho man complex — that everything is fine. Then you add on top of that the fact that it is a sensitive area, and they may have some embarrassment about it,” Raman said.

Men who know about testicular cancer may also be concerned that surgical removal of the testicle is the best way to cure the disease.

“So they wait to see if it gets better on its own. But sometimes they wait and wait, until they’ve waited too long,” Raman said.

About 9,000 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, according to Raman. Risk factors include being white and having a testicle that didn’t descend when younger. Since these risk factors are not preventable, the best thing to do is be aware of the risk and know the symptoms of cancer.

All men should do a testicular self-exam at least every six months, Raman advised.

“What you are feeling for is that both testicles have the same contours — relatively smooth and soft, kind of the consistency of a hard-boiled egg or the palm of your hand,” he said. “If you notice anything firm, or lumps or bumps — something that is different on one side than the other — you should seek medical attention right away.”

Surgery to remove the testicle is the most common treatment. If the cancer is confined to the testicle, exams and blood work may be the only follow-up patients require. If the cancer has spread beyond the testicle, chemotherapy and radiation may be necessary, he explained.

“The most important thing to know is that cure rates are directly tied to how early you find it,” Raman said.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on testicular cancer.

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Doctor-Assisted Deaths Didn’t Soar After Legalization

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Public support for physician-assisted death has plateaued in the United States, and the practice hasn’t soared as some had feared, a new study finds.

In places where it’s legal, physician-aided death remains rare. It’s confined mostly to cancer patients who are white, wealthy and well-educated, researchers found.

“The vast majority of dying patients don’t use physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia — don’t even think about it,” said lead researcher Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Less than 0.5 percent of deaths in Washington state are from physician-assisted suicide,” he said. Washington is one of five U.S. states where physician-aided death is legal. The others are California, Montana, Oregon and Vermont.

To better understand attitudes and practices regarding assisted deaths and euthanasia, Emanuel’s team reviewed prior studies, surveys and other data published between 1947 and 2016 in the United States and Europe.

Physician-aided death happens when a doctor prescribes lethal drugs patients take themselves. Euthanasia — which is illegal in the United States — occurs when a doctor administers the life-ending medication.

Twenty states are considering legalizing physician-assisted death, including Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, according to Death with Dignity, a group that advocates for assisted dying.

But public support has leveled off since the 1990s to between 47 percent and 69 percent of the U.S. population, the study authors found.

If Oregon and Washington are an indication, most patients choosing to hasten their death are in hospice or palliative care. (Palliative care is designed to improve the quality of life of patients with life-threatening disease such as cancer.)

The main motivators? Fear of losing autonomy, no longer enjoying activities, and other psychological concerns, Emanuel said. Pain is usually not the chief driver, he noted.

Concerns that doctors would be swamped with requests from desperate patients appear unfounded. Less than 20 percent of U.S. doctors say they’ve been asked to assist in euthanasia or physician-assisted dying. No more than 5 percent have agreed, the study found.

Also, less than 1 percent of doctors in Oregon and Washington state write prescriptions for physician-aided dying each year, the study revealed.

Although the frequency of death-hastening procedures has increased where they’re legal, concern over “slippery-slope cases” — referring to assisting the death of patients who can’t give explicit consent, such as patients with dementia — didn’t materialize, the researchers found.

No evidence emerged that these vulnerable patients were getting death assistance at higher rates than other patients, Emanuel said.

In general, the debate over these practices has subsided because those who are interested have taken a position, Emanuel believes.

On both sides are people who want to provide “optimal care at the end of life,” said Emanuel, who opposes legalized physician-assisted dying and euthanasia. “Some people think end-of-life care includes legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia; some people think it doesn’t.”

Both practices are legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Switzerland allows physician-assisted dying. Strong support for these practices still exists in Western Europe, but is waning in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the study.

Where euthanasia and physician-assisted dying are legal, they account for 0.3 percent to 5 percent of deaths, Emanuel said. Seventy percent are among cancer patients.

Occasionally, complications occur. Some patients don’t die or they wake up from a coma. However, this happens more often in physician-aided dying than euthanasia, Emanuel said.

Dr. R. Sean Morrison, president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, believes the debate on physician-assisted death is misplaced.

“The continued focus on assisted suicide is distracting us from the opportunity to better enhance care of people with serious illness,” said Morrison, who specializes in geriatrics and palliative care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

The time to discuss whether or not to legalize euthanasia or physician-assisted deaths is when all Americans have access to high-quality palliative care, Morrison said.

“We know that palliative care reduces pain and emotional concerns,” he said. “We know that it improves the quality of life for those who fear a tormented or distressing death.”

The new report was published July 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More information

For more on end-of-life care, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Doctor-Assisted Deaths Didn’t Soar After Legalization

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Public support for physician-assisted death has plateaued in the United States, and the practice hasn’t soared as some had feared, a new study finds.

In places where it’s legal, physician-aided death remains rare. It’s confined mostly to cancer patients who are white, wealthy and well-educated, researchers found.

“The vast majority of dying patients don’t use physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia — don’t even think about it,” said lead researcher Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Less than 0.5 percent of deaths in Washington state are from physician-assisted suicide,” he said. Washington is one of five U.S. states where physician-aided death is legal. The others are California, Montana, Oregon and Vermont.

To better understand attitudes and practices regarding assisted deaths and euthanasia, Emanuel’s team reviewed prior studies, surveys and other data published between 1947 and 2016 in the United States and Europe.

Physician-aided death happens when a doctor prescribes lethal drugs patients take themselves. Euthanasia — which is illegal in the United States — occurs when a doctor administers the life-ending medication.

Twenty states are considering legalizing physician-assisted death, including Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, according to Death with Dignity, a group that advocates for assisted dying.

But public support has leveled off since the 1990s to between 47 percent and 69 percent of the U.S. population, the study authors found.

If Oregon and Washington are an indication, most patients choosing to hasten their death are in hospice or palliative care. (Palliative care is designed to improve the quality of life of patients with life-threatening disease such as cancer.)

The main motivators? Fear of losing autonomy, no longer enjoying activities, and other psychological concerns, Emanuel said. Pain is usually not the chief driver, he noted.

Concerns that doctors would be swamped with requests from desperate patients appear unfounded. Less than 20 percent of U.S. doctors say they’ve been asked to assist in euthanasia or physician-assisted dying. No more than 5 percent have agreed, the study found.

Also, less than 1 percent of doctors in Oregon and Washington state write prescriptions for physician-aided dying each year, the study revealed.

Although the frequency of death-hastening procedures has increased where they’re legal, concern over “slippery-slope cases” — referring to assisting the death of patients who can’t give explicit consent, such as patients with dementia — didn’t materialize, the researchers found.

No evidence emerged that these vulnerable patients were getting death assistance at higher rates than other patients, Emanuel said.

In general, the debate over these practices has subsided because those who are interested have taken a position, Emanuel believes.

On both sides are people who want to provide “optimal care at the end of life,” said Emanuel, who opposes legalized physician-assisted dying and euthanasia. “Some people think end-of-life care includes legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia; some people think it doesn’t.”

Both practices are legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Switzerland allows physician-assisted dying. Strong support for these practices still exists in Western Europe, but is waning in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the study.

Where euthanasia and physician-assisted dying are legal, they account for 0.3 percent to 5 percent of deaths, Emanuel said. Seventy percent are among cancer patients.

Occasionally, complications occur. Some patients don’t die or they wake up from a coma. However, this happens more often in physician-aided dying than euthanasia, Emanuel said.

Dr. R. Sean Morrison, president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, believes the debate on physician-assisted death is misplaced.

“The continued focus on assisted suicide is distracting us from the opportunity to better enhance care of people with serious illness,” said Morrison, who specializes in geriatrics and palliative care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

The time to discuss whether or not to legalize euthanasia or physician-assisted deaths is when all Americans have access to high-quality palliative care, Morrison said.

“We know that palliative care reduces pain and emotional concerns,” he said. “We know that it improves the quality of life for those who fear a tormented or distressing death.”

The new report was published July 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More information

For more on end-of-life care, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Modern Lifestyle Primary Culprit for Obesity Epidemic: Study

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — It looks like the primary culprit behind the obesity epidemic may be the modern-day environment, and not genes, new U.S. research suggests.

Americans were more likely to pack on more pounds if they were born later in the 20th century, regardless of whether they had a high genetic risk for obesity, said senior researcher Maria Glymour. She is an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

People with a greater genetic risk for obesity did appear to be more affected by modern developments that promote obesity, such as wide availability of cheap, high-calorie food, neighborhood designs that present fewer opportunities to walk, and couch-potato leisure activities, Glymour added.

“Some people are especially responsive to environmental conditions that encourage obesity,” Glymour said. “Specifically, people with greater genetic risk of being heavy appear to be more influenced by living in settings that foster obesity.”

But even people whose genetics ought to have kept them at a healthy weight have become more flabby, on average, over the decades, Glymour and her colleagues found.

“Even people with very low genetic risk of obesity appear to be heavier since the obesity epidemic,” Glymour said. “This indicates that the environment affects everyone, but people with high genetic risk are even more affected.”

For their study, the researchers relied on data from nearly 8,800 adults participating in a nationwide health and retirement study who were born between 1900 and 1958.

The research team calculated each person’s genetic risk score for obesity, based on whether they carried any of 29 genetic variants linked to obesity. The investigators then compared the risk score to the person’s actual body mass index, or BMI (a measurement based on height and weight).

Most previous studies focused on just one aspect of the environment when looking at a person’s genetic risk for obesity, Glymour said. Her research team decided to instead examine when a person was born, with their age serving as an umbrella marker for all the many factors that promote obesity.

The presence of obesity-linked genes did not increase in the population over time, the researchers found. However, the effect that these genes had on a person’s BMI did increase in subsequent decades, as the modern environment changed in ways that promote obesity.

“The fundamental explanation for the obesity epidemic must lie in environmental changes,” Glymour concluded, though the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

“The genes that are linked to obesity were just as common in people born earlier in the century as in people born later in the century, although those same genes had larger effects for people born later in the century,” she explained.

On their own, obesity-related genes had a very small average effect, accounting for only about 1 percent of the variation in BMI among whites and about 1.4 percent for blacks. By comparison, a person’s age accounted for 4.3 percent of the variation in BMI among whites and 4.5 percent among blacks, the investigators found.

The findings were published July 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

There are many ways in which the modern environment could interact with a person’s genetics to make them more at risk for obesity, Glymour said.

“One possibility is that genetic factors influence hunger and whether eating makes you feel satisfied,” she said. “It may be that people who have genetic variants that make them persistently hungry and live in settings with easy access to calorie-dense foods gain the most weight. We don’t know this for sure, but it’s one of the most promising possible mechanisms.”

Another explanation might be that modern conveniences have caused people to become more sedentary, said Anthony Comuzzie, a genetic scientist with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.

“When was the last time you got out of the car and opened your own garage, or got off the couch to change the TV channel?” asked Comuzzie, an expert for The Obesity Society. “I’ll send an e-mail to a person two offices down rather than getting up and sticking my head out of the door,” he added.

“We tend to forget in general that weight gain is a two-sided equation — the number of calories we eat versus the number of calories we burn,” he continued. “People have more money to spend on easily available fast food, and they are less likely to engage in physical activity. It’s a double-edged sword.”

Comuzzie called the new study an “interesting paper” that confirms long-held suspicions.

“The prevalence of those genes didn’t change. It was just the environment,” he said. “The environment is what is causing the genes to have a bigger effect on this outcome, obesity.”

More information

For more on obesity, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Now Pasta Is Good for Your Diet?

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Pasta may have gotten a bad rap. New research suggests pasta — specifically noodles in this study — might actually help you lose weight.

Moderate pasta consumption seems linked to lower chances of general and abdominal obesity, researchers found after analyzing data on thousands of Italians.

“Our data show that enjoying pasta according to individuals’ needs contributes to a healthy body mass index, lower waist circumference and better waist-hip ratio,” said George Pounis, first author of the study.

Previous research has touted the heart-healthy benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, which is a way of eating rather than a specific meal plan. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, peas and olive oil plus fish and poultry.

However, little was known about how pasta — also a staple in the Mediterranean region — affected health, the researchers behind the new study said. This finding fills that gap, they believe.

The results were published online July 4 in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes.

“We have seen that consumption of pasta, contrary to what many think, is not associated with an increase in body weight, rather the opposite,” Pounis added in a journal news release.

Many people have shunned spaghetti, noodles and other types of pasta in recent years because of concerns they were fattening. The new study could potentially cause Americans and others to revise their views.

Pounis and his colleagues at IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy, analyzed results of two large studies involving more than 23,000 Italians. One was the Moli-sani Project, which included citizens living in the Molise region — a little more than halfway down the boot. The other was the Italian Nutrition and Health Survey, which looks at eating habits in all Italian regions.

The researchers didn’t say how much pasta you can eat without bulking up.

Overdoing it, in fact, was linked to added weight.

“The obese population was older and at lower socioeconomic status, had higher waist and hip circumferences and waist-to-hip ratio, and consumed more pasta [grams per day] than normal or overweight participants,” wrote lead author Licia Iacoviello and colleagues, according to CNN.

Still, in light of this research, people trying to lose weight shouldn’t rule out pasta, said Iacoviello, head of the molecular and nutritional epidemiology laboratory at Neuromed Institute.

“We’re talking about a fundamental component of Italian Mediterranean tradition, and there is no reason to do without it,” Iacoviello said.

The message from this study, Iacovielli added, is that the Mediterranean diet, consumed in moderation and including pasta, “is good to your health.”

More information

The American Heart Association explains the basics of the Mediterranean diet.

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Is U.S. Government Subsidizing Fattening Foods?

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Americans get more than half of their daily calories from seven farm foods that are subsidized by the U.S. government, but a new study suggests those subsidies may be contributing to the obesity epidemic.

The problem, according to the researchers: The biggest consumers of such food products are also much more likely to be obese, and to struggle with high cholesterol, high inflammation levels or high blood sugar. The foods include grains, dairy and livestock products.

“We know that eating too many of these foods can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. However, we still didn’t expect to see such strong results when looking directly at the association between the consumption of subsidized foods and health,” said Edward Gregg. He is chief of the epidemiology and statistics branch in the division of diabetes translation with the U.S. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Gregg was not a part of the study. But, a team led by his colleague, Karen Siegel, reported the findings in the July 5 online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.

The researchers focused on seven leading commodities covered in the 1973 U.S. Farm Bill. Under that law, producers receive direct financial support from the federal government to grow or raise farm products that include corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, dairy and livestock.

The goal is to ensure “a plentiful supply of food at reasonable prices,” given that domestic food production accounts for 80 percent of the food that Americans eat, Gregg explained.

The researchers noted that such subsidies amounted to $170 billion between 1995 and 2010.

Unfortunately, much of this food ends up being processed into nutritionally questionable products, including high-calorie sugary sodas and juices (sweetened with corn syrup), high-calorie packaged foods, high-fat meats and high-fat dairy products, the study authors said.

In contrast, fruits and vegetables have historically been excluded from such subsidies, given their “perishable nature and shorter shelf-life,” Gregg said.

To see how this might affect the American diet, the research team analyzed food information collected between 2001 and 2006 by the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

More than 10,000 American adult men and women offered researchers a breakdown of their food intake in the 24 hours prior to being polled.

While smoking histories, exercise habits or socioeconomic backgrounds were not assessed, obesity risk was, along with the risk for high abdominal fat, high overall inflammation levels, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar levels.

The majority of food (56 percent) respondents consumed came from among the seven subsidized food products. And those who consumed the most subsidized food fared the worst, the study findings showed.

For example, the investigators found that people who consumed the most of these food products were 37 percent more likely to be obese, 41 percent more likely to have belly fat, 34 percent more likely to struggle with inflammation, 14 percent more likely to have high levels of “bad” cholesterol and 21 percent more likely to have high blood sugar levels.

Still, Gregg noted that obesity “is a complex public health problem” and that simply consuming more subsidized foods does not make obesity — or any other health problems — inevitable. More research is needed to assess how changes to the current subsidy program might affect such health risks, he suggested.

Lona Sandon, program director of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, expressed little surprise with the findings.

“We know that people who eat a higher percentage of fruits and vegetables, and less high-fat, less high-starch, less high-sugar foods, tend to have lower body weights,” she said.

“But our eating culture is about an animal-based diet. Meat and dairy,” Sandon said.

“So while the subsidy situation is complicated, and there are no easier answers, it does likely play into the fact that people just don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables,” Sandon added. “It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

More information

There’s more about healthy eating at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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Study Cites the Fats That Could Shorten Your Life

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Hold the butter, margarine and high-fat dairy: A new study supports the notion that these “saturated” fats are bad for you.

The study, which followed more than 126,000 people for three decades, found that people who ate higher amounts of saturated fats and trans fats died earlier than those who stuck to healthier unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats include plant-based, unprocessed fats such as those found in olive, canola or soybean oil, the study authors explained.

“These findings support current dietary recommendations to replace saturated fat and trans fat with unsaturated fats,” concluded a team of researchers led by Dr. Frank Hu of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

One nutritionist believes the study should help clear up the confusion many consumers have about dietary fat.

“There’s a common misconception that eating dietary fat makes you gain body fat,” said Sharon Zarabi, a nutritionist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “It is important to analyze what you’re eating — are they hydrogenated fats coupled with refined carbohydrates [for example, white bread] or are they unsaturated from plant sources?”

In the new study, Hu’s team used data from two ongoing studies involving U.S. nurses and health professionals whose diets and health were tracked over decades.

Participants’ dietary fat intake was assessed at the start of the study and then every two to four years. Their diet and health were then followed for up to 32 years.

During the follow-up, more than 33,300 of the participants died. Hu’s team reported that eating more saturated fat and trans fat was associated with a higher risk of death during the study.

For example, for every 2 percent rise in trans fat intake, there was a 16 percent higher odds of dying during the study period, the researchers found.

Trans fats are an especially unhealthy form of dietary fat that are gradually being phased out of the American food supply, the study authors noted.

Likewise, every 5 percent increase in saturated fat intake was tied to an 8 percent rise in risk of dying during the study period, the findings showed.

But the opposite was true with plant-based unsaturated fats. In that case, eating high amounts of polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats was linked to an 11 percent to 19 percent reduction in death risk during the study period.

Polyunsaturated fats include the omega-6 fatty acids found in most plant-based oils and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and soy and canola oils, Hu’s team noted. High intakes of both types of fats seemed tied to longer lifespans, the researchers said.

Shifting your diet from saturated to unsaturated fats might have real health benefits, the study suggested. The investigators found that replacing just 5 percent of calories from saturated fats with equivalent calories from polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat was associated with a 27 percent and 13 percent reduced risk of death, respectively, during the study period.

Still, Hu’s team stressed that the study was observational — it cannot prove that certain types of dietary fats affect a person’s odds for death over a specific time period.

Zarabi gave some tips on which types of fat to look out for — or avoid.

“Essential fatty acids are found in most foods in their natural state, such as coldwater fish, nuts, seeds, hemp, and avocados,” she explained. “The saturated sources are usually processed, including fractioned oils, hydrogenated oils, margarine, butter, animal fats and high-fat dairy products.”

Mary Grace Webb is assistant director of clinical nutrition at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens hospital. She agreed that the new data “reinforces the need for consumers to include healthier unprocessed plant-based fats in their diets, which are naturally trans- and saturated-fat free. These fats include oils, nuts and nut butters, and seeds.”

In addition, “eating a more plant-based diet with less meat and more alternative protein sources — such as fish, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy foods — can also reduce levels of unhealthy fats,” Webb said.

And healthy eating doesn’t mean having to skimp on flavor, she said.

“I love low-fat Greek yogurt topped with raisins and nuts, white balsamic vinegar with extra-virgin olive oil on my salads, and every day I start with crunchy natural peanut butter on whole grain toast with sliced banana,” Webb said.

The study was published online July 5 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

More information

The American Heart Association has more on fats.

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Pregnancy Flu Shot Protects Newborn for 8 Weeks: Study

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A flu shot during pregnancy protects newborns against the flu for about two months after birth, a new study finds.

Previous studies have shown that flu vaccination during pregnancy helps protect newborns. This study shows the length of protection is likely limited to the first eight weeks of life, said Marta Nunes, of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her co-authors.

Researchers assessed more than 1,000 infants born to women given a flu shot during pregnancy. They found the vaccine’s effectiveness was highest (85.6 percent) during the first eight weeks after birth. Effectiveness ranged from about 25 percent to 30 percent at ages 8 to 16 weeks, and 16 to 24 weeks.

The findings were published online July 5 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The results are important because infants have high rates of flu, which puts them at risk for hospitalization and death, the study authors said in a journal news release.

Current vaccines don’t work well in infants younger than 6 months and aren’t approved for use in that age group, they added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on pregnancy and flu vaccination.

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Junk Food Ads Sway Kids’ Preferences

TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Any parent who’s ever endured a whining child begging for that colorful box of cereal won’t be surprised by a new study’s findings: Children are more likely to eat junk food when they’ve seen ads for unhealthy foods and beverages.

The new review included 29 past studies. There were more than 6,000 children involved in those studies.

The researchers found that ads and other marketing for products high in sugar or salt have an immediate and major impact on youngsters. And children younger than age 8 might be most susceptible to junk food and beverage marketing, the study authors reported.

The findings show the influence that such ads can have on children, said lead author Behnam Sadeghirad, a doctoral student at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

“This [review] shows that the extensive exposure kids have to marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages via product packaging (superheroes, logos), TV and the internet increases their short-term caloric intake and preference for junk food,” Sadeghirad said in a university news release.

Unhealthy products account for more than 80 percent of all televised food ads in the United States and Canada, according to past research. The authors behind the new study noted that recent research revealed that children see an average of five food ads an hour.

Study corresponding author Bradley Johnston said, “Overall, our analyses show the need for a review of public policy on child-targeted unhealthy food and beverage marketing.” Johnston is an assistant professor in the department of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster.

“The increasing prevalence of obesity seems to further coincide with marked increases in the food and beverage industry’s budget for marketing aimed at children and youth, with data showing that energy-dense, low-nutrient foods and beverages make up the majority of commercially marketed products,” Johnston said.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on nutrition.

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