Last Monday was one of the most chaotic days of my semester. I worked for six hours, went straight from work to photograph the chancellor, went home to change clothes before driving around town photographing buildings for another photo assignment and, finally, headed to Kansas City to photograph the men’s basketball game. While my day was jam-packed, that’s no excuse for not posting my weekly health news updates, so I’ve posted a few extra updates today to make up for last week. Enjoy!
- Eating disorders are often excluded from insurance packages because insurers view interventions of eating disorders as non-essential. An article on The Washington Post‘s website explains the difficulties people battling anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating.
- Currently in the United States, birth control pills require a prescription, but a group of ob-gynecologists wants to make the contraceptives available over-the-counter. One doctor quoted in this Reuters article said that half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned and end up costing taxpayers $11 billion each year.
- A new study shows that the average American adult consumes 100 calories worth of alcohol daily. The study also said that 20 percent of men and 6 percent of women consume more than 300 calories worth of alcohol each day. The New York Times compares the study to the recent hype about the calories in sugary beverages such as soda.
- Studies show that students who are among the youngest in their class are more likely to perform poorly on standardized tests, and are more likely to receive prescriptions for A.D.H.D. medications than their older classmates.
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report stating more than half of young people with HIV don’t know they have it. Only 35 percent of people aged 18-24 have been tested for HIV. The CDC released the report in preparation for World Aids Day this Saturday, Dec. 1.
- For International Education Week (Nov. 12-16,) the CDC compiled some health advice for students studying abroad to think about before, during and after their trips.
Tara Bryant 
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