Kids are still eating too much sugar, regardless of parents' income, and they're getting most of it at home

By Tara Kaprowy
Kentucky Health News

American children's sugar consumption is down, but kids are still eating too much sugar, and they are getting most of it at home.

So says a new study from the National Center for Health Statistics, which also found parent income is not playing a part in how much sugar kids are consuming. "We found that all kids are eating a lot of added sugars," said Cynthia Ogden, the study's co-author and an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (One study found kids in low-income families are drinking more juice than recommended, however.)

The study found sugar consumption has dropped to 17 percent of total caloric intake, from 22 percent, but 17 percent is still well higher than federal guidelines, which say total discretionary calories, including added sugar and solid fat, should account for only 5 to 15 percent of total daily caloric intake.

Sugar consumption may have declined because kids are consuming less sugar when they're not at home, thanks to bans or limits on sugary drinks at schools, said Dr. Wendy Slusser, an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California. Kentucky has such a ban.

Most of the sugar is coming from food, not beverages, Linda Carroll reports for MSNBC. About 16 percent of kids' calorie intake comes from "added sugars," such those added to breads, cakes, jams, chocolate and ice cream. Those numbers do not include sugars that naturally occur in food, such as in fruit or fruit juice.

Going forward, the goal is to address how parents are feeding their children. "This is an opportunity for families," Slusser said. "There are estimates now that we could shift children's weights back to 1970s levels if we could just take 350 calories out of a kid's diet each day."

One way to do so is using water to replace sports drinks and those with 10 percent fruit juice. Giving kids Cheerios rather than Honey Nut Cheerios — or any cereal that's lower in sugar — also helps. Reading nutrition labels, avoiding processed foods and planning ahead for healthy snacks and nutritious dinners can also solve the problem. "Once there's a routine, parents can integrate healthier foods into their children's diets," Slusser said. "When you're always eating on the fly, you end up eating too many processed foods." (Read more)

Kentucky Health News is a service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

Electronic patient records may not save money, study finds; critics question methodology

Though officials tout otherwise, a study has found electronic health records do not cut costs "and may actually encourage doctors to order expensive tests more often," reports Steve Lohr for The New York Times. (Photo by Keith Srakocic for The Associated Press)

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, found doctors using EHRs to track tests, such as X-rays and MRIs, ordered 40 percent more tests than those using paper-based records. Doctors with access to a patient's previous image via a computer "ordered tests on 18 percent of the visits, while those without the tracking technology ordered tests on 12.9 percent of visits," Lohr reports. And when it came to more expensive and advanced tests, like MRI and CT scans, doctors using EHRs ordered more tests 70 percent of the time.

The study was based on a survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, and included data from 28,000 patient visits to more than 1,100 doctors in 2008. It contradicted a 2005 study from RAND Corp., which estimated that EHRs could save as much as $80 billion a year. The Obama administration used that study as justification for $19 billion in federal spending to help providers switch to digital technology.

EHR supporters were critical of the latest study for using the NCHS data, which they say is used to assess how medical care is practiced, not how well computerized patient records work. It also "included any kind of computer access to tracking images, no matter how old or isolated the function," Lohr reports. Modern EHRs are more integrated in their function and must meet federal standards for "meaningful use" — guidelines that were not in place in 2008.

Dr. David Blumenthal, professor at Harvard Medical School and former national coordinator for health information technology for the Obama administration, found 92 percent of articles published in professional journals on EHRs were "positive over all" regarding whether the technology would improve efficiency and quality of care. Dr. Danny McCormick, lead author of the new study and assistant professor at the same school, argued his analysis "looked at not just a few cutting-edge institutions, but a nationally representative sample." (Read more)

Medicaid recipients displaced by tornadoes can get emergency 30-day refills of prescriptions

Kentuckians on Medicaid who were displaced by last week's storms can get a 30-day supply of needed medicine from their pharmacy, the Department of Medicaid Services announced yesterday.

The right to receive an emergency refill applies to residents living in Ballard, Bath, Carroll, Campbell, Grant, Grayson, Hardin, Johnson, Kenton, Laurel, Lawrence, McCracken, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Owsley, Pendleton, Rowan, Russell and Trimble counties. Those counties have declared a state of emergency.

The state's four managed-care organizations are informing pharmacies of the policy, which was part of an executive order signed by Gov. Steve Beshear last weekend. Medicaid recipients who are not enrolled with an MCO can also receive replacement medications at their pharmacy. Co-payments will be waived.

"Many Kentuckians depend on regular maintenance medications, like blood pressure pills, and skipping a few days could cause unnecessary hardship or possible poor health outcomes for some citizens," Beshear said. "This order will allow people to contact a pharmacist to restore their regular medications." (Read more)

How to Get Your Boyfriend Back Quickly

Wondering how to get boyfriend back? What do you have to do to get boyfriend back as soon as possible? Breaking up with the boyfriend happened so suddenly, but how to get boyfriend back causes problems, because you do not know how to get him back and what you have to do to make it happen. Nobody has ever taught this in any school or group you belong to and even your parents cannot help you in that area.

There are steps you need to make and you have to design a plan to follow. The relationship after the breakup is usually a bit tense and you really do not know where you stand.

Before moving forward, take some time out to analyze what went wrong in your relationship and what you can and are willing to do to correct these negatives.

Never show your down and out feelings to your ex boyfriend.

Do not contact your ex boyfriend for a short while. Your ex boyfriend will wonder how you are doing and wonder if you miss him.

Do something to improve your appearance. Get a new hair cut, buy some new clothes and learn to show a happy face at all times. Make it look as if you are comfortable with your new situation.

Meet up with some old and new friends, whom you can use to sound off your anxiety and get some advise.

Now, here is something that works like a charm. Stay in touch with mutual friends and indicate to them how content you are. This might create some wonder in your ex boyfriend. Never say anything bad about your ex boyfriend. You can be assured that these comments will be passed on to him with the comments that he should reconsider.

Find yourself a new date and go out to places where you can expect to meet your ex boyfriend. If your boyfriend still has some feelings towards you that will create a feeling of jealousy in his mind.

Find a reason to meet with him privately in a public place to discuss some common interests like mail for him that has come to your house. Such a meeting can trigger a move towards you. Whatever you do do not show anxiety, but use this meeting to observe the reactions of your ex boyfriend carefully.

How to get boyfriend back needs some further actions on your part before it can come to a re-uniting and help is available to you right now.

Make sure to get some further detailed information and get the eCourse Why Lovers Leave [http://savemarriage.tunazoo.com] at NO CHARGE to you. Do not wait too long as being away from each other too long will give your ex boyfriend a chance to get comfortable in his new situation.

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Useful Tips on How to Get a Boyfriend Back

Do you miss him? Do your days seem empty without him? Do you spent countless hours reading the letters he gave you, and looking at the presents he gifted you? These are sure signs you want your boyfriend back. Worried because you might not be able to? Never fear- here is some tips on how to get boyfriend back!

Firstly, it's important to consider why you both had broken up in the first place. Think whether you really want him back, or whether you want him back just because you can't have him? Maybe you're attached to the idea of being attached? If he was an abusive, lying, cheating, or controlling type- think long and hard. Perhaps it's better not to get boyfriend back, if he has the above characteristics.

Here's an important point to remember- if you and your boyfriend had broken up just a few days, or a couple of weeks ago, play hard to get. Don't call him, if he likes you and is thinking about getting back, he'll call you for sure. But don't seem needy or over-emotional.

If you decide you do want to get boyfriend back, be yourself- be the girl he fell in love with. Why was he attracted to you? Because he felt happy around you, and you fulfilled his emotional needs. Try and correct any faults or bad habits you may have.

Try to smile around him, and make him feel good about himself. Reminisce about your past - share a funny memory both of you were part of or if you know he liked a particular outfit or a particular style of makeup, wear it again.

Females are more jealous species of the two and it's a known fact, so nothing complicated about it. Most of the time after breakup, when anxiety shocks strikes, carrying the feeling of loss of something which belonged to you is overwhelmingly painful.

It crushes you and makes you feel helpless beyond imagination. But you should let time go and not think or try to get boyfriend back because if he cared as much, he could have come back himself as well. What do you think?

Here's a good suggestion- suggest some casual non-committal activity, like going out for a drink with friends, or a movie together. It's something friends, or first dates would do. Keep it fun and lighthearted.

Skip out on the serious talks and emotional issues- all that will come later. If he initiates it, you follow- but keep the really heavy stuff out, as this probably isn't the moment for it.

You might express regret that you guys aren't together any more, and that you still think about him. Tell him you've had time to get a little perspective, and to work on your faults. Don't ever tell his friends, or even his family members that you want to get boyfriend back, and ask them to give him the message.

This is not third-grade, neither is it Pass the Message. The relationship was between you and him, let it stay that way. Bringing others into it will only make things more complicated.

Remember to be yourself- acting like someone you're not is tremendously putting-off, and it never works out in the long run. Don't hit on his best friend to make him jealous- it will hurt his feelings, and poof! There go your chances of getting boyfriend back.

Be subtle, be under-stated, use his signals - don't look desperate, as guys don't like that. Don't come on too strong- use the flirtatious eyes and body language for your bedroom mirror.

And lastly, be honest- nothing works better than good old plain honesty. Follow these tips and you will have a better chance to get boyfriend back.

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