Aaron Carroll

There’s a simply fantastic Viewpoint in this week’s JAMA that addresses that issue. The basic premise is that over the last 30 years there’s been a real emphasis on “awareness” of and screening for cancer. The idea has always been that this will lead to earlier detection and fewer deaths from cancer. I have argued […]

Who’s responsible for controlling health care costs? That’s the question that a recent study in JAMA asked doctors. “Views of US Physicians About Controlling Health Care Costs“: Importance Physicians’ views about health care costs are germane to pending policy reforms. Objective To assess physicians’ attitudes toward and perceived role in addressing health care costs. Design, […]

There was a piece in the Wall Street Journal on how some full time jobs are being changed to part time jobs. I braced myself for the usual blame on the ACA. And it was right there in the beginning: Ken Adams has been turning to more part-time workers at his 10 Subway sandwich shops […]

There’s usually so much bad news when it comes to obesity in the US, it’s hard to take good news at face value. But it seems to be real: Nearly one-third of children and teens are overweight or obese. But growing evidence suggests that places making strong, far-reaching changes—those that make healthy foods available in […]

There’s a ridiculously fantastic manuscript over at JAMA that you should go read right now. “The State of US Health, 1990-2010: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors“: Importance Understanding the major health problems in the United States and how they are changing over time is critical for informing national health policy. Objectives To measure […]

This one is pretty much common sense, but it bears highlighting. “Exempting Schoolchildren From Immunizations: States With Few Barriers Had Highest Rates Of Nonmedical Exemptions“: Rates of nonmedical exemptions from school immunizations are increasing and have been associated with resurfacing clusters of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles. Historically, state-level school immunization policies successfully suppressed such […]

Any reader of the blog knows of my interest in obesity and health. My wife also runs a program to help children eat healthier and lose weight. So this is a topic that gets a fair amount of discussion in our house. In general, we tend to lean toward the “anything” in moderation philosophy. My […]

File this under “holy crap”. “Reduction in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Prevalence Among Young Women Following HPV Vaccine Introduction in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2003-2010“: Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination was introduced into the routine immunization schedule in the United States in late 2006 for females aged 11 or 12 years, with […]

Several readers sent me the following study at the end of last week. “Caloric effect of a 16-ounce (473-mL) portion-size cap on sugar-sweetened beverages served in restaurants“: Background: New York City recently proposed a restriction to cap the portion size of all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) sold in food-service establishments at 16 oz (473 mL). One […]

One of the things I’m fascinated by is the way history repeats itself when it comes to health care reform. Everyone acts as if what we’re doing is crazy new, as if it’s never been done before. This kind of thinking was the subject of one of my favorite Huffington Post columns (which I encourage […]