The Checkup: February 13, 2011 - February 19, 2011

Is that right? Menu calorie labels can curb obesity?

Offering calorie information on fast-food menus is the law of the land now, with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which requires fast-food and other chain restaurants to display calorie counts for the foods they sell. The idea, of course, is that people are overeating because they're not aware of how many calories are in a Big Mac, and once they are properly informed they'll choose the salad instead. But does it really work that way?

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | February 18, 2011; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (15)
Categories:  Food labeling, Is That Right?, Nutrition and Fitness, Parenting  
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New data on crib injuries

What hasn't been tallied until this study is the number of non-fatal, but often quite serious, injuries to babies who have been placed in cribs, playpens or bassinets. An average of 26 such injuries per day occurred during the time studied, most (66 percent) involving falls, usually from cribs (83 percent) and most commonly affecting the head or neck (40 percent).

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | February 16, 2011; 6:43 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Family Health, Infant health, Kids' health, Motherhood, Parenting, Prevention, Sleep  
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Everything you always wanted to know about sleep

Yesterday's Health & Science section focused on sleep, with stories looking at everything from insomnia to relaxation drinks. Here's a full digest of those articles: An insomniac learns to make the most of getting the least sleep Women are more likely than men to give up sleep to care...

By Greg Linch  | February 16, 2011; 12:51 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Sleep  
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Got a cold? Think zinc, report concludes

Suffering through another miserable bout of sneezing, coughing, and nose-blowing? Could zinc help? Apparently yes, according to an authoritative group that specializes in separating myth from fact when it comes to medical treatments. Evidence has been accumulating that zinc could reduce the severity and duration of the common cold, which...

By Rob Stein  | February 15, 2011; 7:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Dietary supplements, Infectious Disease, colds  
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Study warns against energy drinks for kids, teens

A study in Monday's edition of the journal Pediatrics spells out everything you need to know about energy drinks, particularly the risks they pose to the young people who are most inclined to use them. Read it, and you'll never look at those drinks as benign products again.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | February 15, 2011; 7:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
Categories:  Cardiovascular Health, Dietary supplements, Family Health, Kids' health, Nutrition and Fitness, Sleep, Teens, heart failure  
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FDA oversight of medical devices questioned

A new analysis is raising questions about how good a job the Food and Drug Administration is doing at protecting Americans from faulty medical devices.

By Rob Stein  | February 14, 2011; 4:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  FDA, Medical Technology, medical devices  
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'Shocked' by Nutella

Hohenberg says she was "shocked" -- shocked! -- when friends told her that Nutella really isn't very nutritionally sound, being full of fat and sugar. Hohenberg says Nutella's ad claims had mislead her into repeatedly purchasing the spread to serve to her 4-year-old daughter, thinking she was providing a healthful breakfast for the child.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | February 14, 2011; 9:30 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (19)
Categories:  Nutrition and Fitness  
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