A record number of US adults are now obese, with 2 million more people crossing that unhealthy weight threshold between 2007 and 2009, according to new numbers released by the US Centers for Disease Control. California’s obesity rate is 24.8 percent, which is below the US average but higher than 16 other states.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger caused a stir in the Capitol Monday when he told reporters he wouldn’t sign a budget that didn’t include long-term reforms, even if it means the state goes without a new spending plan until he leaves office in January.
The Republican nominee for the US Senate says she favors importation of drugs from Canada, a government-run high-risk pool for the uninsured, and more funding for community clinics to serve the poor. She would also like to see health insurance premiums tied to consumer behavior.
Boys and men of color are more than twice as likely as white boys and men to suffer from poor health and the effects of violence and other trauma, according to a report released today by the California Endowment, a nonprofit foundation focused on the connections between place and health.
Anthem Blue Cross has notified 230,000 California customers that personal data they submitted to the insurance company via the Internet may have been improperly viewed by others. The data breach occurred when the firm was upgrading the software that customers use to track their online applications for insurance coverage.
A plan unveiled this week by Senate Democrats to shift billions of dollars in services from the state to the counties might make government more efficient. But it won’t help balance the budget.
A law to require insurance companies to cover smoking cessation services at no out-of-pocket cost to consumers would improve public health and the economy at a cost of less than $1 a month for each person covered by insurance, according to an independent analysis of the proposal.
Health policy, Dr. Richard Jackson says, is about more than medical care. It is about farm policy. Transportation. Housing. And so much more. Because how healthy we are is determined largely by where and how we live. Jackson, a professor of Environmental Health Services at the UCLA School of Public Health and the former state health officer for California, is an expert on the connections between urban design and health. He was the lead speaker at a conference in Sacramento last month that brought together environmentalists, planners, physicians and developers to share ideas and look for common ground on issues connecting the urban environment and health.
Joanne Neft has been eating local since before it was hip. As founder of the Placer County farmers market, it was just what she did. Nearly every Saturday in Auburn, rain or shine, hot or cold, for 20 years Neft has been there, filling bags with fruits and vegetables and plenty of meat to grace her table for the week to come. Now the rest of the world is catching up with Neft, and she welcomes the company.
Adrian Avila was a 17-year-old street graffiti artist who had a job at a local hot dog stand when he wandered into the offices of Silicon Valley De-Bug eight years ago. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. But he found it.