Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Thu, Feb 27 1992 Date: Thu, 27 Feb 92 06:04:26 EST Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Feb. 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MANY ARE WITHOUT ADEQUATE CARE: One person in six is not served by the U.S. health-care system, according to a study by the National Association of Community Health Centers. Although 35 million have no insurance, 43 million are without adequate care, says the report. At least eight million covered by Medicare or Medicaid can't get adequate care. Of the underserved, 33% are children and 25% are disabled or seniors. BARRIERS TO HEALTH CARE CITED: Among the 43 million people not getting adequate medical care, reports a study from the National Association of Community Health Centers, are patients living in communities with high health risks, particularly urban slums. Also cited were patients unable to find doctors accepting Medicare or Medicaid, the lack of primary-care doctors in poor communities and language and cultural barriers. AUTHORS DISCOURAGE DIETING: Many lives are dominated by dieting, something people would be better off without, says John Foreyt, a weight loss researcher and author of the new book "Living Without Dieting" (Harrison Publishing, $18,45), co-authored by G. Ken Goodrick. Foreyt, director of the nutrition research clinic at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, would like weight to be put in perspective. (For more, see special Dieting package below.) AIDS CLAIMS CAN'T BE VERIFIED: Claims of HIV infection among 13 Northeast Texas teen-agers, including six of 197 students at Rivercrest High School, cannot be verified, state health officials said Wednesday. The claims, reported by Dona Spence, an AIDS counselor who has since resigned, gave Rivercrest an AIDS rate six times the national average. FEWER MOTHERS CHOOSE ADOPTION: Before 1973, nearly 20% of unwed white mothers chose adoption for their babies; by the late 1980s, the number fell to 3%, according to a new analysis in the The Alan Guttmacher Institute's "Family Planning Perspectives." Less than 2% of black and Hispanic unwed mothers have ever given up babies. Cited: Acceptance of single motherhood and the availability of legal abortion. CHILD-SUPPORT LAW CRITICIZED: A federal law created eight years ago to help get child-support payments from delinquent parents is ineffective, says the General Accounting Office. The law, requiring states to order the withholding of wages of delinquent parents, is overburdened and weakened by red tape. Because of conflicting state rules, years can pass before wages are withheld, the report said. RISE IN SYPHILIS CASES REPORTED: Southern states had 113 cases of syphilis per 100,000 people in 1990, the highest in the USA, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control. The figure was an 82% increase over five years. With 89 cases per 100,000 people, the Northeast had a 153% increase. Western states reported 47 cases per 100,000, and the Midwest 24. Blacks were hit hardest, the study found. EYE TREATMENT QUESTIONED: Oral corticosteroids are ineffective for treating optic neuritis, an eye inflammation, and may raise the risk of future inflammation, reports a study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute, also questioned using oral corticosteroids for nerve inflammations such as multiple sclerosis. Intravenous treatments may work. KIDS' TV VIEWING ASSESSED: Children may need to develop "critical viewing skills" if they watch an average of three hours of TV daily, suggests a report from the American Psychological Association. If not, kids may get a skewed and perhaps even harmful view of the world. The APA says parents must help children seek "a balanced diet" of programs. Also, it's important for parents to get involved in TV viewing. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON DIETING: DIETING LEADS TO BINGES: Dieting is similar to holding one's breath, according to G. Ken Goodrick and John Foreyt, who add that when people skips meals, they will find themselves bingeing. Instead they should implement good eating habits (a diet of 30% or less calories from fat, 55% carbohydrates and less than 20% protein) and an exercise program (walking four or five times weekly), says Goodrick. EXERCISE, GOOD HABITS ARE BEST: After adopting good eating habits and moderate exercise, people should accept their weight, says Goodrick. "Nobody is satisfied with their body," says Foreyt. Only if a lot of weight must be lost should rigid programs be used. However, some people need more structure to stabilize their relationship with food. If so, starvation diets still are not the best way. SOME MUST MAKE PEACE WITH FOOD: For structure, begin with a less intrusive program, suggests Foreyt. He says work toward a more structured approach, while being aware that one way won't work for everyone. Before changing eating habits, people who binge must understand how food dominates their lives, says Foreyt. "Living Without Dieting" is published by Harrison Publishing, P.O. Box 540515, Houston, Texas., 77254-0515. (End of package.) Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. 08:0002270000D0227 INSU- R K Health-care-crisis-is-deep............ A D0227 This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM