Keep abreast of what your patients are currently seeing in the media with our round-up of popular news stories, available from WHF as abstracts with links to the full-text articles.

From the week of July 28, 2008:

The Calories Lurking in Restaurant Food

It is no secret that Americans are getting fatter. As a country, we exercise less and eat more. However, lurking calories in supposedly healthy dishes may also be to blame. The recent law passed in New York City requiring chain restaurants to post the calorie counts of all dishes on their menu has revealed the appallingly high number of calories in restaurant food. Also, many of the dishes that consumers might perceive to be healthier are often the worst offenders, while some seemingly less healthy options are surprisingly low in calories. Salads, with all of their garnishes and salad dressing, often weigh in at well over 1000 calories per serving. A chicken dinner at one popular chain weighs in at 1290 calories, while a pizza meant to feed one person packed 2310 calories into a serving. Calorie consumption per day for the average man looking to maintain his weight should be roughly 2000 to 2500 calories, with only 1500 to 1800 calories needed per day for the average woman. Surprisingly, a 9 to 10-ounce steak at two restaurants provided a low calorie option, at only roughly 300 calories per serving. Consumers can eat healthier while at restaurants in a number of ways. First, skip embellishments such as mayonnaise, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and glazes. Also, do not feel obligated to finish everything on your plate. Many restaurants serve dishes that are big enough to feed several people. Either share a meal with someone else, or eat half the food and bring the rest home for a second meal. Eating more meals at home, where you can control the ingredients used and the portion sizes, can also combat the growing trend of obesity in America.

Read the full story on wsj.com

As Doctors Cater to Looks, Skin Patients Wait

Dermatology, once the field of medicine that treated skin conditions such as psoriasis and acne, is now becoming a two-tiered business. The lower tier still sees patients with medical conditions. The upper tier treats cosmetic patients—those seeking beauty treatments to erase sun damage and wrinkles and trying to reverse the effects of aging on their skin. An increasing number of doctors are giving up their medical dermatology practices for more lucrative cosmetic dermatology patients. Others have set up separate phone lines, waiting rooms, and treatment rooms for medical and cosmetic patients. Oftentimes nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants are left to see to medical dermatology patients, while the physicians themselves devote their time to cosmetic procedures. Some patients report that while they were consulting their dermatologist about a medical issue, they were being sold on also having a cosmetic procedure. Medical ethicists are now questioning a system that caters to cosmetic patients at the expense of patients with potentially serious medical issues. While cosmetic dermatology can net a physician a much higher income, it is urgent for the field not to leave the medical branch of dermatology behind.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

Pre-Pregnancy Diabetes Boosts Risk for Birth Defects

Women who develop diabetes before pregnancy are 3 to 4 times more likely than non-diabetics to deliver a baby with at least one birth defect. This finding comes as a result of a US study of more than 30,000 people seen at 9 birth defects centers. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant death, affecting 1 in 33 infants in the US. The study is intended to uncover some risk factors for birth defects. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes appear to significantly increase a woman’s chance for giving birth to an infant with some sort of defect. Birth defects found to be associated with pre-pregnancy diabetes include heart, brain, and spine defects, oral clefts, limb deficiencies, and defects of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. To combat the chance of birth defects, women should seek preconception care, especially if they suffer from diabetes. By managing diabetes early on in a woman’s pregnancy, the chance of birth defects, along with other pregnancy complications, can be reduced.

Read the full story on healthday.com

Diet Key to Diabetes Risk

Drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fruit drinks may be one of the most dangerous things women can do, when it comes to increasing their risk for developing diabetes. In a study of 43,960 women, those who consumed 2 or more soft drinks or fruit drinks with sugar in them per day had a 25 to 30% increased risk of diabetes than other women. Drinking diet soft drinks did not appear to influence risk of diabetes. Although some perceive fruit drinks to be a healthier alternative to soft drinks, many fruit drinks are sweetened and contain just as many if not more calories than soft drinks. Researchers also found that women who ate a diet rich in fruits and vegetables had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Both findings relate to weight gain and its association with type 2 diabetes. No one specific food has been linked to increasing or decreasing the risk of diabetes, rather, maintaining a healthy weight or being overweight contributes to one’s risk for the disease. Sugary drinks tend to cause weight gain, while fruits and vegetables promote a healthier weight.

Read the full story on healthday.com