Latest news with #non-HispanicBlack
Newsweek
20-07-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
'Extremely Severe' Obesity on the Rise in US Children—Study
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Extremely severe obesity among American children has increased more than threefold over the past 15 years, with new research published on the JAMA Network, highlighting disturbing trends in prevalence and related health complications. Researchers analyzed national health data from 2008 to 2023, uncovering a surge in the most severe obesity categories for U.S. children aged 2 to 18 years old. Newsweek has reached out to the authors of the study via email Sunday during non-working hours for further comment. Why It Matters The study comes as the nation faces persistent challenges combating childhood obesity, signaling what authors have called a "public health emergency" with wide-ranging medical and economic consequences for future generations. "The findings underscore the urgent need for public health interventions against pediatric obesity in the U.S.," authors Eliane Munte, Xinlian Zhang, Amit Khurana, and Phillipp Hartmann wrote in the study. The sharp upswing in extremely severe obesity among children raises the risk of developing serious medical conditions—including type 2 diabetes, steatotic liver disease, also known as fatty liver disease (MASLD), metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 2024, approximately 1 in 5 children—14.7 million—are already classified as obese, with the burden disproportionately affecting racial minorities and lower-income families. Untreated, these complications can persist into adulthood, multiplying risks for chronic disease and shortened life expectancy. What To Know The study evaluated data from 25,847 children and teens, drawing from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2008 and 2023. Obesity was categorized using percentiles based on age and sex, and researchers identified a 253 percent relative increase in extremely severe obesity. Adolescents aged 16 to 18 and non-Hispanic Black children were especially affected. According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in U.S. children and teens aged 2-19 years increased from 19.46 percent in 2008 to 22.52 percent in 2023. Several factors have fueled the rise in pediatric obesity, including decreased physical activity, increased screen time, and greater access to high-calorie, low-nutrient foods. Researchers noted that these issues intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, with children experiencing a nearly doubled rate of annual weight gain between 2019 and 2021 compared to prior years. "The monthly rate of BMI increase nearly times faster after the virus appeared," Dr. Alyson Goodman of the CDC said in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2021, highlighting the influence of pandemic-era disruptions. Economic and social disparities also contribute significantly to who is most affected. The CDC reported higher obesity rates among children in families below 130 percent of the federal poverty level around 25 percent, compared with those in wealthier households at 11.5 percent. Unequal access to healthy foods, safe recreational spaces, and adequate medical care also play roles, the CDC said in 2024. The JAMA study found significantly higher odds of children developing MASLD (a fatty liver disease), diabetes or prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and early signs of heart disease. Left unchecked, these conditions can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and major cardiovascular events later in life. In 2024, the CDC estimated the annual medical cost of childhood obesity at $1.3 billion, underscoring the seriousness of the crisis. A beam scale is seen in New York on April 3, 2018. A beam scale is seen in New York on April 3, 2018. AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File What People Are Saying The authors of the study wrote in the conclusion: "The findings of this study with over 25,800 participants provide robust evidence supporting extremely severe obesity specifically as a public health emergency. The association with metabolic and cardiovascular complications necessitates urgent public health action, such as early prevention, targeted education, and the mobilization of resources." What Happens Next? The authors called for "urgent public health interventions" and proposed a multi-layered approach, including preventive education, improved access to nutritious foods, and equitable health care.
Medscape
16-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Could Intervention in Pregnancy Boost Child Vaccine Uptake?
A study of vaccination intentions of pregnant women and mothers of young children found that uncertainty about childhood vaccination was highest (at 48%) in pregnant women. 'Given the high decisional uncertainty during pregnancy about vaccinating children after birth, there may be value in intervening during pregnancy to proactively support families with childhood vaccination decisions,' the authors of the study wrote, led by Lavanya Vasudevan, MPH, PhD, with the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. The study findings were published in JAMA Network Open . First-Time Pregnant Group Compared to Parent Group Research on this topic is important, they note, because implementing such interventions would require substantial engagement of clinicians outside the pediatric setting. Vasudevan told Medscape Medical News those clinicians would include obstetricians, family physicians, nurse-midwives, and doulas. 'Key considerations include the providers' training on childhood vaccinations, as well as the time, reimbursement, and resources available for implementation,' she said. This study included survey responses from 174 pregnant women (64% were aged ≥ 30 years; 27% were Hispanic, 14.4% were non-Hispanic Black, and 52.9% were non-Hispanic White). The parent group included 1765 participants (78.1% were aged ≥ 30 years; 21.7% were Hispanic, 11.4% were non-Hispanic Black, and 56% were non-Hispanic White). About half in both groups had a bachelor's degree or higher — 49.4% in the pregnant group and 45.1% in the parent group. Responses Grouped into Six Categories The women were asked about their intentions regarding all vaccines recommended for children from birth to age 18 months. Researchers grouped responses into six categories: accept all vaccinations, delay some or all, delay some and refuse some, refuse some, refuse all, and undecided. The proportions intending to accept or accepting all recommended pediatric vaccines were similar among pregnant participants and parents. But other categories saw some wide gaps: The proportion intending to refuse or refusing some or all pediatric vaccines (without delays) was lowest among nulliparous pregnant women (4%) and highest among parents (33%). Uncertainty about childhood vaccination was highest among nulliparous pregnant participants (48%) and lowest among parents of young children (4%). 'Window of Opportunity' Medical educator Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a professor at the University of California San Francisco, who specializes in infectious diseases, told Medscape Medical News that 'identifying high uncertainty about childhood vaccines in pregnancy opens up a window of opportunity.' 'It's a time when people are generally more receptive to hearing messages about their own health and the health of their unborn child,' he said, 'and infectious disease prevention is one of the many things that can improve the health of both.' He said he agrees that interventions and coordination expanding to specialties outside of pediatrics can take substantial resources but some form of intervention 'can start tomorrow' he said, such as mentioning the benefits and safety of future childhood vaccines in conversations with pregnant women. Sometimes that is thought to be the job of pediatricians and skipped in other specialties, he said. Need 'Couldn't be Greater' 'The need couldn't be greater,' he said. 'There are so many reasons to focus on this population — not only for the decisions for when the child is 5 years old and getting their [measles, mumps and rubella] shot, but for now [with maternal vaccines that cross the placenta] — because I can't really do much when a baby has some types of infections within the first 6 months.' Pregnant people interact with the healthcare system at multiple points, he noted, so there are multiple times when an intervention could happen. 'In my experience, a person who's uncertain about vaccines doesn't reverse that in one visit. It requires a series of visits, just like stopping smoking.' Further Study May Answer Questions The appetite for introducing robust support for pregnant women in making vaccine decisions, 'particularly in this political climate,' will likely depend on cost-benefit analysis, Chin-Hong said. He said future work should decide who would do the interventions and how often, and how much intervention is needed to result in more vaccinations of children. Additionally, the authors wrote 'Future interventions should account for differences in uptake of seasonal (ie, COVID-19 and influenza) vs routinely recommended vaccines.' The authors and Chin-Hong reported having no relevant financial relationships.
Boston Globe
21-06-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass. Black therapists trying to diversify the workforce face an uphill battle
Advertisement 'We took the good and left the bad, and helped create this,' Labissiere, one of the clinic's cofounders, said from the Hyde Park Avenue office. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Labissiere and Wynn are rarities in this grueling industry: Black clinicians who have stuck around and own their own practice. The Child and Family Wellness Center isone of just a few Black-owned behavioral health practices in Massachusetts. In interviews with the Globe, 10 Black mental health care providers, advocates, and public officials agreed several systemic barriers keep the workforce from diversifying. The deep-seated stigma of mental illness among Black people, the time and financial costs of finishing school, and the biases embedded in the field's license exams are roadblocks for diversifying the workforce, which already suffers from massive turnover and vacancy rates. Related : Advertisement The societal costs are immense. The experienced these symptoms at higher rates, said Gemima St. Louis, vice president for workforce initiatives and specialty training and clinical psychology professor at Williams James College in Newton. As the mental health crises that COVID-19 drew out persist, stakeholders worry the behavioral health workforce won't be able to meet this rising demand with culturally competent care. 'We have a workforce that is insufficient, a workforce that lacks the diversity that is represented in the communities that have the greatest needs for mental health services,' St. Louis said. Related : Advocates are introducing measures to tackle the representation gap at its root. Clinicians working in underserved communities can have some of their student debt covered through The people working to diversify the behavioral health workforce are chipping away at a profession that has historically been for white and affluent individuals. A 2023 Advertisement One in 10 respondents in behavioral health leadership roles identified as non-Hispanic Black. Black respondents made up 9 percent of the survey's independently licensed clinicians, meaning they don't need supervision to provide treatment. Only 7.6 percent of behavioral health physicians — professionals with medical degrees — were Black. The lack of representation within the sector doesn't match the range of people needing these services, advocates say. A separate survey of insured residents across Massachusetts found that one in 10 non-Hispanic Black residents reported poor mental health in 2021, along with 15 percent of Hispanic residents. One barrier driving these disparities precedes any roadblocks Black clinicians are facing in their field: mental health care's taboo nature in their community. Black people 'might have a little bit more wealth and more opportunities, but we've never really had a chance to really process our struggles in this country,' said Nieisha Deed, founder of Recruitment into the sector can be happenstance, instead of something instilled from an early age. Larry Higginbottom, CEO of The Osiris Group clinic in Roxbury, stumbled across 'the mental health field' during a chance conversation in the late '80s with Omar Reid, a local pioneer of Black psychology and mental health. Advertisement It was a foreign concept, but '[Reed] planted a seed,' Higginbottom, now 71, said. For Melanie Robinson Findlay, owner of Upwards 'N' Onwards, an independent therapy practice in Hyde Park, the death of a best friend during high school propelled her into social work. By the time she pursued a doctorate, she had 18 years of clinical social work experience, completed a clerkship, and was even appointed to the state's Board of Registration of Social Workers. But this didn't seem like enough. She noticed her peers would find supervisors with ease. Meanwhile, 'I always felt I had to prove myself.' 'What was I missing that they have?' Robinson Findlay said. 'And when you control for all the things, there's only one thing that pops out.' Learning about the craft is only the first hurdle to entering the industry. It costs hundreds for Mental health counselors, clinical social workers, psychologists, and other professionals within the field must complete thousands of hours to qualify for a license, some of which have to be under direct supervision from another practitioner. Labissiere said the onus for supervision is placed on the aspiring clinician; they must find someone who is willing to sign off on their application and in turn, lose an employee that keeps their own practice afloat. 'These are gatekeeper positions,' Labissiere said. 'If you don't have an organization ... pushing you to become licensed, we get stuck.' Advertisement Wynn worries this mentality might choke off the next generation of clinicians of color, which is already a small group. 'People look at it as competition, but there's more than enough clients in need,' Wynn said. 'It's not a competition. It's a collaboration.' While navigating the many stressors of entering the workforce, many aspiring social workers aren't taught the financial literacy needed to start and sustain independent practices, said Malaka Mims, president of the Greater Boston Association of Black Social Workers. So many social workers are focused on passing the exam, she said, that they often say, 'I don't know how to be a business owner.' 'Social workers are trained to help others, but the field must also prioritize self care and equip social workers to care for ourselves,' Mims said. For Robinson Findlay, of Upwards 'N' Onwards, running her own practice has been a longtime dream, but it comes with its own challenges. She has scaled her fees down to accommodate low-income clients, and says she is owed thousands in private insurance reimbursements. She makes up with consulting, lecturing, and a postdoctoral fellowship. Robinson Findlay can barely afford to do this, but she can't refuse a client's request. 'Even if I say no to one, that's too many.' This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Tiana Woodard can be reached at
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Prenatal exposure to ‘forever chemicals' may raise blood pressure during teen years: Study
Humans exposed to toxic 'forever chemicals' before birth may exhibit higher blood pressure during their teenage years, a new study has found. This connection was particularly pronounced in boys and in children born to non-Hispanic Black mothers, scientists observed in the study, published Thursday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. While previous research has shown these synthetic compounds may affect a rapidly developing fetus, the new study was able to investigate impacts on blood pressure from early childhood through adolescence. 'This suggests these forever chemicals can have long-lasting and potentially harmful effects that may only become apparent years after birth,' lead author Zeyu Li, a graduate student researcher in public health at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement. Forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been linked to numerous illnesses, such as kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, cardiovascular conditions and preeclampsia — also a blood pressure issue. Notorious for their inability to break down in the environment, PFAS are present in a wide range of household products, including cosmetics, waterproof apparel and nonstick pans, as well as in certain kinds of firefighting foams. To draw their conclusions, the study's authors tracked 1,094 children from a group called the Boston Birth Cohort over a median span of about 12 years. The researchers analyzed more than 13,000 blood pressure readings taken at routine pediatric visits from July 2001 to February 2024, grouping the results into age brackets of 3-5, 6-12 and 13-18. They then calculated age-, sex- and height-specific blood pressure percentiles, while accounting for the mother's health, delivery method, socioeconomic factors and weekly fish consumption, as fish are a known source of PFAS contamination. Among the children whose mothers had higher levels of the chemicals in blood samples collected after delivery, the scientists identified issues with three types of PFAS: PFDeA, PFNA and PFUnA. As levels of these PFAS doubled in the moms, systolic blood pressure — the top number in a reading, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts — were between 1.39 percentile points and 2.78 percentile points higher in the 13- to 18-year-old age group. Under these conditions, diastolic pressure — the bottom number, or the pressure when the heart muscle relaxes between beats — surged 1.22 percentile points to 2.54 percentile points higher among members of this cohort. With the doubling of maternal PFAS blood levels, the risk of elevated blood pressure rose by 6 percent to 8 percent in boys and in children born to non-Hispanic Black mothers, according to the study. Li expressed hope that due to the study's findings, more researchers might be inspired to track such effects in children into adolescence. 'Many past studies stopped at early or mid-childhood, however, our study shows that the health effects of prenatal PFAS exposure may not appear until the teen years,' Li said. Senior author Mingyu Zhang, an assistant professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, stressed that reducing prenatal and childhood exposure to PFAS requires policy-level action, as well as product phaseouts and widespread water regulation. 'This is not something individuals can solve on their own,' Zhang added. Justin Zachariah, an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine who was not involved with the study, explained that PFAS interfere with hormones and disrupt typical adolescent development. While scientists are already aware that boys and Black children are at increased risk of elevated blood pressure, exposure to these compounds may exacerbate that risk, warned Zachariah, who also chaired the American Heart Association's 2024 scientific panel on pediatric cardiology and environmental exposures. 'These chemicals last in our bodies for years, suggesting that perhaps prenatal exposure may have occurred before conception, and these chemicals may cause changes that can carry forward for generations,' Zachariah said. 'Therefore, improvements we make could echo for generations to come,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
12-06-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Prenatal exposure to ‘forever chemicals' may raise blood pressure during teen years: Study
Humans exposed to toxic 'forever chemicals' before birth may exhibit higher blood pressure during their teenage years, a new study has found. This connection was particularly pronounced in boys and in children born to non-Hispanic Black mothers, scientists observed in the study, published on Thursday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. While previous research has shown that these synthetic compounds may affect a rapidly developing fetus, the new study was able to investigate impacts on blood pressure from early childhood through adolescence. 'This suggests these forever chemicals can have long-lasting and potentially harmful effects that may only become apparent years after birth,' lead author Zeyu Li, a graduate student researcher in public health at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement. Forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been linked to numerous illnesses, such as kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, cardiovascular conditions and preeclampsia — also a blood pressure issue. Notorious for their inability to break down in the environment, PFAS are present in a wide range of household products, including cosmetics, waterproof apparel and nonstick pans, as well as in certain kinds of firefighting foams. To draw their conclusions, the study authors tracked 1,094 children from a group called the Boston Birth Cohort over a median span of about 12 years. The researchers analyzed more than 13,000 blood pressure readings taken at routine pediatric visits from July 2001 to February 2024, grouping the results into age brackets of 3-5, 6-12 and 13-18. They then calculated age-, sex- and height-specific blood pressure percentiles, while accounting for the mother's health, delivery method, socioeconomic factors and weekly fish consumption, as fish are a known source of PFAS contamination. Among the children whose mothers had higher levels of the chemicals in blood samples collected after delivery, the scientists identified issues with three types of PFAS: PFDeA, PFNA and PFUnA. As levels of these PFAS doubled in the moms, systolic blood pressure — the top number in a reading, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts — were between 1.39 and 2.78 percentile points higher in the 13 to 18-year-old age group. Under these conditions, diastolic pressure — the bottom number, or the pressure when the heart muscle relaxes between beats — surged 1.22 to 2.54 percentile points higher among members of this cohort. With the doubling of maternal PFAS blood levels, the risk of elevated blood pressure rose by 6 to 8 percent in boys and in children born to non-Hispanic Black mothers, according to the study. Li expressed hope that due to the study's findings, more researchers might be inspired to track such effects in children into adolescence. 'Many past studies stopped at early or mid-childhood, however, our study shows that the health effects of prenatal PFAS exposure may not appear until the teen years,' Li said. Senior author Mingyu Zhang, an assistant professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, stressed that reducing prenatal and childhood exposure to PFAS requires policy-level action, as well as product phase-outs and widespread water regulation. 'This is not something individuals can solve on their own,' Zhang added. Justin Zachariah, an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine who was not involved with the study, explained that PFAS interfere with hormones and disrupt typical adolescent development. While scientists are already aware that boys and Black children are at increased risk of elevated blood pressure, exposure to these compounds may exacerbate that risk, warned Zachariah, who also chaired the American Heart Association's 2024 scientific panel on pediatric cardiology and environmental exposures. 'These chemicals last in our bodies for years, suggesting that perhaps prenatal exposure may have occurred before conception, and these chemicals may cause changes that can carry forward for generations,' Zachariah said. 'Therefore, improvements we make could echo for generations to come,' he added.
