Halting Childhood Obesity in Arkansas

If today's childhood obesity epidemic continues unabated, we are in danger of raising the first generation of American youth with a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Indeed, one-third of American children ages two to 19 are currently either obese or at risk of becoming obese. This marks a dramatic increase in the prevalence among children of all ages nationwide since the 1960s. The related health risks are alarming...

Defeating One of Humanity's Oldest Killers

As old as humanity itself, malaria was first described in ancient Chinese medical writings in 2700 B.C. Historians speculate that it contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many people don't know that malaria still exists. Yet it is as prevalent as the common cold in Africa and can kill within 48 hours. Today, malaria takes the lives of 3,000 children each day...

Researching the Fruit Fly Genome

The fruit fly might just hold the key to life. If you're a biomedical scientist who studies fruit flies' genetic make-up, this much is clear. You know that the fruit fly genome has implications for human life -- and that continued research might just benefit humankind one day in the future. But how do you explain this to non-scientists and others who think of the insect merely as a pest?

Connecting Urban Sprawl and Public Health

America is suffering from an obesity epidemic. Just a few years ago, that statement would have raised eyebrows. But recently, obesity has taken center stage in discussions about public health. In 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that poor diet and physical inactivity were quickly gaining on tobacco as the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States. And since then, we have seen significant policy, research, and consumer shifts linked to America's obesity epidemic...

Campaigning Against Infectious Disease

Vaccination ranks as the single most important public health achievement of the 20th century.  In the industrialized world, diphtheria, measles, and whooping cough – once causes of great fear, suffering, and death – are, for the most part, rare occurrences that minimally impact families and communities. Other scourges of the past, killers of millions, have largely been eliminated through polio and smallpox vaccines. But in the developing world, some 1.4 million children still die each year of vaccine-preventable diseases...

Policies to Help Teens in Trouble

Research shows that young people who use drugs or alcohol are much more likely to get into trouble with the law. The U.S.  juvenile justice system currently holds more than two million teens – as many as four out of five of them have drug or alcohol problems. Yet alcohol and substance abuse problems among America's youth frequently go undetected...

Improving Health Care Quality

In a country known for training the best medical doctors in the world, it is disquieting that patients still need to worry about falling victim to medical mistakes and poor care. But the fact is that people in the United States, no matter where they live, receive the appropriate, recommended care only half the time...