Public/Global Health

A group funded by the restaurant, food and beverage industries called a petition for President Obama to stop eating junk food before cameras "absurd" and the product of a "vegan agenda."

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) also blasted the health advocacy group behind the call as a front for animal welfare organizations.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) "is just another animal-rights group created to spread fear about perfectly safe food that's not PETA-approved," J. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst with CCF, said in a statement. 

PCRM promotes preventive medicine, healthful diets and alternatives to the use of animals for experimentation and testing, according to spokeswoman Vaishali Honawar.

The group responded to CCF by defending its petition, which had 1,170 signatures on the White House's website on Thursday afternoon. 

"Two-thirds of the nation is now either overweight or obese, and diseases like diabetes, colorectal cancer, and obesity are taking a heavy toll," PCRM chief medical officer Dr. Ulka Agarwal said in a statement. 

"A lot of this ill health can be traced back to Americans’ unhealthy food habits. We believe that the president of the United States ... has the power to influence what people eat by setting the right example," Agarwal said.

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They're public health advocates to some and the food police to others. 

But terminology aside, groups concerned about American obesity levels received lots of attention Wednesday for petitioning President Obama to stop eating junk food in public and for a ban on school bake sales in Massachusetts. 

Both developments come against the backdrop of studies this week predicting that four in 10 Americans will be obese by 2030 and that curbing the trend will take work from everybody: schools, governments, insurers, doctors and industry.

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A healthcare advocacy group is filing a petition asking Obama to stop eating hamburgers before cameras.

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Nine in 10 U.S. voters say it's important for the United States to support the global health efforts of the U.N.'s World Health Organization, according to a United Nations Foundation/Better World Campaign poll released Thursday.

The poll found that: 

• 89 percent of respondents believe the United States should be supportive of U.N. programs that improve access to vaccines and maternal healthcare; and 

• 79 percent believe the United States should be supportive of U.N. programs that provide voluntary family planning services, such as information about access to contraception.

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Scientists and lawmakers worried the research would help bioterrorists create a contagious version of the H5N1 virus.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Thomas Frieden argues spending billions on global health helps protect Americans.

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Federal officials confirmed the first case of mad-cow disease since 2006 on Tuesday but reassured reporters that the cow in question never posed a risk to human health.

The discovery was announced at a briefing in Washington, D.C., by John Clifford, chief veterinarian with the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"USDA remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products," Clifford said in a statement.  

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The rate of fatal poisonings among 15- to 19-year-olds surged 91 percent between 2000 and 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed Monday, a result of the nation's epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

The report is likely to rekindle congressional efforts to fight teenage abuse of painkillers and other medications, one of the few arrays of bipartisan cooperation on health policy in this election year.

The startling statistic is contained in an otherwise positive report on fatal childhood injuries, which found an almost 30 percent decrease in accidental childhood deaths over a decade. Still, more than 9,000 children lost their lives due to accidents in 2009, with automobile crashes still the leading cause of death despite a 41 percent drop.

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The nation's nursing homes remain ill-prepared to deal with a major disaster such as a hurricane, a federal report concluded seven years after 35 New Orleans nursing home residents drowned during Hurricane Katrina.

Most nursing homes meet federal requirements for written emergency plans and preparedness training, the Health and Human Services inspector general report found. However, many of the nursing homes still had many of the same "gaps" first identified in a previous 2006 report.

"Nursing homes faced challenges with unreliable transportation contracts, lack of collaboration with local emergency management, and residents who developed health problems," according to a summary of the report.

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The number of "bath salt" deaths is rising while Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) holds up legislation banning the drug, USA Today reports.

Hospitals' multiyear contracts with fast-food vendors makes it hard for them to switch to healthier options, Kaiser Health News reports.

Democratic governors have pitched to lawmakers a plan that would allow states to move beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid into managed care, Inside Health Policy reports.

A majority of people living in Residential Care Facilities are non-Hispanic white, female and aged 85 and over, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.