Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Bill Aims to Squelch Obesity Lawsuits
A bill pending in the U.S. Senate would prevent people from suing restaurants and food manufacturers for making them overweight.
Suing Big Food has become more common as Americans look to assign legal responsibility for the obesity epidemic. But "I think it's important not to blame poor eating habits on someone else," the Associated Press quotes Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as saying. A statement by McConnell says that the growing number of lawsuits is a "disturbing turn of events."
McConnell sponsored the bill, which the AP says would protect one big company in his home state: Yum! Foods, which owns Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell.
The bill, called the Commonsense Consumption Act, would block lawsuits based on weight gain but not for fraud. According to the AP, McConnell predicts an uphill battle.
A similar bill is pending in the House of Representatives.
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Child Obesity Rates Soaring, U.S. Survey Finds
The number of overweight kids in the United States continues to soar, having almost tripled in 25 years, according to a new government survey on the health of the nation's 72 million children.
Experts say three of four kids who are overweight as teens will stay that way as adults, according to the CBS News analysis of the report, which was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
The most recent government numbers available show the percentage of kids ages 6 to 18 who were overweight rose to 15 percent in 1999-2000 from 6 percent in the late 1970s.
The annual survey also finds:
- Babies born dangerously small -- less than 5.5 pounds at birth -- rose to 7.7 percent in 2001. Experts cite more older women having babies and an increase in multiple births.
- Deaths among infants 1 year old or younger fell to 6.9 deaths for every 1,000 births in 2000.
- The number of teenage mothers continues to drop, falling to a record low in 2001 of 25 births for every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17.
- Teen smoking continued a drop that began in 1997. Five percent of 8th graders, 10 percent of 10th graders and 17 percent of 12 graders said they smoked on a daily basis in 2002.
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Highway Deaths Rise, But Non-Fatal Injuries Fall
While the number of traffic deaths rose last year, the number of non-fatal injuries on America's highways fell to a record low, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in a new report.
The number of injured dropped to 2.92 million in 2002 from 3.03 million a year earlier. Citing a decrease in the number of injured in passenger cars, the NHTSA says the statistics reflect improved vehicle design and tougher federal safety standards.
Traffic deaths jumped to 42,815 from 42,196 in 2001, although based on the number of miles traveled, the rate of deaths remained nearly constant. Americans traveled a total of 2.83 trillion miles in 2002, up from 2.78 trillion a year earlier.
Alcohol-related deaths remained constant at just over 17,400 in 2002, and 59 percent of those who died weren't wearing seat belts -- a trend seen in prior years.
Deaths in rollover crashes accounted for 82 percent of the number of traffic deaths in 2002, the agency says. The number of people killed in rollover accidents involving sport utility vehicles (SUVs) rose to 14 percent. And 61 percent of all SUV deaths involved rollovers, the NHTSA reports.
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'Look Ma, I Got an 'B' in Bedside Manner'
Ever get the feeling that your doctor treats you with contempt and isn't listening to a word you say?
Starting next year, all medical school graduates will have to pass a course in bedside manner before they become doctors, the Associated Press reports. It'll be the first time since 1948 that such a national test will be required, says the National Board of Medical Examiners, which designed the test.
During the exam, doctors-to-be will encounter 10 people acting as if they have various ailments. Senior physicians will evaluate the students' observations and behavior toward the mock patients.
The course is sure to test some med students' ability to handle stress: it will cost $975 and will require students to travel to sites in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles or Houston, the AP reports.
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Widow of Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Sues Makers of Ephedra
The widow of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, who collapsed and died during spring training this year, has filed a $600 million lawsuit against the makers of a dietary supplement containing ephedra, the Associated Press reports.
Bechler, who was 23, was taking the supplement to lose weight. He collapsed at the team's spring training complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 16 and died the next day.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, calls the product -- Xenadrine RFA-1 -- a "poisonous cocktail" unsafe for human consumption, the AP reports.
Kiley Bechler is seeking damages for the loss of her husband and a ban on the sale of ephedra-based products, according to her attorney.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says ephedra has been responsible for an estimated 120 deaths nationwide.
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Masturbation Can Prevent Prostate Cancer, Study Claims
The more often young and middle-age men ejaculate, the less likely they are to develop prostate cancer, Australian researchers report in the journal New Scientist.
The Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne asked 1,079 men with prostate cancer to answer a survey describing their sexual habits, comparing those answers with 1,259 healthy men of the same ages.
Although the preventive effect held true for men between the ages of 20 and 50, the effect seemed greatest among men in their twenties, the researchers conclude. Those in their twenties who ejaculated more than five times a week were one-third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer later in life, they say.
The latest findings appear to contradict previous studies, which found that having many sexual partners or a high frequency of sexual activity increased the risk of prostate cancer by up to 40 percent.
The Australian researchers have a simple explanation: "Men have many ways of using their prostate which don't involve women or other men," explains the study's lead author, Graham Giles.
The scientists speculate that ejaculation prevents carcinogenic substances from building up in the prostate, lowering a man's risk of cancer.
