Study round-up: Thumbs down on corn syrup

Some new studies of note this morning:

• Researchers have found that measuring neck circumference may be the best way to determine whether a child is potentially obese and at risk for health problems like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.It might be a more accurate (and more comfortable) test than using the  body mass index, or BMI, according to the study, published in the journal Pediatrics. BMI, the ratio of weight to height, does not really prove one’s amount of belly fat. The more belly fat, the greater the risk factor for various diseases.

  About 1 out of 3 children are now considered overweight or obese.

• A new study has added more evidence to claims that high-fructose corn syrup is bad for your health after all. It continues fructose, which raises your uric acid levels, potentially setting off a hormone that makes blood vessels tighten and increase your blood pressure, said researchers at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.Associations and oganizations that use the syrup, including the Corn Refiners Association and the American Beverage Association, say the study is flawed and more testing must happen.

• Foods from baby formula to French fries should become a bit safer: more than 130 countries have adopted more than a dozen new food safety standards and guidelines Monday designed to lower levels of cancer-causing agents and bacteria in many foods.The countries, part of a joint commission of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization, agreed to reduce acrylamide in foods, “a chemical which may cause cancer and is produced during frying, roasting and baking of carbohydrate-rich foods: French fries, potato crisps, coffee, biscuits, pastries and breads,” according to the Associated Press. They also agreed on measures to reduce melanine content in packaged salads, a chemical responsbile for much food poisoning worldwide, largely added to salads though contaminated water used in watering, processing and storage.
• Early pot smoking may lead to depression, according to one study by TK. Data collected from more than 50,000 adults in 17 countries in a World Health Organization mental-health study showed 50 percent in risk of developing depression in people who smoked before 17.More studies however are needed before jumping to a conclusion: researchers are unsure whether people who are likely to develop depression or other mental health problems are drawn more likely to use marijuana.

Some new studies of note this morning: Researchers

Could sunscreen be dangerous?

Thanks to the brutal heat washing over much of the nation today, many people are thinking about sun protection, including writers at The New York Times. They’ve opened up debate about the safety of sunscreen itself, whether chemicals in the stuff we dutifully cover our skin with each summer could hurt us.

Policy makers and scientists approved chemicals in sunscreen back in the ’70s before subsequent studies found they might not be so safe. Some say there’s reason to worry that sunscreen could cause exactly what we’re trying to prevent: skin cancer. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), according to the piece, is pushing for more FDA research on the possible link between skin cancer and retinyl palmitate found in much sunscreen. Vitamin A, an active ingredient in more than 40 percent of all sunscreens, might stimulate gowth of skin tumors and lesions when applied in the sun, said Sonya Lunder. It’s bad news for cosmetics companies who champion the vitamin’s health value. Said Lunder:

The cosmetics industry aggressively markets products with Vitamin A ingredients claiming they rejuvenate skin. This may be safe for products used indoors, but there is a real possibility of harm when used on sun-exposed skin. In the study, tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent sooner in sun-exposed lab animals coated with a vitamin A-laced cream than among animals treated with a vitamin-free cream.

Jennife Parrish of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote last week that the FDA still has yet to enact sunscreen safety regulations dafted in 2007, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer reported users of sunscreen have show a higher isk of melanoma than non-users — in other words, it may be that while sunscreen prevents sunburn and reduces the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, it might increase the risk of developing deadly melanoma. This may be related to the behavior of those who use sunscreen most — serious sun bathers who may have a false sense of security — than of sunscreen itself, but some health officials say the jury’s still out.

It sounds like we’re darned if we do, darned if we don’t. It seems especially critical then that the FDA work to develop new, safe, advanced forms of sunscreen, as some of the Times’ other guests suggest. A few argue for clearer labels and improved consumer education of the harmful effects of UVA rays in addition to UVB rays, which is what we mostly pay attention to now. Until then, umbrella and straw hat, anyone?

Thanks to the brutal heat washing over