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In this edition of EmpowHER's "HER Week In Health", for the week of July 1, 2011, Bailey Mosier discusses a study done about women and regrets, a potential soda tax, and the use of flu vaccines by expecting mothers.
Hi, I'm Bailey Mosier and this is EmpowHER's HER Week In Health.
In this week’s edition, we take a look at the most common regret felt by Americans, why a nationwide soda tax won’t combat obesity and we learn that giving flu shots to pregnant women can help keep their newborns out of the hospital.
According to researchers at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, when Americans think back on things they regret in life, love tops the list.
Of 370 adults surveyed aged 19 to 103, 18 percent cited regrets involving romance, 16 percent had regrets about family, 13 percent education, 12 percent career, 10 percent finance and 9 percent parenting.
Women were twice as likely to have regrets about romance than men, a reflection of what psychologists say they have known for a long time – that women are raised to place value in maintaining and preserving relationships. Men, contrastingly, were more likely to have regrets about work or education.
Whatever the woe, researchers point out that regret is an essential part of human experience and is a fundamental emotion that spurs people to avoid future mistakes.
A recent Northwestern University study examined the effect a soda tax would have in the fight against obesity.
The researchers observed that obese people in the U.S. don’t actually drink a lot of regular soda, but rather, opt for the ‘diet’ versions. Because of this, a soda tax, proposed to add one penny per ounce to the cost of most soft drinks that contain added sugars or sweeteners, wouldn’t even apply to the diet sodas most consumed by obese people.
Beyond its ineffectiveness in reducing obesity, researchers say it would actually punish consumers who are not overweight or obese.
Lawmakers say a soda tax doesn’t seem likely any time soon and that there is little support for this measure after recent tax hikes in other areas.
In a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, it was found that giving flu shots to pregnant women also protects their newborns.
Children under six months of age are not approved to get flu shots and yet they have the highest rates of flu hospitalization among all children.
Researchers found that for babies whose mother’s received the influenza vaccine while pregnant, they were half as likely to be hospitalized for flu.
Doctors know that mothers pass antibodies through the placenta during pregnancy and recommend that all mothers receive the flu vaccine while pregnant.
That wraps up your EmpowHER HER Week In Health. Join me here, at EmpowHER.com every Friday as we recap the latest in women’s health.
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