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How to recognize childhood obesity

Addressing Weight Problems Early to Offset Future Problems It’s not easy to admit your child is overweight. You want to believe pudge is baby fat the child will outgrow. Or maybe you’ve come to believe extra pounds make him or her strong and healthy. But ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. And, in…
Survival at its pinkest

Breast cancer awareness and education: a constant message Cauney Boydston Bamberg is passionate about increasing breast cancer awareness and raising funds to help women get mammograms. She is the executive director of The Watson Clinic Foundation, Inc., and she brought the first Suncoast Polk Race for the Cure to Polk County last year. Bamberg was…
Turning your home into a gym

How to get active without spending big dollars Filled with good intentions about losing weight or improving your health, you may rush to the store and pick up a $1,200 rowing machine or $2,000 treadmill. But if you don’t want it being used as a clothes rack in your closet, take your time. Learn about how to…

Publisher’s Note: Update on Florida Health Choices

In early March, www.myfloridachoices.org became live. It is the website devoted to Florida Health Choices (the state’s health insurance marketplace, separate from the federal plans under the Affordable Care Act). The state’s health insurance marketplace offers a few options for discounted plans under dental, vision, telemedicine, and prescription coverage. It’s important to note that this…
Medical Advice: Awareness is key to stopping upward trend of STDs

Every year in April, we observe STD Awareness Month. This is an opportunity for individuals, doctors, and communities to address ways to prevent some of the nearly 20 million sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that occur in the United States each year. Half of all new infections occur among people between the ages of 15 to…
Ask a Nurse: Dental plaque & arterial plaque

Have you ever wondered what the dentist scrapes off of your teeth when you go in for your annual cleaning? Several studies over the past few years have found some surprising results. In 2010, Cornell University and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden collected samples from the mouth, gut, and arteries of 15 heart disease patients.…