Elixir

According to researchers from Harvard Medical School, women who are stressed during pregnancy may cause their children to be more sensitive to allergen exposure when born. This stress may even influence a baby’s developing immune system and possibly develop a future risk of asthma.

“This research adds to a growing body of evidence that links maternal stress, such as that precipitated by financial problems or relationship issues, to changes in children’s developing immune systems, even during pregnancy,” says Dr. Rosalind J. Wright, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The researchers analyzed levels of maternal stress and a mother’s exposure to dust mite allergen in the home while pregnant, examining how a child’s immune response at birth was altered. The result was clear regardless of race, class, education or smoking history: Stress magnified the effect of dust exposure on a child’s immune system.

“This further supports the notion that stress can be thought of as a social pollutant that, when ‘breathed’ into the body, may influence the body’s immune response similar to the effects of physical pollutants, like allergens, thus adding to their effects,” Wright says. –Melanie Wanzek

A new study published online by the journal, Obesity, projects 86 percent of Americans age 18 and older could be overweight or obese by 2030. Health care costs associated with such an epidemic would double every decade and reach $956.9 billion by that same year. Which means 1 out of every 6 health care dollars spent would go toward obesity-related illnesses.

What’s truly shocking about the study, conducted by Youfa Wang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of International Health and Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is that they estimate 100 percent of adults could be overweight or obese by 2048.

The hit summer film, “Wall-E,” portrayed a not-so-distant future in which the obesity epidemic caused Earth to be unusable and rendered its inhabitants unable to walk. When I saw the movie it felt like an effective use of hyperbole to draw a parallel between how we care for our planet and how we care for our bodies. At the same time, the logical side of my brain said, “Eh, that would never happen.”

And even in light of this study I know it won’t happen. It’s just not possible for 100% of the population to become overweight and obese. There will always be a tipping point at which time the numbers of obese Americans will start to go down again. Perhaps the ever-increasing cost of food will cause people to rethink their eating habits or perhaps some government measure (think cigarettes)  will help people take charge of their health. Either way, the earth is a living, breathing organism that will right itself one way or another.

The real question is will we do it ourselves or will Mother Nature intervene? What are your thoughts? –Matthew M. F. Miller