U.S. Racial Inequality May Be as Deadly as the Coronavirus
In estimating the magnitude of the pandemic, demographers have found that COVID-19 is likely to shorten the average U.S. lifespan in 2020 by about a year.
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Taxes, Health-Warning Labels May Help Limit Consumption of Sugary Beverages and Improve Health
To combat obesity and diabetes, lawmakers in a number of U.S. cities have taxed sodas, sports drinks, and sweetened tea, and many are now considering health warning labels. Growing evidence suggests that both strategies—taxes and warning labels—can reduce the purchase and consumption of sugary drinks, research supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child…
Read MoreHigh Obesity Rates Plus Severe Coronavirus Cases Could Strain Rural U.S. Hospitals
As coronavirus cases rise in less densely populated states in the Midwest and West, the disease, combined with high levels of obesity in rural America, could pose major challenges for health care systems, suggests Mark Lee at the University of Minnesota. People of any age with obesity face a greatly increased risk of severe illness…
Read MoreCohabiting Couples in the United States Are Staying Together Longer but Fewer Are Marrying
More unmarried couples today are living together, and doing so for longer than in the past, but fewer of these relationships lead to marriage, new research finds. This change may in part reflect shifting attitudes toward cohabitation, and it results in more separations and re-partnering during young adulthood. Most young women today will live with…
Read MoreWhen a Parent Is Incarcerated, Partners and Children Also Pay a Price
“We live in a country where we have huge numbers of children exposed to parental incarceration. When we talk about the need to reform the criminal justice and mass incarceration systems, we also need to talk about the unintended victims of the current system,” says Christine Leibbrand of the University of Washington. “Incarceration exposes families…
Read MoreThis Mother’s Day, Family Life Is More Complicated Than Ever—and Coronavirus Is Making It Worse
As Mother’s Day 2020 fast approaches, the coronavirus pandemic—coupled with ongoing demographic trends—is making family life even more complicated for Americans. Millions of families are at increased risk of falling into poverty due to pandemic-related job losses, and social distancing protocols are separating some children from their parents who live in a different household. American…
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