Criminal charges for a crane operator in a co-worker’s jobsite death, legislation to prevent workplace violence in the health care industry and the costs of obesity among the workforce were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Heart-healthy lifestyle modifications are always recommended whether blood pressure or cholesterol medications are prescribed or not. However, a new study found that many patients let these healthy habits slip after starting the prescription medications, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Heart disease and stroke deaths have declined, according to data reported in the just published American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart & Stroke Statistics - 2020 Update, but that decrease has slowed significantly in recent years. Further discouraging is that more people are living in poor health, beginning at a younger age, as a direct result of risk factors that contribute to these leading causes of death worldwide.

“We are extremely disappointed that the USDA is once again rolling back nutrition standards in our schools. First, the Trump Administration weakened requirements for sodium and whole grains, and now these proposed changes would allow schools to serve fewer fruits and grains, a smaller variety of vegetables, and less healthy entrees that aren’t part of a balanced meal. These changes are unnecessary and put children’s health at risk."

A large new study finds that women who lost weight after age 50 and kept it off had a lower risk of breast cancer than women whose weight remained stable, helping answer a vexing question in cancer prevention. The reduction in risk increased with the amount of weight lost and was specific to women not using postmenopausal hormones.

Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents aged 12-18 years, and 1 in 4 young adults aged 19-34 years, are living with prediabetes, according to a new CDC studyexternal icon published in JAMAexternal icon Pediatrics. Prediabetes is a health condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

A cautionary tale about pharmaceutical research, women in the safety profession and firefighters who face a danger from within were among the stories featured this week on ISHN.com.

With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month and Americans collectively spending nearly $200 billion per year on obesity-related health costs, the personal-finance website WalletHub released a report on 2019's Fattest States in America. To determine which states contribute the most to America’s overweight and obesity problem, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 29 key metrics.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prediabetes is a serious health condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to meet the threshold for type 2 diabetes. The federal agency says that some 84 million Americans ages 18 or older — more than one out of three — have prediabetes but 90% don’t know it.

Soft drinks – whether diet versions or in their regular, sugar-laden form – are associated with a higher risk of dying from any cause, according to new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study titled, Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries, is the largest of its kind to date. This study found even in people of a healthy weight, sugary and diet drinks increase risk of dying from circulatory and digestive disease.