http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051029093925.htm
Hunger In America Rises By 43 Percent Over Last Five Years Source: Brandeis University Date: 2005-10-29 Hunger in American households has risen by 43 percent over the last five years, according to an analysis of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data released today. The analysis, completed by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, shows that more than 7 million people have joined the ranks of the hungry since 1999. The USDA report, Household Food Security in the United States, 2004, says that 38.2 million Americans live in households that suffer directly from hunger and food insecurity, including nearly 14 million children. That figure is up from 31 million Americans in 1999. "This is an unexpected and even stunning outcome," noted center director Dr. J. Larry Brown, a leading scholarly authority on domestic hunger. "This chronic level of hunger so long after the recession ended means that it is a man-made problem. Congress and the White House urgently need to address growing income inequality and the weakening of the safety net in order to get this epidemic under control." According to the Center on Hunger and Poverty, food insecurity increased by nearly a million households from 2003 to 2004. Rates of hunger increased in almost every single category of household during the same time, with single mothers and those living in or near poverty continuing to suffer from severely high rates of both food insecurity and hunger. California, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina all have food insecurity and hunger rates that are significantly higher than the national average. The lone bright spot in the nation is Oregon. Once considered to have the worst hunger in the country, Oregon has shown significant decreases in food insecurity and hunger since 1999-2001. "With this astonishing level of food deprivation in America," Brown concluded, "we need President Bush to step up to the plate. If he now asks Congress to cut federal food programs, hunger will increase even further. We need the moral leadership to stem this crisis." ### A full copy of Household Food Security in the United States, 2004 is available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err11/ To obtain a bulletin of the analysis by the Center on Poverty and Hunger, visit http://www.centeronhunger.org. ================ http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/GlobalHealth/story?id=1266515 U.S. Babies Die at Higher Rate Infant Mortality Rates Are Rising in U.S., While Rates in Other Countries Are Improving By MARC LALLANILLA Nov. 1, 2005 - What's causing the increased death rate among babies in the United States? While the health of infants in many countries is improving, babies born in the United States now face an increased risk of dying in the first year of life. The U.S. infant mortality rate is on the rise for the first time since 1958, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2001, the infant mortality rate was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births -- in 2002, the rate rose to 7.0. (2003 data is not yet complete.) At the same time, other countries are improving their infant mortality rates to the point that they have surpassed the United States. Cuba, for example, reported a lower 2002 rate than the United States at 6.3. The CIA World Factbook estimates the infant mortality rate in the United States is now comparable to Croatia, Lithuania and Taiwan. Most analysts currently rank the United States 28th in the world in infant mortality, far behind other industrialized nations such as Sweden, France, Japan and Germany. Premature Births Increase in U.S. According to health care experts, there is no simple explanation for the increase in U.S. infant mortality. "But there are a number of factors that could contribute," said Dr. William A. Engle, neonatologist with the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. "The number of babies born pre-term has increased in general, and pre-term populations are at a higher risk for morbidity and mortality," Engle said. Births of two or more babies are often associated with prematurity, and, Engle said, "the number of multiple births has increased." Some of these multiple births are the result of fertility drugs and in-vitro fertilization procedures. Engle explained that while a normal, healthy gestation period is 40 weeks, because of the increased number of pre-term deliveries, the gestation period in the United States now averages just 39 weeks. "The 34- to 37-week gestation group has increased over the last 10 years," he said. "There are fewer births after 40 weeks than there were even a few years ago." African-American Rates Alarmingly High Within the United States, there are important differences in the infant mortality rates between racial groups and across geographic boundaries. "Infant mortality rates tends to trend with socio-economic status," said Dr. Nancy Green, medical director for the March of Dimes. "African-Americans have much, much higher rates of infant mortality than other groups." The rate among African-Americans is nearly double that of the general population: 13.9 versus 7.0. Rates among some other ethnic minorities also tend to be higher: the infant mortality rate among Puerto Ricans is 8.2, and for Native Americans, the rate is 9.1. "Some of that is due to poverty but it doesn't track perfectly with poverty," said Green. The infant mortality rate among Central and South American immigrants, for example, is only 5.1. Infant mortality rates also vary from state to state. "The states in the Southeast tend to have higher infant mortality rates than others," said Green. Most of the Southeast has rates exceeding 7.5, while most West Coast and Northeast states have rates below 6.2. Health Care Lessons to Learn Part of the reason U.S. infant mortality is rising in comparison to other countries is because while the U.S. rate has remained fairly stable, many other countries have greatly improved their health care systems. "There has been a huge shift in infant mortality rates in what we call 'middle-income countries,'" said Christopher P. Howson, vice-president for global programs for the March of Dimes, referring to nation like Cuba and the Czech Republic. Howson attributes much of this improvement to enhanced vaccination programs, improved nutrition and public hygiene, and a safer environment for families. "We should look at these countries for lessons that we can learn and apply back in our country," said Howson. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SpamWall: Mail to this addy is deleted unread unless it contains the keyword "igve". _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
