Most People Fudge Numbers on Weight and Height Surveys —When people in the U.S. are asked to provide their weight for research surveys, they underestimate their weight and overestimate their height, despite numerous public reports about increasing rates of obesity. Whites are more likely to do so than Blacks or Hispanics, finds a new study in Ethnicity and Disease....MORE
Electronic Health Records Could Improve Care for Type 2 Diabetics —Use of electronic health records shows promise for improving care and outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes, but still has considerable room for improvement, according to a new study in the journal Health Services Research....MORE
Peer Passengers Are Bad News for Teen Drivers —Two new studies in the February Journal of Adolescent Health reviewed key factors shown to influence teen driving behaviors: perception of driving risks, parental monitoring and the presence of peer passengers....MORE
Small Steps to Big Health Change
We often give a chilly reception to the idea of going "cold turkey" when it comes to anything that has to do with changing behaviors and habits, even those that may be important for our health. And no wonder: habits become habits because they give us something we think we need. Maybe they make us feel better (hello, chocolate!) or they offer comfort, familiarity or convenience to our lives. Once we get used to doing things a certain way, the idea of changing a routine behavior can seem overwhelming. And we worry (with good reason) that we won’t be successful if we try to change our habits all at once. It turns out, the key to lasting behavior change is taking small steps.
Check out CFAH’s new website, The Prepared Patient Forum. It is a consumer site where we have aggregated the news and feature stories HBNS has produced over the past few years and organized it so that the public can find good answers to questions about health care.
The Prepared Patient Forum also carries an interactive discussion about what it takes for people to find and use safe, decent care.
Latest posts from the What It Takes blog:
How Much Does it Cost to Have a Baby?Kenny Lin, Guest Blogger
10 Sex Tips for Better Looking Health Insurance - Michael Millenson, Guest Blogger
Revisiting Those Explanations of Benefits - Trudy Lieberman, CFAH William Ziff Fellow
