Here are a few of the interesting tidbits we found. For more, visit www.cdc.gov.

The Bible Belt needs more doctors. On average, there were 25 physicians for every 10,000 people in the U.S. in 2009. The Northeast, Hawaii and Minnesota had the highest ratio of doctors to patients, while states in the South and Rocky Mountain-areas had fewer than 21 per 10,000.

Your education level affects your kids' weight. The CDC collected data on childhood obesity between 2007 and 2010. Where the head of the household had a college degree, 7 to 11% of children aged 2 to 19 were obese. But when the head of the household was a high school dropout, 22 to 24% of the children were obese.

Cigarette smoking is still on the decline. In 2010, 19% of U.S. adults smoked, down 2% from 2009. Over the last decade cigarette smoking among students in 12th grade has decreased from 33% to 22% for male students and from 30% to 16% for female students.

Fewer teens are giving birth. Between 1998 and 2008, birth rates declined 27% for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17.

The gap is widening in education... In 2006, men without a high school diploma were expected to live 9.3 years less than those with a Bachelor's degree. The difference is two years more than it was in 1996. A similar gap increase holds true for women.

... and narrowing in racial disparities. While the gap between life expectancy rates for African Americans and whites still exists, the gap has narrowed over the last two decades. Hispanics still have higher life expectancies than both ethnic groups.

We're getting better at getting check-ups. In 2010, 59% of people over the age of 50 underwent a recent colorectal test or procedure, compared to 34% in 2000.

Heart disease is still the No 1. killer. In 2008, 617,000 people died from heart disease-related causes. The prevalence among adult men and women has remained fairly steady for the last decade.

Our children are fat, but not getting fatter. In 2010, approximately one in every five children was obese. Yet that rate has stayed pretty steady since 2007. That year, 19.6% of children aged 6 to 11 were obese. In 2010, it was 18%.

Most people aren't moving enough. In 2010 more than half of American adults failed to meet the government's recommended daily physical activity levels. It was worse for the elderly - approximately 70% of those over 75 didn't meet the requirements.

The panel said the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test should be made available over-the-counter (OTC) saying the test is safe and effective and that the benefits far outweigh the potential risks.

If approved by the FDA, the test will be the first OTC test to be marketed for HIV or any infectious disease.  FDA advisory committee recommendations are not binding, but they are generally followed.

An estimated 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.  One in five of those are unaware of their HIV status.  And about 50,000 new cases of HIV are reported each year.

OraSure Technologies, Inc., the manufacturer of this new test, also makes the already approved OraQuick ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test.

That test can only be used in a clinical setting and results are provided in 20 minutes.  The In-home test is a modified version where the individual swabs the upper and lower gums with a test pad device.  That device is then inserted into a vial of solution. Much like a pregnancy test, one line shows up if the test is negative, two lines means it's  positive.

The kit includes step-by-step instructions on when to test, how to set-up and administer the test, and how to interpret the results. The company also provides information on how to follow-up on the results through OraQuick's Answer Center for support and local medical referral is also provided. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"The test is designed to be comprehensive across a broad range of literacy levels," said Stephen Lee, OraSure's executive vice president and chief science officer. "It enables use in a variety of testing environments."

According to Lee the test has a high degree of accuracy and 93% sensitivity.  In clinical studies the test proved 99.98% effective in determining who did not have the virus.  Panelists were concerned about making sure there was comprehensive language in the kit regarding a testing window. Specifically, you must wait 3 months between high risk behaviors before testing.  Another major concern was the risk of false positives and false negatives.

But for the 25 or so health care professional and HIV/AIDS advocates that addressed the panel, imploring the committee to vote for approval, those risks did not outweigh the opportunity to expand public access to testing and reduce the number of infections by making sure people know their HIV status.  That a test could be done in the privacy of their own homes was seen as an added bonus - and a way to address the stigma surrounding HIV.  Nobody requested that the test should not be approved.

"We need to do whatever we need to move the needle of the number of people who don't know their status," said Whitney Cordova of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "This test helps do that. The perfect cannot be the enemy of the good."

"It is clear OTC is not the right way to be tested for everyone," said Tom Donohue, Jr., founder of Who's Positive. "OTC is another tool.  OTC has the potential to reach a far greater number of individuals who want to know their HIV status on their own terms.  It's time for everyone to know their HIV status. It's time to give people tools without barriers to know their status."

If the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test gets final FDA approval, hopes are high that this new tool will be instrumental in helping to reduce infection rates in the U.S. and globally.

There are "1.2 million people living with AIDS in the U.S. - and 20% don't know it. This is a ticking time bomb," said Frank Oldham, president and CEO of the National Association of People With AIDS. "We need more weapons to reduce HIV infections and we are morally obligated to bring this test to market and reduce the spread HIV."

Cornelius Baker, technical adviser for the FHI 360 Center on AIDS & Community Health, underscored the value of testing at home with rapid results.

"This is especially important for those who will not seek testing in a public place or who need the convenience because of geography or time to test more frequently with this new method," Baker said. "If we are to win the battle against the HIV epidemic, we need to employ multiple strategies. While [this is] not a product that every person will use or need, this in-home test is one more contribution to helping every American become part of ending AIDS in the United States."

FDA presenters clearly felt the test had merit.

"Greater access to testing will potentially lead to more people knowing their HIV status." said Dr. Elliot Cowan, who spoke on behalf of the FDA. "It appears there is a benefit in increasing the number of HIV positive people who know their status. There is public health impact and personal health impact."

OraSure Executives seemed confident of approval calling it a momentous day for public health. "We plan to work with the FDA over the coming months to refine product label enhancements," said Douglas Michaels, the company's president and CEO. "And as quickly as we can get that done will determine how quickly we can get the product to retailers."

Michaels says they have not yet finalized their pricing, but will sell the test to retailers at a discount and ultimately retailers will set the price.

Kreitner, 72, of Portland, Oregon, is one of many aging Americans living with mild cognitive impairment, a condition marked by memory impairment that may progress into the more severe Alzheimer’s disease. He’s participating in a clinical trial aimed at testing a treatment for dementia, and believes furthering research is critical for combating the brain disease.

"I walk around all [expletive] day telling myself 'Why can’t you remember that? You’ve got to remember that! Why aren’t you remembering that? How can you try to remember that?' ” says Kreitner, who was the subject of a CNN profile in 2011.

He’s excited that the Obama administration has committed to investing in more clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease, with the goal of effective treatment and prevention by 2025. But when that deadline arrives, Kreitner isn't sure he'll still be around - he may not live to see the benefits of that research.

The government’s new strategy, outlined Tuesday, supports a $7.9 million dollar study on an insulin nasal spray treatment. Separately, researchers will work on the first-ever Alzheimer's prevention trial in people with a genetic predisposition to develop the condition. The plan also offers solutions for collaborating across federal and state agencies and for informing the public through a one-stop website, www.alzheimers.gov.

“We’ve put tremendous resources into the conventional diseases, the ones that have clear pathogens,” Kreitner said. “But on the conditions attacking the brain, we have made not much progress.”

Insulin may help treat Alzheimer’s

Help can’t come soon enough for the more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s. Take a look at these disturbing Alzheimer's statistics projected for 2050:
• 11 million additional people will have the condition in the United States
• 115.4 million will have it worldwide, compared to the current figure of about 35.6 million
•  $1.1 trillion will be spent in the U.S. on caregiving costs, compared with $200 billion this year.

Staring in the face of these sobering numbers, the Obama administration offered details Tuesday of how it plans to take on this mysterious disease that destroys the brain.

The new strategy supports a $7.9 million dollar study on an insulin nasal spray treatment. Separately, researchers will work on the first-ever Alzheimer's prevention trial in people with a genetic predisposition to develop the condition. The strategy also offers solutions for collaborating across federal and state agencies and for informing the public through a one-stop website, www.alzheimers.gov.

"The plan gives us a blueprint to build on our research efforts," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday at the announcement of the government's new plan.  "These actions are the cornerstone of an ambitious and  aggressive agenda."

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said at the announcement that, scientifically speaking, we are in an "exceptional moment" with Alzheimer's, with more "revelations" coming out all the time.

Alzheimer's currently affects more than 5 million Americans.

Health officials detailed the new plan Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit 2012: Path to Treatment and Prevention. Leading Alzheimer's researchers from around the world are at the National Institutes of Health today to talk about which research should be emphasized.

President Obama signed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act into law in January 2011, which called for a coordinated national plan to fight Alzheimer's. In February of 2012, the administration said it would push for a $156 million increase in funding for Alzheimer's research over the next two years. That's in addition to the $450 million already being spent.
As of Tuesday, Obama's proposed 2013 budget allows for a $100 million increase for anti-Alzheimer's efforts, which is part of the $156 million. The other part is for 2012.

Still, funding for Alzheimer's research in the United States has not even approached the level of monetary support for other major diseases. Last year, the NIH spent $3 billion on research into AIDS, $4.3 billion on heart disease, and $5.8 billion for cancer, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Photo gallery: Alzheimer's disease

The current thinking among Alzheimer's experts is that early detection and intervention – even before symptoms begin – is better. Individuals with only mild memory problems may hold the most promise for testing treatments.
Scientists know that beta-amyloid plaques in the brain are associated with Alzheimer's disease, but they are not necessarily a precursor to it. Still, MRI and PET scans can detect these plaques and, combined with mild memory problems, there's a high likelihood of developing full-blown Alzheimer's.

There's also a rare form of Alzheimer's that is genetically driven.

Funding is only one part of finding solutions for this debilitating disease. In practice scientists find it challenging to get a lot of participation in clinical trials. Some people don't want to risk the possible side effects of an experimental drug; others do want to try new drugs, but fear being placed in the placebo group.  And elderly people may have practical difficulties getting to the study location.

While Kreitner's father, who had Alzheimer’s, died just shy of 80, and rarely admitted he had memory problems. Kreitner, on the other hand, says he has accepted his own difficulties.

“I’m sure there’s going to be improvement [in research], but the resources need to go into it,” Kreitner said.

But for those who are a little squeamish about all that liquid going in–and coming out, a new laxative free colonoscopy might be on the horizon.  A study of 605 adults published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows this type of colonoscopy has promise.

This new exam is called a laxative-free computed tomographic colonography (CTC) or virtual colonoscopy.  Study author Dr. Michael Zalis, Director of CT Colonography at Massachusetts General Hospital says the hope is that more people will find this preparation easier to stomach and result in more people getting this life-saving test.

"When we do a virtual colonoscopy we give a safe contrast agent that patients ingest over 2 days with snacks," Zalis said. "It's about 5 milliliters, about the volume of food you would see in a ketchup packet."

The contrast is taken orally 1-3 times a day, mixes easily with a low-fiber diet a patient is consuming and shows up on an x-ray.  The feces are tagged and have a distinctive appearance on the cat scan.  The contrast is not absorbed by polyps or the colon wall.  Researchers have developed computer software that cleanses the colon images electronically.

"We observed with this laxative-free version we could identify patients who had one or more polyps 1 centimeter or greater in size and we could do that with a performance that was very similar to optical colonoscopy and in a range that many people would consider acceptable for screening.  We could detect 91% of these larger lesions, in our study, OC detected 95%.  In this study that's the difference of 1 polyp."

Currently there are 2 main types of colon screenings, says Zalis: The regular optical and the virtual colonoscopies. For the optical colonoscopy (OC), a gastroenterologist inserts a 6-foot long scope with a camera at the end into the colon.  This allows the doctor to see any polyps (pre-cancerous tumors) and immediately remove.  The patient sedated for the entire procedure, so they shouldn't feel a thing.  To prepare for this procedure, patients usually have to drink a laxative solution on the day before.  This means they are drinking anywhere between 2 quarts and a gallon of liquid until the bowels are empty.

The computed tomographic colonography (CTC), sometimes called a virtual colonoscopy, requires the same preparation, it's the test that's different. A tiny tube the size of a pinkie is inserted.  This screening uses a low-dose x-ray cat-scan instead of a scope that takes pictures of the colon that are fed into a computer and later read by a technician, after the patient has left the exam.  If polyps are found, the patient has to come back and have a regular colonoscopy to have the precancerous lesions removed.

"They both require a full laxative prep and the prep is found to be so unpleasant that it deters people from participating in screening," Zalis said. "Nobody should be dying of colon cancer.  It's a slow-growing disease."

And largely preventable.  Polyps are not cancerous, but they are a benign precursor that can  turn into cancer if left unchecked.  According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer deaths has been dropping over the last 2 decades.  Still, there are about 104,000 new cases of colon cancer each year and approximately 51,000 deaths.

There is a  caveat when using this new type of "cleanse" - while the laxative-free test accurately detected polyps 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) and larger during the study, it was less successful finding smaller growths.  But Zalis says smaller lesions are clinically less important. "We can't ignore them, but we know that the most important lesions to get are the advanced adenomas and 90% of them are 1 centimeter or larger."

Researchers say results from this study need to be validated by another larger study.  In the meantime, Zalis is making this test available to his patients at Mass General, even though it is not yet fully covered by Medicare or insurance.  The cost for this test is not higher than a traditional virtual colonoscopy, Zalis says, because the method of cleansing the bowel is all that changes.

"We've known for a long time if we could make and validate a colon exam that was far more patient-friendly, then we might be able to bring the benefit of screening to many people who are not participating in screening and who are at risk for colon cancer, " Zalis says.

A second colon cancer study also releasing in Annals looked at whether having an immediate family member such as parents, siblings and children with adenomatous polyps (larger polyps that can turn into cancer over time) increased a person's risk of colon cancer.

Researchers looked at 12 different studies and concluded that more studies are needed before a conclusion can be made.

Researchers published a study in the journal Neurology involving more than 19,000 American adults, and found that nearly 30% had sleepwalked at some point in their lives. Far fewer said they experienced sleepwalking within the last year - only about 4% did. One percent had two or more episodes per month.

Dr. Maurice Ohayon of Stanford University and lead author of the study says sleepwalking can be risky business; some people can harm themselves or others while wandering about.

Sleepwalking is far more likely to occur in childhood than adulthood; previous research suggests that as many as 30% of children have been affected.

Prior to this study, there was no good estimate of how many Americans sleepwalk generally, the researchers wrote. A study 10 years ago in Europe found a prevalence of 2%. And 30 years ago, a study in Los Angeles found about 2.5% of about 1,000 people experienced sleepwalking.

There wasn't a significant difference in sleepwalking in men vs. women, but the behavior did decrease with age, with the exception of those who reported it more than once per week.

Family history and genetics may play a role: 11.4% of people who reported sleepwalking said at least one sibling had episodes, compared to 7.8% of the rest of the participants. Individuals who said they sleepwalked in the previous year were more likely than others to have had a family history of sleepwalking.

The study authors also took into account participants' usage of medications for sleep, anxiety, depression and other purposes. They found that people who take a kind of antidepressant for anxiety called SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) had a higher likelihood of sleepwalking at least once per year. Those who took over-the-counter sleeping pills and tricyclic antidepressants were more likely to experience sleepwalking at least twice per month.

Although previous studies have suggested that psychotropic medications are associated with sleepwalking, this one suggests that pills don't cause nighttime wandering per se; however, they may trigger these behaviors in people already predisposed, study authors wrote.

But keep in mind that the results are based on people's own recollections and knowledge of their sleepwalking behaviors; the researchers did not independently confirm the participants' sleepwalking accounts. Furthermore, some people, particularly those who live alone, may engage in sleepwalking without being aware of it. So the researchers may have underestimated sleepwalking behaviors.

Dr. Lisa Shives, founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois, said the study's estimate of 30% of people with at least one sleepwalking episode in their lives sounds about right. People do tend to outgrow sleepwalking after their teenage years, but there remains a minority who continue to have recurrent episodes.

There have been some bizarre incidents recorded of people's behavior while sleeping. One woman was reported to have sex with strangers during sleepwalking episodes. Sleepwalking has also been used as a legal defense, sometimes successfully, for people who have allegedly committed crimes while sleeping.

"You really need a strong documented history that somebody has been doing this for a while" for sleepwalking to be a believable defense in court, Shives said.

The precise causes are still mysterious, partly because sleepwalking is so hard to study. Shives has had patients who are chronic sleepwalkers normally, but don't exhibit the behavior in the laboratory.

It's important to focus on safety measures for people prone to sleepwalking, Shives said. Lock doors and windows at night. Kitchen knives and other sharp objects may even need to be put away at night. You may need an alarm system for exits.

Some lifestyle modifications may help, such as having a regular sleep schedule, reducing noise or light in the place where you sleep, and avoiding stress and fever. Hypnosis may help get rid of their sleepwalking behaviors. Another treatment that may help is called "anticipatory awakenings," where the person is awakened about 15 minutes before they would normally sleepwalk and stay awake during that period. Benzodiazepine medications have also been prescribed.

How can I stop my son's sleepwalking?

And take note: It's a myth that waking a sleepwalker would result in brain shock or death; the person may be startled or disoriented, but waking him or her up could save the person from doing serious harm. Still, some experts recommend gently guiding the sleepwalker back to bed if possible.

In a new study, Swiss researchers have found that a certain gene associated with a good memory - and in particular, the ability to remember emotionally charged images - is also linked to an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

"We are very confident that the gene is associated with the risk for PTSD, at least in the Rwandan population," says lead author Andreas Papassotiropoulos, M.D., a professor of molecular neuroscience at the University of Basel, in Switzerland.

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Although the findings suggest that memory and post-traumatic stress share a genetic basis, it's not clear exactly how the gene or the sharpness of a person's memory might increase the risk of PTSD, which is characterized by sudden, painful flashbacks of traumatic events.

"Some people have very, very detailed visual memories," says Keith A. Young, Ph.D., co-director of neuropsychiatry research at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, in Temple. "Perhaps there's something about that detailed kind of visual memory that makes it easier for you to have a flashback. That's one explanation."

The new study, which was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, had two phases.

First, Papassotiropoulos and his colleagues analyzed the DNA of more than 700 mentally healthy Swiss adults, and cross-referenced the results with each individual's performance on a memory test. The ability to recall photographs 10 minutes after seeing them was associated with a certain gene variation that is believed to play a role in so-called emotional memory.

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The researchers backed up this finding by repeating the memory test in a different group of about 400 Swiss adults. Using a type of brain scan known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, they found that the same gene variation was associated with certain patterns of brain activity known to be involved in storing memories.

The second phase of the study took place in Uganda, in a refugee camp that houses survivors of the Rwandan genocide. In 2006 and 2007, a group of about 350 camp residents agreed to provide DNA samples and undergo interviews to assess whether they had symptoms of PTSD.

All of the volunteers had lived through horrific trauma, such as rape and beatings, but only about 40% were found to have active PTSD. As the researchers suspected, the same gene variant identified in the Swiss participants was associated with an increased risk of PTSD, as well as with an increased risk of flashbacks with or without full-blown PTSD.

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The study leaves several important questions unanswered. The researchers don't yet know how the gene, which is involved in many different processes at the cellular level, is related to memory. And it's too soon to tell whether a better understanding of the genes that contribute to memory and PTSD will improve prevention or treatment of the disorder.

Young, who was not involved in the study, cautions that the data is still very preliminary.

"There's nothing here that says this is going to be a gene with a big effect size on PTSD," says Young, who studies the genetic and neurological underpinnings of PTSD at the Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, a facility in Waco, Texas, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In addition, it's not clear if the association seen in the study can be extrapolated to other populations, such as military veterans. Although some aspects of PTSD tend to be consistent from case to case, the type of psychological trauma a person experiences can influence how the disorder develops, Papassotiropoulos says.

The fact that the gene variant in the study was associated with memory in two genetically different populations, and in people with PTSD as well as mentally healthy adults, suggests that the findings may be broadly applicable. However, further studies will be needed to confirm that, Papassotiropoulos says.

Unfortunately flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis, isn't fiction. Aimee Copeland, a 24-year-old graduate student from Georgia, is fighting for her life in an Augusta hospital after contracting one type known as aeromonas hydrophila during a zip line adventure.

Aeromonas hydrophila is found in most, if not all, freshwater or brackish water environments (water that contains salt but is not saltwater), according to the Food and Drug Administration's "Bad Bug Book."

It is sometimes swallowed by swimmers, causing stomach or intestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. It can also be found in fish and shellfish. The severity of the gastrointestinal infection depends on your immune system's ability to fight it off, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Aeromonas hydrophila can also enter the body through an open wound, as happened in the Copeland case. When that occurs the flesh-eating bacteria quickly reproduces, giving off toxins that destroy skin and soft tissue. Such bacteria is adept at hiding from the body's immune system, according to the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation.

If necrotizing fasciitis is detected early, only skin or fat may need to be removed. But if the infection is detected later, amputation may be necessary to stop the spread of the bacteria.

Dr. William Schaffner, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, says when Aeromonas hydrophila enters through an open wound, early diagnosis is difficult. The bacteria does its damage deep in the tissue and doesn't manifest itself on the skin's surface.

Patients should pay attention to any pain coming from a closed wound, as well as redness or drainage, he told CNN.

The frequency of Aeromonas hydrophilia infections is unknown, the FDA notes, because researchers only recently began trying to collect numbers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year there are about 10,000 U.S. cases of group A streptococcus, a collection of bacteria that includes necrotizing fasciitis. Approximately 20% of the cases of necrotizing fasciitis are fatal, according to the CDC.

Binkies (a.k.a. pacifiers), bottles and sippy cups serve an important purpose in calming and feeding a child but used improperly, they can also hurt a child.

In a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, researchers looked at data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System and reviewed 20 years of records of children age 3 and under, who were treated in emergency rooms across the country.

Between 1991 and 2010, they found 45,398 children were treated for injuries that involved pacifiers, bottles and sippy cups - that's about 2,270 cases per year.

In 86% of the cases, falling down contributed to the injury and two-thirds (65.8%) of the accidents involved bottles. One in five (19.9%) injured children had a pacifier in their mouth, and in 14.3% of the cases, a sippy cup was involved.

Some of the reported injuries included lacerations to the mouth, cuts and bruises to the lip or tongue and a variety of dental injuries.

"Teeth were either knocked out, chipped, pushed back up into the gums or knocked sideways," says Sarah Keim, lead study author and a researcher at the Center for Biobehavioral Health at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The study also found that one-year-old children were injured the most often.

Dr. Garry Gardner is a pediatrician in Chicago and chairs the Injury, Violence and Poison Control committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics. He's not surprised by the results of this study, especially that the majority of children injured were about 1-year-old.

"They toddle along and they're not very coordinated and it's amazing to see these kids trip over nothing - and they do it all the time."

If there's anything in a child's mouth, he says, it's going to cause an injury to the mouth or hurt a tooth.

Dr. Joanna Cohen, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, says the study results are pretty consistent with what she sees in their emergency department.

"Usually these injuries seem to be minor lacerations in the face... or minor facial trauma."

Keim points out that fears of BPA and other chemicals in plastic bottles has led to a renaissance for glass bottles, which can add another layer to the types of injuries toddlers can sustain.

The researchers believe this is the first study to provide a nationwide picture about how many of these injuries occur. Keim points out that the data only reflects the number of children who were actually taken to an emergency room. It doesn't include any visits to the pediatrician, dentist or Dr. "Mom" or Dr. "Dad."

When should you take your child to the ER? Cohen says if the injury is "a deeper laceration that might require sutures, or an associated dental injury," or if the child hurts his or her head in any way.

It's impossible for any parent to keep an eye on their child every second of their waking hours.  But there are some simple steps that can help parents reduce the number of these types of injuries.

Keim, who is also a mom has this sage advice: "Getting your child in the habit of drinking while seated rather than walking around can help prevent some of the injuries."

She also refers to the AAP guidelines, which recommend transitioning your child from a bottle or sippy cup at about 12 months of age and teaching your child to drink from a cup without a lid.

The AAP already recommends weaning your baby off a pacifier in the second 6 months of life to reduce the risk of middle ear infections.

Keim and Gardner both make the point that if toddlers no longer use a pacifier by the time they start walking and running, a parent doesn't have to deal with taking it away from them to reduce the risk of injury.

Another benefit to not having your child attached to a bottle or sippy cup for long periods of time: You reduce your child's chance of getting cavities.

Gardner adds one more reminder: "Kids shouldn't run around with food in their mouth either."  That's just adding the risk of choking. He points parents to the AAP's website healthychildren.org for additional advice and parenting tips.

I’ve always taken my mom for granted. A lot of us do.

I never realized just how strong and selfless she is.

Then tragedy struck.

In many ways, my mother is the stereotypical Asian mom. Forty-five years ago she immigrated to the United States with my father, a physician. A classic homemaker, she spent her days raising my brother, sister, and me. In the evenings, after my dad returned home for work, she would take care of him.

Growing up, my mom was my protector. When kids would call me racist names and threaten to beat me up, it was my mother who came to my rescue. This 5'1” Korean immigrant, who spoke broken English, would stand up to the biggest bullies in my elementary school.

Several years ago I received a call from my father. My mom had exercised in the early evening and then began to feel short of breath. My dad rushed her to the emergency room. By the time they got there, she could hardly breathe.

The doctors diagnosed her with sudden onset heart failure - one of the valves of her heart had stopped functioning, causing a backup of fluid into her lungs.

My mom was literally drowning from the inside out.

I rushed to the hospital that evening and saw her. She was awake but struggling to breathe. Upon seeing me, she smiled.

“Oh, Tony, you shouldn’t have come here. You’re so busy with residency. Go home and get some rest,” she said, waving me off.

I spent the next several hours by her side. The next day, she was scheduled to undergo open heart surgery to repair her faulty valve.

In the moments before her operation, my brother, sister, father, and I stood next to her gurney. I smiled at her through teary eyes. My mom, seeing our concern, tried to reassure us.

“I’ll be fine. I’m in God’s hands now. Go eat some breakfast. You’re probably all so hungry!”

After several moments of silence and small talk, she was wheeled into the OR.

The operation was a success.

After surgery my mother was transferred to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, while still on the ventilator. We went to visit her.

“She’s doing great,” her nurse told us. “She’s a real trooper. Most patients don’t tolerate having a breathing tube down their throat while awake. But your mom is handling it like a pro.”

The nurse was right. Even with the breathing tube in, my mother looked calm and peaceful. We all walked up to her.

“Mom,” I said softly. She opened her eyes. “Are you ok?”

She nodded.

“Make sure you stay still and don’t pull out your breathing tube. It’s important to keep it in place until you’re ready to breathe on your own.”

She nodded again and smiled at me.

As a surgeon, I’ve taken care of hundreds of patients on ventilators. The majority of them need large amounts of sedatives to prevent them from pulling out their breathing tube. It’s an incredibly uncomfortable feeling to have this tube extending down your throat.

Yet my mom handled it better than any patient I’ve ever seen.

Do you know who the toughest patients are? Ask any doctor or nurse. It’s not construction workers. Not tattooed bikers. Not even professional athletes.

It’s moms.

Moms go through more physical and emotional pain than most men can imagine. As a father, I now understand the connection between a mother and her child. It’s stronger than just about anything else in the world.

I am thankful for the doctors who saved my mom’s life. I am thankful for the hospital staff who cared for her. But most of all, I’m thankful for my mom.

These rules limit the kinds of unhealthy foods that students can buy in vending machines or at a snack bar, which aren’t offered as part of lunch in the school's cafeteria.

The state is well-known for leading the nation with health trends, so it's no surprise that its legislators are out front when it comes to cutting back on junk food in schools. A new study shows their efforts may be working: High school students in California are eating fewer calories and less added sugar and fat during the school day than students from other states.

According to researchers, high school students in California eat about 160 fewer calories a day than students in the 14 other states studied, which have less stringent standards for junk foods. Most of these saved calories came from eating less while in school, and when students headed home they didn't appear to overeat to compensate for consuming fewer calories during the school day.

"If teenagers consume 158 fewer calories on average, while maintaining healthy levels of physical activity, it could go a long way toward preventing excess weight gain," says Daniel Taber, lead author of the study and investigator at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

The research was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Limiting calories from junk food could potentially help a student shed about 7.5 pounds over the school year, according to an accompanying editorial in the Archives journal by Dr. Barbara Dennison. This could add up to 30 pounds by the end of high school.

But registered dietitian Andrea Giancoli, who is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, points out that the study did not compare the weight of children in California to the weight of students in the 14 other states. Further studies are needed to find out if California students are indeed winning the obesity battle.

Taber says more work needs to be done.

"Just because students cannot purchase high-fat, high-sugar candies does not automatically mean they're eating a spinach salad in its place. If we really want to improve the quality of students' diet, we need to promote fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy alternatives that appeal to students," Taber said.

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture the authority to regulate foods sold outside of the meal plan. Ofter referred to as competitive foods, these are snacks and junk food students can buy from the vending machines or at other locations in school. These standards may be completed within the next year.

In the meantime, California and several other states such as Oregon and Massachusetts have put together strong competitive food standards for their high school students to get a jump on the junk foods issue.

“The school setting can make significant change, but we all have to work together. It takes a village to raise a child. Neighborhoods and food companies, restaurants and the marketers of junk food have to jump on the bandwagon as well to solve this childhood obesity problem,” says Giancoli.