HHS WEEKLY REPORT
March 15 - 21, 2004

THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Launches New Strategies Against Overweight Epidemic
2) HHS Launches Crackdown on Products Containing Andro
3) Tommy G. Thompson received the Women's Health Advocate Award from the Susan G. Komen Foundation
4) New Study Finds Babies Born To Mothers Who Drink Alcohol Heavily May Suffer Permanent Nerve Damage
5) Medicare Minute
6) Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule

HHS Launches New Strategies Against Overweight Epidemic

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson unveiled last week a series of announcements to combat obesity and overweight, the second leading cause of death in the United States. The announcements included a new education campaign, a NIH research agenda as well as a FDA report outlining the agency's strategy for combating the epidemic of obesity.

HHS' release of its new education campaign with the Ad Council and NIH research agenda coincided with publication of the CDC study in this last week's Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," finds that 400,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2000 were related to poor diet and physical inactivity.

Secretary Thompson said the new HHS and Ad Council advertising campaign educates Americans in that they can take small, achievable steps to improve their health and reverse the obesity epidemic. Consumers do not need to go to extremes -- such as joining a gym or taking part in the latest diet plan -- to make improvements in their health. But they do need to get active and eat healthier, he said.

The Healthy Lifestyles & Disease Prevention initiative -- which includes multi-media public service advertisements (PSAs) and a new interactive Web site www.smallstep.gov encourages Americans to make small activity and dietary changes, such as using the stairs instead of an elevator, or taking a walk instead of watching television. The PSAs were developed for HHS in cooperation with the Ad Council. The PSAs, available at http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/healthy_lifestyles, will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media.

The NIH Strategic Plan for Obesity Research will intensify research to better understand, prevent and treat obesity through: behavioral and environmental approaches to modifying lifestyle; pharmacologic, surgical and other medical approaches; and breaking the link between obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.

The report produced by FDA's Obesity Working Group includes recommendations to strengthen food labeling, to educate consumers about maintaining a healthy diet and weight and to encourage restaurants to provide calorie and nutritional information. It also recommends increased enforcement to ensure food labels accurately portray nutritional information and serving size, as well as new guidance for developing obesity drugs and coordinated scientific research on developing healthier foods and reducing obesity.

The full report from the FDA's obesity working group is available at http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/obesity/. More information about HHS' new anti-obesity campaign and NIH's obesity research agenda is available at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040309.html.

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HHS Launches Crackdown on Products Containing Andro
FDA Warns Manufacturers To Stop Distributing Such Products

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson recently announced a crackdown on companies that manufacture, market and distribute products containing androstenedione, or, "andro," which acts like a steroid once it is metabolized by the body and therefore can pose similar kinds of health risks as steroids.

These products are generally advertised as dietary supplements that enhance athletic performance based on their claimed anabolic and androgenic properties to stimulate muscle growth and increase production of testosterone.

As part of the crackdown, HHS' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today sent warning letters to 23 companies asking them to cease distributing products sold as dietary supplements that contain androstenedione and warning them that they could face enforcement actions if they do not take appropriate actions.

Secretary Thompson also encouraged Congress to pass legislation sponsored by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Joe Biden in the Senate and Reps. James Sensenbrenner, John Sweeney and John Conyers, Jr. in the House that would classify andro-containing products as a controlled substance. Such legislation would enable the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to regulate these types of products as anabolic steroids under the Controlled Substances Act.

For more information on the FDA and how Androstenedione it may increase the risk of serious and life-threatening diseases including copies of the FDA warning letters, please visit: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/andrlist.html.

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Tommy G. Thompson received the Women's Health Advocate Award from the Susan G. Komen Foundation

Recently the Susan G. Komen Foundation honored Secretary Thompson for his advocacy work in the area of breast cancer at a lunch that drew 200 people, including members of Congress and their spouses.

Breast Cancer has touched three generation of women in Secretary Thompson family and his commitment is steadfast.

This year HHS is spending about $900 million on breast cancer research and prevention activities and proposed spending for fiscal year 2005 on breast cancer is $938 million. Since 2001 spending on breast cancer has increased 30%.

Currently HHS' NIH is conducting the largest trial ever, which will one day improve early detection of breast cancer.

You can find the Secretary Thompson's remarks http://www.hhs.gov/news/speech/2004/040309.html

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Science in the News

New Study Finds Babies Born To Mothers Who Drink Alcohol Heavily May Suffer Permanent Nerve Damage

Newborns whose mothers drank alcohol heavily during pregnancy had damage to the nerves in the arms and legs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Chile.

The study is the first to examine whether exposure to alcohol before birth affects the developing peripheral nervous system - the nerves in the arms and legs, rather than in the brain or spinal cord. The nerve damage was still present when the children were reexamined at one year of age. The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

The NICHD-University of Chile Alcohol and Pregnancy Study compared 17 full-term, newborn infants whose mothers drank heavily during pregnancy to 13 newborns not exposed to alcohol in the womb. All women identified as heavy drinkers were advised that their drinking habits were potentially dangerous to their fetus and were offered help from an alcohol counseling clinic to stop drinking alcohol or to cut down on their drinking.

The children exposed to alcohol before they were born experienced significant problems in conducting a message through the nerves--both at one month and one year of age. The alcohol-exposed children did not experience any catch-up or improvement in nerve function by the time they reached their first birthday.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that pregnant women not consume any alcohol. Information on the hazards of alcohol use during pregnancy is available at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochure.htm.

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Medicare Minute

HHS recently increased funding to educate seniors and disabled Americans about new improvements to Medicare through local level staff and volunteers. This year's funding represents a 69 percent increase above the fiscal year 2003 total.

More than 12,000 volunteers and paid staff in nearly 1,200 local programs use their knowledge of Medicare and other local insurance programs and services to provide in-depth assistance to people with Medicare.

Specifically, this funding will emphasize one-on-one advice and counseling for Medicare beneficiaries provided through State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs).

With the new funding, SHIPs will be able to expand their efforts to work with and reach even more Medicare beneficiaries and increase and enhance their volunteer staff through additional training and resources.

For more information on Medicare please visit, www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

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Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule:


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Last updated: March 16, 2004
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Contact the HHS Newsletter Team.