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Today’s news was so packed that I couldn’t include a piece on hot tubs as potential hotspots for Legionnaires’ disease. Here’s the CDC report, if you’re curious.
Where is Kennedy’s ‘publicly available calendar’?
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated on Wednesday that his “publicly available calendar” demonstrates his commitment to transparency and countering negative reporting. If such a calendar exists, we are eager to examine it.
STAT has been requesting Kennedy’s calendar from the Department of Health and Human Services for over a year, including several requests for the calendars of Kennedy and his principal deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear.
Kennedy, who began his tenure with a promise of “radical transparency,” oversees a department facing lawsuits for information withholding, has reduced staff for FOIA requests, and has drawn criticism from lawmakers unable to get responses to their inquiries. Kennedy admitted that HHS blacklists some journalists due to disagreements with their work. Read more from STAT’s Chelsea Cirruzzo and Daniel Payne.
Speaking of unmet promises …
Having served as health secretary for 16 months, Kennedy has addressed various public health challenges and made numerous commitments to improve Americans’ health.
STAT’s Isabella Cueto and Emory Parker have been tracking Kennedy’s initiatives, including progress on hospital price transparency, introducing new sunscreens to the U.S., enhancing nutrition education in medical training, providing healthier food in hospitals, and repurposing approved drugs for other conditions.
Of the 80 promises tracked by Isa and Emory, around two dozen have been fulfilled or are underway. The rest have been abandoned, broken, not initiated, or their status is unclear based on available information. For a detailed breakdown, refer to the latest update on our RFK Jr. promises tracker.
Chile offers new data on food warning label efficacy
Chile’s regulations on food packaging, labeling, and marketing have been described as “the world’s most ambitious attempt to remake a country’s food culture” to reduce childhood obesity. A new analysis in The Lancet provides encouraging data about the impact of the initial regulations introduced in 2016, requiring black octagonal warning labels on packaged foods high in sugar, salt, calories, and saturated fat.
In just 18 months after the labels’ introduction, the risk of being classified as overweight or obese decreased by 2.9% for girls aged 4 to 6 and by 2.4% for boys. To contextualize: recent data indicates about a quarter of Chilean children are obese, and more than half are overweight. The study, which analyzed data on over 300,000 children, was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. (STAT also receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which does not influence our editorial decisions.)
“Even a small weight reduction for children who have overweight or obesity is likely to bring meaningful long-term health benefits,” explained economics researcher and study co-author Nieves Valdes in a press release. The researchers expect even more significant results after 2018 and 2019 when Chile implemented stricter warning label requirements. — Sarah Todd
Diabetes debacle in the Big Easy
If you’re a regular Morning Rounds reader, you’ll recall that last weekend, security officers removed diabetes experts from the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans. STAT’s Alex Hogan spoke with Liz Cooney about this incident, its aftermath, and her experience at the meeting.
CDC confirms what STAT readers already know
New CDC data released Wednesday indicates an increase in the prevalence of drinking during pregnancy in recent years. National survey data show about 15% of pregnant women reported drinking in the past 30 days between 2021 and 2024, higher than the 13.5% reported between 2018 and 2020.
These numbers highlight an ongoing issue, even though drinking during pregnancy is often seen as a problem of the past. STAT’s recent reporting on U.S. alcohol issues examined changing attitudes toward drinking during pregnancy and how women’s unaddressed alcohol use may contribute to widespread intellectual disability. STAT’s analysis of CDC data showed a slight decrease in alcohol use during pregnancy in 2024, but more data is needed to determine if this trend continues.
The report authors suggest routine screening for alcohol consumption and mental health conditions during pregnancy could be beneficial, as could measures like “point-of-sale warning signs or alcohol sales taxes.” Read my story for more details about the CDC’s report. — Isabella Cueto
How does socioeconomic status affect brain development?
An analysis of brain scans from nearly 12,000 children aged 9 and 10 has revealed that the primary environmental factor affecting brain structure and function is a family’s socioeconomic status, according to a new report published in Science.
Household income, local poverty rates, and other neighborhood-level economic measures accounted for about 16% of the variability in children’s brain function. Scientists have long debated which childhood factors most influence neural development, as brain building—forming neuronal connections for memory, language, perception, and motor control—is an energy-intensive act of singular creation.
The researchers propose that socioeconomic status mainly serves as a proxy for sleep and stress. To promote healthy development, they suggest ensuring children get adequate sleep and face minimal stress, though some experts advise caution in drawing conclusions too quickly. Read more about the intriguing study from STAT’s Megan Molteni.
What we’re reading
- A cracked coffin, a funeral, and the hunt for Ebola’s patient zero, Reuters
- Nonprofit acquires experimental cancer drug to ensure patient access, STAT
- Possible hantavirus case at San Quentin prompts testing and decontamination, San Francisco Chronicle
- The researcher who didn’t want to know, New York Times
