Journal of community health
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Obesity is a national public health concern linked to numerous chronic health conditions among Americans of all age groups. Evidence suggests that discretionary calories from sugary drink consumption have been a significant contributor to excess caloric intake among both children and adults. Research has established strong links between retail food environments and purchasing habits of consumers, but little information exists on the sugary drink retail environment in urban neighborhoods. ⋯ In higher- versus lower-consumption neighborhoods, the mean number of sugary drink varieties available at stores was higher (11.4 vs. 10.4 varieties), stores were more likely to feature sugary drink advertising (97 vs. 89 %) and advertising at multiple places throughout the store (78 vs. 57 %), and several sugary drinks, including 20-oz Coke® or Pepsi®, were less expensive ($1.38 vs. $1.60). These results, all statistically significant, indicate that neighborhoods characterized by higher levels of sugary drink consumption expose shoppers to sugary drinks to a greater extent than lower-consumption neighborhoods. This builds upon evidence documenting the association between the environment and individual behavior.
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Firearms injuries place a unique burden on America in terms of lives lost (31,000/year), disability (70,000 nonfatal injuries/year), and economic costs ($174 billion in 2010). The purpose of this study was to examine psychiatric residency directors' perceptions of firearm access issues of the mentally ill. In late Fall 2012 and early Spring of 2013, a three-wave mailing was used to survey the membership of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (N = 129). ⋯ The majority (91.7 %) supported closing the background check loophole. The majority (54.2 %) also believed that singling out the mentally ill as a group of "banned purchasers" adds to the stigma of the mentally ill (54.2 %) but a plurality (44.4 %) did not believe reporting the mentally ill to authorities would result in the mentally ill avoiding treatment. The current method of reducing access by the mentally ill to firearms is perceived by psychiatric residency directors as ineffective and burdensome to the mentally ill.