Browse Health Stories - Page 2

Do Nutrition Facts labels provide a complete picture of what "healthy" really means? And does the way information is provided on food labels change consumers' perceptions and purchasing behavior? Chen Zhen, a University of Georgia professor in food choice, obesity and health was awarded $794,000 to lead a four-year international study to better understand how the use of supplementary nutrition information on packaged food labels have unintended consequences across the socioeconomic spectrum.

Farmers are tough. They work long days at physically demanding, often dangerous work and rarely get a break, much less a vacation. Months of hard work can be wiped out with a few days of bad weather, and they battle nature at every turn, from drought and floods to weeds and insects. Farmers and ranchers rank high on the list of most stressful professions and farmer suicide rates are higher than the overall population of workers.

Explore the heart of rural Georgia in this episode as we discuss the intersection of social work, agriculture and mental well-being with Anna Scheyett, professor in the CAES Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication (ALEC) and former dean at the University of Georgia's School of Social Work. Anna shares how she is building more robust networks to dismantle mental health stigmas, advocate for farmers' health and mental well-being, and highlight the statewide work being done to promote resilience and build support in the communities that provide our food, fuel and fiber.

Uttam Saha, member of the University of Georgia Radon Team and program coordinator of the UGA Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories, said that while indoor air has traditionally been the focus of radon testing, another, lesser-understood route of exposure to radon is through household water — primarily when it is supplied by a private well.

When the coronavirus pandemic first began in 2020, there was much that officials did not know about the virus and how to combat it. One area of concern was how to disinfect surfaces that were contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. Institutions such as schools and daycares especially needed to know how to clean high-touch surfaces to reduce the risk of infection.

A one-year gap in access to WIC can have a significantly negative effect on the quality of some 5-year-olds’ diets. A new study from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences found that when children age out of WIC after their fifth birthday, many families are left without food assistance support for up to a year. Until the child enters kindergarten, the nutritional quality of their diet takes about a 20% hit, according to the study.

Everyone is on their feet. A moment before, a pin dropping from the speaker’s podium would have echoed throughout the chamber at the Georgia Capitol. Then 180 members of Georgia’s House of Representatives filled the room with thunderous applause as Venya Gunjal delivered her final word of thanks.

Kevin Vogel, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award from the National Science Foundation. Supported by the more than $1 million CAREER grant, Vogel and his team will spend the next five years building upon the still-limited body of research regarding the symbiotic relationship between kissing bugs and a highly specified bacterium that resides in their gut.

As the backbone of Georgia’s No. 1 industry, farmers face insurmountable pressures that are often beyond their control. Increased input costs, market variability, environmental disasters and labor shortages are just a few of the challenges. The 2023 Farm Stress Summit, held at Mercer University this week, brought leaders from around the state to learn more about the unique stressors farm families experience and strategies for building a network of support.

The data revealing farmers’ mental health challenges is sobering to say the least. Faced with unfavorable weather, unfriendly economic conditions, labor shortages and more, farmers of all types often cope with the pressures of their profession in unhealthy ways, including considering suicide.