Many families are still grappling with the secondary physical and psychosocial health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – including an alarming surge in obesity and Type 2 diabetes among children. In a recent study, diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes at Lurie Children’s Hospital increased nearly 300% from the pre-pandemic annual mean. Black and Hispanic children represented the majority of the diagnoses, which likely reflects the persistent social inequities in access to healthy food and other resources. Jami Josefson, MD, MS, associate professor of pediatrics, continues in her piece, “What’s most scary is the rapid progression for children, which can lead to organ diseases such as kidney failure and heart disease and will affect the mortality rate. Put in simple terms, prevention really is a matter of life or death.” The good news is that kids are back in school, which means more access to healthy food and more physical activity and socializing with their friends. We can all do something to help prevent child obesity and metabolic disease. If you’re someone with the means to help, you could donate or volunteer at one of the many Chicago nonprofits that provide food or youth activities for lower-income families.

Transgender and nonbinary teens and young adults – who experience anxiety and depression at higher rates than others – often feel less mental distress after surgery to remove their breasts, according to a study from Northwestern Medicine. “Our findings are that top surgery (to remove the breasts) benefits these teenagers and young adults,” said Dr. Sumanas Jordan, lead author of the study and assistant professor of plastic surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It is so important to be able to have evidence and treat them not based on politics but based on science and medicine.” Patients who underwent surgery also experienced less body image dissatisfaction and more gender congruence, which is when people feel that their appearance matches their gender identity. “Adolescence is a pretty turbulent time, but to have that burden of that extra chest dysphoria and gender dysphoria that’s untreated, I think that does a lot of harm,” said Jordan.

In the U.S., more than a dozen states severely restrict access to abortion, and almost as many have such in the works. Across the country, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, clinics that do provide abortions have seen an increase in demand. Before Indiana’s abortion ban took effect, Allison Case would use her days off to provide reproductive health services, including abortion care, via telemedicine through a clinic that serves patients in New Mexico. As more states restrict abortion, providers like Case are finding themselves navigating an increasingly complicated legal landscape. In many states, patients seeking a telehealth abortion have to be physically present in a state where telemedicine abortion is legal, even if it’s just to have a brief virtual consultation with a provider, who may be located in an entirely different state. Katherine Watson, JD
, associate professor of medical education, medical social sciences and obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says this is uncharted territory. The stakes are so high. We’re talking about something that’s a protected right in one state and a felony in a sister state,” Watson says. “And the map is a patchwork. So this is an absolutely radical change.” People have to understand the distinction between the letter of the law and the enforcement environment, she says. Even if the law does not explicitly criminalize what doctors like Case do, the enforcement environment can ensnare some of them in legal trouble.

According to the CDC, 37.3 million Americans are living with diabetes. There are five specific signs of deadly diabetes, according to experts. These include fatigue, blurred vision, increased urination, being overweight and having excess belly fat. “Fat around the waist – an apple shape – is uniquely dangerous for developing diabetes and other chronic illnesses such as heart disease and kidney failure,” saysMercedes Carnethon, PhD, professor and vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Fat in the waist regions is described by scientists and doctors as being “metabolically active” – meaning that central fat releases hormones and other biological substances that target and damage the organs and blood vessels that contribute to diabetes and other chronic illnesses.