If a child is obese when they hit adolescence, are they destined to be overweight for life? Is gastric bypass surgery for obese adolescents a reasonable option? How can parents work with schools and the community to stem the rising tide of adolescent obesity? Will the almost 2

Critics of Medicaid regulations that will begin to take effect on March 3 contend that implementing the rules during an economic downturn “will only worsen the fiscal situation for already strapped state budgets,” CQ HealthBeat reports.

The California Department of Public Health this week is observing “Black Infant Health Week” to focus on reducing the gap between black and white infant mortality rates, the Contra Costa Times reports.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal published articles about fertility treatments on Monday. Summaries appear below.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Saturday approved nearly $2.2 billion in state budget cuts over the next two years to address a projected $14.5 billion state budget deficit, the Sacramento Bee reports (Lin, Sacramento Bee, 2/17). The cuts aim to reduce state spending by $1 billion this fiscal year and by $1.2 billion in FY 2009 (Yi, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/16).

The Washington Post on Monday examined the U.S. Army’s pregnancy-related policies and data on pregnancy in the Army.

The experimental microbicide Carraguard, a seaweed-based gel that blocked HIV infection of cells in lab tests is safe but does not provide women with protection against HIV infection, according to results from clinical trials conducted in three locations in South Africa, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/18).

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton on Friday refused to lift an injunction that is preventing a policy from going into effect that would require Washington state pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Woodward, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/15).

President Bush on Tuesday during a visit to Rwanda discussed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative and other foreign aid programs, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports (Gahigana, New Times/AllAfrica.com, 2/19).

Manipulating levels of nitric oxide (NO), a gas involved in many biological processes, may improve the disorganized network of blood vessels supplying tumors, potentially improving the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy.