Prevention Matters

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of American women indicates that most of them plan to disregard the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force about mammograms. The poll also shows that most women sharply overestimate their risk of developing the disease.

The task force last week suggested that most women don't need mammograms on a routine basis until age 50. Women under 50 should consult their doctors to see if mammograms are approrpriate for them.

In the survey of 1,136 women, 76% said they disagree or strongly disagree with the recommendations, while 84% of women ages 35 to 49 said they plan to get mammograms before age 50 despite the task force recommendations.

But the poll found that most women have misconceptions about the disease and the panels' motives. Seventy-six percent the panel based its conclusions on cost, even though the task force's report included only scientific studies. Forty percent estimated that a 40-year-old's chance of developing breast cancer over the next decade is 20% to 50%. But the real risk is 1.4%, according to the National Cancer Institute.

People who are 80 or more pounds over a normal weight live three to 12 fewer years than their normal-weight peers, a new study shows. Just being overweight or moderately obese, however, has little or no effect on life span, the research found.

A USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Census data from 2005 to 2007 suggests that an American school nurse cares, on average, for 971 students. In 13 states, the ratio is more than 2,000 to 1. That falls short of federally recommended standards. It also could leave some schools ill-equipped to deal with the swine flu epidemic when their doors open this fall.

USA TODAY's Liz Szabo reports that about 200,000 children go to the emergency room every year because of playground injuries. About 90,000 of those injuries are serious, such as fractures, concussions and amputations. About 15 kids die from playground injuries every year.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says most injuries occur when children fall from equipment, so playgrounds need to be built properly and maintained in top shape.

The media has been having a lot of fun with Barrack Obama's efforts to quit smoking. Columnist Michael Kinsley recently did a piece that simultaneously did a "gotcha" by speculating that Obama had violated his pledge to stop smoking while calling on people to let him smoke lest a nicotine fit gives him an itchy trigger finger with our nuclear arsenal. USA TODAY recently joined the fun with an editorial suggesting Obama deserved the scorn of late-night comedians if he doesn't quit. They paired this with an opposing view which held that Obama should be allowed to have an occasional puff so his faculties aren't clouded in a time of crisis.

Partnership for Prevention's Corinne G. Husten has now called the media on this little game. "Some folks seem determined to cast (Obama) either as villian or victim..." Husten wrote in a letter pubslished by USA TODAY. "Both narratives make for good drama, but neither is realistic or constructive." She pointed out that 70 percent of the millions of U.S. smokers say they want to quit, but they are hampered by uneven smoking cessation treatment benefits provided by private and government insurance programs.

"People in this situation don't need vilification or indulgence," she said. "They need our support, and they need access to the full range of tools that can help them.