Articles written by Michael Huddleston

A report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health lists the State of Alabama as the third most obese state in the nation. The report, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing America,” has been a central focus in the fight against obesity since the report’s inception five years ago.

Committed to altering this harmful trend occurring in America, the findings released each year attempt to inform Americans not only about the health risks of obesity, but about the economic misfortune associated with it.

Obesity is considered one of the most serious health problems facing Americans today. According to the report, adult obesity rates have doubled since 1980.

Their findings conclude obesity is a contributing factor to more than 20 chronic diseases, including some cancers, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s disease. Many obese children are developing diseases that were initially thought only to occur in adults.

As this problem continues, many obese Americans are living shorter, more difficult lives as their bodies break down sooner than usual.

New studies: show the energy efficient lightbulbs may be a danger to a person's health when broken because of the mercury inside. Lindsey Davidson / PHOTO EDITOR

Two studies released by the state of Maine and the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project earlier this year concluded energy efficient fluorescent bulbs can pose a small hazard of mercury poisoning to young children and pregnant women, when broken.

Mercury, a chemical element found and used in a variety of applications, is known to produce a variety of harmful side effects, if a person was to be exposed. The side effects range from chest pain and cough for short-term exposure, to hallucinations and delirium for long-term exposure.

Mercury is needed for bulbs to produce light, and there are no known substitutes. No mercury is exposed during the habitual burning of the bulb; however, some is vaporized when the bulbs break, and this is where the risk comes into play.

“Any fluorescent bulb will have some mercury in it,” said Matthew Williams, coordinator for the Auburn Sustainability Initiative, who worked closely with the University in replacing old, out-of-date light bulbs around campus with new, energy-efficient ones.

“There has been a lot of discussion about this, and many have exacerbated the situation. In fluorescent bulbs, there is an amazingly small amount of mercury, less than in a watch battery or a normal thermometer.”

Last week, researchers in Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering released their findings of a study conducted over the course of the past year.

The researchers produced antimicrobial coatings that prevent the spread of disease on contaminated surfaces.