Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
People Who Have More Sex Make More Money: Study
People who have sex four or more times a week make more money than those who have less sex, according to a new study.
Researchers looked at data from 7,500 people, ages 26 to 50, in Greece and found that the wages of those who had sex four or more times a week were 5 percent higher than those who didn’t have sex as often, CBS News reported.
People who weren’t having sex made 3.2 percent less money than those who were having sex, according to the study recently published by the Institute for the Study of Labor, an economic research institution in Germany.
“People need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and depression that could affect their working life,” study author Nick Drydakis, an economics lecturer at Angila Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, said in an email to CBS News.
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U.S. Adult Obesity Rate Nearly 28 Percent: CDC
The proportion of American adults who were obese in 2012 was nearly 28 percent, which is about the same as it’s been since 2008, according to recently released results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention annual telephone survey.
“A plateau is better than rising numbers. But it’s discouraging because we’re plateauing at a very high number,” Kelly Brownell, a Duke University public policy expert who specializes in obesity, told the Associated Press.
Louisiana and Mississippi had the highest adult obesity rates — nearly 35 percent — and 11 other states had rates higher than 30 percent: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
It’s no surprise that so many states in the South and Midwest have high obesity rates because many states in those regions have high poverty rates, experts say.
“When you have a limited income, you have to buy foods that are cheap. And foods that are cheap tend to have a lot of sugar and salt and fat,” Dr. George Bray, an obesity expert at Louisiana State University, told the AP.
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Vasectomy in ‘Best Interests’ of Man With Learning Disabilities: U.K. Court
A British man with learning disabilities should have a vasectomy because it is in his “best interests,” a court ruled Friday.
The 37-year-old man lives with his parents and has a long-term girlfriend who also has learning disabilities. The couple had a child in 2009 and the man, known only as DE, decided he did not want any more children, the Associated Press reported.
DE’s parents applied to the court for the vasectomy and the judge ruled that it was “overwhelmingly in DE’s best interests” to have the procedure.
Experts testified that DE is able to consent to a sexual relationship and a vasectomy would give him a measure of independence, the AP reported.
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“That 70s Show” Actress Dies
Actress Lisa Robin Kelly, best known for her role as the older sister of the main character on “That 70s Show,” has died.
The 43-year-old died in a rehab facility of unknown causes, USA Today reported.
“Unfortunately Lisa Robin Kelly passed away last evening. Lisa had voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility early this week where she was battling the addiction problems that have plagued her these past few years,” Kelly’s agent, Craig Wyckoff said in a statement released to People.
“I spoke to her on Monday and she was hopeful and confident, looking forward to putting this part of her life behind her. Last night she lost the battle. Cause of death has not been issued yet and no death certificate has been issued either.”
On “That 70s Show,” Kelly played Laurie Forman, the older sister of Eric Forman, played by Topher Grace.
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