health
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As 1 in 10 Coloradans experience eating disorders, lawmakers consider action | COVER STORY
When she was 15 years old, Aimee Resnick’s eating disorder nearly killed her. Resnick said she was teased and bullied for being “bigger” than her peers throughout middle school and early high school. So, when a health class assignment required Resnick to set a weight loss goal and track her daily calorie consumption, she quickly…
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New CU Boulder research warns excess body weight means shorter life span
Excess weight boosts mortality risk more than previously believed, while the mortality risk of being slightly underweight has likely been overestimated, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder. Obesity boosts the risk of death by anywhere from 22% to 91%, the research findings, which were published Feb. 9 in the Population Studies…
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Colorado officials urge citizens to test homes for radon
Health officials are urging Coloradans to test their homes for excessive levels of radon, a naturally occurring, colorless and odorless gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and contributes to as many as 500 lung cancer deaths in Colorado each year. The gas forms when uranium is broken down…
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Eating disorders in Colorado teens, young adults rose during pandemic
As the pandemic enveloped the globe in 2020, Emma Warford used her newly acquired free time to laser in on a destructive hobby – scrutinizing her caloric intake. Over the course of the next year that obsession, coupled with stressful activities, such as taking advanced placement and college classes, having a job and extracurricular hobbies,…
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Colorado House committee advances bill that lowers felony threshold for fentanyl possession
A panel of Colorado legislators advanced a bill Wednesday that increases criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of fentanyl, a middle-of-the-road approach between factions who want harsher penalties and those who decry going back to the tough-on-crime strategy of the past. The House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1326, the legislature’s sweeping attempt to address…
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OUT WEST ROUNDUP | Sick mine workers allege insurer delaying medical payments
MONTANA Sick mine workers allege insurer delaying payments BILLINGS – Attorneys for Montana mine workers sickened and killed by toxic asbestos exposure filed a lawsuit against Zurich American Insurance on March 21 for allegedly stalling legal settlements and medical payments after transferring the workers’ claims to investors who can profit off the delays. The lawsuit…
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El Paso County health officials discuss fentanyl crisis: ‘It really has to involve all of us’
The El Paso County Board of Health met Wednesday to discuss the rising fentanyl crisis in the community and the downscaling of the county’s response to COVID-19. Accidental fentanyl overdoses killed 102 people within El Paso County in 2021 compared to five years ago, when four died, according to data from the El Paso County…
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DougCo school board votes to fire superintendent in tense meeting amidst protest by teachers
A fractured Douglas County school board narrowly voted Friday night to fire Superintendent Corey Wise, a decision that bucked large staff protests in the district and came after a tense board spent three hours criticizing and challenging each other’s integrity and intentions. The vote, an unsurprising 4-3 tally along the board’s newcomer-vs.-incumbent lines, comes a…
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Colorado on track to receive $385 million from settlements over opioid epidemic
Colorado is on track to receive roughly $385 million as part of legal settlements reached with Johnson & Johnson and three of the country’s largest drug distribution companies over their role fueling the opioid epidemic, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday. The sum represents Colorado’s share of the payout in a $26 billion class…
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COVER STORY | Hot Topics of the 2022 General Assembly
With 2022 an election year, lawmakers traditionally back off a bit from introducing controversial bills. That’s why they have approved some of the biggest measures of the past six years – oil and gas reform, Colorado option, climate change and greenhouse gas – in odd-numbered years when they worry less about voter reactions at the ballot box. Will…