Health Highlights: Jan. 21, 2008

More research is needed to better understand the issue, the study authors said.

According to some studies, nearly one-third of American children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, and nearly 40 percent of those overweight/obese children are from low-income families, theAPreported.

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Flu Vaccination Rates Lower Than Expected

Flu vaccination rates among children and high-risk adults in the United States are much lower than expected. That means that millions of people would be unprotected if there's a major flu outbreak, says a report released Monday by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

The latest online survey of 2,131 adults, ages 18 and older, was conducted in December. It found that among households with children ages 5 and younger, there was only a 36 percent vaccination rate. Another 18 percent of households said they still planned to vaccinate their children this season.

The poll also found that flu vaccination rates among high-risk adults -- those ages 50 and older and those with chronic diseases -- were well below national target levels.

So far this season, 26 states have reported moderate flu activity. There are about 40 million doses of flu vaccine still available and parents should get themselves and their children vaccinated, said Dr. Matthew M. Davies, director of the National Poll on Children's Health.

"National efforts to prevent an influenza epidemic in the U.S. hinge on broad flu vaccination of the public before flu season hits," David said in a prepared statement.

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Cell Phones May Disrupt Sleep: Study

Talking on a cell phone before bedtime may disrupt your sleep. So says a cell phone industry-funded study conducted by researchers from Wayne State University in Detroit and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.