![]() The revised chart has been extended to cover higher BMI measurements. There are two charts, one for adults and one for children - and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced an update to the chart designed for those between 2 and 20 years old. Physicians have long used the Body Mass Index (BMI) chart to estimate whether an individual’s body composition and growth is ‘healthy’ compared to the wider population. According to CDC data, more than 4.5 million US kids and adolescents are considered severely obese.The new chart has been extended to cover higher BMI measurements of ‘severe obesity’.The CDC recently announced a revised version of the children and adolescent BMI chart.Physicians use Body Mass Index (BMI) charts to help assess and monitor growth in children."It's a sobering proposal," she said.Share on Pinterest Johner Images/Getty Images Gerberding declined to comment directly on how the proposed budget cuts would affect her agency's ability to respond to disasters. "This would be, if it happens, irresponsible, incompetent, and immoral," said Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican who leads the committee.īut the plan riled Democrats, who used Thursday's hearing to attack proposed cuts to health programs. "Congress must ensure that a catastrophe of nature does not become a catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren," said Rep. The plan also calls for $25 billion in cuts to CDC's budget over 10 years. The 89-member Republican Study Committee released a proposal yesterday calling for increases in Medicare beneficiary premiums and a one-year delay in the program's prescription drug benefit as ways to pay for Katrina relief and reconstruction efforts.Įstimates for the storm's overall cost have reached $200 billion, sending conservatives in Congress looking for ways to pay for federal aid. Thursday's hearing took place one day after a proposal from conservative Republicans to deeply cut federal health programs and other budget areas incensed House Democrats. "We have not seen widespread outbreaks of anything unusual," Gerberding said. Injuries sustained during flooding and evacuations far outnumbered infectious diseases, she added. Officials observed several outbreaks of norovirus and vibrio bacteria, both of which cause a diarrheal illness. Gerberding told lawmakers that widespread infectious disease outbreaks feared as a possible result of flooding and overcrowded conditions in shelters had been largely averted. "What we don't want is for people to flood in in a disorganized way," Gerberding said. Deal suggested that credential checks and certifications required for federal volunteers should be done in advance of disasters to avoid delays. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) questioned Gerberding over reports that bureaucratic slowdowns kept many medical volunteers who rushed to New Orleans from taking part in relief efforts. Still, it remained unlikely that any of those issues could be addressed in time to be applied to Rita, which is expected to make landfall early Saturday. The agency also could have had more reliable plans in place for immunizations of storm evacuees, she said. Gerberding said the agency had already taken several lessons from its experience with Katrina, including having more personnel trained to communicate health recommendations to members of the public. "It did exist in New Orleans but they didn't have gasoline for the generators," Gerberding told a joint hearing of the House Oversight and Investigations and Energy and Commerce health subcommittee. Several parts of the communications system failed immediately following Katrina, though it was unclear how the failures affected operations. Officials have altered their tactics for deploying high-frequency radio antennas used by the CDC to communicate in areas with damaged infrastructure. Rita threatens to once again test government disaster and public health operations that are now under scrutiny after a slow federal response to Katrina's impact on New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas.ĬDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, told House members that the agency has shifted some response plans after difficulties encountered during Katrina's aftermath. 22, 2005 - Lawmakers are questioning the federal government's response to the health care crisis left by Hurricane Katrina even as Hurricane Rita gets closer to the Texas and Louisiana coast.
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