Activity levels in mums and children 'directly linked'

The more active a mother is, the more physically active her child will be, suggests a UK study of 500 mums and four-year-olds.

But many mothers' exercise levels fell way below recommended levels, it said.

Researchers from Cambridge and Southampton universities used heart-rate monitors to measure activity levels over seven days.

The study, published in Pediatrics, said policies to improve children's health should be aimed at mothers.

Children are not "just naturally active", it concluded, and parents have an important role to play in developing healthy exercise habits early on in life.  http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26679906

In California, chefs fight for bare-hand contact

 As the happy hour crowd poured in on a recent weeknight, the kitchen and bar staff at Hock Farm restaurant scrambled to meet the incoming orders.

One used her hands to toss locally grown Romaine hearts with anchovy dressing in a metal bowl, while another, facing diners from behind a marble countertop, used his fingers to sprinkle cojita cheese and red onion into chicken tacos.

A gloveless bartender wedged an orange slice on the edge of a white wine spritzer.

All of them were breaking a state law that took effect in January, but won't be enforced until July.

California is a straggler in banning bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. A state-by-state review of food codes shows 41 other states have a version of the legislation signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown.

In all these states, chefs and bartenders must keep bare hands off food going straight to the plate or the drink glass, from the rice in a sushi roll to the mint in a mojito. Instead, they must use utensils or gloves. Hock Farm owner Randy Paragary says bringing this rule to California disrupts well-established hand-washing routines, generates unnecessary waste and restricts his employees' in their craft.  http://news.yahoo.com/california-chefs-fight-bare-hand-contact-055624111.html

32 Million Underinsured in U.S., Report Finds

A new report finds that 32 million people were underinsured in the U.S. in 2012, meaning their health insurance didn’t do enough to cover their costs.

That makes for 80 million Americans who either have no health insurance at all, or who don’t have enough, the report finds.

It will be important to watch and see if the provisions of the Affordable Care Act cut into this number, the non-profit Commonwealth Fund said in issuing the report.

Those most likely to miss out will be people living in states that choose not to expand Medicaid, said the group, which advocates for health reform.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/32-million-underinsured-u-s-report-finds-n60851