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In recent years, many nutrition experts have linked the obesity epidemic to the spread of ultra-processed foods that are engineered to have a long shelf life and irresistible combinations of salt, sugar, fat and other additives. These foods tend to make people overeat because they are full of refined carbohydrates, added sugars and fat that appeal to the human palate, experts say. Most of these foods, however, tend to lack fiber, protein, vitamins and other important nutrients. (O'Connor, 5/16)

The findings, published Thursday in the journal Cell Metabolism, will force scientists to rethink the complicated relationship between dietary habits and health. “I thought it was all about the nutrients,” said study leader Kevin Hall, a section chief at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. (Baumgaertner, 5/16)

About 7 to 21 days after exposure, the person will have a mild to moderate fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and sore throat. Two to four days after the initial symptoms, tiny white spots may appear inside the mouth. And three to five days after initial symptoms, a red or reddish-brown sandpaper-like rash appears, usually on the face, that then spreads. There may be a fever that spikes to 104. (Corwell, 5/16)

The United States’ birthrate fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2018, bringing the number of people born in the country to its lowest level in 32 years, according to provisional figures published on Wednesday by the federal government. It said the fertility rate in the United States also fell to a record low. There were an estimated 3,788,235 people born in the United States last year, a 2 percent decrease from 2017 and the lowest number of births in any year since 1986, according to the report, published by the National Center for Health Statistics. (Stack, 5/17)

Mental health care is accounting for a growing number of private insurance claims, according to a new report out Friday. But experts caution that more than anything else, the new data underscores just how tricky it is to tease out what’s driving increases in mental health care use. The report found that claims related to depression, anxiety, and a handful of other mental health conditions are on the rise. There were notable increases in those claims among young people, who accounted for a disproportionate share of mental health claims. Experts said the findings could reflect increased access to treatment — but cautioned that it’s difficult to determine the factors at play. (Thielking, 5/17)

On the eve of the American Physical Society’s annual March meeting, a Sunday “stitch ‘n bitch” session convened during happy hour at a lobby bar of the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel. Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University, had tweeted notice of the meet-up earlier that day: “Are you a physicist into knitting, crocheting, or other fiber arts?” she asked. “I’ll be the one knitting a torus.” (A torus is a mathematized doughnut; hers was inspired by a figure in a friend’s scientific paper.) (Roberts, 5/17)

If you talk to cancer researchers about barriers to scientific progress, you’ll probably hear this statistic: Only about 8% of people with cancer actually take part in clinical trials. This being 2019, a lot of people think the problem can be solved with mobile apps that connect patients to the trials that might be right for them. But — this being 2019 — the use of such technology raises some thorny questions about privacy, consent, and conflict of interest. (Garde and Robbins, 5/17)

Emergency room patients increasingly leave California hospitals against medical advice, and experts say crowded ERs are likely to blame. About 352,000 California ER visits in 2017 ended when patients left after seeing a doctor but before their medical care was complete. That’s up by 57%, or 128,000 incidents, from 2012, according to data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. (Reese, 5/16)

Mallory Smith was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system, at age 3. She was living on borrowed time, and she knew it: Cystic fibrosis puts patients at an increased risk of serious infection, and the average life expectancy is about 37, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (Ellin, 5/17)