Every year, there are some 4,000 fatal drownings and 8,000 nonfatal drownings in the U.S., per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and not all of them meet the textbook definition.

Even if a child appears to be "safe" after a water incident, the child could still be in danger if even a small amount of water has entered the lungs.

Unofficially known as "dry drowning," this condition can cause inflammation or swelling and make it difficult to breathe even after a child is out of the water, according to Dr. Denise Scott, a pediatrician who is co-founder of Oklahoma City’s first after-hours pediatric urgent care clinic. 

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"While ‘dry drowning’ is actually not a medical term or diagnosis, it does describe a condition that is a complication of a water event, termed ‘post-immersion syndrome,’" Scott told Fox News Digital.

"Post-immersion syndrome, considered a nonfatal drowning, describes an event in which a person was submersed in water but the lungs were not filled with water (thus dry)."

When this occurs, water has been inhaled — not swallowed — through the nose or mouth. 

"Water in the airways can lead to laryngospasm, or vocal cord spasm, making it difficult to breathe," explained Scott, who also works on the JustAnswer.com platform fielding questions about a wide variety of children’s health issues. 

"This makes it difficult to get air into the lungs."

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Post-immersion syndrome can occur after anyone has been in any body of water, whether it’s a lake, swimming pool, bathtub or hot tub.

"Technically, any drowning is the result of not getting air in the lungs, whether the lungs are wet or dry," Scott said. 

The most obvious sign of post-immersion syndrome is excessive or continuous coughing, Scott said.

"If someone inhales water, their response is to cough, which often expels the water," the doctor said. "The concern is when the cough continues after an episode of 30 to 60 minutes or longer."

Other warning signs that occur immediately after an episode or within an hour include difficulty breathing or speaking, rapid and hard breathing, chest pain, wheezing or vomiting.

Later symptoms, usually within two to three hours, can include confusion, sleepiness, and continued coughing and breathing difficulties, all of which can be signs of decreased oxygen, said Scott.

"A child who has either been rescued from water or inhaled water and has any of the above symptoms should be taken in for a medical evaluation," Scott said. "For any child who is not breathing, CPR should be given and 911 should be called."

A child with symptoms of post-immersion syndrome usually will be observed at the hospital for up to eight hours before the physician decides whether to pursue further treatment, Scott said.

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"Keeping a child calm can sometimes help the muscle spasms to relax," she added.

Although this condition is uncommon, it can be fatal if symptoms aren't addressed and lack of oxygen occurs, the doctor said. 

"A severe laryngospasm that isn't relieved ultimately can lead to lack of oxygen and cardiac arrest," she warned. "Long-term effects are the result of poor oxygen to any organ system, especially the brain, which can result in seizures or brain damage."

Drowning is the most common cause of unintentional death in children between ages 1 and 4 and the second leading cause of death in children between ages 5 and 14, per the CDC. 

Most drownings are preventable. 

"First and foremost, children should never swim unsupervised or alone," Scott said. 

"Young children who cannot swim should have an adult within arm's reach and wear a personal flotation device."

Private swimming pools should have a fence around them to prevent someone from wandering in, she went on. Children should always wear life vests when they're near or around lakes. 

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While it’s a good idea to have young children take swim lessons, Scott emphasized that it is not a safeguard, nor should it give a false sense of security or take the place of close adult supervision.

Parents also should learn CPR, she added.

While post-immersion syndrome can happen to someone at any age, children are at the greatest risk, Scott said.

"Adults and teens are more likely to be at risk if they go swimming after consuming alcohol, but anyone can accidentally inhale water when submersed," she said. 

"The vast majority of the time, this clears up with coughing. For persistent symptoms, one should seek medical care."

Fewer than 40% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients receive CPR before EMS teams arrive, according to the American Heart Association. Even fewer patients are treated with an automated external defibrillator or AED. 

New initiatives and partnerships are working to change that, with the goal of doubling the survival rate for heart attacks.

"The idea is to ensure that lifesaving policies are in place at the high school level to make sure that our kids, if they suffer sudden cardiac arrest, have the best possible chances of success," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president for health and safety innovation.

The NFL and other professional sports leagues are working with the Red Cross and the American Heart Association to promote their Smart Heart Coalition.

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"With schools being a focal place for gathering in the community, it's really important that we have emergency response plans," said Nancy Brown, the American Heart Association's CEO. 

"We know that although the statistics are true, that older people are more likely to have a cardiac arrest or a cardiovascular event, young people still have these events as well. So we want to be sure that someone is prepared everywhere to save a life."

When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a live Monday Night Football game about six months ago, his team’s doctors were prepared.

"The people were in place; they were practiced," said Miller. "They had trained their emergency action plan. They knew to take Damar to a level one trauma center when he was evacuated from the field. They had the device there and they knew what to do with it."

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Miller said the NFL and Hamlin wanted to take advantage of all the attention received from this incident — and encourage everyone to have a response plan.

"We learned a lot and have tried to share a lot," Miller said. "But at the high school level, obviously they don't have the same sort of resources or setup that the NFL does. And so we want to translate some of those learnings alongside the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross and others to make sure that our schools are in the best possible place to help out kids who might need it."

Every year, an estimated 350,000 people experience a heart attack outside the hospital. One in 300 kids has an undetected heart condition.

"There isn't sufficient awareness. Parents, coaches and others should insist upon these very basic, simple, easy-to-enact solutions to what is a thankfully not very common, but at the same time all too common phenomenon," Miller said. 

"Those deaths are simply preventable by these three simple policy adjustments: CPR education, an emergency action plan and the availability of an AED nearby [within] one to three minutes of an athletic contest or practice so the kid can be saved."

Athletes and health officials have also taken the effort to Capitol Hill. Lawmakers have introduced the Access to AEDs Act, which would provide additional funding for schools.

"It’s grants that would enable communities and athletic facilities to get access," Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) said.

Welch said a reaction plan is important, and a quick response helped save his brother’s life.

"My brother was playing basketball and he collapsed. They had, right there at this gym, a defibrillator," Welch said. 

"And 20 years later, John's still playing basketball. So we're really grateful in the Welch family that this community has done it."

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Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall is a medical doctor. He believes if more people know where AEDs are located and how to use them, they can help save additional lives.

"The chances of a person surviving this goes up from one out of 10 to three out of 10 if someone's able to start CPR. It probably goes up to seven out of 10 if we have an AED available as well," Marshall said. 

"I'm committed to getting them across the country in the right locations, but also figuring out everyone should have some type of an app downloaded that could show us those locations."

MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., is partnering with professional athletes from the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards to demonstrate how to perform CPR and how to use an AED.

"Getting the athletes on board, with their star power, definitely makes people excited about it," Dr. Alex Koo said. 

When they show "how easy it is without any training, I think people can get really excited about and say, ‘Hey, I can do it as well.'"

MedStar Health hopes the videos make people more comfortable about learning and performing CPR.

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"Black communities, as well as Hispanic communities, sometimes don't have as high rates of bystander CPR. And so that's something that we want to highlight, that this is something that's accessible to everybody," Dr. Koo said.

CPR training no longer includes mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The American Heart Association also says that hands-only CPR can really make a difference.

"We recognized that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was a barrier for some people in administering CPR," Brown told Fox News. 

"Generally cardiac arrests, if they are witnessed, are generally witnessed by someone who knows the person that might be having the cardiac arrest. So the skill of learning CPR is really important because you might be saving the life of someone you know and love."

The American Heart Association believes that while formal CPR training is important, simple videos and easy-to-learn methods can still help save lives.

"We do intend at the AHA to create a ‘Nation of Lifesavers’ and we encourage everyone to learn CPR," Brown said. "I think that CPR and AED training should be part of everyone's summer safety plan."

You can watch MedStar Health's videos at MedStarHealth.org/CPR. 

If you are interested in getting CPR-certified or learning to use an AED, you can find a class in your area at CPR.heart.org.

The most common type of gynecologic cancer in the U.S. has been on the rise in recent years — and there’s no standard screening for it.

Uterine cancer will affect about 66,200 women in 2023 in the U.S. — and around 13,000 will die from the disease, per the American Cancer Society (ACS).

"While we are seeing a downward trend in overall cancer cases, uterine cancer is one of the few types where we're seeing an upward trend," said Dr. Brian Slomovitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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"We’re anticipating that the number of deaths in the United States due to uterine cancer is soon going to outnumber the deaths due to ovarian cancer," he added.

To help raise awareness, the International Society of Gynecologic Cancer announced the first-ever Uterine Cancer Awareness Month in June.

Slomovitz — who also serves as chair of the Uterine Cancer Awareness Month initiative — spoke to Fox News Digital about the state of uterine cancer and what women need to know.

The terms "uterine cancer" and "endometrial cancer" are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference, Slomovitz said.

A vast majority of these types of cancers occur in the outer and inner layers of the uterus, known as the endometrium — hence the term "endometrial cancer."

About 4% to 5% of the cancers occur in the muscle of the uterus. These are known as uterine sarcomas.

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"Sarcomas are aggressive diseases with a tremendously high death rate," Slomovitz explained. "But all of them fall in the category of uterine cancers."

Obesity is the biggest risk factor for uterine cancer, Slomovitz said.

"Fat tissue increases the amount of estrogen in the body, and endometrial cancer is a hyper estrogenic," he explained. "It stimulates the lining of the uterus to the point of uncontrolled proliferation into cancer."

Overweight women (with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9) have twice the risk of developing uterine cancer as women at a healthy weight, the ACS website states.

Obese women (BMI of 30 or higher) have three times the risk.

Those with diabetes, which is closely related to obesity, are also at a higher risk.

A less common risk factor could be polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is a hormonal disorder that can lead to enlarged ovaries and the formation of cysts. 

PCOS leads to elevated estrogen levels and lower progesterone levels, which can raise the risk of endometrial cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS) website.

Some hereditary syndromes can make women more susceptible to uterine cancer.

"One of those is Lynch syndrome, which was often associated with colorectal cancer," said Slomovitz.

"We know that half the women who develop cancer from Lynch syndrome develop endometrial cancer."

Age is also a risk factor, as most patients are diagnosed in their 50s and 60s, the doctor said.

"The increase in cases may be due to obesity, but we're also seeing longer life expectancy," he noted. "The older people get, the more likely that they are to get endometrial cancer, obviously."

While other cancers have specific, recommended screenings — such as mammograms for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colorectal cancer — there are no pre-symptomatic screenings for uterine cancers, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Pap smear (Pap test) checks for cervical cancer and precancerous cells in the cervix, but does not screen for uterine cancer.

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The most common sign or symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal bleeding, Slomovirz said.

"Most uterine cancer patients have postmenopausal bleeding as an early sign or symptom — however, that's not the case for everyone," he said.

In premenopausal women, it can be more difficult to determine what constitutes "abnormal" bleeding, the doctor noted. 

"They shouldn't just assume it's changes in their menstrual cycle," he said. 

In the absence of a formal screening process, Slomovitz stressed the need to recognize symptoms and take quick action.

"We need to better educate patients to come see their doctors sooner if they have symptoms," he told Fox News Digital. 

In addition to bleeding, other symptoms may include pelvic pain or pelvic pressure.

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"We always tell people that if they have symptoms that are worsening or if they persist after 10 to 14 days, they should come in to see their doctor just to make sure everything's OK," Slomovitz said.

"We're still seeing a large number of patients who are diagnosed with advanced and recurrent disease."

The diagnosis process typically starts with an ultrasound to take images of the uterus, followed by a tissue biopsy — either to diagnose or rule out the disease, said Slomovitz.

In cases of advanced cancer, patients will usually get additional tests — such as chest X-rays, CT scans, MRIs or PET scans — to determine if the disease has spread.

"It traditionally spreads through the lymphatic system, which means lymph nodes can be enlarged," Slomovitz explained. "It can also spread to the liver or the lungs through the blood system."

In patients who have had endometrial cancer in the past, a gynecologic oncologist will instruct them that for any future symptoms, recurring cancer must be ruled out. 

"They're cancer patients — so even in the non-specific symptoms, it's worthy of seeing their oncologist again to make sure it's not coming back," Slomovitz said.

In women who are diagnosed with uterine cancer, one of the first steps is usually a hysterectomy, which is the removal of the uterus.

"Eighty percent of women are cured with a hysterectomy," Slomovitz said.

To further minimize risk, the doctor said medical professionals will often do lymph node sampling as well to make sure the cancer hasn't spread.

"But for the additional 20% of patients who have advanced or recurrent disease, systemic therapies are needed," he said. "We need to do better with treatment options for uterine cancer."

For these aggressive cases, the systemic therapies have been chemotherapy or hormonal therapy, which uses progesterone to slow down tumor growth.

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This year, Slomovitz said, some breakthrough studies have shown that immunotherapy can be given in the first-line management of the disease.

Immunotherapy treatments work by helping the immune system to slow, stop or destroy cancer cells. It’s shown to be effective for lung cancer, oral cancer and melanoma, the doctor pointed out.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in May 2023, researchers presented promising results for a new class of drugs called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCS), a targeted therapy for treating cancer, Slomovitz said.

Future studies will continue to look at these types of targeted drugs.

"One of my career goals is to use immunotherapy and targeted therapy to eliminate the need for chemotherapy and its associated toxicities and side effects," Slomovitz said.

Another "groundbreaking" advancement Slomovitz is particularly excited about is molecular classification, which divides uterine cancers into four different subtypes — thus allowing for more precise, personalized treatment options.

"We're in a very exciting time," he said. "There are some game-changing studies that are coming out, as we try to fill this unmet need to help our patients live longer."

“The launch of the Diabetes Nutritional Management Toolkit was held as part of CARPHA’s celebration of Caribbean Nutrition Awareness Month 2023”

View the full post CARPHA Diabetes Nutritional Management Toolkit on NOW Grenada.

Between 2020 and 2021, there was a nearly 19% increase in weight loss surgeries among U.S. youths aged 10 to 19 years, as discovered by researchers from the University of Texas, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The researchers were particularly interested in looking at these trends after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a statement in late 2019 endorsing increased access to bariatric surgery for teens, said lead study author Sarah Messiah, PhD, professor and pediatric obesity researcher at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.

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The study drew on data from across six years from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, which accredits bariatric surgery centers in the U.S. and Canada.

"Historically, research shows pediatricians have been hesitant to refer their patients with severe obesity to bariatric surgery," Messiah told Fox News Digital in an email. 

"Our findings show a steady increase in usage in the two years after the release of this AAP statement."

The increase was particularly high for racial and ethnic minority groups. That includes Hispanic/Latino, non-Hispanic Black/African American and others, possibly because they are "disproportionately impacted by cardiometabolic disease risk factors versus non-Hispanic Whites," Messiah said.

These risk factors include elevated blood pressure, lipids, insulin, glucose and waist circumference — all of which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as some types of cancer, she added.

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The new study did have some limitations, Messiah said.

"We are always limited to the data we are analyzing in that it does not include the entire universe of all adolescents who have ever completed bariatric surgery in the U.S. during the analytical time period," she said. 

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"However, this dataset does include all adolescent patients who completed their surgery at a U.S. accredited center, which is the gold standard," the doctor also said.

In January 2023, the AAP released its new pediatric obesity treatment guidelines, officially endorsing bariatric surgery and weight loss prescriptions for the first time.

"Teens age 13 and older with severe obesity (BMI ≥120% of the 95th percentile for age and sex) should be evaluated for metabolic and bariatric surgery," the guidelines stated.

There are four main types of bariatric surgery, according to the Cleveland Clinic: gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric band and duodenal switch.

There was a lot of resistance to the AAP’s recommendation, Messiah pointed out.

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"However, our analysis would suggest that families are following their own path in terms of deciding to move forward with surgery for their adolescent," she said. 

"It will be important that we support these families moving forward to ensure the best health outcomes for their adolescents as they age into adulthood."

Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, offers a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. 

Billed as a minimally invasive procedure, it involves removing a large portion of the stomach to suppress hunger, according to its website.

The hospital recommends exploring weight loss surgery for children who are at least 5 years old, have a BMI of at least 40 (or above 35 with other medical conditions) and have had at least six months of "supervised medical weight loss therapy."

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio also has a bariatric surgery program, but its website states that it’s for "severely obese adolescents who haven’t had success with behavioral and nutritional approaches to weight loss."

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, offers two types of bariatric surgery: gastric bypass and gastric sleeve. 

The website doesn’t specify a minimum age requirement, but patients must be at least 100 pounds over their "ideal body weight."

Patients and physicians have gone online to share experiences and opinions on pediatric weight loss surgery. 

These run the gamut from success stories to cautionary tales.

One bariatric surgeon on Reddit voiced concern about misconceptions of the procedure.

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"People see it as ‘the easy way out,’ but it's honestly the only way out for 95% of people who are morbidly obese," the doctor wrote. 

"Your metabolic rate will slow down significantly if you try to diet and lose weight, and your progress will slow down — and weight regain is almost inevitable. Bariatric surgery doesn't do that, and something like the gastric bypass hardwires in a malabsorptive component that can't be overridden."

"Do I think we should do bariatric surgery in teenagers? I won't be doing it any time soon, but I think that in a controlled setting with IRB approval, it is appropriate," the surgeon continued, referring to Institutional Review Boards. 

"We have an entire demographic of teenagers with type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and serious joint pains because of their weight," the surgeon also wrote. "It would be ignorant to overlook an obvious treatment for those conditions."

Another poster, however, shared that her friend opted for the bypass procedure at 16 years old and did not have a good experience.

"She’s now 26 and has gained all the weight back and more," she wrote. 

"Her brain wasn’t done developing and she wasn’t mature enough to understand the consequences of such major surgery and to stick to the guidelines and deal with her disordered eating."

Meanwhile, a surgery intern in a private hospital posted that the facility had performed an "astonishingly high number of bariatric cases" and recalled seeing many complications — even when very skilled surgeons did the procedures.

Dr. Sue Decotiis, a triple board-certified weight loss physician in New York City, warned of the potential dangers of these surgeries in children and teens, given their "irreversible nature."

She told Fox News Digital, "With bariatric surgery, you're altering the anatomy of the GI tract, and that anatomy — if it's a bypass — can never be returned [to its original state]."

She added, "That means the individual is never going to be able to eat regular meals because the anatomy of the stomach has changed."

Another potential problem is that after the anatomy of the stomach is altered, Decotiis said, the person won’t be able to eat as much high-nutrition and high-fiber food because they will feel full immediately.

"This can make them gravitate toward processed foods because those are a lot easier to get down," she said. 

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Before going the surgery route for a child or teen, Decotiis recommends first making dietary changes, such as cutting out sodas and sugary foods and slowly introducing more nutritious fare.

And in the case of teens with severe obesity, the doctor pointed out that if they start with some of the newer weight loss medications that are available, surgery might not be necessary.

"All the medical options need to be exhausted before they consider surgery, because surgery is irreversible," Decotiis said.

The only exception, she said, is if the child or teen is "morbidly obese" (now known as Class III obesity, which is when a person has a BMI of 40 or higher, or 35 or higher along with obesity-related health conditions, per the Cleveland Clinic). 

"Otherwise, it's not worth it because they will likely gain the weight back — and since their anatomy has been disturbed, getting proper nutrients will be difficult in the future."

The group said that building the skills for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can start at age four — and be developed over time through routine training.

By the time children have reached 10 years old, they then may be able to perform effective chest compressions on manikins, said the statement published in Circulation, the American Heart Association’s journal. 

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It detailed evidence showing that schoolchildren as young as age four know how to call for help in a medical emergency — and that, by the ages of 10-12, they can even administer effective chest compressions when performing CPR.

The statement also said that kids can become aware of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and begin learning the steps and rhythm of CPR. 

"Building skills at a young age that are reinforced consistently throughout their years in school has the potential to educate generations of students and their parents on how to respond to cardiac arrest, perform chest compressions and rescue breaths, use an AED and ultimately increase survival," Comilla Sasson, M.D., PhD and a member of the statement-writing committee, said in a news release. 

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Sasson, an emergency physician based in the Denver area who serves as vice president for science and innovation at the American Heart Association, said all family members should know what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest (when the heart stops beating) — since it occurs most often outside a hospital setting. 

The report authors reviewed over 100 research articles about training students in CPR. 

They found that school-aged children are highly motivated to learn life-saving skills and often "multiply" their training by sharing what they have learned with others, the news release said. 

"Training students has become a key element to increase the number of people ready to perform CPR when cardiac arrest occurs outside a hospital, and potentially increase rates of CPR and cardiac arrest survival globally," Dr. Bernd W. Böttiger, chair of the statement-writing group and head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne in Cologne, Germany, said in a news release.

The authors recommended a combination of theoretical and practical training in schools and using social media tools to help share lifesaving skills. 

Worldwide, cardiac arrest that occurs away from a hospital setting is a leading cause of death, with survival rates range between 2% and 20% globally, according to the report. 

These rates are especially low when a bystander does not take immediate action, the news release said. 

"With survival rates of 2% to 20% for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, this study delineates the significance of children and their ability to respond not only in a timely manner but also provide care in a critical period for a patient or possibly even a friend or family member," said Dr. Zachary Hena, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone in New York City, who was not associated with the report.

Hena also told Fox News Digital, "We know the time from when someone is down to [the] time to starting chest compressions and/or delivering an effective shock if necessary improves survival and outcomes. Effectively, kids can save lives from this study — but more importantly, kids will save lives," he added. 

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Dr. Kendra Hoepper, a pediatric nurse practitioner and an associate professor and program director of nursing at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, told Fox News Digital that it's important to implement a tiered type of training program regarding CPR and first aid in children. 

That way, kids can feel more comfortable and not be fearful of reacting. 

Despite their young age, she said even a 4-year-old could be helpful in an emergency.

"The sooner we can encourage kids to know what to do in emergencies, the better," she said.

"Let's say a parent or grandparent collapses in the home — [children] may not know how to check a pulse or for breathing, but they can recognize when something is wrong and they should know to call 9-1-1." 

She added, "The 4-year-old can at least talk to someone on the phone who would then be able to instruct the child on what to do until emergency services arrive."

Hoepper and some of her former colleagues at Molloy University in Rockville Center, New York, partnered with local schools and organizations such as the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts to help educate the community on the American Heart Association’s "Hands On Only" CPR training through formal classes and pop-up tent events. 

Debra McWilliams, MS, RN, director of Interprofessional Simulation at Long Island University Post in Brookville, New York, said of the report, "We know that every second counts when it comes to helping someone who has collapsed from a cardiac event."

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She added, "Many people witnessed the collapse of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin on the field this past year. Within seconds, team trainers provided CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart his heart." 

McWilliams and her nursing students recently taught CPR to the LIU community.

She said, "Knowledge is power. Educating people of all ages, children to adults, will have a positive ripple effect. This lesson can literally save lives."

Artificial intelligence has its own idea of what the perfect human body should look like.

A new study by The Bulimia Project, a Brooklyn, New York-based website that publishes content and research related to eating disorders, investigated how AI perceived the "ideal" body based on social media data.

The results, produced by AI-generated imaging tools such as Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, showed widely "unrealistic" body structures, as reported in a discussion of the findings on The Bulimia Project's website.

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Forty percent of the overall images depicted "unrealistic" body types of muscular men and women — 37% for women and 43% for men — according to the study.

For women, the AI-generated images seemed to have a bias toward blonde hair, brown eyes and olive-toned skin.

More than half (53%) of all images of women generated to depict the "ideal body type" included olive skin.

For men, the AI-generated images showed a bias toward brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin.

Sixty-seven percent of all images for men with the "ideal body type" included brown hair and 63% had olive skin.

Additionally, 47% of the images for men included facial hair.

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The Bulimia Project extracted its results by approaching the various AI systems with two prompts.

The first prompt — "the ‘perfect’ female body according to social medial in 2023" — generated a variety of female body types but showed an obvious preference for slimmer women with toned muscles.

The second prompt — "the ‘perfect’ male body, according to social medial in 2023" — did the same, coming up with images of men with perfectly toned abs.

"Smaller women appeared in nearly all the images created by Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, but the latter came up with the most unrealistic representations of the female body," the study revealed.

"The same can be said for the male physiques it generated, all of which look like photoshopped versions of bodybuilders."

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The study broadened the scope beyond social media, prompting the AI tools to generate images of "the ‘perfect’ woman in 2023" and "the ‘perfect’ man in 2023."

The results showed more diversity in skin, hair and eye color as well as ethnicity, although the images still depicted conventionally "fit" individuals.

The study compared how the social media-inspired images were much more sexualized and "unsettling," in terms of disproportionate body parts, than the AI-inspired renderings.

"Considering that social media uses algorithms based on which content gets the most lingering eyes, it’s easy to guess why AI’s renderings would come out more sexualized," the study concluded. 

"But we can only assume that the reason AI came up with so many oddly shaped versions of the physiques it found on social media is that these platforms promote unrealistic body types to begin with."

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In the age of filters on photo apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, "no one can reasonably achieve the physical standards set by social media," the study noted.

The Bulimia Project study was launched in response to the jarring impact of social media on children’s mental health, which could be a source of body image issues, according to the study.

The idealization of body types on social media has an undeniable effect on adults as well, experts say.

James Campigotto, a Deerfield, Florida-based data journalist who worked on The Bulimia Project's study, told Fox News Digital in an interview that this study was designed to explore the biases and potential dangers of AI.

Campigotto noted that some of the results were considered "unrealistic" in terms of body type by straying "far away" from what is "obtainable" by the average person.

"This could [negatively impact] individuals' body images," he said. 

"You could be someone who's doing all the right things, eating properly and exercising constantly … and still not achieving these very outlandish images, which can be very disheartening and impactful on someone's self-image," he added.

Campigotto said he was most surprised by the lack of diversity in the social media-inspired renderings.

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Most of the male images showed chiseled abs and "Superman-like" physiques, he said — which he believes could be linked to a lack of conversation surrounding male body positivity.

"I think men are struggling with this idea just as much, if not the same, as women — this idea of body image [and] what it is to have a body you’re proud of," he said.

AI expert Joe Toscano, founder of the data technology company Mach 9 in Omaha, Nebraska, told Fox News Digital the study findings are "not surprising," since the internet is "all about what gets clicked on the most."

"These systems are not making decisions based on ‘thinking,'" he said in a statement. "They're making these decisions based on what's already out there and indicators that are coded into the system to determine what is ‘best.’" 

As AI poses a potential threat to self-esteem and body image, Campigotto said the study also revealed biases present within artificial intelligence, warning users to "take everything with a grain of salt."

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"Keep in mind that everything that's being generated is being influenced by a certain perspective and a certain bias," he said. 

Taking social media influencers as an example, Campigotto explained they are a "minority group" who should not be representative of an overall image.

Instead, he said, "try to compare yourself to the version of yourself from yesterday and less toward everything going on around you," he said. 

"Adjust your perspective to just focus on yourself."

Toscano of Mach 9 added that a certain kind of AI usage will only "accelerate levels of mental illness and body shame."

"I used to compare myself to my peers locally, but now kids are comparing themselves to the things that trend the most on the internet, meaning instead of comparing yourself to one in 1,000 people or even 10,000 people, you're comparing yourself with the ‘best’ in the world — making those standards even more unattainable," he said. 

"In addition to that, there's no way to tell what's been rendered or not nowadays," Toscano said. 

"There's no way to tell who's had plastic surgery or not nowadays."

Aiming to change that, Nuance — a Microsoft-owned artificial intelligence company in Massachusetts — has created an AI tool for physicians called DAX Express, which streamlines the note-taking process.

At Cooper University Health Care in New Jersey, doctors who are already using the tool have reported improved patient outcomes, greater efficiency and reduced costs.

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"For our physicians who use DAX more than half the time, they have seen a 43% reduction of the time they spend writing notes and an overall 21% reduction in the amount of time they spend in the electronic medical record," said Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli, the CEO of Cooper, which employs 150 physicians. 

He is also an emergency physician.

Peter Durlach, chief strategy officer of Nuance, compares the tool to a "co-pilot" for physicians.

"DAX lets clinicians fully focus on caring for patients instead of manually filling in data entry screens," he told Fox News Digital. 

"This technology helps improve the patient experience and the quality of care, while also making it so that clinicians no longer need to spend hours of their own time completing documentation."

DAX Express is powered by GPT-4, the latest version of AI chatbot technology from OpenAI. 

The tool automatically and securely creates clinical notes, with the patient’s consent, that are immediately available for the doctor to review after each patient visit.

"The phone sits between the doctor and the patient," Mazzarelli explained during an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital. "It incorporates not just what the doctor says, but also what the patient says. And then it uses AI to write the note."

He added, "It's a huge step up from just dictating notes."

Next, the note is sent to the doctor, who can make any necessary changes before approving it. The doctor can then share the file with the patient for transparency.

"It’s like a physician’s assistant that thinks really fast," Mazzarelli said. "The physician is still responsible for making sure the note correctly reflects the conversation."

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The tool gives doctors evidence-based support for the decisions they make, right in the palm of their hand, he added.

"This is, to me, the next evolution," Mazzarelli said. "It’s not that we just want a faster horse and buggy — we want the car."

The more obvious benefits of DAX are removing the administrative burden from physicians and reducing burnout, but the benefits extend to the patient as well, Mazzarelli said. 

The doctor is able to directly interact with the patient and look the person in the eye without the distraction of note-taking, he said. 

This aligns with Cooper University Health Care’s philosophy of practicing "compassion science," which emphasizes a clear understanding of what patients are experiencing.

"If you can really connect with patients, whether you're a nurse or a doctor or anybody in health care, it improves patient outcomes and lowers overall costs," Mazzarelli said. 

"That's good for not just patients, but for the whole health care system."

Because the physician has to sign off on each AI-created medical note, Mazzarelli believes Nuance’s AI tool presents a low risk.

"It's the same risk as if you had an intern or an administrative assistant write something for you and you put it out in the world and didn't look at it," he said. 

"If you’re depending on AI and not thinking of it as an assistant and you just let it make all the decisions — then you certainly could have a problem there."

Nuance’s Durlach believes that administrative functions — note-taking, coding and billing — should be the first place to implement AI because they require a lot of manual work and the cost of making a mistake does not impact patient health.

"As a Microsoft company, our goal is to develop and deploy AI that will have a beneficial impact and earn trust from society," Durlach told Fox News Digital. 

"We are committed to creating responsible AI by design."

In developing its tech, Nuance focuses on a core set of principles: fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.

"In an industry where certain types of mistakes can have serious consequences, health care organizations must be particularly mindful of choosing safe and proven AI solutions," Durlach said.

In the past, medical technology has actually increased the number of administrative tasks, Mazzarelli said — but he believes AI has the potential to dramatically streamline the doctor-patient experience.

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"I am very optimistic about the application of generative AI to improve medical care," the doctor said.

"I think it's going to help doctors and patients have better relationships. And I think if used correctly, it's going to be among the best advances we've had."

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As medicine continues to become more complex, Mazzarelli said, there is a greater need for decision support. 

"As personalized medicine becomes more and more the way of the future, we need assistance to make sure we can use it correctly," he added. 

"AI is clearly already here, and I'm even more optimistic about the ways it can assist in the future."

A healthy mouth means more than an attractive smile. 

Research has shown that oral health impacts the wellness of the entire body and is directly linked to risk levels for heart disease, pneumonia and other conditions.

While it's common knowledge that everyone should brush and floss every day, what about the things people are not supposed to do to their teeth?

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If you’re making any of these dangerous dental mistakes, you could be putting the health of your teeth and gums in jeopardy, according to experts. 

Read on …

Failing to take proper care of dental health is the biggest mistake cited by dentists.

Neglecting oral hygiene "includes not brushing and flossing regularly, which can lead to tooth decay, gum disease and other oral health problems," Dr. Sean Kutlay, a dentist in Santa Clarita, California, told Fox News Digital.

"To counteract this, it's important to establish a daily oral hygiene routine that includes brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes and flossing at least once a day."

One of the biggest causes of structural damage to teeth is the tendency to use them as tools, such as bottle openers and package rippers, according to Dr. Fadi Swaida of Bond Street Dental in Toronto, Ontario.

"Using your teeth for those kinds of things can end with cracking, chipping and damaging them," she told Fox News Digital. 

"I've seen many patients who crack their front teeth because they were trying to open something with them."

Tobacco use has been linked to a long list of health dangers, including those related to the teeth.

"Smoking and using tobacco products can stain your teeth, cause bad breath, and increase your risk of gum disease and oral cancer," said Kutlay.

The obvious means of prevention is to quit smoking or using tobacco products altogether, he added.

Vaping presents a similar problem, Swaida noted — particularly because it's unclear what long-term damage the chemicals could cause to the teeth and gums.

It might sound crazy, but Fatima Khan, a dentist and co-founder of Riven Oral Care in Houston, Texas, has heard of some people filing down their teeth with nail files to try and make them all the same length.

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"Not only can you introduce bacteria from your nail file into your mouth this way, but it can also cause irreversible damage to your teeth," she said in an email to Fox News Digital. "Once your enamel is gone, it's gone for good — it won't magically grow back like your nails do."

For some, this can lead to sensitivity — but others may end up needing root canal therapy if they file down too close to their nerve and end up experiencing excruciating pain, Khan warned.

Brushing your teeth twice a day is key to good dental health, per the American Dental Association — but too much force can backfire, dentists agree.

"Many people think that brushing harder will help remove all the plaque and bacteria, but it can abrade your enamel and cause tooth wear and sensitivity," Dr. Tina Saw, a licensed dentist and founder of Oral Genome in California, told Fox News Digital. 

It’s best to brush your teeth gently with a pressure-sensing electric toothbrush or a soft manual toothbrush, she said.

Add dental health to the long list of the benefits that hydration brings.

"Water is not only good for your overall health, but it’s super important to your dental health," Dr. Diana Matatova, a general dentist in Glendale, Arizona, told Fox News Digital.

"After eating a meal or sweet drinks, drinking water afterward can help rinse your teeth when you’re not able to brush," she said. 

"Keeping saliva flowing in your mouth by drinking water helps prevent tooth decay and keeps cavities from forming."

Even though it can be very satisfying, Dr. Saw recommends refraining from chewing on ice.

"It can cause microfractures that lead to more significant fractures over time and, inevitably, broken teeth," she warned.

In one study from Japan, people who chewed 30 ice cubes each day using only the left side of their mouths over a two-decade span were found to develop cavities and changes in the jaw on that side.

Up to 30% of the population bites their nails, studies show, but the bad habit can do damage to more than your fingers. Nail-biting can also chip the teeth, Saw warned.

"Even though your teeth are harder than your nails, they have thinner incisal edges that can chip easily if you bite your nails the wrong way," she told Fox News Digital. 

"A few good ways to try and kick this habit are to keep your nails trimmed short, apply bitter-tasting nail polish or get a gel manicure," Saw added.

Certain types of do-it-yourself teeth whitening should generally be avoided, Khan told Fox News Digital.

One of the current trends involves mixing baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and adding it to a "boil and bite" mouth guard, which is made of a soft, flexible material that is boiled and then bitten on to conform to the teeth.

"Baking soda can be pretty abrasive, and if you use it too often or in high concentrations, it can actually damage tooth enamel," Khan warned. "Plus, that ‘boil and bite’ guard might not fit your mouth perfectly, so the hydrogen peroxide can leak out and irritate your gums or even burn them."

Another risky DIY trend is to brush with turmeric to strengthen and whiten teeth. 

While the plant-based spice has some proven health benefits, Khan said it’s best to consume it rather than brush with it. 

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"Turmeric is a dark yellow color, and it can be tough to brush off completely," she told Fox News Digital. "I've seen it stain the teeth of some of my patients because they didn't rinse their mouth and brush thoroughly enough after using it. And when the turmeric sits on the teeth for too long, it can actually make them look more yellow, not less."

Whitening too much can also be harmful, Saw warned.

"Excessive teeth whitening can cause tooth sensitivity and also result in the incisal or edges of the teeth becoming translucent," she said. "It can also strip your teeth of its protective enamel and weaken them."

"It can be hard to resist snacking throughout the day — especially now that so many of us work remotely — but when we eat, it triggers an acid release to aid digestion," Saw said. 

"The acid breaks down teeth, and frequent acid attacks on your teeth can cause cavities and decay over time."

Certain foods are more harmful to the teeth than others — particularly sugary substances, like soda and candy.

"Sugar is one of the main culprits when it comes to tooth decay," Kutlay told Fox News Digital. "When you eat sugary foods or drink sugary drinks, the bacteria in your mouth feed on the sugar and produce acid, which can erode your tooth enamel."

The recommended counteraction is to limit sugar intake and choose healthier snacks like fruits, vegetables and nuts, he said.

Some TikTok trends suggest that people can straighten and move their teeth at home without any orthodontic work, but this is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, dentists said. 

"Using gap bands, rubber bands, paperclips, beads, dental floss and elastic bands to try and move your teeth is just asking for trouble," Khan told Fox News Digital.

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"Orthodontic movement needs to be done precisely, and if it's not, you can permanently damage your teeth, gums and roots. In some cases, it can even lead to bone loss and tooth loss," she added.

When people aren’t having any mouth pain or problems, they may assume everything is fine and opt to skip a dental visit — but dentists agree that’s a bad idea.

Said Swaida, "Regular dental visits keep your teeth free of tartar and plaque, which cause tooth decay, and detect problems early so they can be remedied."

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