Obesity Increases Risks in Pregnancy ARTICLE, WebMD — The Teratology Society declares obesity as a pregnancy risk factor. Obesity during pregnancy increases the chance of having a baby with neural tube defects, even with enough folic acid in their diet. Full text of the article can be found here. How Changes in Medical Technology Affect Health Care Costs ARTICLE, The Kaiser Family Foundation — Health expenditures continue to grow very rapidly in the U.S. Since 1970, health care spending has grown at an average annual rate of 9.8%, or about 2.5 percentage points faster than the economy as measured by the nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Annual spending on health care increased from $75 billion in 1970 to $2.0 trillion in 2005, and is estimated to reach $4 trillion in 2015. As a share of the economy, health care has more than doubled over the past 35 years, rising from 7.2% of GDP in 1970 to 16.0% of GDP in 2005, and is projected to be 20% of GDP in 2015. Health care spending per capita increased from $356 in 1970 to $6,697 in 2005, and is projected to rise to $12,320 in 2015. Click here for the full text of the article. Obesity May Up Prostate Cancer Deaths ARTICLE, WebMD — Obesity may increase the possibility of death among prostate cancer patients. If the new study is correct, obese men will still be at risk even with a prostatectomy. Full text of the article can be found here.