Six percent more babies were born to women over 40 between 2007 and 2009. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 9.5 births for every thousand women ages 40-44 in 2007. In 2009 there were 10.1. Birth rates for every other age group declined. Fertility rates also declined for all major racial groups, with Hispanic women having the largest decline – 9%. After a record 4.3 million births in 2007, the number dropped 4% to 4.1 million in 2009. Fewer babies means women have more time to “baby” themselves.
Forty percent of women who had childhood migraines gained at least 22 pounds after age 18 versus 30% of women who hadn’t had migraines. In a study published in the journal Headache, researchers analyzed data from approximately 3,700 women. They were asked their height and weight at 18 and before pregnancy and if they’d had migraines. Seventeen percent of normal-weight women had childhood migraines, while 25% of obese women had them. However, a 2009 study showed heavy children who lost weight started having fewer headaches. It seems childhood weight problems can “come to a head” in adulthood.
Fifty to 80% percent of women experience hot flashes. They coincide with a reduction in estrogen and relate to instability in the skin’s blood vessels. A study published in the journal Menopause suggests hot flashes protect the heart. Researchers reviewed medical information from 60,000 women and tracked them for 10 years. Women who had hot flashes at the outset of menopause had 17% lower risk of stroke, 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 8% lower risk of death than women who didn’t have them or had them later in menopause. For many women this is a “hot flash” of news.
Seventy-nine percent of women – average age 25 – said they wanted to lose weight, although 78% of them were normal weight or underweight. According to this 2011 British survey of approximately 320 undergraduates, 16 % said they would trade a year of their life for a perfect body, 10 % said they would trade 2-5 years and 2% said up to 10 years. Many women were willing to make other trades for an ideal body. Thirteen percent would trade $8,138 yearly in salary; 8%, a promotion; and 6%, earning a degree with honors. Considering what the women were willing to trade, the survey sounds like a “weighting game”.
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