Health
More babies born to women over 40 than teens for first time in US history
The teen pregnancy epidemic could be waning, data suggests.
For the first time in U.S. history, more women over the age of 40 are having kids compared to teen moms, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This reflects the trend of more Americans either opting not to have kids or postponing them until later.
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The total number of U.S. births declined by 14% between 1990 and 2023, according to the March 2025 report.
Birth rates among women over 40 increased by 193% between 1990 and 2023. (iStock)
During this time, birth rates among females younger than 20 decreased by 73%, marking the steepest percentage drop of all age groups.
This resulted in a decline from one in eight teen births in 1990 to one in 25 in 2023.
Women between 20 and 24 also had 44% fewer births from 1990 to 2023, while they dropped by 23% among 25- to 29-year-olds.
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The number of births among women aged 30 to 34 increased by 24%. Women between 35 and 39 experienced a steep 90% increase in births.
Women 40 and older marked a new high for birth rates, seeing a 193% surge from 1990 to 2023.
Teen birth rates have declined from one in eight teen births in 1990 to one in 25 in 2023. (iStock)
In 1990, women over 40 accounted for 1.2% of births. In 2023, that percentage had increased to 4.1%.
Women over 30 accounted for more than one-half of births (51.4%) in 2023, compared to only three in 10 births in 1990.
The CDC found that these age-specific changes caused a shift in maternal age distributions.
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In 1990, females younger than 30 accounted for seven in 10 births (69.8%). But in 2023, this age group accounted for less than one in two (48.6%).
“The magnitude of the decrease in birth rates among females younger than 30 was greater than the magnitude of the increase in rates among women 30 and older, resulting in declining overall fertility rates,” the CDC commented in the report.
Women over 30 accounted for more than one-half of births (51.4%) in 2023. (iStock)
“The decline in fertility rates over the past few decades results from declining rates among females younger than 30, coupled with smaller increases in rates among older women.”
Dr. Ashley Wiltshire of the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York commented on this shift in fertility in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“This shift is likely due to the combination of advancements in both contraception methodologies and assisted reproductive technology (ART),” she said.
“The goal of both entities is to improve the overall reproductive autonomy for all women — from those who do not want to conceive to those who do.”
An expert commented that advancements in contraceptives and assisted reproductive technologies have allowed for this fertility shift. (iStock)
This includes people who seek out single parenthood, those in same-sex relationships and those who delay childbearing for personal or medical reasons, Wiltshire added.
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As egg freezing and embryo banking become more popular among women in their late 20s and 30s, Wiltshire agreed that these methods can “greatly increase an individual’s odds of conceiving at later ages.”
“Additionally, donor egg is also a commonly utilized treatment option that can significantly improve the odds of pregnancy and livebirth later in life,” she added.
Health
Health experts react as Andrew Huberman backs Trump admin’s new food pyramid
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The Trump administration has taken a new approach to the food pyramid.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidelines on Wednesday with an updated, inverted pyramid. The top of the pyramid, which is now the wider part of the structure, is built on meat, fats, fruits and vegetables, while whole grains are at the narrow bottom.
This follows HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mission to “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA), aimed at addressing chronic disease, childhood illnesses and ultraprocessed foods.
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“The new guidelines recognize that whole, nutrient-dense food is the most effective path to better health and lower health care costs,” Kennedy said during a press briefing in Washington, D.C.
“Protein and healthy fats are essential, and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines. We are ending the war on saturated fats.”
The Trump administration announces the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, putting “real food” back at the center of health. (realfood.gov)
The HHS secretary rallied against refined carbohydrates, food additives and added sugar, highlighting the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages.
Kennedy’s main message to Americans was to “eat real food.”
TRUMP ADMIN’S NEW NUTRITION GUIDELINES TARGET ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS, EASE UP ON RED MEAT AND SATURATED FATS
The announcement triggered reactions from top health and wellness voices, including Stanford neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, host of the “Huberman Lab” podcast.
In a post on X, Huberman shared the White House’s graphic of the new pyramid, praising the decisions that were made.
“Oatmeal (and I think that’s rice and sourdough) made the cut!” he commented. “In all seriousness, assuming overall calories are kept in check and people exercise & get sun(day)light, this looks spot on.”
He added, “Maybe up the veggies a bit, add low-sugar fermented foods like sauerkraut & this is great.”
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Huberman said in a thread on the same post that Americans “don’t have to eat all the foods” shown in the diagram.
“You won’t see me drinking milk or eating shrimp,” he said. “Nothing against shrimp, I just don’t like the taste. Aversion to crustaceans.”
“Maybe up the veggies a bit, add low-sugar fermented foods like sauerkraut & this is great,” Huberman commented on X. (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot; iStock)
The new guidelines received praise from other major health figures, including former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler.
“There should be broad agreement that eating more whole foods and reducing highly processed carbohydrates is a major advance in how we approach diet and health,” Kessler told The Associated Press.
“Protein and healthy fats are essential, and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines.”
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, shared in a statement that these guidelines “affirm that food is medicine and offer clear direction patients and physicians can use to improve health.”
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“The American Medical Association applauds the Administration’s new Dietary Guidelines for spotlighting the highly processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages and excess sodium that fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses,” Mukkamala wrote.
The American Medical Association applauded the HHS for its updated nutrition guidelines. (iStock)
But not all feedback was positive.
Some people expressed concern about prioritizing red meat and dairy, while calling for the limitation of saturated fat.
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Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, shared in a reaction to STAT that while the guidelines “do have one or two good points, emphasizing fruits and vegetables and limiting alcohol,” the guidelines are “for the most part a strong reflection of industry influence.”
Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert at Stanford University, also spoke out against the new guidelines, as reported by NPR.
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“I’m very disappointed in the new pyramid that features red meat and saturated fat sources at the very top, as if that’s something to prioritize. It does go against decades and decades of evidence and research,” said Gardner, who was a member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf, as well as Alexandria Hoff of Fox News, contributed reporting.
Health
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Health
Deadly cancer risk could drop with single 10-minute workout, study suggests
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A single 10-minute workout may trigger blood changes that help fight colon cancer.
That’s according to new research from scientists at Newcastle University, who found that exercise quickly changes the blood in ways that affect colon cancer cells in the lab.
In the study, the U.K. researchers exposed colon cancer cells to human blood serum collected immediately after exercise, finding that the cells repaired DNA damage faster and showed gene activity patterns linked to slower growth.
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The blood samples came from 30 adults who had just completed a short, high-intensity cycling workout that lasted about 10 to 12 minutes, according to a press release.
Even a 10-minute burst of intense exercise may send protective signals through the blood that affect colon cancer cells, researchers say. (iStock)
Samuel T. Orange, an associate professor at Newcastle University and one of the study’s authors, spoke with Fox News Digital about the findings.
“Our findings show that exercise rapidly triggers molecular changes in the bloodstream that can act directly on colon cancer cells, reshaping gene activity and supporting DNA damage repair,” he said.
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The results suggest that even brief activity can make a difference. “Every movement matters. Exercise doesn’t need to last hours or happen in a gym,” Orange added.
The research suggests that exercise quickly triggers changes in the blood that affect colon cancer cells and helps support DNA repair. (iStock)
One of the most surprising findings, according to the researcher, was how strong the biological response was after even a single workout.
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“Exercise altered the activity of more than 1,000 genes in colon cancer cells,” he shared.
Even brief bouts of activity can make a difference, the researcher said. (iStock)
The study findings suggest that the effect is driven by exercise-triggered molecules released into the bloodstream, sometimes referred to as “exerkines,” which act like chemical messengers and send signals throughout the body.
“Each time you exercise, you trigger biological signals that support health and resilience to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease,” Orange said.
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The researchers cautioned that the study was conducted using cancer cells grown in the laboratory, not in patients.
The findings are based on experiments using colon cancer cells grown in the lab, not studies conducted in people, the researchers noted. (iStock)
The study involved 30 healthy male and female volunteers between the ages of 50 and 78. Their blood samples were used to carry exercise-triggered signals to cancer cells grown in the lab.
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“These findings now need to be replicated in people with cancer,” Orange said. “We also need to better understand the longer-term effects of repeated exercise signals over time.”
Despite the limitations, the researcher said the findings strengthen the case for exercise as an important part of colon cancer prevention.
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“Each time you move your body and get a little breathless, you’re contributing to better health and may help influence biological processes linked to bowel cancer,” he added.
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