dr. nancy snyderman looks at what is going on. >> reporter: for parents like linda cardalli whose two sons have adhd, the past few months have been rough. >> we have not been able to get my sons' adhd medications. we were told that it was on back order and they had no idea when it was going to come in, become available. >> reporter: she's not alone. there is a nationwide shortage forcing parents like linda to drive from pharmacy to pharmacy. she even rations pills to her sons on weekends. the demand for the medications is higher than ever, with more than 51.5 million prescriptions written in 2010. that's up 11% from the year before. why is this happening? there are more patients, fewer companies making pills, and production glitches. and there is a growing underground market for these drugs with college students using them as performance boosters. >> somehow the government, i think has to get involved and monitor the medication more closely so that the people that really need it and that have prescriptions for it can get it. >> reporter: complicating the issue, the drug enforcement adminis

dr. nancy snyderman reports on how a former president who's been scared straight and almost died for his past habits is doing his part for some of those kids. >> reporter: with nearly 25 million american children overweight or obese, the war is being waged on the front lines. >> drink your milk. >> reporter: a major anti-obesity initiative launched in 2006 has found its way into 13,000 schools, most of them in urban districts, changing its menu from frozen to fresh, from sugary sodas to fresh squeezed juices. the one thing i notice you don't have, i don't see a fryer anywhere. >> oh, no. this is what a kitchen looks like in a school. there are no fryers. >> reporter: and you might be surprised to learn who is behind it. >> hi. >> reporter: former president clinton's emergency heart surgery several years ago forced him to take a second look, not just at improving his own health but others as well. >> why do you see the investment in these kids as so important? >> children need enough food, the right kind of food to grow and to develop their bodies and their brains. and then if they don't

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: orthopedic surgeon does more than fix bones for a living.n walk, the charity he founded, has provided free surgeries for thousands of vulnerable people around the globe. now with tough economic times in this country, dr. dorr is bringing his charity home. during a recent two-day span, he and 60 other orthopedic surgeons operated on uninsured patients, replacing their bad hips and knees. >> these people all have lost their hope for their tomorrows. >> reporter: 85 people have regained the ability to walk for free in what would normally be a $30,000 to $50,000 operation. reco this recording artist needed both hips replaced. in the '90s, cherry had her own band and hit song that climbed the charts. then came difficulty walking and pain. terry couldn't even stand up long enough to sing. >> feel like you're 100 years old, right? she gave private lessons instead to pay the bills. stooefb rosteven robertson's pa was so severe, he contemplated ending his life. >> when things narrow, you start feeling hopeless. >> reporter: with nowhere else to turn,

dr. nancy snyderman, nbc's chief medical editor. >> power players?> i've been asking myself that question for approximately six months now in the segment. we'll start with testimonyi moore, she's been hospitalized, her rep says for exhaustion and to take care of her overall health. there's been reports of a seizures and reports of prescription drug use. knowing as little about it as we do officially, nancy, what's your take? >> what we know is what we've seen, she's become very thin and distraught. i think it's hard for these people to live a very public life in a microcosm. i feel, i think it's a profoundly sad story. probably prescription drugs. the seizure could easily make sense if there were electrolyte abnormalities, or drug interactions. the words they've tossed out are hollywood code for real problems. and psychiatric issues. >> it's got to be challenging for somebody like her. i'm going to generalize. you take a meryl streep, actresses who built their craft, reputation on their beauty. and they stay strong. how many -- >> like demi, beautifu

dr. nancy snyderman. this is the ultimate good news/bad news. so you're saying to people, it is your mind, by the way, but keep exercising like a fiend to save it off. >> even more than that. the conventional wisdom is that your brain will start to go after age 60. the alarming thing in the british medical journal is not so fast. you start to see changes around the age of 45. but -- this is what i want people to remember especially if we are talking about staying in the workforce longer. the changes that take place are preventable. you can't fix dementia but you can prevent it. think of your heart and brain as being very similar. exercise, don't smoke, eat good foods, live a joyous life. those things go together. you can ward off dementia. you can't treat it. live a good life in your 30s and 40s and you might not see the decline that people talk about in their 60s. we are talking prevention which is pretty cool. >> all right. you got around back to a good bottom line on health. nancy snyderman, as always, thanks. >> you bet, brian. >>> don carte

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: doctors who measure blood pressure in only one arm may be missing critical information about their patient's heart health. a new study published in the journal "the lancet" shows the differences in blood pressure readings between both arms could point to underlying health risks. if the systolic pressure, the top number in a reading which measures the pressure in the artery where the heart beats, differs by 15 points in each arm, this study shows that a person is at 2.5 times higher risk of peripheral vascular disease, meaning blood vessels in the hands and feet are more likely to become blocked and could lead to severe measures like amputation. risk of stroke is 1.6 times higher. risk from death of heart attack is 70% higher. some risk factors for hypertension are age, genetics, race and obesity. the important thing to remember that your doctor should take blood pressure in each arm. if it's high in one arm, have that blood pressure repeated because some people develop something we call white coat hypertension. they go to their doctors, they're nervous, bloo

dr. nancy snyderman. we were talking about this earlier. as i understand it, you could take away from the figures that the stop smoking effort is going to have to yield to the obesity effort, that it's obesity that's killing us. >> there is a mixed message here. if you look at the big three -- breast, lung and colon -- there is good news. numbers have dropped. men have gotten the message. cigarettes will kill you. that's why we have seen the big drops in lung cancer and to some degree heart disease. take a look at the cancers that are now getting our attention. throat cancer linked to the hpv virus you and i have spoken about so many times. esophageal and pancreatic cancer, definitely obesity related, and thyroid cancer, probably in women, because more doctors are doing portable ultrasound screenings. i'm not sure we are seeing more of these cancers. i think we are finding more of these cancers. >> detection. >> here's what i predict. obesity increasingly is going to be linked to cancers. i think we are going to solve many more cancer treat

dr. nancy snyderman, thank you.nd a delicious meal your family will love right after this. ♪ time don't wait ♪ the road is calling you, my friend ♪ [ male announcer ] this is big. new chicken mcbites from mcdonald's. juicy, poppable, premium chicken breast with homestyle seasoning. ♪ but they're only here for a limited time. ♪ new chicken mcbites. the simple joy of really big fun. ♪ look at me: one. we're a salty sweet snack. two. salty sweet snacks get eaten. and three. i'd prefer her versus "hungry eyes" over here... ♪ i've got hungry eyes versus "hungry eyes" over here... why se ttle versus "hungry eyes" over here... for a why se one-note cereal? ♪ more, more, more... get more with honey bunches of oats 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've b

dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. 60 years of "today." i thought we'd ask what your memories are. >> i started here 20 years ago. next month. it was a lot of fun. my first time on television. mr. brokaw taught me when i'm thinking look down instead of up so i don't look crazy on camera. i learned everything from brian and katie. i'm glad to be back contributing again. >> i pretty much stopped watching when bryant gumbel left and matt lauer took over. the thing about the show that's different from everything else on television, people don't watch it. they integrate it into their lives. it's on in people's homes even when they are not looking at it. it's something where it's become part of the fabric of america. i couldn't say that about any other show. people who work at this place are the most delicious, nicest. the energy in this place and that's why it works. >> i have been in morning television for a long time at "good morning, america" and here. you can tell as a viewer when people like each other. you can't fake

dr. nancy snyderman and pediatrician dr. lisa thornton are here with advice.en a milder-than-normal flu season. but february is the peak? >> we had a pretty good idea that this might be a mild flu sees be by watching what was happening in latin america. south america obviously gets their winters before us. mild down there, we thought it would be mild. the big bug was the h1n1 virus which surprised everyone. that virus popped up in the spring has been incorporated into this year's flu shot. but nevertheless it is a mild season. >> you bring up the flu shot. i've been told it takes about two weeks after you get it to be fully effective. would you recommend even at this late date, people still get it? >> absolutely. we haven't hit the peak of the flu yet. so get your flu shot, it will take about two weeks for your immunity to be good. but you still got time. and pregnant moms, absolutely pregnant moms and kids. anybody over six months should get the flu shot. because the flu can be particularly bad in very young children. >> and the elderly as well. >> i have eld

dr. nancy snyderman talks to him about it.natalie is at the news desk with the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. the search for some two dozen missing people aboard the crippled italian cruise ship was suspended overnight when the vessel shifted and they feared for diver safety. the captain accused of abandoning ship is under house arrest. >>> republican presidential front-runner mitt romney said he will release tax returns this spring. romney said the returns will show he pays close to 15% in income taxes, similar to many wealthy americans. but that's much lower than the 35% paid by middle class wage earners in the top tax bracket. winter storm warnings and advisories from the west coast to montana. snow has closed schools and forced flight cancellations in the pacific northwest. seattle could see as much as eight inches today. the storm could bring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds. >>> a new jersey couple has been invited to meet with hospital officials after claiming their daughter was turned down for a kidney trans

dr. nancy snyderman. >> hey, savannah. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> this could be awkward.ly not enough. things can happen including hurting your pediatrician's feelings. there is something about being blackballed in the community. >> in the doctor community? >> maybe doctors will say, don't take savannah guthrie. she's a pain. >> is there a doctor meeting? >> no, they don't. but there is a paranoia that it will happen. i don't care if you're a doctor patient or a regular patient. there is this intimidation of the physician so too many times we don't separate when we should. >> what's the most common reason people part ways with their pediatrician? >> a real screw-up. if a pediatrician misses a diagnosis and a family loses faith in the doctor and they move on. too many times people enter into relationships with pediatricians without doing their homework. i say to young people if you're thinking about getting pregnant look for your pediatrician first. figure out if you like that person. if the doctor you're looking for isn't around who will cover? is the front office staff n

dr. nancy snyderman is here with more. nancy good morning. let's get to them.irst curious system is hair loss p not so curious because a lot of us go through it especially as we age. when is there cause for concern? >> it's called alopecia. most of us lose a couple hundred a day. after you get pregnant, after certain kinds of treatment. you can lose more hair and the things we're talking about today are the sort of medical oddities, but if a woman starts losing a lot of hair and perhaps has other symptoms like a heart racing, skin feels dry, have your doctor check you for hyperthyroidism. thyroid problems are one of the most underdiagnosed problems in women and sometimes hair loss is the first tip. >> what is the correlation between thyroid and hair loss? >> thyroid, the butterfly shaped gland in your neck runs your body. without it nothing else works. it's miraculous, from how well your heart goes, how well your bones are, how well your brain works and how pretty your hair is, that thyroid keeps things connected. >> some other symptoms, sudden weight loss, rap

dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. >>> a drug that builds muscle in mice may also one day prevent a heat stroke from happening. researchers at baylor found the so-called couch potato pill also protects mice against malignant hyperthermia. the condition can be deadly when there is a rise in body temperature that could cause a heat stroke. the finding may eventually lead to a prevent drug for athletes trying to play in extreme heat or soldiers in the desert who must wear heavy gear. >>> we're going to check in again now with tom kierein with the latest on our forecast. we don't have to worry about heat strooek stro stroke around here right now. >> really got cold overnight. under this cloud cover, this gray january day pick up here by this live view, there's the national cathedral there in the distance, off to the right in the distance is the washington monument. the potomac river under this cloudy sky. it is cold. most locations are still in the 30s and the radar showing some precipitation trying to reach the ground. that bright white area there in northern prince george's county out

dr. nancy snyderman. >> let's get this on in the right place. >> reporter: doctors who measure blood pressure one arm may be missing critical information about their patients' heart health. a new study published in the journal the lansit shows the differences in blood pressure readings between both arms could point on underlying health risks. if the systolic pressure, top number in a reading which measures the pressure in the artery was the heartbeats, differs by 15 points in each arm, this study shows that a person is at 2 1/2 times higher risk of peripheral vascular disease, blood pressure in hands and feet are more likely to become blocked and lead to severe measures like amputation. risk of stroke is 1.6 times higher and risk of death from heart attack is 70% higher. some of the risk factors for hypertension are age, genetics, race, and obesity. >> dr. snyderman says it is important to repeat blood pressure checks if one arm shows high apprecia high measurements. >>> even though the tough economic times federal workers are on -- on average still make more than those in the private sector.

dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to all of you. happy new year. good to see you. >> welcome back. >> i'm sure you've seen now casey anthony is out with a web diary posted on youtube. i think we've got a little portion of it to play for folks and let's talk about it. >> just a little surreal how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. things are starting to look up and things are starting to change either way. things only get better. >> it's unclear why she did this, why she posted youtube. >> who cares? >> it couldn't get any worse than your dead baby being found in a swamp after several months. okay? it doesn't get much worse than that. the fact she doesn't even mention her child, the loss, now she is glad to have something of her own, that she doesn't have to give back. >> the difference in a sensational situation like an amanda knox who people maybe think was a victim and they want to help bring her back, she left the public consciousness. she has no redeeming value. a lot of people think she got away with the m

dr. nancy snyderman are ready to dish out. s in fort myers, florida. nice to see you all. >> hi, matt. >> let us start with something that happened on this program on tuesday. paula deen, the famous southern chef who likes the comfort food, lifestyle, came on the program and announced three years ago she was diagnosed with type ii diabetes, she has continued to go on this show and her own show and bring out the recipes high in fat and butter and calories. and we know that diet is one contributing factor to diabetes. nancy, i'll start with you, did paula deen do her audience a disservice by waiting three years to come forward with the news. >> her behavior is egregious. paula deen had a chance to do right thing and she blew it let's be real. you can't blame your genes for everything. and as a southerner, we know that obesity is the number one killer of for people with heart disease, diabetes, it's now an independent risk factor for cancer. if you're going to eat a diet high in sugar, fat and salt and then say, oh, by the way, it

dr. nancy snyderman are here to tackle the headlines and trends that have you talking. >> good morning, mattrokaw from a broadcast in 1997 talking about then speaker gingrich's ethics problems in the house. is it a fair ad? is it a good ad? >> it's very unfair. political advertising isn't vetted the way real advertising is. say brokaw said, walmart is breaking sales records. you could never run it in an ad. this is an implied endorsement by using his likeness. it's wrong. if i'm brokaw i have a problem. >> nbc news asked the romney campaign to withdraw the ad. >> multiple times. >> is that smart on romney's part? what's his name? gingrich has been saying he's a liar about the issues that were brought up. to tie yourself to one of the most respected broadcasters in the world that's exactly why they did it. >> representing, i guess, from the three of us nbc news and the news standards and what we try to do every night on "nightly news" and this program to tie it makes us all as journalists uncomfortable. i have to support tom on this. >> he released a statement, i'm extremely uncomfortable wit

dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. what is driving this review? >> good morning, matt. what's driving the review is the need to put some scientific parameters around this. as you know, we've talked about the autism epidemic for years and a lot of psychiatrists have said, then questioned the numbers, have we made the tent so large that kids with all kinds of problems have been brought under what we call autism-like disorders? so there is now a call for review to narrow the parameters, to really define what is autism, what is asperger's, what are these other parameters, so the kids who really need help can get help. >> but is this about diagnosing the condition or is this having to do with money in some ways bringing into control the vast cost of this for insurance companies and also by the way states that have to provide special education for children who fall under this umbrella? >> your question is going to be answered differently depending on whom you're speaking to. scientists will tell you that it's a very, very important to define autism with

dr. nancy snyderman are here to break down the headlines of the day. >> hey, matt.r the weekend here in new york city but not without controversy. according to some reports the couple paid money to renovate a section of the hospital and secure it for their purposes which inconvenienced other couples who had just had babies. nancy, let me start with you. is this unusual? do celebrities get different treatment at places like that? >> celebrities get different treatment. there are areas of hospitals called the gold coast whether it's a suite, a floor or an area where the rooms are usually nicer and they are reserved for vips who they hope hospitals can hit up for cash or fund-raising later. the issue here though is that even if you're put in one of the special rooms you should not ever block another parent from seeing babies. my suspicion is lennox hill didn't stop them from seeing their children. i suspect body guards stepped out of bounds. >> the hospital has said they did not pay a large amount of money in a donation. do they have more explaining to do? >> does the

dr. nancy snyderman. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> the iowa caucuses held tonight.r broke all kinds of political campaigns. do we put too much emphasis on this one contest? >> no, because it allows you at the dinner table to talk about politics. i have a 17-year-old who will vote for its first time next year and explains the process of why it's important. >> like the starting gun, like bam! we're off to the races. >> i got two words for you, mike huckabee, two other words, pat buchanan. america's biggest audience participation reality show. i'm going to say whoever wins we're going to bring somebody else in. >> i think we may it's make or break for a candidate. >> not at all. >> instant gratification. >> it's he not make or break. i want people invested in the process. >> we've gone from bachmann to perry, da, da, da, da, whoever wins tonight the audience will say i want another contestant. >> let's move on, down in georgia they're trying to combat an epidemic of child obesity for 1 million children in that state are overweight or obese. they're starting an interest

dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor and our leading nutritionist.e the metabolic parts of your body that want to sabotage this. it goes back to the survival mode. your body wants to save you. you have to fight that. it can be overcome. i went to one point in my life to 50 pounds heavier than i am now. i didn't do it by going on a diet. i did it by changing my life. so, yeah, those demons are there and the sabotage is there. you have to figure out how to overcome them. >> you make the point if you have two people who weigh 150 and one of them has just lost 50 pounds they're going to have to get by on fewer calories than the person who weighed 150 to begin with. >> you have to get by on fewer calories and as you get older your calorie expenditure will change too. we know from studies that genes play roles. there are ways to trick it but you have to be smart. it is an every day job. >> where does exercise come into the mix? >> exercise is key to specifically maintaining your weight loss and it makes perfect sense because exercise burns calories. so it