The number of Americans who are pursuing their lives childfree is growing. The reasons include greater reproductive autonomy, higher costs of living and shifting social norms. More people are prioritizing values like personal freedom, career goals and mental health over having kids — god bless 'em.

But these childfree folks are not evenly distributed across the country.

New data shows, for example, that one in five adults in California and Michigan are childfree, but only one in 10 are childfree in Louisiana and the Dakotas.

The study, which is the first to examine the percent of childfree people in each U.S. state, found that although being childfree was more common in states with higher costs of living, individual demographic characteristics were more strongly associated with being childfree.

"A state's cost of living and protection of reproductive rights are related to how many of its residents are childfree," said study author Jennifer Watling Neal, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University. "But those state factors matter much less than individual characteristics like marital status and age."

Body of Knowledge

The average nose hair follicle grows more than six feet over a lifetime. Actual hairs, however, fall out and are replaced regularly, precluding that frightening possibility. No official, verified historical record of the longest single individual nose hair exists, though medical reports have cited lengths up to almost seven inches in some individuals. With age, nose hairs do get longer and thicker — another fun thing to look forward to.

Get Me That, Stat!

People who achieve 9,000 to 10,000 steps per day have a 40% lower risk of death, even if they are otherwise quite sedentary, according to data published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Despite being taken by millions of people to reduce blood cholesterol levels, statins engendered ongoing concerns about their potential side effects, which range from muscle pain, digestive issues and sleep problems to liver inflammation and kidney damage.

However, a 2026 analysis published in the journal The Lancet found that 62 of 66 side effects listed on statin warning labels occurred just as often in people taking a placebo. These included fatigue, memory complaints and mood changes.

The review did confirm two real effects: a small, roughly 1% absolute increase in mild muscle pain and a slight rise in blood sugar.

Doc Talk

Orthostatic hypotension: That dizzy head rush resulting from standing up too fast. It's caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure. Also known as postural hypotension, it can result in fainting if the drop is severe enough.

Mania of the Week

Dermatillomania: An extreme enthusiasm or obsession with picking at one's skin

Life in Big Macs

One hour of trimming trees burns 612 calories (based on a 150-pound person), the equivalent of 0.9 Big Macs.

Best Medicine

A man boarded a plane with six children. After settling them into their seats, a woman seated across the aisle from the man asked him, "Are all of those kids yours?"

"No," the man replied. "I work for a birth control device company. These are customer complaints."

Observation

"Life begins at 40, but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times." — American journalist and humorist Helen Rowland (1875-1950)

Medical History

This week in 1855, the discovery of glycogen stored in the liver was announced at the Academie des Sciences by Claude Bernard, a French physiologist, though he was not able to extract glycogen in a relatively pure state until 1857.

(At about the same time, Victor Hensen, a German physiologist, independently used a different process to successfully isolate glycogen.)

As the storage form of glucose, glycogen is barely soluble in water and is a kind of "animal starch." It can be readily converted into glucose as needed for use in the body to release energy. In this function, it acts as stored fuel for animals just as starch is stored in plants.

Medical Myths

Generally speaking, cellulite is dimpled skin, usually around the thighs or posterior. It's widely deemed unsightly, and there's a considerable market of products claiming to be able to get rid of it.

Often, these purveyors say cellulite is caused by impurities and toxins in tissues. Get rid of them, the sales pitch goes, and the cellulite will disappear.

In fact, cellulite results from the interaction of subcutaneous fat with fibrous connective-tissue bands beneath the skin, producing the characteristic dimpled appearance. Genetics, hormones, skin structure and body-fat distribution can all influence its severity.

Everyone has the potential to develop cellulite. You don't even have to be overweight. The condition primarily affects women and may be caused by genetic predisposition and declining levels of estrogen.

There is no proven way to completely get rid of or cure cellulite, but it can be reduced through building muscle, losing weight and eating a healthy diet.

Last Words

"I do not have to forgive my enemies. I have had them all shot." — Spanish soldier and statesman Ramon Maria Narvaez (1800-1868), who died peacefully on his deathbed

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Ben Wicks at Unsplash