With the new year and looming Trump administration, health experts will soon find out the fate of Obamacare. Republican lawmakers have vowed for years to repeal the 2010 law. It's supposed to be a top priority of Trump. But is it among Americans?

A Kaiser Health Tracking poll offers mixed answers: Just over a quarter of Americans surveyed said they wanted Obamacare repealed in full, with another 20 percent saying they wanted it scaled back. Conversely, almost 50 percent of those surveyed wanted the law to remain intact — or be expanded.

Provisions of the law enjoyed varying levels of support. Protecting patients with pre-existing conditions, expanding Medicaid, subsidizing insurance costs and extending free preventive health services were all popular. The individual mandate, which requires everyone to have health insurance, was not.

Knowledge Not Exercised

Two of the biggest remedies for diabetes are diet and exercise, so one would presume that persons at risk for the condition would be most likely to engage in one or both healthful behaviors.

Or not.

University of Cambridge researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial of 500 healthy adults who were given either personalized genetic information on their diabetes risk or merely general information about the disease. Two months later, they were asked to wear a fitness tracker for six days.

Persons who had the personalized genetic information about their diabetes risk didn't exercise any more — or eat any better — than their peers. The only difference was they had a better understanding of their diabetes risk at the end of the study.

Body of Knowledge

It takes roughly 60 seconds for a red blood cell to make a full circuit of the human body.

Get Me That, Stat!

Significant progress against HIV/AIDS has occurred over the past few decades, but one particular demographic remains notably vulnerable: young people. UNICEF says there were 250,000 new HIV infections among adolescents ages 10 to 19 in 2015, a number the health agency predicts could jump to 400,000 cases annually by 2030 if prevention and treatment efforts stall. The agency says more emphasis should be placed on comprehensive sex education and distribution of pre-exposure prophylactic treatments to those adolescents who are most at risk.

Number Cruncher

A McDonald's Egg McMuffin (139 grams) contains 300 calories, — from fat. It has 12 grams of total fat or 18 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 260 milligrams of cholesterol (87 percent); 820 mg of sodium (34 percent); 30 grams of total carbohydrates (10 percent); 2 g of dietary fiber (8 percent); 3 g of sugar and 18 g of protein.

Counts

1 in 3: Ratio of local hospitals facing closure due to financial difficulties

Source: American Hospital Association

Doc Talk

Cyanotic: A descriptive term for when a patient's skin and mucous membranes are bluish in color from an inadequate supply of oxygen in the blood.

Phobia of the Week

Barophobia: fear of gravity (you'll recognize it as a sinking feeling)

Never Say Diet

The world's speed-eating record for pickled Jalapeno peppers is 275 in 8 minutes, held by Patrick Bertoletti. So now you know how many pickled peppers Patrick ate.

Best Medicine

Two psychologists met at their 20th college reunion. One of them looked like he just graduated, while the other psychologist appeared old, withered and worried, a shadow of his former self.'

The older-looking psychologist stared at the younger-looking one, and said: "Listening to other people's problems every day, all day long, for years on end, has made an old man of me. What's your secret?"

To which, the younger-looking psychologist replied, "Who listens?"

Observation

"The great secret of doctors, known only to their wives, but still hidden from the public, is that most things get better by themselves; most things, in fact, are better in the morning." —American physician-poet-essayist Lewis Thomas (1913-1993)

Medical History

This week in 1971, UC Berkeley chemists announced the first synthetic production of growth hormones.

Sum Body

There are three basic types of tears.

—Basal tears are those produced by healthy eyes to lubricate them and clear away routine dust.

—Reflex tears are those produced from irritation by foreign particles or the presence of irritating substances, such as onion vapors or pepper spray. They are also linked to vomiting, coughing and yawning.

— Psychic tears are those produced by strong emotional states, such as grief, anger, pleasure or physical pain.

The chemical composition of tears varies by type. Basal tears, for example, contain immune system molecules to fight infection; psychic tears contain more hormones.

Med School

Q: During pregnancy, what percentage of women experience a change in skin tone?

a) 12 percent

b) 25 percent

c) 37 percent

d) 90 percent

A: d.

Epitaphs

"Office upstairs." — Dr. Fred Roberts, Brookland, Arkansas

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.