Public Health
New research that uses an innovative approach to study, for the first time, the relative contributions of food and exercise habits to the development of the obesity epidemic has concluded that the rise in obesity in the United States since the 1970s was virtually all due to increased energy intake.
How much of the obesity epidemic has been caused by excess calorie intake and how much by reductions in physical activity has been long debated and while experts agree that making it easier for people to eat less and exercise more are both important for combating it, they debate where the…
As a Senator last year, Obama voted for US$9.6 billion annually in funding for George Bush's Global AIDS Program but as President he wants it cut by almost 50%.
George Bush cares more about AIDS than Barack Obama? Yes, says AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS organization in the US, which currently provides medical care and services to more than 100,000 individuals in 21 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, who today chided President Barack Obama for retreating on his commitment to global AIDS.
The Obama budget calls…
Regular hand washing is recommended by both the WHO and the NHS as one of the most effective ways of controlling infections. Using a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available is also a good idea.
An alcohol-free hand sanitizer, like SOAPOPULAR recently launched in the UK, can be the first line of defence against the spread of swine flu, claims its Canadian manufacturers. Says Steven Orrett, CEO of SOAPOPULAR inc, "The best defense is proper hand hygiene and hand washing - where water is not present or available, using SOAPOPULAR is the best option for not only…
Stanford Psychologist, Marcel Selathe, is looking for volunteers for a study on the way people are responding to the spread of Swine Flu.
As you have heard in the news, there has been an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States. There is a possibility that this situation might develop into a pandemic if the virus continues to spread around the globe. The news media report excessively about this threat, and while health officials urge people to stay calm, there is an increased level of anxiety in the population.
My response is to eat more bacon.
Well, the air in Minnesota is pretty clean, and I grew up there, so I'm identifying with the rankings there instead of my current state of residence, which got surprisingly low grades.
The annual State of the Air report describes levels of ozone and particle pollution (year-round and 24 hour increments) in monitoring sites across the United States in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Apparently the air quality in the U.S. could use some improvement.
Good news and bad news: the good news is, some cities are reducing ozone (LA, Houston) and particle pollution levels (Pittsburgh,…
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Though we all know that nature has provided us with many vitamins, minerals and variety of trace elements that are necessary for our survival, however, little we know that there are certain natural elements and heavy metals that are poisonous to our bodies in any form and even in trace amount. Lead is one of those heavy metals that is hazardous to various normal body functions even if ingested or inhaled in minute quantity.
Lead, a highly toxic substance, produces chronic Lead Poisoning once it starts accumulating in the body. The lead poisoning can affect almost every major…
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We all know that we should eat our fruits and vegetables, but a new study suggests that they could also help prevent inflammation. According to a study conducted by researchers from UC Davis in cooperation with National Center for Food Safety and Technology in Illinois and Penn State University investigated the effects of certain tomato products and found some interesting results.
Scientists have grown increasingly interested in properties of tomatoes, as they contain the compound lyocpene, a powerful antioxidant, as well as vitamins A, C, fiber, potassium and beta-carotene. All of…
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The experience of pain appears to be a complex phenomenon with humans. The reason for the occurrence of pain can be physical, psychological, or a combination of both of these causes. And how one defines or describes the intensity of the pain they experience varies as much as the types of pain that exist. Although the origin may be the same from one person to another, the experience of pain is, in fact, a subjective emotional response to the sensation and perception of the pain itself.
This is why the syndrome of Fibromyalgia is so difficult to define objectively and…
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One possible solution to the occasional lack of access to, or shortage of, primary care doctors is what are known as retail care clinics, or convenience care clinics. The popularity of these clinics continues to increase progressively for a variety of reasons.
Of particular note is that most of these types of clinics is that are normally staffed with nurse practitioners or physician assistant. Both are health care providers and are actually favored by many as treatment providers progressively. Surveys reveal that over half of all people prefer seeing a nurse practitioner at…
Nobody wants to have a stuffy, runny nose and itchy eyes year-round, or to not be able to breathe deeply. (Or maybe there are some that do. Whatever floats your boat.)
The current magical mystery tour of my immune system, hosted by the coolest allergy, immunology and asthma guy around, has me on two new products to see if we can figure out why my immune system and lungs hate me. I'm ok with the trial and error process at this point, since it's relatively harmless stuff and it's not a life or death illness.
But when I opened the medicine cabinet last night after filling these…