Connecting crystal-meth and public perception to Minnesota’s rising HIV cases
The Minnesota Department of Health says that the number of people with newly diagnosed HIV in 2009 increased by 13 percent to a 17-year high. Why?
Health
How we use stereotypes to identify people’s political affiliations
“After a certain number of years, our faces become our biographies,” the writer Cynthia Ozick once quipped in the Paris Review.
Apparently, one of those biographical facts we wear on our faces is our political affiliation.
There is a ‘youth pill’: It’s called exercise
The longer I’ve been a health writer, the more convinced I’ve become that exercise is the true fountain of youth.
That belief was reinforced on Monday with the publication of four new articles in the Archives of Internal Medicine linking physical act
Solace for Vikings fans: Study finds sports teams that stay together play better
I’m clueless about professional sports, but my sources tell me that except for the undecided (again) Brett Favre, the nucleus of the Vikings team should stay pretty much intact next year.
That’s very good news for Vikings fans — at least, according t
Another reason to follow the money: the globalization of mental illness
In its latest issue, New Scientist magazine reports on a troubling trend being witnessed by medical anthropologists:
Drug companies, with the aid of the U.S.
U of M study: By any measurement, obesity raises risk of stroke
No matter how you measure obesity — by body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio — being obese raises your risk of stroke.
And, regardless of race or gender, the more obese you are, the greater your risk.
Those are the key find
More on TV viewing and health (with a warning for parents)
To follow up on yesterday’s post regarding sedentary behavior (primarily TV viewing) and health, I thought I’d mention Dave Munger’s recent online report for Seed Magazine in which he describes other research on this topic.
First, he talks about a st
Sedentary time is unhealthful, even if you’re an exerciser
We know that physical activity is good for health.
But is the reverse also true: Is sitting — being sedentary — bad for health?
A study published last week in the online version of Circulation, the medical journal of the American He
The death of handwriting may be on the wall (but don’t worry, the brain will adapt)
The December issue of Miller-McCune magazine carries an intriguing (and nostalgic) article on the history of handwriting.
Congress should stick with long-time understanding on abortion language, Durenberger says
Former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger thinks Sen. Ben Nelson and Rep. Bart Stupak need a refresher course about a historic understanding in Congress that no abortion funding restrictions would be extended to private insurance.
Sales pitches work in selling hormones to middle-aged men
Women aren’t the only ones who’ve been sold (and pretty much bought, until recently, at least) the idea that a natural life passage, menopause, is a medical condition that requires hormone therapy medication — that is, if you want to avoid becoming a
70th anniversary of British food rationing serves up some food for thought
This week marks the 70th anniversary of the introduction of food rationing in Britain during World War II.
I don’t think you’ll find many Brits celebrating.
Why we do — or don’t — donate to causes such as the Haitian relief effort
Lots of us are feeling helpless in the face of the horrific news from Haiti. But are we opening our pocketbooks to help?
Following the mammogram money
In an article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, reporter Alicia Mundy describes how lobbyists for three powerful interest groups — radiologists, companies who make mammography equipment, and certain breast-cancer-awareness groups (who receive financi
How drug companies use ‘salami slicing’ to push their products
Although frowned upon, “salami slicing” — the practice of cutting up of a single set of research data into many different papers for publication — is well known in academia.
Are vitamin supplements necessary?
Half of us take some kind of nutritional supplement daily.
Dieters beware: Calorie postings on restaurant menus and frozen foods can be misleading
If your New Year’s resolutions involve calorie counting, don’t rely on fast-food restaurants and manufacturers of frozen meals to do any of that counting for you.
According to a new study from Tufts University, fast-food and chain restaurants that di
Is a third wave of H1N1 coming our way?
A year ago, the novel H1N1 virus was a complete unknown, but since then, we’ve experienced two peaks in outbreaks. With about half the nation still vulnerable, it probably isn’t done with us yet.
Limbaugh may see no problems with U.S. health care, but WHO ranks it 37th in world
“U.S. performance not only is poor at any given moment but also is improving much more slowly than that of other countries over time,” write two public-health experts.
Dissatisfied with your job? Your health may be suffering as a result
On Tuesday, the Conference Board, a global research firm funded by about 2,000 corporations, reported the results of its annual survey on U.S.
