Feb 9, 2018
Modern lifestyles tend to disrupt biological night by altering normal levels of melatonin. Researchers at the University of Colorado have found after a weekend camping trip (no flashlights, cell phones, or artificial light sources) in the mountains participant’s...
Feb 8, 2018
Scientists have found 11 types of cancer show a strong association with excess body fat, according to a systematic review of the literature. The strongest evidence was seen for gastric, colon, rectum, bile duct system, pancreas, breast, endometrial, ovary, kidney,...
Feb 7, 2018
Evidence from over 340,000 adults in the U.K. Biobank found after 5 years that those who met all five of the healthy living factors were 32% less likely to get cancer than those who met only one or none. The five healthy lifestyle factors are: healthy weight...
Feb 6, 2018
Lighting up just one time per day poses a significantly increased risk for heart disease and stroke. This large meta-analysis of 141 studies in 21 countries found smoking one cigarette a day was associated with a 48-74% increased risk in men, and a 57-118% risk for...
Feb 5, 2018
Computational simulation modeling has demonstrated in Baltimore, Philadelphia and San Francisco, that warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) encouraged a significant drop in obesity prevalence following the adoption of the policies. This should give...
Feb 2, 2018
Colorectal cancer appears to be increasing in younger adults after decades of declining rates. Between 1974 and 2013 colon cancer rates increased by 2.4% each year for adults in their 20s and by 1% among those in the 30s. The increase in the same population for rectal...
Feb 1, 2018
Encouraging people to follow a heart-healthy diet continues to be a challenge. Researchers assessed the benefits of 6 months of dietary advice on 919 healthy, but obese, participants. They were randomized to receive telephone-delivered advice plus a weekly food...
Jan 31, 2018
A research team found when assessing 364 meals from 123 different restaurants in three average American cities that 92% exceeded the recommended calorie level for a single meal. They studied both large-chain and local restaurants. The researchers also found that a...
Jan 30, 2018
The two most commonly used substances on college campuses are alcohol and marijuana. Researchers followed freshmen from two colleges for two years, tracking academic performance and monthly use of alcohol and cannabis. The lowest users of both substances maintained...
Jan 29, 2018
When teens get alcohol from their parents they are more likely to engage in risky drinking practices. This was found in a large study of Australian adolescents ages 13-18. Surprisingly, 15% of teens received alcohol from their parents when they were 13, versus 57%...
Jan 25, 2018
Oxford University economists Ortiz-Ospina and Roser have put together a comprehensive document on healthcare financing (data geeks will love this). When they plot per-capita healthcare spending against life expectancy for the wealthiest countries, the U.S. comes up...
Jan 24, 2018
Nearly 25% of all U.S. middle and high school students said they recently had been exposed to the vapors from another person’s electronic cigarette. The long-term impact on health of this kind of exposure is not yet known. However, it is known that e-cigarette...