Health

This year people in the UK will suffer more than 300,000 fractures because of the bone disease osteoporosis. That’s one fracture every two minutes. The good news is, there’s plenty you can do to keep your bones strong. Here’s some tips from the National Osteoporosis Society to help you stay fracture free in 2017. It’s easy to assume that osteoporosis only affects older people and is an inevitable part of the ageing process, but – according to the National Osteoporosis...

Drinking Diet Coke won't stop you getting fat, according to new research. Ditching your favourite beverage for its heavily marketed sugar free alternative is no better for preventing weight gain - and could also harm the environment. Diet drinks contain artificial sweeteners which may be perceived by consumers as the healthier option for those who want to shed the pounds. But there is no evidence to support the claims they are any better for health, or prevent obesity and related...

Being overweight reduces the motivation to exercise - explaining why New Year resolutions to shed the pounds often fail, according to new research. It has always been assumed obesity makes it harder for people to move around. But scientists now reckon the mental affect of the condition could be just as vital as the physical. A study on bloated mice found their lack of activity was caused by altered dopamine receptors in the brain, rather than the extra ounces they...

A pill that vaccinates people against salmonella has been developed amid fears terrorists could turn the deadly food poisoning bug into a weapon. Designed to be taken by mouth, it also has the added advantage of using the same pathway that salmonella uses to wreak havoc on the digestive system. Salmonella is responsible for one of the most common food-borne illnesses in the world. In the US alone, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are about 1.4 million...

People who leave school with no qualifications are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as those with a university degree, according to new research. The findings come from a groundbreaking new Australian study of healthy ageing in the Southern Hemisphere. Researchers investigated the links between education and cardiovascular disease events - such as a heart attack or stroke - by following 267,153 men and women in the state of New South Wales aged over 45 for...

We are all guilty of making gym excuses. Right now I’m sat at my desk dreaming up logical reasons why I can’t go this evening. And with the darker evenings and colder weather, it’s probable I’ll be making even more of them. But the excuses don’t just stop there. They continue when we reach the gym and are faced with the machine battlefield ahead. Every time I get to the gym floor, my stomach flips. It’s how I imagine life...

By Phil Jones is Director of the Military Preparation Schools Child obesity levels have risen once again, according to National Child Measurement Programme figures published last week. The percentage of overweight 10- and 11- year olds in this country has increased by 0.7%, and while that’s a relatively small increase on the face of things, it’s important that a spotlight is shone on the direction in which things are heading. There is a need, and an urgent need, for schools...

Council chiefs who were shown a video of a mum struggling to carry her disabled son up 30 stairs still refused her priority housing - because she made it to the TOP. Sharon Arkell, 38, and Richard Mikkelson, 37, live with Tommy, four, and his little sister Susie in a second-floor flat. Tommy cannot reach it unaided as he suffers from muscular dystrophy, a progressive illness which means he'll soon have to use a wheelchair permanently. So mum Sharon carries...

Are online medical consultations the way of the future? Is it possible to just fill in an online form and receive both a diagnosis and prescription in a couple of minutes? If this is true, it means that you will no longer have to join long queues just to see a general practitioner. You will be able to consult with a general practitioner online and receive your prescription medication the next day. This seems almost of unimaginable. How can it be...