TOKYO, Japan — In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law.
So before the fat police could throw her in pudgy purgatory, Miki Yabe, 39, a manager at a major transportation corporation, went on a crash diet last month. In the week before her company’s annual [...]
There’s increasing concern about the health risks of BPA or bisphenol-A – a chemical found in many plastic products, baby bottles, and the lining of metal cans. Some experts are urging consumers to stop using plastic containers for food storage and to choose BPA free baby bottles since children may be particularly susceptible to the [...]
Tragedy “resides in the solemnity of the remorseless working of things,” declared philosopher Alfred North Whitehead in Science and the Modern World (1925). And few things are more tragic in the policy world than the current spectacle of private health insurers destroying their industry, and along with it, hope for a future of dynamic and innovative [...]
Most people complain that they don’t get enough sleep. In this complicated, fast paced world is it any surprise that so many people are sleep deprived? On the other hand, getting too much sleep can be harmful too. It turns out that there are health risks associated with sleeping too much, just as there is [...]
Alcohol may be included as part of a healthy eating plan and lifestyle. However, a reduction in alcohol intake may be advisable to prevent or manage specific medical conditions or as part of a weight loss plan.National Drinking GuidelinesThe Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol recommend:Healthy Adults No more than 2 standard [...]
Chances are you’ve used vanilla to add flavor to your favorite recipes if you do any cooking or baking at home. Most people have some of this commonly used spice hidden somewhere in their spice cabinet. It’s also used as the flavoring agent in America’s favorite ice cream flavor. The process for growing, harvesting, and [...]
The Connecticut River Area Health District, swamped with as many as 300 telephone calls a day from residents asking about H1N1 influenza vaccinations, has opened a special call center to handle the inquiries.
Peter Neff, the Clinton official who is treasurer of the three-town district, said the district’s five employees were so busy answering telephones that [...]
Some 16,000 registered nurses in 39 Nevada and California hospitals may strike on Oct. 30 to protest safety procedures, and staffing levels in the wake of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
The nurses argue that hospitals have failed to provide enough protections against swine flu for its members, this is nothing new. Neither hospitals nor governments [...]
Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a new study published online today by the American Journal of Public Health. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.
The study, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance, found [...]
If you’ve just read a health – related headline that’s caused you to spit out your morning coffee (”Coffee causes cancer” usually does the trick) it’s always best to follow the Blitz slogan: “Keep Calm and Carry On”. On reading further you’ll often find the headline has left out something important, like “Injecting five rats [...]