Health (Page 104)

Many of the obesity policies were similar or exactly the same. winnond/ Shutterstock In England, 63% of men and women live with obesity or are overweight. Although the government has recognised obesity to be a significant health challenge that needs to be addressed, none of the obesity strategies they’ve published since 1992 have successfully reduced the prevalence and inequalities of obesity. My team wanted to find out why this was the case. So we analysed England’s 14 obesity strategies and 689 obesity policies that have been proposed over the last 28 years by government. We found that during this period, English obesity policy has largely been unfit for purpose. Many of the policies we analysed were poorly designed, or wereContinue Reading

Research shows that pets may support mental health for some people. SeventyFour More than 50% of households in the UK are estimated to own at least one pet. And, since the outbreak of COVID-19, there’s been an unprecedented increase in animal adoptions and purchases, as people seek animal companionship to tackle feelings of isolation and anxiety. While many report that having a pet has been supportive to their mental health, research on the benefits of pet ownership and mental health still remain inconclusive. To date, evidence undoubtedly shows that interacting with animals can have a range of benefits to our mental and physical health – though it’s not entirely sure what is causing these benefits. Studies have shown, for example,Continue Reading

Fotomay/Shutterstock Every time the coronavirus replicates, it has a chance to mutate. And given that it is currently rampaging around the world, it has plenty of opportunities to do just that. Many mutations will make little or no difference to the virus’s ability to spread or cause more severe disease. Others will make it less likely to spread – those mutations are more likely to die out. But some will make the virus more deadly or more transmissible. These are the mutations we need to worry about. On the afternoon of Friday 18, December, the UK government was alerted to the possibility that a new variant of the coronavirus circulating in the UK was 70% more transmissible than previously dominantContinue Reading

Many peoples' mental health worsened during the pandemic – but many didn't seek support or treatment. Dragana Gordic/ Shutterstock During the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, people were encouraged to help control the virus with the message to “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives”. While there was no specific instruction to avoid seeking medical care, the number of people contacting general practices and visiting emergency departments fell dramatically. At the same time, people’s mental health was worsening due to the pandemic. My colleagues and I wanted to know how the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public health messaging surrounding it, affected the mental health care people received during the pandemic. We studied the health records of more thanContinue Reading

Zamuruew/Shutterstock In the year since the city of Wuhan, China, went into the world’s first coronavirus lockdown, we have all had to live under some form of pandemic-related restriction. Some countries have opted for strict national lockdowns, like the one currently in place in the UK, while other countries such as Taiwan have opted for border closures and mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals. Such different approaches to restricting movement have different effects on our well-being. It is now well documented that the pandemic has generally contributed to a number of mental health problems including stress, anxiety and depression. But what role do restrictions on movement play in this? And how do they differ? Different pandemic restrictions Researchers around the worldContinue Reading

“The scientists have done it,” said the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson in December 2020, hailing the development of the new COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson insisted that this success brought “sure and certain knowledge” that people would soon be able to reclaim their lives. But since this optimistic declaration, the COVID vaccine rollout has been beset by challenges. British GPs were quick to call the process a “shambles”, as delivery delays forced them to cancel appointments and poor communication left them waiting for stock that didn’t arrive on time. In the US, the rollout has been hindered by public confusion, supply shortages, and yet more delays. The federal government failed to achieve its goal of giving 20 million people an initialContinue Reading

Vegan diets are becoming increasingly popular. RONEDYA/ Shutterstock While there are many reasons why a person may choose to go vegan, health is often cited as a popular motive. But although vegan diets are often touted as being “healthier” in the media, this isn’t always reflected by scientific research. While some research has shown that vegan diets have positive health effects, such as lower risks of heart disease, diabetes and diverticular disease, our recent study also showed that vegans may have a higher risk of fractures, and vegans and vegetarians combined may have a higher risk of haemorrhagic stroke. The mixed body of evidence makes it difficult to understand what the overall health impacts of vegan diets are. But whyContinue Reading

When supplies of oxygen at hospitals in Manaus, Brazil, recently ran out, the airforce was called in for emergency evacuations while healthcare workers frantically tried to save lives with manual ventilation. For those that could not be saved, there was only morphine and a final hand-squeeze. As calamitous as the situation is for those affected, the devastating surge in COVID cases in Manaus over the last few weeks has set alarm bells ringing ever more loudly for governments and agencies around the world struggling to manage the pandemic. Cases continue to surge in the UK and South Africa and, as in Manaus, they appear to be mainly due to the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus. Three variants causingContinue Reading

The loss of neurons leads to degeneration. adike/ Shutterstock Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating condition that is currently unstoppable and incurable. The main cause of the disease is the loss of neurons and other brain cells in the brain – also know as degeneration. This degeneration is what leads to problems with memory and other cognitive functions. Researchers can tell which neurons die first or exhibit increased vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease based on where they’re located in the brain and what they look like. But they don’t know what genes or proteins these neurons express. Knowing these factors is important for recognising and identifying the changes in specific cells that happen when disease is present. Now, a recent study hasContinue Reading

Tom Wang/Shutterstock England is deep into its third lockdown, yet the daily tally of new COVID cases and deaths remains sickeningly high. As Chris Whitty, the country’s chief medical officer, said recently, more needs to be done to bring the pandemic under control. Masks, which when worn correctly are highly effective in reducing transmission, are already compulsory in indoor public places in the UK. There is talk of making them mandatory in some outdoor settings, as is currently the case in Spain. Perhaps the UK should follow France and require people who are jogging or cycling to wear masks if they are unable to maintain a physical distance from pedestrians. There are many arguments against such a measure. The riskContinue Reading