Green spaces near schools was also linked to higher fitness levels in teens. Jacek Chabraszewski/ Shutterstock The places and communities that we live in play an important role in our physical health. What we have access to on our doorstep is important to motivating – or preventing – our physicalContinue Reading
Angelina Bambina/Shutterstock On December 9 2008, 45-year-old Connie Culp became the first person in the United States, and only the fourth in the world, to receive a face transplant. Connie’s transplant took a team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio more than 22 hours to perform and allowed her toContinue Reading
Most of these initiatives still place emphasis on getting people to change their eating and lifestyle habits. Africa Studio/ Shutterstock The government has recently announced a strategy aimed at reducing obesity in the UK. It will introduce a ban on unhealthy food advertisements on TV before a certain hour, endContinue Reading
Changes to our circadian rhythm can impact our physical and mental health. Olga Miltsova/ Shutterstock Most diet and health advice is broadly based on the assumption that a calorie is a calorie (and it doesn’t matter when they’re consumed). But some research suggests that our bodies actually use calories moreContinue Reading
Our “food reward” system can seriously undermine our ability to resist temptation. Roman Samborskyi/ Shutterstock Food cravings are very familiar to most people. We may see or smell food and want to eat, or sometimes we suddenly feel like eating something delicious. These intense desires occur even when we’re notContinue Reading
A return to pre-pandemic normal life seems impossible for the foreseeable future. In the absence of control measures, it would result in the rapid spread of coronavirus and many deaths. About 70% of a population needs to be immune to establish herd immunity, a level of immunity in the populationContinue Reading
A well-planned, plant-based diet can support good health at every age. Tatjana Baibakova/ Shutterstock Plant-based diets continue to grow in popularity, worldwide. There are plenty of reasons people switch to a plant-based diet, including ethical and environmental reasons. However, a growing number of people are shunning meat for health reasons.Continue Reading
Over the past few weeks, the UK government has gradually eased national lockdown measures. As the economy reopens, and people return to workplaces and spend more time in shops, pubs and restaurants, the number of contacts an individual has with other people will inevitably increase. Since then, there has beenContinue Reading
Fizkes/Shutterstock Public health responses to the pandemic have focused on preventing the spread of the virus, limiting the number of deaths and easing the burden on healthcare systems. But there’s also potentially another, less visible epidemic we should be focusing on: mental illness. Our recent study found that people’s mentalContinue Reading
Even moderate alcohol consumption changes the brain's structure. Syda Productions/ Shutterstock Alcohol abuse is a serious problem worldwide. In England alone, over 350,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions – and over 5,000 alcohol-related deaths – were reported in 2018. Long-term alcohol abuse can have many harmful effects on our body. But oneContinue Reading
