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Articles on Public health

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Excessive sitting increases your risk of chronic disease, even if you get enough exercise.

Sitting nine to five (and beyond): the perils of sedentary lifestyles

Whether it’s at work, in cars, watching TV or using the computer, there’s no denying many of us spend the majority of our days sitting. And while science is yet to prove conclusively that too much sitting…
Hookahs are actually more dangerous because users are likely to puff more frequently.

Monday’s medical myth: hookahs are less harmful than cigarettes

After decades of successful anti-tobacco campaigns, we’re all familiar with the risks of smoking. But how do the health harms of cigarettes compare with those of other smoking devices? The hookah, also…
Pulse oximetry is usually done by clipping a small sensor onto a baby’s foot. Flickr/storyvillegirl

Life-saving test picks up baby heart defects

A quick, cheap and non-invasive test on newborn infants is effective in picking up heart defects missed by some prenatal ultrasounds, a UK study has found. Pulse oximetry involves clipping a sensor to…
Home help is much more effective than written instructions from a doctor.

Why home help is the best bang for our health buck

The new Victorian Health Plan 2012-22 offers a bleak prognosis: forever rising medical costs, doctors in the wrong places, hospitals overwhelmed. To make matters worse, it claims that patients can’t be…
Guidelines say no TV for under 2s, then no more than two hours a day. Keenen Brown

Square eyes: how much TV is too much for kids?

If you’ve ever sat your toddler down in front of the television to give yourself a few minutes of much-needed rest, you’re certainly not alone. But for many parents, those few minutes of bliss that come…
Alcoholic products should carry warning labels with factual information on health risks, experts say. Flickr/avlxyz

Weak alcohol warning labels sound like fortune cookie greetings: expert

The alcohol industry’s move to attach warning labels to booze bottles will have limited impact because the messages selected are so weak they “sound like a greeting card”, an expert on alcohol-related…
Living close to fast food outlets drives up junk food consumption, a US study found. But Australian researchers say that’s not necessarily the Antipodean experience. Fotopedia/Marius Mézerette

Fast food neighbourhoods linked to junk diet in the U.S.

Living near fast food outlets leads to higher consumption of junk foods but living close to supermarkets stocked with fruit and vegetables doesn’t mean a healthier diet, a U.S. study has found. However…
More studies are needed to conclude that early treatment provides long term benefits for sufferers of psychosis, a major literature review has found. Flickr/Arturo Sotillo

Review finds limited evidence for early intervention in psychosis

Early intervention mental health policies may be gaining favour in Australia, Europe and the U.S. but there is limited evidence to show they help sufferers of psychosis in the longer term, a major literature…
AAP joint.

Explainer: What is synthetic cannabis or Kronic?

Synthetic cannabis, known commercially as Kronic, K2, Kaos or Spice, was designed to circumvent drug laws and give users a “legal high”. But Western Australia banned the product earlier this month and…
Is legal action becoming a bad habit for tobacco companies? effb/Flickr

Big Tobacco v Australia: taking the battle to the global stage

This week’s legal action by tobacco giant Philip Morris to overturn the federal government’s plain packaging proposals is not its first attempt to stifle anti-tobacco legislation. Philip Morris is also…
There is an association between poor mental health and health risk factors for diabetes such as physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and obesity, the report said. Flickr

Over 40% Australian adult diabetics have poor mental health

More than 40% of Australian adult diabetics also experience mental health problems, according to a report released by the government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). More than 800,000…
The number of people smoking daily has dropped but 60% of Australian adults are now overwight or obese, a government study found. Flickr

Over 60% Australian adults now overweight or obese

Over 60% of Australian adults are now overweight or obese, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report, Key indicators of progress for chronic disease…
In a world first study, Victorian researchers showed that the number of girls presenting with abnormal pap smear results dropped after the introduction of a broad-based vaccination program. Flickr

Data suggest vaccinating girls against cervical cancer yields results

Australian researchers have shown for the first time that the number of girls presenting with pre-cancer cells on the cervix has dropped following the introduction of a wide ranging vaccination program…
Plain packaging could spell the death of the cigarette brand in Australia and beyond. thana/flickr

Spluttering on: why big tobacco just can’t butt out on plain packaging

British American Tobacco Australia has launched yet another attack on the Australian government’s plain packaging legislation. On top of its latest “Where’s the proof?” campaign, launched today, it is…
It’s time to begin preparing for the “tertiary effects”. AAP

What will a four-degree climate rise mean for world health?

Public health experts have warned for more than two decades that climate change will harm human health. Initially their attention focused on “primary” health effects (e.g heat waves, bush fires and flooding…

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