The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is dedicated to reducing ill health and mortality caused by the effects of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With a focus on diagnosis, prevention and treatment, Baker’s work also extends to wide-scale community studies. Baker IDI and its researchers interact with and obtain funding from a variety of external partners, including government, private donors and industry partners.
Reema Rattan, The Conversation and Nicki Russell, The Conversation
Two articles published in today’s issue of The BMJ argue physical activity guidelines should focus on getting inactive people to move a little rather than having the entire population meet the 150 minutes…
Alternating between sitting and standing is best.
ramsey beyer/Flickr
It seems the world is finally coming to terms with the fact that humans evolved to stand, not to sit – well, health researchers, savvy office workers and many commuters, at least. The evidence is mounting…
HIV epidemics have grave implications for the world’s Indigenous cultures.
Flickr: j h
Indigenous people are estimated to comprise 4.5% of the total global population. They are often overrepresented in HIV data and recognise themselves as being particularly vulnerable to HIV. In Canada…
Insulin is a hormone that helps control glucose (blood sugar) levels in the blood, which tend to increase after meals. People suffering from type-2 diabetes are resistant to the glucose-lowering effects…
Around 25-30% of obese people have no metabolic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, or significant risk factors.
WitthayaP/Shutterstock
Some obese people may be able to remain metabolically healthy despite their size because their bodies produce low levels of a certain molecule, according to a study published today in the journal Cell…
They may not cure your cold but they’ll will help you forget your miseries.
Drew Leavy/Flickr
Feeling miserable? Is your nose blocked and your throat sore? If not, it will be sometime this winter, probably at least a couple of times. And then someone will probably say at your low ebb that “you…
In the last three decades, obesity has increased in almost every country in the world, among adults and children alike.
Great Beyond/Flickr
An new analysis of world population data shows the number of people across the world who are overweight or obese has grown by 28% in adults and 47% in children in the last 33 years. Among high-income countries…
Since the late Stone Age, people have been drinking alcohol to help them feel better. For the most part, this has been in order to “remember their misery no more” (Proverbs 31:6-7). But it’s widely believed…
If you’ve been sitting for an hour, you’ve been sitting for too long.
Image from shutterstock.com
Australians should aim for around 60 minutes of physical activity per day, double the previous recommendation, according the new national physical activity guidelines, published today. And for the first…
Lowering insulin doses can have dangerous effects on the body.
Jill A Brown
Many people around the world take insulin injections to manage their type 1 diabetes. Although it’s essential for their health, some dangerously manipulate their treatment to lose weight. Insulin is a…
If we’re fit, does it matter what we weigh?
Image from shutterstock.com
Anna Peeters, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Tim Olds, University of South Australia
Australians are getting heavier and, as a result, are more likely to suffer life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes. But should we be worried about a bit of excess weight…
Prioritising physical activity and healthy eating is having a positive impact on childhood obesity in the United States.
Korean Resource Center/Flickr
Childhood obesity prevalence is alarmingly high in many developed countries; in Australia, one in four children is overweight or obese, while in the United States, it’s one in three. But recent American…
Getting the flu vaccine may almost halve the chance of a heart attack for middle-aged people with narrow arteries, the study found.
Province of British Columbia
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Patrick Hutchens, The Conversation
Receiving the flu vaccine may almost halve the chance of a heart attack for middle-aged people with narrow arteries, a new study by Australian researchers has found. Heart disease kills and disables more…
Participants who did shorter bursts more regularly felt up to 32% fuller between 1pm and 3pm.
Image from shutterstock.com
Short bouts of intermittent exercise throughout the day may be better than one vigorous workout in convincing your brain that you are full, according to a new study published in the journal Obesity. The…
Whether or not you are feeding a cold or starving it makes little difference to the biology of a common cold.
Image from shutterstock.com
This winter, most of us will catch a cold. Our kids will probably catch at least two or three. We all know you are supposed to feed a cold and starve a fever. But does it really make any difference if…
Intestinal bacteria of meat eaters feed on a nutrient found in red meat to produce a compound which can clog arteries.
Image from shutterstock.com
A nutrient found red meat may increase the risk of heart disease when it interacts with the bacteria in the human gut, according to a paper published this week in Nature Medicine. The results point to…
Infertility, high blood pressure, varicose viens and back pain have been attributed to leg crossing – but what does the evidence say?
Image from shutterstock.com
Almost everyone crosses their legs, whether it’s conscious or unconscious, for custom, for comfort, for effect, to stop your legs splaying, to take pressure off a foot, or for no reason at all. But is…
The best way to prevent type 2 diabetes is to lose your excess fat.
Image from shutterstock.com
To keep your body functioning, glucose must always be present in your blood. It’s as important as oxygen in the air you breathe. The brain can only function for a few minutes without either before it stops…
Many diabetics rely on insulin injections, but a new discovery could see alternative treatments emerge.
photoeditorvision/Flickr
New treatments for diabetes are set to be developed, following a discovery about the way insulin works inside the human body. In a study published today in the journal Nature, researchers from the Walter…
Interventional Cardiologist, Alfred Hospital; Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Monash University; Professor and Head, Department of Cardiometabolic Health, University of Melbourne; Lab Head, Atherothrombosis and Vascular Biology and Deputy Director, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute