Health

Puzzles, brain-training games and hobbies have long been said to stave off cognitive decline. But while some research has shown that intensive brain-training programs done over several weeks can reduce cognitive impairment, such interventions aren’t very practical in daily life.

Exercise benefits nearly every part of the body, including the liver and metabolism. But new research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine suggests those benefits may not look the same in males and females. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.

A new study has shown that faith leaders would be willing to partner on hypertension screenings and education, despite challenges in past health collaborations.

When it’s time for another vaccine, many people may ask themselves a familiar question: Do I really need another one? The answer may depend, at least in part, on how protected they think they already are.

Researchers from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, found that biological aging may accelerate as early as young adulthood. In addition to lifestyle factors, environmental exposures and living environments may contribute to faster biological aging.

A new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) finds that chewing tobacco use contributed to an estimated 251,000 deaths globally in 2023, with health loss overwhelmingly concentrated in South Asia.

New research presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, Sept. 28–Oct. 2 and published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology shows that the small island nation of Mauritius is the first country to demonstrate that it is reversing the type 2 diabetes epidemic using the gold-standard two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2 hour OGTT).

Noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers account for about 75% of deaths globally. Early detection is key to managing the scale of the problem. But that’s not always possible in rural communities, where there are often shortages of health care workers, long travel distances and financial barriers. Fragmented referral systems can also delay diagnosis and follow-up.

Semaglutides, or GLP-1s, can produce substantial weight loss if individuals adhere to their doctor’s instructions. But a new study from the University of Georgia suggests patients aren’t taking the weight loss medication as prescribed, often because of high out-of-pocket costs.

A fifth of adults ages 18–34 in the U.K. have made a health decision they later regretted based on false or misleading information, according to a report from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

A healthy, balanced dietary pattern, rather than one focused on individual nutrients or foods, is key to maintaining heart health, according to a scientific statement issued by the American College of Cardiology and published in JACC. Diets should include minimally processed plant-based foods and healthy fats and proteins while limiting foods high in refined starches, added sugars, sodium or unhealthy fats, as well as highly processed foods of poor nutritional quality.