Health

Nearly one-third of women and one-quarter of men engage in intentional outdoor tanning, with variation observed by age, race, physical activity level and alcohol use, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.

When French writer Marcel Proust famously recalled his childhood from the taste of a Madeleine cookie, his stomach may have done some of the work. We generally associate our memories almost exclusively with the brain, which we imagine forms and stores them. New research led by Scott Kanoski, professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, has found that our gut may also play an important role in helping us remember experiences, especially those involving food.

Different varieties and doses of GLP-1 medications can have meaningful differences in how they address heart and metabolic health issues, according to new research led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Through an analysis of data from 19 randomized controlled trials, the researchers believe their work points to possible precision medicine applications of GLP-1s beyond weight loss. Their work is published in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism.

Can a low-carb diet cause your cholesterol to skyrocket? This question has vexed researchers and influencers alike as the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets has surged, yet the evidence has remained mixed. New research suggests that the answer depends on your genes.

As cigarette smoking reaches historic lows in the U.S., new research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center suggests a fundamental shift in tobacco use is driving that trend. Younger adults are increasingly switching to noncombustible nicotine products, particularly electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes.

Wearable health monitors are designed to move with the body. But for many devices, movement creates a problem: The more a person bends, stretches, reaches or runs, the harder it can be for the device to keep a stable wireless connection. Penn State researchers and international collaborators set out to solve that problem by developing a soft, stretchable antenna that can keep working even when pulled in different directions. The work, published in Nature Communications, could help make wearable health monitors more reliable during everyday activity.

A culturally tailored meal program rooted in traditional Diné foods significantly reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits among heart failure patients in rural Navajo Nation, according to a new randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Childhood obesity affects 1 in 5 children in the U.S., yet most families have limited access to specialized weight-management programs for children. Now, a large clinical trial led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Rochester Medical Center, the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has shown that an effective, family-based treatment model can be delivered in primary care settings to treat children and adolescents with obesity.

The ability to perform everyday activities free of debilitating symptoms profoundly affects quality of life as we age. In a new study, older adults who took a daily multivitamin had significantly better measures of functional health after three years than those who took a placebo. According to researchers, the findings suggest a daily multivitamin can help older people maintain day-to-day functioning by helping preserve cognitive abilities, and it may also benefit blood circulation and physical stamina.

Many young adults may be entering adulthood without the practical skills needed to manage their own health care, suggests a new national poll. Nearly 1 in 6 parents said their young adult child, ages 18–25, doesn’t handle any basic health care responsibilities independently—from scheduling appointments to providing family history—according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

Findings from a new study comparing the effects of different beverages on mouth acidity suggest that unsweetened sparkling water may be better for your teeth than sugar-sweetened soda.