Health

Each additional hour of prolonged, uninterrupted sedentary behavior in a person’s day is associated with a 9% higher risk of cancer death, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine by Frederick Ho of the University of Glasgow, UK, and colleagues.

Few substances are as deeply woven into everyday life as alcohol. It is a fixture at holiday celebrations, work-related social gatherings, sporting events, airports and brunch or dinner tables. A raised glass for a toast, the ubiquitous wedding open bar or drinks shared during a Fourth of July celebration all demonstrate how deeply alcohol has become embedded in social customs and cultural traditions.

As summer heat intensifies across the U.S., the American Heart Association is warning that soaring temperatures don’t just make people uncomfortable—they can put serious strain on the heart and increase the risk of life-threatening complications.

In one of the most comprehensive studies of coffee and liver health to date, Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators linked higher coffee consumption with a lower risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death. The findings, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, also provide new biological evidence that may help explain those associations.

A pack-a-day smoker can spend around $14,000 a year on cigarettes, yet despite the financial and health costs, quitting remains one of the most difficult changes many people will ever attempt.

Federal health scientists are urging caution about expanding access to controversial peptide drugs, even as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reshapes the advisory panel that will consider whether to loosen those restrictions.

A heat dome is expected to scorch most of the United States through the July 4 weekend, sending temperatures into the high double and even triple digits in the central and eastern regions of the nation.

A diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods might help people avoid dementia, especially if they have an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says.

Millions of Americans are facing heat advisories ahead of the July Fourth holiday as a major heat wave spreads across large parts of the central and eastern United States.

A large-scale analysis by an international research team, led by Bochum University of Applied Sciences, shows that nonsurgical treatments such as massage, exercise therapy or acupuncture for chronic back pain can alleviate symptoms—but usually only for a few weeks. Clinically significant improvements do not persist in the long term.

You’re sitting at your desk, writing a short story. You remain focused, but after several hours, you still can’t see how to end it. So you go for a run, allowing your thoughts to run with you. Instead of stumbling on a rock, you fall on a solution.