Health

A new daily pill will give people with stubbornly high cholesterol a cheaper, needle-free way to lower their levels.

Do your hands hurt when you use your phone? All that texting and scrolling might be stressing out your fingers.

When a dog smells of cigarette smoke, veterinarians immediately understand that the animal is breathing in secondhand smoke. Known as a “smoker’s poodle,” the pet “presumably sits on somebody’s lap as they smoke, and we think, ‘Oh, this is bad for the animal,'” says Elizabeth Rozanski, D.V.M., DACVIM (SAIM), DACVECC, a professor of small animal clinical sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

New research published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine and presented at this year’s International Congress on Obesity (ICO 2026), hosted by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in Mexico City, Mexico (July 15–17), suggests that 23%-38% of all cardiovascular deaths and 23%-37% of all cases of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke) are attributable to ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption.

Heat-related deaths in the U.S. have surged more than 50% since 2000 as the climate warms and temperatures rise to record-breaking levels. This July alone, more than half of Americans were exposed to extreme temperatures as a heat dome descended across the country and the United Nations warned that a Super El Niño, which raises water temperatures in the Pacific, will also intensify temperatures. Yet, most Americans underestimate the dangers of extreme heat.

The common rationale for drinking water at meals is that it physically stretches the stomach, triggering fullness so you don’t eat too much. But a new Cornell study found no support for that idea in practice. The paper is published in the journal Appetite.

New research from The Kids Research Institute Australia suggests a simple dietary intervention during pregnancy could help protect against the increased risk of food allergies associated with antibiotics taken before birth.

Women should ignore most of the exercise advice they see on social media, University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers say.

People flocking to tanning beds in search of the perfect tan could be exposing themselves to a hidden health threat far beyond skin cancer, according to a comprehensive research review. The findings are published in the journal Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences.

People who switch to cigarettes with dramatically reduced nicotine levels are unlikely to smoke more cigarettes or inhale more smoke to compensate for the lower nicotine content, according to a new study led by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and published in JAMA Network Open.

Public interest in obesity medication has risen 25-fold since the launch of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, new research presented at the International Congress on Obesity (ICO2026) in Mexico City, Mexico, hosted by the World Obesity Federation (July 15–17) shows.