Archive: Prevention
More fodder for the fat-but-healthy debate
One of the most divisive and emotional debates regarding obesity is whether being fat automatically equals being unhealthy. While many experts point to mounds of evidence linking excess weight to such life-shortening conditions as cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, others argue that those conditions aren't necessarily caused by...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | November 5, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
Getting Guys to Wash Their Hands
We all know that one of the simplest, best ways to stay healthy is to wash our hands a lot, especially these days during the swine flu pandemic. Some new research out Thursday offers clues to what gets people to actually do it. And guess what? Shame appears to be...
By Rob Stein | October 15, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Watch Out For That Monitor!
You've heard about all the health problems that can be caused by spending too many hours glued to your computer. Your back may ache from sitting in the wrong position. Your eyes can get bleary from staring at the screen all day. And you can get tendinitis or carpal tunnel...
By Rob Stein | June 11, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Sour Economy Hits Health
There's more evidence out this week that the recession is having an impact on people's health. Two new surveys from major doctors' groups indicate that people are cutting back on things that will help keep them healthy and putting off seeing a doctor if they do get sick. In March,...
By Rob Stein | May 21, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Learning to Love the Female Condom
When it comes to creating condoms, the folks who make 'em for men have it easy. Male condoms are the essence of simplicity and require little in the way of engineering -- or imagination. By contrast, when the people at The Female Health Company in Chicago set out to make...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 18, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Is That Right? Juicy Juice for Brain Development
The other day I blogged about the FDA's nabbing General Mills for inappropriately printing specific health claims (the kind reserved for drugs) on Cheerios boxes. I'm not the only observer who felt that, while the FDA was certainly within its rights to call out the cereal maker for not playing...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 15, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
How Not to Spread AIDS
Almost a quarter century ago I went to lunch with some friends from work. As we sat at a cafe table, the fellow next to me asked to taste my drink. I said sure and watched him sip from my straw. I didn't know what to do next. I knew...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 16, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
Pancreatic Cancer News You Can't Use
A new study in the Journal of the American Cancer Institute shows that people with certain blood types may be more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly of all malignancies. Specifically, folks with type O blood face the lowest risk for pancreatic cancer, while those with...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 13, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Colonoscopy Still Saves Lives
You may have read about the new study showing that colonoscopy might not be as good as everyone thought at detecting cancerous or precancerous polyps. But that's no excuse to skip this time-tested form of cancer screening. (You're not getting off the hook that easily!) The study, conducted in Canada...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | December 17, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
No Flu Shot? What's Your Excuse?
Have you had your flu shot yet? According to a survey released Monday by Consumer Reports, 52 percent of 2,011 Americans surveyed October 9-14 said they planned to avail themselves of the influenza vaccine this year. What about the rest? Despite the fact that most respondents acknowledged that flu shots...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | November 12, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (34)
Colon Screening: Ready to Go Virtual?
I almost filed this blog entry under The Checkup's "Popular Procedures" heading. But I thought better of it: For all the potentially life-saving benefits it offers, colonoscopy is hardly what you'd call a popular procedure. Just mention it out loud and watch the wincing begin. But two studies in yesterday's...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | September 19, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
Hooked on Hookahs
Parents of college students: Next time you check in on your kid, here's a question to add to your repertoire. After you've asked how her money's holding out, is she getting enough sleep, and how's that psych paper coming along, you might want to inquire "So, honey, have you by...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 14, 2008; 07:03 AM ET | Comments (5)
Mucking with My Martini
Judging from readers' comments on Sally Squires's article yesterday about the link between women's alcohol consumption and breast-cancer risk, I'm not the only one feeling caught off guard. Several readers wondered what this might mean for their individual risk, and others wondered whether alcohol's stress-reducing qualities might help offset its...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | April 23, 2008; 07:15 AM ET | Comments (0)
