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Articles on Public health

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Four year-old Ayen Chol died after being attacked by a neighbour’s pit bull cross (AFP PHOTO/William WEST)

Breed blame-game: banning Pit Bulls won’t work

The recent death of four year-old, Ayen Chol from a pit bull attack has again prompted calls to ban the breed. But instead of focusing on a particular breed, or responding to single events as they occur…
Alcohol is currently exempt from the labelling requirements that all other products we eat and drink have to follow. Klearchos Kapoutsis

Cheers to health warning labels for alcoholic drinks

Despite known risks of drinking, health and safety warning labels have been noticeably absent from alcoholic beverages in Australia. But that might be about to change, with the Government today seeking…
Support from the ‘fatosphere’ has inspired some to try things they would not have done before, such as take up swimming. Flickr/jooleeah_stahkey

Study finds fat acceptance blogs can improve health outcomes

“Fat acceptance” blogs urging overweight people to shed negative feelings about their body image can lead to healthier diet and exercise choices, a study has found. The fat acceptance movement, which seeks…
Excessive sitting increases your risk of chronic disease, even if you get enough exercise.

Sitting nine to five (and beyond): the perils of sedentary lifestyles

Whether it’s at work, in cars, watching TV or using the computer, there’s no denying many of us spend the majority of our days sitting. And while science is yet to prove conclusively that too much sitting…
Hookahs are actually more dangerous because users are likely to puff more frequently.

Monday’s medical myth: hookahs are less harmful than cigarettes

After decades of successful anti-tobacco campaigns, we’re all familiar with the risks of smoking. But how do the health harms of cigarettes compare with those of other smoking devices? The hookah, also…
Pulse oximetry is usually done by clipping a small sensor onto a baby’s foot. Flickr/storyvillegirl

Life-saving test picks up baby heart defects

A quick, cheap and non-invasive test on newborn infants is effective in picking up heart defects missed by some prenatal ultrasounds, a UK study has found. Pulse oximetry involves clipping a sensor to…
Home help is much more effective than written instructions from a doctor.

Why home help is the best bang for our health buck

The new Victorian Health Plan 2012-22 offers a bleak prognosis: forever rising medical costs, doctors in the wrong places, hospitals overwhelmed. To make matters worse, it claims that patients can’t be…
Guidelines say no TV for under 2s, then no more than two hours a day. Keenen Brown

Square eyes: how much TV is too much for kids?

If you’ve ever sat your toddler down in front of the television to give yourself a few minutes of much-needed rest, you’re certainly not alone. But for many parents, those few minutes of bliss that come…
Alcoholic products should carry warning labels with factual information on health risks, experts say. Flickr/avlxyz

Weak alcohol warning labels sound like fortune cookie greetings: expert

The alcohol industry’s move to attach warning labels to booze bottles will have limited impact because the messages selected are so weak they “sound like a greeting card”, an expert on alcohol-related…
Living close to fast food outlets drives up junk food consumption, a US study found. But Australian researchers say that’s not necessarily the Antipodean experience. Fotopedia/Marius Mézerette

Fast food neighbourhoods linked to junk diet in the U.S.

Living near fast food outlets leads to higher consumption of junk foods but living close to supermarkets stocked with fruit and vegetables doesn’t mean a healthier diet, a U.S. study has found. However…
More studies are needed to conclude that early treatment provides long term benefits for sufferers of psychosis, a major literature review has found. Flickr/Arturo Sotillo

Review finds limited evidence for early intervention in psychosis

Early intervention mental health policies may be gaining favour in Australia, Europe and the U.S. but there is limited evidence to show they help sufferers of psychosis in the longer term, a major literature…
AAP joint.

Explainer: What is synthetic cannabis or Kronic?

Synthetic cannabis, known commercially as Kronic, K2, Kaos or Spice, was designed to circumvent drug laws and give users a “legal high”. But Western Australia banned the product earlier this month and…
Is legal action becoming a bad habit for tobacco companies? effb/Flickr

Big Tobacco v Australia: taking the battle to the global stage

This week’s legal action by tobacco giant Philip Morris to overturn the federal government’s plain packaging proposals is not its first attempt to stifle anti-tobacco legislation. Philip Morris is also…
There is an association between poor mental health and health risk factors for diabetes such as physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and obesity, the report said. Flickr

Over 40% Australian adult diabetics have poor mental health

More than 40% of Australian adult diabetics also experience mental health problems, according to a report released by the government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). More than 800,000…

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