How can physios motivate us to do more physical activity?

Exercise advice is often an important part of physiotherapy treatment; but when patients are expecting a hands-on therapy instead, how can clinics manage their expectations?

A new way to measure obesity? The metabolome

An approach based around analysing the ‘metabolome’ – chemicals in the blood, including fatty acids, amino acids, sugars and vitamins – would be more useful in identifying those at risk of obesity-related disease than the Body Mass Index (BMI) currently used to measure obesity, according to UK and US scientists.

We need another revolution in the march to good health

Healthcare in Western nations is at a tipping point as populations age – our biggest hope to manage this challenge is data.

A cuppa day keeps you moving

The UQ School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences study found that women who drank one to two cups of tea or coffee per day were more likely to meet the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity than women who consumed less.

Being overweight in your 20s takes years off your life

Young adults classified as obese in Australia can expect to lose up to 10 years in life expectancy, according to a major new study.

Weight loss surgery seems to work

Obesity affects more than a quarter of Australian adults and has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths but a 20-year study by Monash University researchers shows that lap-band surgery helps obese people lose weight permanently.

Dummies don’t cause speech disorders

New University of Sydney research shows bottles, dummies, and thumb sucking in the early years of life do not cause or worsen phonological impairment, the most common type of speech disorder in children.

Middle-aged drinkers prioritise reputation over health

The health risks associated with drinking alcohol are less important to middle aged people than what others may think of their consumption, according to researchers from the University of Adelaide.

New antibiotics give hope for treating multi-drug resistant bacteria

The rapid spread of multidrug resistant bacteria is a global health emergency but Australian researchers are helping to develop new approaches by targeting and disrupting key elements in bacterial cells.

Healthy habits could cut the toll of bowel cancer

Unhealthy lifestyles may be responsible for 45,000 cases of bowel cancer in next decade if men do not adopt healthier lifestyles.

Health star ratings: What’s on the labels of Australian drinks?

The Health Star Rating System is a useful tool to communicate health and nutrition messages to consumers but given the large part played by sugar laden drinks to Australia’s swelling waistlines, a new study looks at how well the HSR System is used on beverages.

Australia set to miss global chronic disease targets

Australia, along with more than half of all countries in the world, is predicted to fail to reach the WHO target to reduce premature deaths from cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes by 2030, according to a new analysis published ahead of the third UN High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases.