News by Subject Medicine & Health

Employees' cafeteria purchases--both healthy and unhealthy foods--were influenced by their co-workers' food choices, found a large, two-year study of hospital employees. The study made innovative use of cash register data to gain insights into how individuals' social networks shape their health behavior. The research suggests we might structure future efforts aimed at improving population health by capitalizing on how one person's behavior influences another.

Consuming a diet high in pro-inflammatory foods - including foods that contain refined carbohydrates and sugar as well as polyunsaturated fats - may be associated with increased odds of developing testosterone deficiency among men, suggests a study in The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

A new study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica found that taking a particular probiotic strain improves iron levels in healthy pregnant women and may therefore help to prevent iron deficiency.

Two common dietary patterns identified in British adults, which include high intakes of chocolate and confectionary, may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death in middle-age, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

COVID-19 patients who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop a more severe infection than patients of healthy weight, and they require oxygen and invasive mechanical ventilation more often. There is no increased risk of death . These conclusions, for which more than 7,000 patients were studied, appear from international research in eleven countries, including the Netherlands (Radboud university medical center).

Children like junk food. As much as 70% percent of their diet is estimated to come from junk foods. While numerous studies have shown the overall negative impact of junk food, few have focused on its direct developmental effects on children, particularly young children.

One of the most comprehensive statistical analyses of drivers of food insecurity across 65 countries has concluded that household income consistently explains more discrepancy in food security than any other factor, including agricultural land resources and production.