“Fat and fit at the same time? Sorry, but it really is a myth,” the Mail Online reports. A new study adds to the growing evidence that the so-called “obesity paradox” is a myth. The obesity paradox, first described in 2003, is the claim that contrary to perceived wisdom, obese people lived longer than people
“Women who stay fit in middle age are 88 per cent less likely to develop dementia, a study shows,” reports The Sun. A long-running study of 191 middle-aged Swedish women who took a one-off fitness test in 1969, found those with the highest fitness levels were much less likely to develop dementia than less fit
“A revolutionary menopause drug cuts hot flushes by three-quarters in just 3 days, experts have revealed,” reports The Sun. A small trial of 37 women showed that the effects of the new drug, which blocks chemical messengers in the brain associated with hot flushes, began soon after women started taking it. The research is a
“Children who tried e-cigarettes are 12 times more likely to start smoking tobacco,” is the hard-hitting headline from the Mail Online. But the link is not as robust or clear-cut as this would have you believe. The story is based on a survey of more than 1,000 young people from across the UK. They were
“Smoking cannabis just 5 times as a teenager raises the risk of psychosis, reveals ‘worrying’ study,” reports the Mail Online. A new Finnish study followed people from the age of 15 to 30 with the aim of investigating the association between the level of cannabis use in adolescents and subsequent psychosis. Cannabis is thought to
“Inevitable muscle wasting of old age could be stopped, scientists believe,” reports The Daily Telegraph. As people get older, muscles lose strength and mass, known as sarcopenia. A new study looked at a group of 95 men aged 65 to 90 who had varying degrees of sarcopenia, and compared their muscles and related nerve activity
“Researchers have found the eating habits of Victorian peasants were perhaps the best,” is the misleading headline from the Mail Online. The Mail, as well as many other UK media outlets, presents a distorted version of a study exploring regional variations in diet among Victorian people, using surveys carried out at the time. While it
“The NHS spends £25 million on acupuncture each year despite experts saying there is ‘insufficient’ evidence it helps fight pain,” reports the Mail Online. This is arguably quite a one-sided headline as it has been prompted by two opinion pieces in the peer-reviewed BMJ, in which a supporter of acupuncture, and two critics of the
“Dose of sunshine exposure could cut the risk of cancer by a fifth,” reports The Daily Telegraph. Researchers in Japan looked at whether people with higher levels of vitamin D – the so-called “sunshine” vitamin – in their blood were less likely to be diagnosed with cancer. They found overall cancer risk was 22% lower
“Screening for prostate cancer does not save lives, and may do more harm than good,” reports the Daily Telegraph. Research involving more than 400,000 men in the UK found those invited for screening were more likely to have prostate cancer diagnosed but no less likely from die of it. The study involved 573 GP practices,
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