Swimming the Atlantic is an extreme act of human endurance – here's what the body will go through
Nov 26, 2016 06:00 am UTC| Health
Ben Hooper is not your average person. The former policeman has spent years competing in triathlons and open-water swims, sometimes up to 40km in one day. But there are some challenges that will test any super-fit athlete....
Can the way we move after injury lead to chronic pain?
Nov 26, 2016 05:00 am UTC| Health
When people suffer musculoskeletal pain that is, pain arising from muscles, ligaments, bones or joints they change the way they move. Sometimes these changes include completely avoiding certain movements, and sometimes...
Why frequent dieting makes you put on weight – and what to do about it
Nov 26, 2016 03:00 am UTC| Health
People who regularly go on diets tend to lose weight initially but bounce back and even gain weight after stopping the regime. This phenomenon dubbed yo-yo dieting is associated with changes in metabolism and is one...
Smoking harms not just your physical health, but your mental health too
Nov 26, 2016 01:00 am UTC| Health
A middle-aged cigarette smoker who has smoked for decades is two to three times more likely to die early than someone similar who has never smoked. Tobacco smoking is well known to be a major risk factor for various...
Africa has an air pollution problem but lacks the data to tackle it
Nov 26, 2016 00:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently launched BreatheLife, a campaign to make people more aware about the fact that air pollution which it calls the invisible killer is a major health and climate...
What can obesity control learn from tobacco control's success?
Nov 25, 2016 10:26 am UTC| Health
Tobacco control is revered in contemporary public health as the poster child for chronic disease control. In nations like Australia, which have taken tobacco control seriously, we have seen virtually continual falls in...
Why kids younger than 12 don't need OTC cough and cold remedies
Nov 25, 2016 10:20 am UTC| Health
The common cold season is here, and if you have children, you will likely feel their suffering from these annoying upper respiratory tract viral infections. Children experience more colds,, about six to 10 annually, than...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight