Four myths about diabetes debunked

May 09, 2017 15:43 pm UTC| Health

The World Health Organisation estimates that the number of people with diabetes is 422m, globally. And between 1980 and 2014 the number of people with the condition almost doubled. Despite the high prevalence of the...

Prescribing generic drugs will reduce patient confusion and medication errors

May 09, 2017 15:11 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

In last nights federal budget, Treasurer Scott Morrison announced an anticipated range of measures to encourage doctors to prescribe generic medicines rather than their more expensive brand name equivalents. So unless...

Therapy for life-threatening eating disorders works, so why can't people access it?

May 08, 2017 09:27 am UTC| Health

Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses that have one of the highest death rates of any psychiatric disorder. Among people with anorexia nervosa who commonly deprive themselves of food due to an obsessive fear of...

What are 'fasting' diets and do they help you lose weight?

May 08, 2017 08:57 am UTC| Health

Trying to lose weight is hard work. You need to plan meals and snacks, and make a big effort to avoid situations that trigger more eating and drinking than youd planned. Dieting can also be very antisocial. But what if you...

Your brain really does want you to eat more veggies

May 07, 2017 09:20 am UTC| Health

As well as our physical health, the quality of our diet matters for our mental and brain health. Observational studies across countries, cultures and age groups show that better-quality diets those high in vegetables,...

Placebos work even when patients know what they are

May 07, 2017 09:08 am UTC| Health

Lying to patients is almost always unethical. But, in order for placebos to work, we have to believe they are real treatments, which means the doctor would have to lie to us and say that the placebo was actually a real...

Living in a poor area increases the risk of anxiety in women, but not men

May 05, 2017 14:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Women living in the most deprived areas are over 60% more likely to have anxiety as women living in richer areas. However, whether men live in poorer or richer areas seems to make very little difference to their anxiety...