For a few decades now, major employers across the United States have focused on providing wellness programs that encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, such as nutritional eating, exercise and smoking cessation. This is based on the premise that a healthy workforce will be more productive, and ultimately will help reduce health insurance costs. [Read more…]
Is your workplace making you sick?
October 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The body evidence on curbing gun violence
October 22, 2015 By 2 Comments
This is the first post in an occasional series that will provide evidence about issues of interest in upcoming elections. Stay tuned for more data to help inform your vote.
Gun violence is a continuing problem in the United States. So far in 2015, more than 10,000 people have died because of gun-related violence, including nearly 3,000 children and teens. Personally, whenever I hear about a shooting at a school or church, I’m shocked by the senseless loss of lives. And I wonder what we, as citizens, can do about it? [Read more…]
Tea: It’s good for you!
October 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Here at EBL, we’ve covered the health benefits of coffee pretty extensively. (Surprise: It’s really good for you!) But — although it’s hard for this coffee-drinker to believe — there are some people who prefer tea. And in some parts of the world, tea is the primary beverage. But is tea as healthy for you? [Read more…]
Can we help children to avoid sexual abuse?
October 14, 2015 By 1 Comment
I received a shocking e-mail from my public school superintendent a few weeks ago. A substitute teacher who has worked at my son’s elementary school was arrested for possessing child pornography.
After my initial surprise at the e-mail, I gave some serious thought to how I should broach the issue with my son, or whether to mention anything at all. At seven years old, I’ve never talked to him about the possibility of sexual abuse. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know what it is. I wasn’t sure if a conversation would be helpful, or would make him feel anxious or uncomfortable. [Read more…]
A tough pill to swallow? The evidence on taking medicine
October 7, 2015 By Leave a Comment
There are all sorts of medicines on the market today that help us to feel our best, prevent illness and treat disease. The vast majority of them come in pill form. But some people struggle — for a variety of reasons —to swallow pills. [Read more…]
How old is your heart? It matters for your health!
October 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment
In recent years, public health researchers have developed a novel framework for identifying the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It’s called “heart age.” [Read more…]
Weight-control: The size of your plate matters!
September 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Here at EBL, we’ve written regularly about the data available on obesity for two reasons. First, obesity is a major health problem in the U.S. affecting millions of adults and children. Second, there is a lot of new evidence on innovative approaches to tackling this health problem. [Read more…]
What we know about kids and car seats
September 22, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Car seat technology has certainly come a long way in the past three decades. I have clear memories sitting in the front seat of my mom’s car (and playing with the radio buttons!) at age five — a practice that is now against the law in most states. [Read more…]
How to test for concussion in athletes
September 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Along with the start of school comes a busy season for youth recreational sports. Soccer leagues, small fry football and lacrosse are all popular fall sports. This year, my 7-year-old opted to play flag football through our local recreation department. [Read more…]
The body of evidence on reducing your risk of dementia
September 10, 2015 By Leave a Comment
As the world population ages, dementia is expected to affect more people than ever before — more than 65 million people worldwide by 2030. One of the first symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive decline: forgetting words and names, losing items and struggling with planning and organizing. [Read more…]
Eight glasses of water a day? No way!
September 8, 2015 By Leave a Comment
If you’re at all interested in fitness or nutrition, you’ve no doubt heard about the importance of drinking eight glasses of water a day. Popular media and even many medical professionals tell us that drinking 64 ounces of water each day is essential for our skin, weight loss, kidney function and more. [Read more…]
Which painkiller works best?
August 26, 2015 By Leave a Comment
We’ve all woken up with a pounding headache, or overdone it at the gym and strained a muscle. Some amount of pain is a normal part of life. Over-the-counter pain relievers can make a big difference in helping to get through a painful day. But which one is best? [Read more…]
